It Must Be Fall

. . . because went to Disneyland. I love Disneyland when it's all decorated for holidays. This year, Disney had the entire park decorated for fall/Halloween. I cast on my second Halloween sock Oct 7th on the drive to Anaheim. I worked on it while standing in lines. With only a few exceptions, the sock was completed during my 90 minutes of playground duty a week. It is amazing how much knitting I can get done during this "found" time. I finished the sock Friday, Oct 26, just in time for Halloween.


Yarn: Opal Rainforest in Schmellerling (Butterfly)
Pattern: My own toe-up

Saturday, my two older kids had a fall recital. DD #1 has been playing the flute for 4 years. DS has been playing the sax for a little over a year. It was his first solo performance. They both played beautifully.

DS wouldn't admit that he was nervous but you can see his relief when the concert was over.

DD had a rough time getting started but then sounded even better than in her practices. She was nervous as well & had to be silly during the pictures.

I have a couple more FOs to show:

Computer Sleeve

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Devon (it took about a about 1.5 skeins)
Pattern: My own - I might write this up if there is interest

Pink Panther Delicatos

Yarn: Louet in Pink Panther
Pattern: Delicato by KnitSpot. I added one extra repeat on the ribbing at the wrist.

I cast on another pair of socks:

Yarn: Fleece Artist Somoko in Blue Lagoon
Pattern: Pagoda Lace by Wendy Knits available at The Loopy Ewe
Notes: I modified this to be knit 2 at a time on 2 circs. I'm not happy with how this yarn is dyed. Half of the skein has the dark blue & green. The other half of the skein has lighter shades. The socks look like they came from different skeins. The contrast between the 2 socks is much greater than the pictures show.

Back to Daily Life

A couple of weeks ago we were treated to an awesome sight. We often see owls & hawks flying around or perched on a nearby Joshua tree. But, this time we had a hawk eating its dinner on our front lawn.



I finished up a couple of projects but I'll update on that later.


TTFN

R.I.P. Kathy

I was working on a light hearted post last week but never got it finished. I'm in a much darker place now. A week ago, I lost a friend and co-worker. It came suddenly. And, if the story we've been told is true, it was preventable but the hospital didn't take her seriously & thought it was a panic attack. I do not know the result of the autopsy.

Kathy was a very giving person even though her life couldn't have been easy. Her husband died while she was pregnant with her daughter. She was taking care of her adult son who has Downs syndrome, her mother who was recently released from the hospital after a stroke, and a teenaged daughter.

The last time I saw Kathy was on a Friday. She volunteered to get some of my grading done because I was so far behind. As a thank you, I offered her one of the treats I was giving my class. She turned me down & offered me her taco soup. She watched my class so I could go & get a bowl of it. It was some of the best soup I've ever had. She gave me the receipe. I will think of her every time I have it.

Kathy, I hope you have peace.

Sky Show 32

Last Saturday we went to San Diego for Sky Show #32. Sky Show is a yearly fireworks "thing." They used to be after a Padres game but now they are after San Diego State University's football games. It normally is a sell out but this year the crowd was much lighter. But, what is a football game without a little pregame tailgate?

The boys had to toss the football around. Of course, if SDPD catches you, you'll get a ticket. But, playing catch after a game seems to be okay.





My eldest daughter made sandwiches.









Youngest child was feeling a little carsick & had a bit of a cold. She spent alot of the game lying down on the concrete trying to go to sleep.








I worked on my Entrelac Tote. I almost finished it but it was a little bulky to take into the stadium. I worked on a more portable project in the stadium.





As an ex-blonde cheerleader, I feel the need to point out that the cheerleaders couldn't spell the name of their school - the flags say SSDU instead of SDSU. Someone talked to them about it & they were much more careful the rest of the time.



ROTC did push ups for each SDSU score. They did many of them because the final score was 52 to 17. Thankfully, SDSU won.





They blocked off about 1/4 of the parking lot for the fireworks. They also use these cranes to shoot off the fireworks.





Here's me & my goofy guy.







They brought in searchlights & additional firework & gas plume platforms into the stadium.





The fireworks lasted for about 25 mintues. Sky Show is listed as the largest firework show west of the Mississippi. 101.5 KGB fm (a hard rock station that now places classic rock) started it 32 years ago. It seems to get bigger & bigger every year. The music started with Money for Nothing but instead of "I want my MTV" the words were changed to "I want my KGB." That's when they sent up fireworks that exploded into the letters KGB. It was perfectly timed to the song. I've never seen fireworks like it. Can you believe it, fireworks that exploded into letters! I couldn't get a picture because it happened to fast.

