Sunday, May 21, 2006

I've had a busy weekend. We made a quick trip to the town where my family lives, (about 2 hours north of here) for my mom's 70th birthday. I worked on my Koigu sock on the drive & the entire time I was there. It is almost finished.

Before we even got to Mom's house, I made DH drop me off at the LYS there, and spent an hour shopping while he dropped off the kids. They close at 2:00 on Sat., so I was on limited time. My take? 4 balls of Blue Sky Alpaca/Silk (50-50) in 2 different colorways. Lest you think I'm extravagant, I spent the BD money my MIL sent me & intend to make her the Branching Out scarf I couldn't manage with the Douceur et Soie, for Xmas or Bd. I may make StepMIL a scarf as well, but that yarn's so tempting, I may keep it for myself. The DeS found a home in a crocheted wrap. It turned out beautifully. (For *me* the saying goes: If you can't knit 'em, crochet 'em!)

We spent Saturday at one brother's house, and Sunday at the other brother's house. My sis from CA came in town & brought 4 close friends. We had a blast! There was grilled venison, boiled crawfish, red beans & rice. Of course there was bd cake, iced tea & beer. Oh yeah, and I beat my 15 year old nefew at ping pong.

Well, I'll post pics one of these days.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Busy with the end of the semester. I've graded all my portfolios and exams, and all I have to do is submit the grades. I'm a little spent, but Hello Summer!

As for knitting stuff. I bought that lovely yarn in NOLA, and immediately started a wrap with the K1C2 Douceur et Soie. I began with a knitted lace pattern that no matter how much I tried, I couldn't knit without frogging. Well, the DES doesn't like to be frogged. Not once, and certainly not 5 times. After I had frogged it repeatedly, it gave up. Refused to be frogged anymore. I had to cut the yarn and try again. Whew, it was a nightmare. I just wanted to work with the stuff. I just wanted to see it become a wrap for me.

Then I realized, Hey, I've been crocheting for 30 odd years! Why torture myself with a complex knitted pattern when I could crochet watching TV, having kids pull on my arm. So I found an old pattern in a crochet book Gramma gave me, and set to it. That was 3 days ago and I'm halfway done with the wrap. I think the 2 balls will be sufficent, but I may have to order another ball, just to make it generous.

Now I love the Douceur et Soie. I think since I've worked with it and know it's ways, I can try a more complex pattern next time.