What I Lack of Protestant Work-Ethic

I make up for with an Irish temper.

I made the mistake Friday of whining to a friend about my playscape's lack of a roof. Bad move. I got repeat advice from the beginning of summer. "Pay someone $200 to put it together and quit worrying about it." Well... I'm a bit stubborn. And a bit pissed at myself for whinging on about it. Just a little. And I forgot just how much of a thrill I get from heights.

So, Mr. Robincat agreed to watch the kids today after he finished a project of his, and I got a little crazy on the roofing. It was a LOT of fun. About as much legal fun as a married woman can have. I told him this, and he doesn't believe me. I really do love working outside, and especially heights. What could be more fun than roofing?





Some of you may notice that there's a couple of boards missing on the eastern side. Well... It started raining a little and I didn't want to bring out the big metal ladder in the rain. Mr. Robincat has promised to help me finish those out and install the roof runners (just 2 boards) tomorrow before knitting.

Now for Q and A:

Q: What do you mean, you didn't want to bring out the ladder. Of course you were using a ladder to do all that roofing, right?

A: Actually, I was standing on a pair of 1x4s laid across the width of the railing boards (except when I was sitting on the monkey bars). Mr. Robincat thought I was crazy and refused to watch.

Edited to add: Apparently, I blew out my knee (not a rarity for me) as I was coming down the ladder for the last time. ;) At least it was after I finished!

Mediterranean Lace Shawl

Wow. This is going to be one big shawl. I must really love my mother. I'm knitting it from white Zephyr lace-weight. I ordered it in the 600yd mini-cone put-up, but am washing it and re-winding it into balls to knit from. I'm aware that no one else in the world minds knitting from Zephyr cones, but it drives me crazy. They keep falling over.

I'm one repeat away from the beginning of the decreases -- for the first third. That doesn't include the wide lace border knitted on size zeros. Fortunately, it's going at a pretty good clip now that I've pretty much memorized the rose lattice lace pattern.

On the Knitting Front

I've gotten a lot done in the past week or so since I finished my husband's sweater.

I'm almost done with the back of the Braids & Leaves Sweater in Bouton D'Or Merinosoie. I'd have a lot more progress, though, if I didn't keep losing the pattern. I've heard it's visiting at my friend Ana's house right now.

Also, significant progress on the Mediterranean Lace Shawl. I'm only one repeat away from the midpoint of the first section. Yeah, I know it doesn't sound like much, but this is one huge bugger of a shawl. A friend's daughter asked me the other day if I would be done that day. Heh. I wish. It's going to be a couple more months, I think.

Pictures will happen at some point. My kids have just been on a cranky, high-energy tear recently.

It's DONE! ... AGAIN!!! and Sniff-o-rama

The Jamie Jumper is finally finished for the second time. That makes a Robincat Record (tm) of 2.5weeks for a self-designed, hand-knitted, 48" chest aran sweater. Kind of impressive, huh?

He doesn't want pictures until it's dry, which makes sense, considering what happened last time.

On another (base)note, Mary, Mary (that's just one person... really!) and I went to Neiman-Marcus for a sniff-o-rama. See, we're scent-hounds. We love perfume. Love it. And we're snobs. Snobs with completely and utterly different tastes. But that's ok, cause I love Mary, Mary and she tolerates my kiddos, even when they're not. having. fun. in the fancy-schmancy department store. They were astoundingly good, though. Sarah even permitted the make-up lady to give her a makeover. Yes, she's learning the girly ways at a very young age. Well, at least she's learning them -- I'm just learning them now at 30.

So, here's the results of the Sniff-o-rama. I love Guerlain. Guerlain and I go together like kittens and milk. Mary, on the other hand, has been sucked in by Creed, which I must admit, has some fabulous "green" scents -- one of the very few houses that do not equate "green" with "bug spray."