Here's a few of the best shots:





It really is hard to describe the scope of the event. Like all good concerts, we couldn't hear very well after on the drive home. All of us are looking forward to Sky Show #33.

First Waterfall Sock Finished

I had a really awful migraine last night. I was still feeling it this morning so I stayed home from work. I got to finish a sock. I'm lovin' knitting with sport weight. It only took 12 hours from start to finish.

Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sport in Waterfall
Pattern: Waterfall by Babs Ausherman modified to knit using Magic Loop instead of DPNs
Needles: Size 4 Knitpicks Harmony tips on a 32 inch cord

I saw the Harlot in person!

Yes, I know that this is an awful photo. I picked it because if you go to the Yarn Harlot's blog, you'll see the other side of this picture. Yes, my knitting group was a background for the traveling sock! If you visit her blog, our group was in the front row straight behind the sock. I am sitting in the middle of that row in my odd colored Dr. Pepper shirt. I didn't think about getting a picture of the Knotty Knitters but Darcy got one of us. I had a great time. Hopefully, I too will be able to combat C.H.O.K.E. I don't know why Stephanie hates her hair so much. I would love to have wavy/curly hair like that. I think that everyone wants what someone else has. I can keep my hair in rollers for hours & it will be beautiful for the 30 minutes the curl stays. Within 2 hours, you can't tell I ever fixed my hair.

I spent Sunday working on my progress report grades and only spent 30 minutes out of the day knitting. When I got home from work today I was greeted with two packages of yarn. The top package was from my favorite yarn pusher - The Loopy Ewe. On the last sneak-up, I scored Yarn Nerd (Peat Bog), Cider Moon (Blue Ridge Parkway), & a Wendy Knits (Making Tracks Toe-Up) Pattern.



I also got my first Woolgirl Sock Club package.


The extras that came this month are awesome! Included with the yarn (more about that later) came a color coordinated stitchmarker, chocolate mint lip balm, a sock journal with attached pen, a a pretty pattern. The theme of the mailing was waterfall. The yarn itself is purples, teals, & blues by Miss Babs. I'm going to cast this on tonight. It's sportweight & my other socks are fingering weight.

Well, I'm off to ball my yarn & swatch. Now that you see it, I hope you understand.



TTFN

Kniitting Lack of Focus

I guess it's not that I'm unfocused - I'm very focused on knitting & not on school. But, I can't seem to focus on one project. I want to be the sort of person who can concentrate on one or two projects & stay with them until they are complete. Right now, I want to knit everything right now, all at once. So, I am bouncing around from project to project. This week I cast-on three more projects bringing my WIP to 8. This doesn't include one that I frogged, or the one I'll probably frog & another I don't think I'll finish.

Update pictures of what's on my needles:

Mystery Stole 3 - this is the one 1 think I'll frog. I enjoyed knitting it but I don't think I'll wear it & I don't know anyone else who will. I've not been able to get a good picture because it is black lace. I'll keep trying.

Pomatomus - I've swatched 4 times before I found a combination I like. I'm knitting two at a time on Brittney Birch DPNs (#1.5 - 2.50mm, 5 inches long) with J. Knits in the Cincinnati colorway. I'm still on the cuff but I think this will be great. I love these DPNs because they are smaller & I haven't bent them yet. I always bend the smaller size bamboo needles.



Sax Sox Appeal - This is my generic toe-up, 2 at a time pattern. They are out of a new sock yarn by Knit One Crochet Too called Soxx Appeal. It has 96% Superwash Merino wool, 3% Nylon, 1% Elastic fibers. I like working with it because it has just enough elastic to make it feel different. I've had to learn to knit a little looser so I don't stretch the yarn too far. They aren't done yet because I'm bored with the sockinette stitch. My son loves them so much - they might get gifted to him. He plays the sax, thus the name. It's odd wearing the same size socks & shoes with my 12 year old son.


Entrelac Felted Tote - I've wanted to try Entralac & this looked like an easy way to begin.


One of my first felted projects was a music bag for my DD#1. The designer named it Two Measures of Joy but I call it Ode to Kitty for DD's nickname. Instead of embellishing it with Ode to Joy, I was going to embellish it with her recital piece. This is a project I don't think I'll finish.