I.O.U.

I owe you pictures.  My computer is back, just the same as ever, though I appreciate it more now.

But I owe you pictures.

Rogue

The hood is taking forever for some reason.  I'm enjoying this, but I am also ready to wear it.  And there's been some startitis (all from stash, thankyaverymuch).

Remember project spectrum?  Well, last day of April, here's my entry:

The sock yarn is my prize for being randomly selected as a winner in Sandy's blogiversary contest.  Cool beans.  I'm making a Claudia sock.  Apparently, the picot edging virus was transmitted via the yarn.  Sandy's doing the same.  On the right is a swatch for a maybe vest in Rowan Silken Tweed in copper.  I actually started it, and then for the first time ever, I found out why they always say "join in round BEING CAREFUL NOT TO TWIST STITCHES."  Doh.  A whole video movie's worth of knitting (Elizabethtown--odd), down the tubes.  Oh well, I think I'm going to go a different way with the ribbing anyway.

I'm back on the job with the cashgora.  Justine should have her final wedding shawl installment in the next week or two.

And despite not being fancy enough to be able to moblog like Judy, I did get a shot of the Most Excellent potluck lunch at the CT Sheep & Wool festival.  Note to self: knitters+potluck=really a lot of delicious, homemade, wonderful food.  Do not worry about not having enough.

Sunshine, food, knitters, and good conversation.  Good stuff.  Of course, everyone seemed to, erm, skitter off, after lunch.  I think they might have been avoiding me.  I couldn't even enable anyone into a (rather expensive, but still nice) polwarth fleece.  The kids had a blast up until the end when exhaustion caught up with them and there was a balloon incident (yes, it was me you were staring at with the two kids throwing themselves on the ground screaming, sigh).  When we finally got in the car, it was about 5 minutes before they were out cold.  Too much excitement.  Still.  The kids loved it, but it will be fun to go to NH and have some mom-time too.

I haven't had an official modeling of Henry's green sweater, so here's a pick from the fest that I like:

No, we didn't buy the sheep. 

Tomorrow is my first day as a regular employee.  I've been there since last February, but I'm strangely nervous.  Life is weird sometimes, isn't it?

Comments

[jessie]

I've never done a hood on a full=size sweater but I did on a baby sweater and it took FOREVER even then. The hood is like half the square footage of the total! (Esp. on a baby, I imagine.)

Also, I'm impressed you could take your kids with you. My daughter, at 6, has never been impressed with anything like that, and I consider it a yearly vacation when I leave her with a sitter and spend the day at the VT S&W. She doesn't even like the animal barn at the county fair. "Boring."

And last, a little birdie from western MA told me you went to Simon's Rock. I grew up in South Egremont. My stepmother lives in Gt. Barrington now and I go back there all the time. The Berkshires, they have changed.

[Kelly]

It was nice meeting you on Saturday. We had to leave shortly after the picnic. We had been there sinice opened practically and the kids were a tad burnt out. My son really enjoyed playing with Henry and he talked about it all the way home. Your Rogue looks great.

[Kathy]

Enjoy your "first" day :-) Thanks SO much for organizing the picnic -- such fun! And yummy to boot. We will trade "mom" places at NH -- I'll be the stressed-out-looking one trying to buy roving!

[Laurie]

Ooh. It's a good thing I wasn't there. I remember Cummington last year, as Risa latched her greedy fingers on a Polwarth fleece. I thought she was slightly titched. Now, I get the Polwarth thing.

Rogue looks beautiful. The color is luscious..reminds me of summer berries. Something about an almost completed WIP is very enticing, also.

Deep breaths, and it's the same job. I remember ohsowell the same feeling when I started the real job...same place I had been for 2.5 years, but it was Different.

[Carole]

The picnic was aweesome - really, the highlight of the day for me. But where was I when you needed to help someone buy a fleece? I came home fleeceless.

[Cynthia]

What an awesome picnic, and thank you. The small boy in my party was about three seconds from a meltdown when we skittered away. He, too, threw a good-sized tantrum, as he was sad to leave the sheep. I couldn't much blame him...

You hereby have my permission to con me into a fleece next time. And for the record, the kid's sweaters and your Samus were beautiful. Good luck on the job :)

[claudia]

Virus.

he he he

I'm very flattered.

[--Deb]

Looks like you had a great time!

And, the twisted join? Here's what I do on the rare occasion when that happens. I'll actually keep knitting until I have about an inch of knitting on my needle, so I can really see what's going on. Then, when I get to the start of the row, where the twist happened, I drop the stitch and unravel down to the cast-on. Then manually untwist your knitting on the needles until it's hanging straight. Where you've dropped your stitch, you'll have a standard ladder, and a twist at the cast-on. But who really cares about a little jog of a twist in a cast-on row? Just pick up the stitch, reworking the ladder as with any dropped stitch, and voila. It's fixed without any frogging. Clever, no?

[Cheryl]

Looks like a good little festival. But those pictures are getting me in the mood for NHS&W.

[Cara]

Great pictures all - hope you're having a good "first" day!!!

[Kellee]

My dear, fear not about your enabling abilities. I could "hear" you all the way from the picnic area when I hit the polwarth yumminess. Not a whole fleece's worth of enabling, mind you (really, it was just about the cash), but it's possible that a pound or two may have followed me home.

Thanks for organizing the picnic. It was great to see you, and hopefully there will be a bit more time for the relaxing part at NH.

[Juno]

Polworth....my lower lip is stuck out.

I wanna nice polworth fleece.

[Imbrium]

Doesn't that twist come as such a surprise? I always wondered how anyone could make that mistake, until the Knitting Goddess chose to humble me in a most persuasive manner.

[Dianna]

I love the color of your Rogue - it is reminding me that once I finish the wedding shawl for DIL-to-be, I must return to mine! Thanks for sharing photos of the fest in CT!

[Jessica]

Lovely pictures! Nice to see you again on Saturday too. If it makes you feel any better your enabling last year at Rhinebeck carried over to this weekend when I bought more roving. ;)

[Sue]

I LOVE your rogue! That color is beautiful, and it's coming along nicely. I am stalled just short of where you are now... the hood seems like it takes longer than the body! I think it's all the turning of the whole big thing to purl back, instead of knitting in the round... or maybe I'm just distracted by all the socks I keep starting!

Enjoyed the photos.. good luck at your new(?) job.

[Mel]

Feel free to enable me at NH. David will probably be whispering in my other ear reminding me how big the stash is growing. :-)

[Sneaksleep]

Mmmm, I'm hungry. I am completely enamored of your color choice for Rogue. And Henry's adorable in his sweater, btw.

[Jenny]

Wow - Rogue is beautiful, and that color will look great on you! I like the orangey socks, too, very happy. Your comments on Melanie's blog were excellent, by the way - I added a few of my own, too. Have fun at all the festabals this spring! I wish I were going to Maryland to meet everyone this year. Maybe next year...

[Rabbitch]

Yummy Rogue! Every time I see that sweater it reminds me that I need to make one for myself. You've done a lovely job.

[christine]

Great pictures! Man oh man, there sure were a lot of people who traveled to CT.

You should have bought the sheep.....:)

[Kathode Ray Tube]

Hi Mamacate;

I enjoy your blog a lot. What is the yarn you used to knit that lovely green sweater that Henry is wearing??

Thanks!

[JoAnne]

I sat NEXT to you guys at CT sheep & wool! I wondered who that huge group of women could be...if you recall a very large woman with 1 redhead and 1 brunette girl sitting closer to the main road on your side, that was ME!!!