Wednesday ...

Its Wednesday, that inevitably blah day in the middle of the week. Well there is one good thing about Wednesdays in my life ... they are also payday!

The Quidditch sweater is finally complete! It was only a year and a half in the making, LOL! I seamed it up this past Sunday. I was thinking that I would not want to knit another adult sweater any near time in the future, but when I saw the completed item and was able to put it on ... whoosh! I am hooked. I immediately cast on another sweater. This one is more of a summer design, so hopefully I finish it up this summer and can wear it. Its the V-Neck Cardigan by Deborah Newton (Ravelry link).

I am still working on the room, I am taking a week off the week after next and hope to complete it during that time at home.

I am working on another podcast for this month, stay tuned ...

Is it really June?

You wouldn't know if you were in New England. Its been in the 40s - 50s in the mornings and only getting into the low 60s during the day. Its been raining for a week straight now, yesterday was sunny and nice but its raining again today. Yuck! I am thinking of seaming up my Quidditch Sweater that is sitting in the closet that I gave up on because I was thinking it was getting too warm to wear it and I would finish it at the end of the Summer or beginning of Fall ... well I could have worn it about 10 times in the last month! Yes, a sweater in June!

I made a lot of progress yesterday on my craft/knitting/computer room. I finished sanding the remaining wall and one of the window frames, which was the double. The window frame that is left to be sanded is only a single. Since we went to Home Depot Friday night and saw the types of molding available I have a better idea of how much of the wall imperfections I can cover and I think that I will leave the 1/2" edge of the walls where they meet the ceiling as they are for now and if the plaster blobs and bumps that I didn't completely sand down interfere with the molding, I can just cut the sections out with the utility knife when I put the molding up and cover it with that. This way I can stop trying to perfect the walls that will be covered up by molding anyway, LOL!!

At this point I have to remove the remaining door trim, which I left the top of because when removing it I noticed that it appears that the trim was the only thing holding the door frame in the wall! Since I am getting wider trim to replace it I don't have to worry about sanding or painting right to the trim that is currently in place and can remove it when I am ready to install the new trim. There's a switch for the closet light that is too close to the corner of the wall that needs to be moved out a few inches, then the hole patched. There is an old switch box on another wall with live wires in it that needs a new blank plate or the wires to be pulled and the hold patched, we haven't decided yet what will work best. The ceiling has the old access to the attic, which was later replaced by drop down stairs in the hallway, so we haven't yet decided to replace the old trim to match better to close off the access and patch the ceiling. Decisions, decisions ...



This photo shows some of the paint drips and plaster imperfections. Anything white is something that stood out from the surface of the wall and was sanded off. The other more uniform white spots are holes and dents I patched with plaster.



This photo shows the switch that is way too close to the other wall. And more of the bad plaster and paint job.

I learned a lot on this project ... things like thoroughly inspect the wall close to other architectural objects like window frames before sanding like a maniac ... you might find a soft spot and shove your hand sander right through the wall. Or cleanly cut the drywall tape with a SHARP utility knife before pulling it ... or you might pull a chunk of drywall paper off the wall too. Good thing a tub of plaster is cheap!

FO: Socks for Mom

Yarn: Red Heart - Heart & Sole and Patons
Needles: Addi Turbo Size 3.0mm
Pattern: Made Up
Finished: 5/30/09

Redoing & Repairs

On both the home and knitting fronts. I finished a V-Neck Tank Top from an issue of Vogue Knitting (the whereabouts of the magazine I don't know at the moment, I was working from a working copy of the pattern). I made the size small which was a 37" bust and apparently I should have gone with the x-small of 35" bust (I'm a 34") but when I was looking at the pattern I noticed that it said "loose fitting" so that's why I went with the small. Also, my gauge was 16 sts when the pattern called for 14 sts - also why I choose to work the bigger size. I blocked it like a good doobie, which was also apparently a mistake - I really should have tried it on around my body before deciding to block it to measurements of the pattern, it probably would have fit fine as it was.



