here's how clever I am.

I made yet another snazzy potholder for a bridal shower. The bridal shower was yesterday. I didn't take any pictures of the snazzy potholder because I was in a bit of a rush, of course, and I was all, "Oh, no worries, I'll just take a picture of it when the bride-to-be holds it up!" And of course, you know how they play that game where they set a timer and whoever's gift is being opened when the timer goes off gets a prize? Of course the timer goes off when my gift was being opened, and I was so distracted by the glory of winning that I forgot to take a picture.

:(

Oh well. I am now the proud owner of a very pink, very flowered stainless steel water bottle. And the bride-to-be liked her potholder. Even if I don't have photographic evidence.

glorious sock!

Yesterday afternoon I popped on my half-finished sock and flailed my foot around in the window until I could get some nice pictures. I hope no one across the street was watching. Or maybe I hope they were watching, because it would have been pretty funny, and who can't use a good laugh? (There was one crisis moment when the needles got caught in the lace curtain. I was starting to feel like I was in a Ben Stiller movie.) Anyway, the sock:



Isn't it glorious? Like I said, red AND orange AND yellow AND pink. So awesome. The yarn is Woolarina Handpainted fingering weight, and it is in my hot little hands because Lolly is awesome.

The pattern is Leyburn Socks, a pattern I'd had my eye on for a while as a good way to keep variegated yarn from getting all pooly and wacky. It's pretty fun, with the wee lattice stitch and all. I think the cuff may end up being a little large, but I think I'm going to leave it, since I don't feel like doing the math to take out ten or so stitches.

I Hemmed It!

Yay! The guideline worked! Totally thrilled. The guideline was so handy I could even hem this sucker in the car. Which I did on Wednesday. :)

Now to block it, try it on, and see what the heck kind of closure I should put on it. I have two different sets of grey buttons which would look nice, should I decide to go the button-band route. (Or I could go buttons-and-loops.) I am also contemplating a belt route. Too many choices! Too many, I say.

For my other road-trip amusement, I started on an incredibly, gloriously loud sock. Colors to burn the eyeballs, y'all, and I couldn't love them more. I have no idea how it'll photograph, but I'll get to it eventually. Just know that there is orange AND red AND yellow AND pink. So awesome.

I'm also freaking out a bit about my mother's birthday. I can't think of anything to knit her, because she has TONS OF KNITWEAR, and it's all my fault. I guess I could make her another sweater, but I don't really feel like knitting a sweater in the summer in Texas. And if I DON'T knit her something, then I am shit out of luck for birthday gift ideas. Maybe I could record a song for her? Argh, I don't know. I've still got two months, and I can totally get something epic done in two months, if I have to, but I need to decide SOON.

of hemming.

I've been trying to hem my recycled cardigan for a couple of days now. The sleeves look ok now. I had a couple of do-overs because of overly tight bind-offs, but they're ok. The hem hem, the bottom, is a real pain in my rear. I don't want it to be squiggly, but measuring doesn't seem to work, and I'm not particularly good at keeping my stitches in the same line of purl bumps . . . this afternoon I tried basting in a guideline thread, but I'm pretty sure that it hasn't stayed between the proper rows of purl bumps.

Ugh. If the guideline doesn't work, I'm just going to block it, in hopes that it'll even out the purl lines, and sew it up from there. Hopefully.

I really want to wear this sweater! It's very plain but very flattering. (And no, I still have no idea if I should put buttons or what on it. I'm so indecisive.)

where do they GO?

Y'all, my knitting needles are totally disappearing. My double-points, I mean. I don't know where they've all gone! Even the Great Knitting Needle Spill Of '09 can't account for all of it. I thought I'd be picking them out of the carpet forever, but then I got rid of the carpet, and yes, I checked for needles before I threw it out.

This needle problem can lead to comedy, like when, in dim lighting, I grabbed up five silver needles to do the sleeves on my recycled blue sweater. I know the silver ones are size 5's. No problem, right? WRONG! I'd finished the first sleeve before I realized that two of 'em were smaller. Probably size 3's. WTF? My 3's are aqua! I have no idea where the other two 5's have gone. Oh, and did I undo that sleeve and find several needles of the same size to re-do it? Nope, I just knit the other sleeve with the same mish-mash of needles. Ha ha! It looks fine, only I'm doing turned-up hems, and my cast-off is too tight for the hem to lie right, and I haven't been able to convince myself that a do-over won't really be that annoying. I do want to wear the sweater, so I guess I'll get around to it soon. (The sweater's pretty cute, I might add. Only I don't know what kind of fasteners I want to put on it. I have some silver buttons that might look nice, or I could do a belt, or I could just leave it open . . . argh, I can't decide.)

So. That is my current Knitting Problem. I am almost done with my potholders, which are quite nice, and I will take pictures if the sun ever comes out again.