The favorites of the day in my book were Mitsouko EDP, which I have already in the Eau de Toilette formulation. Just my opinion, but the EDP is much richer and nicer. Oh, yum. Next on the buy list is Champs Elysees. It doesn't do a whole lot for my nose, but Mr. Robincat likes it enough to offer to pay for it, so he must LOVE it. Hehe. Another love of mine is Imperiale, which I pretty much guessed already. I'm a neroli fiend. FIEND, I tell you. I have a bottle of orange blossom water in my fridge just to sniff whenever I get in a bad mood. Yup, I'm weird like that. The only problem I found with the Imperiale is that the dry-down is fast. Like, didn't even last through lunch. Le Sigh.

Disappointments: L'Heure Bleue. I thought I would love it, but the floral is just a bit heavy and comes off a bit too "precious" for me. Jicky. I adore the smell of Jicky. I just can't wear it myself -- a bit too manly. Well, it is a unisex fragrance, so not too surprising. Now... if only I could get Mr. Robincat to wear it, I'd be in heaven.

I'll let Mary blog about her own opinions, but I do have to say that one of her favorites, Green Irish Tweed, is something I'd definitely buy for Mr. Robincat. Tabarome, another men's scent by Creed, is just lovely. Mmmm.

Raise Your Hand

If you think I'm insane.

Because I felted my dear husband's nordic jumper, I've begun "Jamie Jumper Redux." He doesn't know about it because he's in Ireland for 2 weeks. I have 10 days left to finish this, but no worries. I only started it 4 days ago and I'm already 15 rows shy of the underarm. There have been some major design alterations, too, because although he was incredibly happy with it, there were some fit issues.





First, though the welting on the original looked great, it was really heavy and caused the whole sweater to lengthen, which isn't very complimentary to man of smaller stature. So, I've put in 2x2 ribbing to create a "sweater bra" to hold up the yarn weight.

Second, all the twisted stitches are now plain knits between cable elements. The twists were fine until I had to separate the front and back, and then purling through the back loop just wasn't fun anymore. I don't want to do that again.

Third, the twisted rope cable has been replaced by a simple 3x3 twist. I felt that the twisted rope didn't quite mesh with the nordic central panel and zig-zag figure eights.

Fourth, the sleeves are going to be different. Not sure how yet, but I wasn't a huge fan of the original ones. I'll probably use the central or zigzags, depending on how many stitches I have available. The dragon heads were cute in theory, but very distracting from the intricate body of the jumper.

Ladybird Yarn

Ok, I finally got the POUND of yarn finished and it kinda makes up for the felted sweater.





Yarn on a swingset. Don't you just love it?

It's coming up as 10-11wpi, so I'll say it's aran-weight. The wpi charts all say bulky, so I'll swatch with 8s and 10s and see what it likes best.

Good Timing

I just got a big ole box of wine in the mail.

Apparently, the UPS man knew about the sweater disaster.

On a Happier Note

We got a new camera.

Here's a normal picture...



Here's the same subject, under intense scrutiny...



On the bobbin is hand-dyed Tussah Silk from Franquemont Fibers.

I felted it.

Yes, the Jamie Jumper.

Yes, I'm still crying.

After initial blocking, it was about a foot too long for Mr. Robincat. So, I thought.. hrm... front load washer + handwash cycle = success. I forgot one factor.

Patons Merino felts like a motherf*cker. (Sorry, G'mamom, there was really no other word for this.)

I'll post pics after I quit beating my head against the wall and finish stretching it out to Mrs. Robincat size.

I need chocolate... or valium... or a stiff drink... or a good... nevermind. I need a frackin' time machine.

Okay.. I'm ready to do some "after" pictures. I think it's salvageable, but I may have to cut off the sleeves and call it a vest. I'm having trouble with the left arm, but everything else is actually stretching to his size (and not shrinking back when I turn my head). Of course, the cabling is much subdued now, but he kinda likes that look.

The Jamie Jumper is DONE!

This is a sweater I've been working on since last November for Mr. Robincat. He's very picky when it comes to clothing, so he got a custom designed aran where he got to pick out the yarn, cables, shoulder-shaping, collar, etc. The yarn is Patons Merino Classic in Natural Marl. It's 48", so that should tell you how much I love my husband.

It's been a royal pain in the ass, but the jumper is finished! I did the little dragon heads this morning. It's still wet and I know the pictures leave much to be desired, but I wasn't waiting for it to dry.