I finished seaming it last night. I tried it on to find that it is indeed "loose fitting" ... so loose it looks quite silly. I could have shortened the straps, but then it would turn into a half tank top and the bottom rested about an inch above my belly button. So instead I decided to try and reverse block it, by blocking it lengthwise to get more length and also bring in the width of it. It seems like it might work, as its pinned it appears to be 14" in width from the 18 1/2" it was. I have it pinned and drying now hoping this will solve the problem. Then if I still have to shorten the straps, I'll have enough length in the body to do it.

On the home front I am preparing my computer / knitting room for painting. In order to do this I have to sand and repair the walls. The previous owners either really didn't care or they let young children paint, I haven't quite figured it out - because some rooms are done with more care and effort, but not quite right. They did not tape off any molding or trim, so it all has to be sanded to remove color from the edges. They did not tape off the ceiling, so it also has to be repainted to hide the old color splotches at the edges. They painted over some switch and outlet plates, yet left a half inch around others. They painted right over the baseboards, but stopped about a half inch from the floor. Baseboards had to be chiseled and pryed loose from the wall because they were secured tight with layers of paint before being removed. They did drywall tape the wall and ceiling joints ... horribly so its bubbling and warping and full of plaster chunks so all that has to be removed and repaired. It appears they plastered portions of the walls but didn't bother sanding it down before painting over it. Oh did I mention they used thick glossy paint, in two different colors?!?!? Its quite a mess for being the smallest room in the house, hahaha!! I've been working on it for a few weeks now and probably still have a few weeks to go before I can paint.

I moved all my stuff (papers, bills, yarn, knitting, other craft stuff, books, magazines, etc.) including desk and computer into the dining room for the time being. I am feeling quite restless and uneasy with all my stuff in boxes thrown here and there ... I don't like that. I am hoping I can get this room finished up in a few weeks and get everything back organized and tidy before I ultimately go insane.

Stripes Interrupted

This is the second time while working with a self striping yarn that I came across a knot where the yarn ended and the new strand began. This time it was Red Heart "Heart & Sole" yarn. However, they were kind enough to tie it on in the same pattern as the yarn before it. I had this happen before with a different brand and the new yarn was reversed from what I had been working with so the stripes didn't match up after the knot, I had to unknit several rounds and wind the yarn out of the skein and reverse it for the second sock to match the first. So at least all I had to do here was pull out several repeats of color until I was back where I was supposed to be and go from there :o)

Here some of the Hummingbirds that visit our deck. I LOVE hummingbirds, they move so quick though its hard to bird watch them, LOL!!

The sun is trying to come out

Its been one of those days where the sun keeps trying to come out, but the clouds keep hiding it. Its about 60 degrees out today, but a little chilly because of the lack of sun. Yesterday was nice, not too hot and sunny.

I finished one of the socks for my mom's birthday, took about a week. So I am confident that I will have them done in time, the end of the month. I also picked up a tank top that I started eons ago, then ripped out because I realized in my uneducated beginnings I was doing it wrong and the gauge was bad too so I don't think it would have fit, and started it back up a couple of months ago. Now the back is almost complete, will probably finish that today and maybe cast on the front.

I finished planting all of my pansies yesterday before they died a horrible sun drenched dehydrated death in the small plastic flat containers from the nursery. You'd think if it rained for two days they wouldn't need to be watered! Apparently one morning of sun dried them up.

Last weekend we went to a small sheep farm to see the babies. Its a lovely piece of property with rolling hills and lots of trees around all the fields. The weather was perfect for being outside.

The above two are the rams.


Here are some of the babies sleeping in the afternoon.

And here's one of the babies that the owner said were extra tame and could be mingled with.

Revelations of a Delusional Knitter - Episode 2

Episodes can be downloaded from Revelations of a Delusional Knitter

News & Stuff

Building a hibachi ... 2 silly adults and rum and coke

Riley

Everything is green and blooming

Knitters' Guild Meeting

New MP3 Player & Audible.com

Law & Order and Castle

What I'm Currently Knitting

Prince of the Wood Elves Socks in Tinsel Toes

Finished Objects

Coriolis Socks - New Pathways for Sock Knitters
Hobbiton Socks - The Unique Sheep
Reavers Socks - Christina Marie Potter

Book Review

The Eclectic Sole by Janel Laidman