Excitement all around.

Warning, long post ahead.

First off, if you're a Star Wars fan you must read Stashwars.
JenLa is genuine blog entertainment. Well, what are you waiting for? Move along now ... =)

I had some quality knitting time at one LYS on Friday afternoon and met some nice ladies there. I was the only one knitting, the others were crocheting! I received a few nice compliments on my Clapotis progress. I'm thinking about alternating between here and there, since they're almost the same distance away from home, only one is north and the other is south. I've found the perfect way to defrag after a long week at work. What better places to knit than ones filled with yarn?

I'm done with the first ball of bamboo for Clapotis. I didn't following the pattern as written. I decided to use size 6 needles with the SWTCo Bamboo yarn since it's closer to DK than worsted weight. I knit one less increase repeat than called for in the pattern (5 increase repeats) and I knit the straight sections until I ran out of the first ball (10 repeats). So far it's 16" x 40" when slightly stretched.

For the second ball of yarn I'm planning to knit about the same number of straight sections (unless it gets to be too long), then start the decreases as instructed in the pattern. Hopefully, I'll use up as much of the yarn as possible. I'm thinking about doing a single crochet border if I have enough leftover, just to "kick it up a notch." It'll be the perfect summer wrap while on vacation. The colors are neutral and it will go well with just about most clothing I own.

Mom enjoyed her gift (a new camera), and delicious food was consumed while at a family friend's home on Sunday. We're glad the weather cooperated while they grilled outdoors. The late lunch/early dinner consisted of Mesquite smoked steaks, baked polenta cakes with roasted bell pepper sauce, mashed potatoes with Feta, grilled onion quesidillas, pancit, pancit palabok (two Filipino noodle dishes), and fresh guacamole with chips. For dessert, Manila mangos. Yummy! DH played Halo2 with our friends while I knit. I get motion sick trying to play those first person shooter games.

What did I bring to knit?

Heaven forbid I practice monogamous knitting! DH shook his head in disbelief when I started Branching Out on Friday using white sparkly Wool-ease. It's a little tight, but I'm hoping the wool content will help to open it up when I block it. I like to think of myself as a brave knitter as Steph describes. This is my first lace project. It's for a cousin whose bridal shower is later this month.

Never fear, Rogue was not neglected.

I tried using the kitchener stitch and graft in pattern, but after several seriously frustrating tries, I used a three needle bind-off instead and it shows. Oh well. Maybe it'll look better after blocking. Once again, I'm hesitating on picking up the stitches for the i-cord border. I'm going to need to find a zipper soon! I may chicken out on the zipper installation on this one. I really want to take Rogue on our vacation as well, although the weather will probably be so darn hot that I won't get to wear it much, if at all.

WishBone likes Rogue too!


Pumpkin Knits is making a Rogue in the exact same shade as I am and finished Branching Out just as I'm starting mine. How coincidental is that? The blogosphere is amazing sometimes!

I'm excited for another co-worker who's pregnant. I think that instead of doing more hats that I'll try my hand at knitting baby booties.

I'm no longer denying it. I'm addicted to yarn. This Cascade Sierra was 20% off! I'm thinking using it for a hoodless Mariah. There are many wonderful collar options (rolled, ribbed, folded down) it's so hard to choose one!

I've started on my Tape-along project.

I modified the pattern from 40 sts to 22 sts because it ended up being too wide. I love how the colorway curves due to the feather and fan stitch. The colors remind me of the ocean and I've nicknamed it my Ocean Scarf. I'm not sure I like how it's curling on the edges and it's not as texturally interesting as I thought it would be. Good thing this tape frogs back nicely and there are no stray fibers or fuzziness to deal with. I think I'll do this instead.

Cast on 22 sts.
R1, R2 & R4: Knit all sts
R3: K2,(K2tog)3x,(YO,K1)6x, (K2tog)3x,K2
I'll repeat those four rows until I finish off the yarn.

Sarah brought up some great points about separating/compartmentalizing parts of our lives in this post. I was recently confronted with the same issue when I mentioned to the SIL that I was blogging about my knitting. I was a bit uncomfortable pointing her in this direction, but am fine if she discovers this on her own. It's a little different with the DH. He doesn't seem to care either way that I have a blog, and would much rather converse than read about my adventures with knitting. My bro thinks blogs are a "fad" thing, but gave him the url anyhow. All in all, much like the mailing lists for various online fandoms I've belonged to in the past, I've met some great people. It's interesting how we can share such joy and sorrow over long distances. I for one don't think it's a bad thing to have friends you've never met in person ever before.

Quiz Time (from Melanie's Blog -sorry to hear about the car =( ):

You're a little gold key, and you unlock other
people's hearts. Your kindness and willingness
to be there for those you care about lets
people open up to you knowing they will be
accepted. People will rely on you, but be
careful not to give more than you have.


What sort of key are you and what do you unlock?
brought to you by Quizilla

Karma:
That'd be fun to knit-along with you! I'm thinking of a July start date for Sitcom Chic.

My first meme:
Please list 5 things that you may or may not have done before that you would like to learn or try again. This may just get you to try them or give you some renewed interest!

1) Parenthood-Ditto Karma! {giggle}
2) Skydive-I did a tandem drop right before I got married. The experience was indescribable.
3) Visit Australia-We were on the eastern coast for our Honeymoon, and would love to repeat the experience on the other coast. We visited Brisbane (went to the Beerwah zoo-the Crocodile Hunter's own), Cairns (saw and snorkled a part of the Great Barrier Reef) and Sydney (watched an actual Opera at the Opera House). That was the trip of a lifetime!
4) Unpack- We really need to purge our home of unecessary "stuff." We're planning on taking a week off later this summer to fully unpack and cull our combined "junk." We moved into our current home back in December 2003 and I think it's about time we do it!
5) Invent and patent something useful-This one is a lofty, broad, nebulous goal, but I'm having fun in the meantime. =)

Tag! Melanie, Steph, Sarah, and Nancy