If you want the pattern, you're going to be out of luck. Sorry, but we did a quite a bit of "try it on and knit a little" the whole way through. Also, the center panel is straight out of an Elsebeth Lavold book and I'm not sure how much trouble I'd get in if I published that chart.

The underarm gussets are out of Knitting Ganseys, by Beth Brown-Reinsel, and the shoulder-shaping is hybrid raglan, a la Elizabeth Zimmerman. The 1x1 rib polo collar is of my own devising. Not sure how well it's going to work until he wears it a bit, so I might end up ripping it out and inserting a crew neck (or just grafting it together in the center and sewing it down on the inside).

I'm perfectly aware that the proportions look way wonky, but I swear, it actually does fit him like a glove. Maybe I should start designing for the big & tall men's crowd.....

My Fingers Are Confused

I'm currently working on a 3-fiber cabled 3-ply yarn and my fingers are starting to get confused. The first two singles (z) are done and plied together into a semi-spiraled Blue-Faced Leicester and silk combo (s). Now, I'm working on the third single (s). I'll be plying this single (Falklands) with the aforementioned combo.

Yes, I know there are other ways of making a 3-ply yarn. I've done Navajo. I've done strict 3-ply. I'm not looking for an alternate solution. I'm aiming for the yarn that I'm making. I'm just saying that my fingers are very, very confused with their first attempt at making an s-twist single. We're managing it, but it does get a little odd when I have to untwist a slub.

Fortunately, though, my feet are stupid little sheep and just do as they're told. :)

Since it stopped raining for a few moments, here's some pictures of what I have so far....







The Rio (purple) Falklands is from Pippi Knee Socks, the Bluebell (indigo) Tussah Silk is from Franquemont Fibers, and the Blue Topaz BFL is from The Fiber Denn.

Consoling Myself with Yarn

So, wouldn't you know it, the lid of my teapot broke this morning. Apparently, the teapot doesn't like the new cosy.

I hope my even older teapot fits into the cosy. Where my blue one was fat and short, the older one is white, tall, and skinny. We'll see when I get it washed. It's been on a shelf over the stove for years.. urgh.

Anyway, I needed to console myself and there was a post on Knittyboard that The Loopy Ewe had Wollmeise in stock. I went to go see and they had a beautiful green and blue colorway, Wellensittichvogelfeder, which is German for "budgie feather." Perfect for some sockems for Mr. Robincat. I spent $30 that I probably shouldn't have, but I feel better... and that's what really counts.

My Tea Kept Getting Cold...

So I knitted a tea cosy....




This is probably the ugliest tea cosy ever, but my tea kept getting cold. The yarn is hand dyed (with Adams food coloring), hand spun Targhee wool.

And as requested... an up close and personal shot....

What the Teleknitter sent me...

And what I spun from it....






(I know it's got my tags on it, but it's personal stash.. :) )

Apparently, I'm a....

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Purist. You are an accomplished knitter producing beautiful pieces with a classic feel. You sometimes lament losing half of your local yarn shop to garish novelty yarns. Perhaps you consider fun fur scarves the bane of knitting society and prefer to steer new knitters towards the wool and cotton blends. Some might call you a bit of an elitist but you know that you've been doing this craft long enough to respect the history behind it and honor it with beautiful piece that can last a lifetime. http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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Good Day

Somehow, today is turning out just peachy.

I got mosquito repellent thingies for the back yard.

I moved 4 barrows 10 barrows of chipped wood to the back yard.

I got a can of Fix-A-Flat for the wheelbarrow (see above).

I got friends lined up to help me raise the roof on the kids' fort (last thing to do) on Monday.

And I persuaded Mr. Robincat that getting lawn service was much more cost efficient than buying a riding lawn mower! Which means the lawn is MOWN!!!! Like for real!!!

Just a Little Gripe

It's still raining. My children are really tired of the inside of our house. Hell, I'm tired of the inside of my house.

Apparently, every parent in Austin also has the same feelings, because on the rare occasion that I try to take the kiddos somewhere kid-friendly, it's packed to the gills and miserable. Not to mention, loud. Very loud.

What makes it worse is that we have not 1, not 2, not 3, but FOUR parks within very easy walking distance of our house. Not to mention the almost-completed-except-for-the-roof (STILL) playscape in the mosquito-infested back lawn. I just want one freaking day where I can take the toddler duo to the park and not worry about getting caught in the rain or, be still my beating heart, the chance to take them to the very local, very nice, very inexpensive water park.

Oh, yeah. And that "why don't you get together with some other parents" thing? Well, we're all work-at-home parents except for one, who works out of the home second-shift. Scheduling these little monkeys is a nightmare. Not to mention that due to the RAIN, Mr. Robincat is driving the mom-mobile to work on Mondays and Thursdays instead of the motorcycle that he should be using. Therefore, more scheduling nightmares.

Toddlerette is begging to "please find me some friends." She's decided that if she proclaims that "it is dry park day today," that the rain won't fall. It hasn't worked yet. Nothing is sadder than driving past a park and hearing, "Where did all my friends go??" At this age, everyone is her friend. God forbid we go to the bank, which is (in dry weather) conveniently located en route to the house of her friends with a pool. Then I get to hear the whole exposition on "Today is swimming day." Uh, no sweetie. You hear that loud noise and see those bright flashes? That's lightning. Not to mention the whole "One needs to wait until one is invited," thing that 3-year-olds just somehow don't get.

Uberboy is just all around grumpy. Of course, those new teeth aren't helping any.

On a lighter note, they both have haircuts now. I'm almost scared to post pictures because Toddlerette's is SHORT. She said she wanted hair to match her daddy's, and we decided that it was just hair after all, so I took her to have it cut short. She loves it. I love it. Mr. Robincat wasn't too sure at first, but once he realized that it only takes 4 seconds to wash now, he loves it. My mom is going to freak, though. Uberboy's hair is shorter now, too. I cut it today with the handy-dandy Wahl shaver with a #2 guard. He looks bald now, but he wears it quite well. Don't worry, people. I didn't shave mine off. It still looks as dowdy as ever.

But in the good news section.... I finally found a swim top that fits!!! And not a tank, either. It's a real bikini! I had to go to Macy's and search and search. And pay through the nose. But it has real cup sizes! (You gals from the knittyboard will understand why this is such a big deal for me.) Of course, no pictures because I haven't gotten a nice day and car on a day that the local pools have been open. At this point it would take an act of God for that to happen. Oh yeah, I bought some shorts, too. For the first summer in 4 years, I have shorts. Yes, like the kind that actually show leg. Not that they'll do me any good with the constant friggin' rain, though....

Tired of me whining? Yeah, I am, too. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

beep. beep. beep. beep. beep. beeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

First commenter who knows what the above line is gets ...uh.... hrmmm.... a knitted dishcloth? Yeah. That's it. A knitted dishcloth. (Robin is immediately swamped by wildly guessing commenters. *insert sarcasm*)

Gotta Love That Sliver

Sliver. It's pronounced with a long "i". It rocks my world.

See.... half a pound of sliver (more or less.... well, less actually.)

Sliver in it's "tube" form.

Sliver becoming merino handspun.

And finally, the handspun on the bobbin.



Lastly, I am now afraid of my toddler's ability to use electronic gadgets... such as a playaway digital "book on tape." Scary, huh?

Secret Pal Happy Dance

I'm doing the Secret Pal Happy Dance right now.

That right there in the middle is an issue of Spin-Off!, which I only dream of subscribing to.

On the left is a dark marine blue packet of 80g of a Corriedale Cross and Alpaca blend.

On the right is a lovely brown 100g packet of Shetland, drumcarded by my Secret Pal herself.

Toddlerette's comment on the blue packet: "Mommy, that is some LUXURY woof!" I taught her well. Just turned three and already knows her "luxury woof."

First Published Pattern

Ok, I have to brag a little on myself. I published a pattern. It's an exclusive for Zen String and they're on my feet RIGHT NOW.

By the way, I like pools of color, so if you're a striping or non-pooling gal, they may not be for you....

Click this LINKY for a picture.

There's another pattern (and a half) on the way.... sneak peeks are on flickr....