Strange Winds

What a strange 24 hours for weather reporting in Houston. Usually if there is storm headed our way, we watch it for days and the newscasters spend a lot of time reminding people of preparations they need to make.

But this was really different. When I left the house yesterday morning it was a tropical low pressure system that would bring lots of rain. Next time I checked the radio it was Tropical Depression 9. Then Tropical Storm Humberto. By the time I left work they were talking about school closings. At dinner time it was aimed right at us. I went to bed expecting to be awoken in the wee hours by howling winds and pounding rains.

But when I poured my coffee this morning, my spouse said -- surprise! -- it had been upgraded to Hurricane Humberto. Huh, I thought, as I looked at the slightly-low pool level and the neat dry back yard. And surprise #2, it had scooted on up the coast almost to Louisiana.

The kids were disappointed that they had to go to school. (Hello! Hurricane! did you think we'd have electricity for video games?) Today was dry and partly cloudy. We're not even getting the three days of rain we expected from the low pressure system. Very strange.

Finished: Josephine

After several late nights when I should have been working (or sleeping so that I could stay awake at work the next day), I finished Josephine last night. I am prouder of this project than any other I have finished in a very long time. The knitting itself looks good, it fits well, and the finishing work came out beautifully. I think all the sock knitting -- with picking-up of gusset stitches -- has really helped me to pick up edges and do seams. This is the most "professional" job I've ever done on a sweater.



A detail of the cap sleeve -- I love the short-row shaping and the little rolled edge:

And a close up of hte V-neck:

And an apology for the lighting in these pictures. We have yet another storm coming in off the Gulf, and dry spots with natural light will be non-existent for the next several days. So my loving spouse hauled his shop lights into the house and set them blaring. Not ideal, but I couldn't bear to wait until the sun came back.

So, the details:

• Pattern: Jospehine, from the Spring'07 issue of Interweave Knits
• Yarn: Shoeller & Stahl "Mama Mia", mercerized cotton, purchased from Elann.com several years ago for a project I never started. Ball band gage 24 sts/10cm.
• Needles: Addi Turbo circulars -- size 5 for most, size 4 for the sleeve bind off
• Modifications: Added ~2" between the eyelet row and the start of the arm hole. Started the neck shaping at the same time as armhole shaping (rather than just above the eyelet row.) I didn't intend to increase the armhole depth, but ended up adding ~3/4" due to a slight miscalculation on the neck decreases -- and I'm glad I did. The pattern calls for very tight arm holes.
• Wish I'd done different: I wish I had seen Sandi's wonderful posts on ease before I started this sweater. I chose a size with zero ease, and actually hoped the fabric would grow a bit so the sweater wouldn't be too tight. Now I wish I had gone with a couple or three inches of negative ease. The swatches didn't shrink when I washed and dried them flat, but now that it seems likely that the sweater will grow, I'm going to toss them in dryer and see what I get.
• Learned for next time: If I want to modify a pattern, I need to DRAW A FULL SCHEMATIC FIRST. I ended up reworking the back because I tried to work out the revised instructions without referencing a schematic. And I will likely re-use the finishing techniques on other sweaters I do.

I also learned, or am reminded, why I have avoided knitting sweaters by hand. Heavy gages are too warm to be wearable in Houston, but small gages take stinkin' forever to knit! I'm glad I knit this sweater, but I won't be doing another by-hand sport weight top anytime soon.

That said, the thing that I really really really want to start next is the Norah Gaughan's Origami Cardi from the same IK. I plan to do the fun pattern stitch bands by hand, then do the large boring stockinette sections on the knitting machine.

Maybe I'll wrap up a couple of UFO's before I start that, though.

Postscript: Panda Cotton Monkeys

Just a quick post to update everyone:

Late last week, I wore the Monkey socks that I made in Panda Cotton. And they were every bit as nice on my feet as they felt to my hand. They felt very thick and cushy, but not too tight in my shoes. And they were comfortable both in my frigid office and for 20-minute stints in 95 degree/90% humidity sauna, I mean, weather.

When it rains...

I'm proud to post some progress at last! First, late last week I finished the 2nd try of the back of Josephine. Both the front and back are now blocked and resting in the guest room, and I'm getting my second wind on this sweater. I can't wait to finish. And in Houston there are, like, 8 more weeks of summer so I'll even get a chance to wear it:










We went to visit my folks near Ft Worth this weekend, and I finished my first, but not last, pair of Monkey's on the drive up there:

Specifics:

• Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in color "Roses" (purchased on-line from the Loopy Ewe.)
• Pattern: Monkey from Cookie A
• Needles: Umm, mostly US 1 5" Brittany Birch DPN's, but only after failed attempts with Crystal Palace circs (the join wasn't smooth enough for this yarn) and 7" Brittany Birch DPN's
• Modifications: I made the second sock with 5, rather than the specified 6, pattern repeats in the leg. Yeah, that was on purpose. And I did my "typical toe decrease", which included a few rounds of decreasing every round before grafting the last few -- the pattern calls for a more square-ish toe that just seems unnatural to me.
• Other comments: Yes, the yarn is kind of splitty. It took me a few inches of knitting to become consistently split-free. Now that I'm familiar with the yarn, it works up very well. The yarn is also very slippery -- combine that with splitty, and you've got real trouble if you need to back up and correct a mistake. The upside of slippery is that the socks feel like heaven on your feet. I'll definitely work with this yarn again, I just won't choose complicated patterns. And I'll definitely make Monkey's again. The pattern is completely addictive and practically flies off the needles.

I worked on another pair of Panda Cotton socks on the way home, but that will be another post.

The End Already?

Tomorrow is the first day of school. It's hard to believe, even though this was a longer-than-typical summer. Our legislature decided school shouldn't start until 1 week before Labor Day (rather than mid-August), but since the length of the school year is unchanged I have no idea what the benefit is. The cynic in me suggests it is a one-time shift in cash flow so that the state finances look a smidge better going into an election year. But I'm sure it really was about Childhood and Summer and Family Time Together, as our lawmakers suggested. Next summer break will be 10 weeks, just like before, only starting in mid-June.


The boys were on a Boy Scout camp out this weekend, and came home tired and cranky today. E and his best friend had a 3rd boy in their tent who ignored their request to put his bag of M&M's in the chuck box. E retains a bit of his raccoon phobia, but he how has another reason for No Food in The Tent: ants. E came home with 4 or 5 pimply fire ant bites on his face.



While the boys were away, M and I decided to go to a semi-fancy (not kid oriented) restaurant with K in tow. It was almost like going on a real date. While we waited for our order, she read a book and we enjoyed adult conversation. She spoke politely to the waiter, used her flatware appropriately, and kept her napkin in her lap. How wonderful to have proof that we aren't, after all, incapable of teaching children good manners.


I took advantage of the quiet weekend to catch up on housework and to crank out some knitting. At long last, I have finished the front of Josephine:

And holding it up to my front, I believe it will fit as I wanted -- draw cord below my bust, neckline saucy but wearable without an undershirt.

I had been worried that my gage had become erratic, but it looks OK here, even without blocking:

I also frogged the back down to just below the old armhole shaping, and am now in the process of adding some length to match the revised dimensions I used for the front. It's going much faster than I expected, thank goodness. Maybe I'll be able to wear this before it turns cool after all.

Motoring

Despite my long absence from the blogosphere, I have very little knitting to report on.

On Thursday afternoon, we braved the flooding left by Tropical Storm Erin and headed for the airport.

A brief rant: How can some people who live in Houston be so clueless about driving after a heavy rain? Rule #1 of driving a car through water that's a smidge too deep: ONCE YOU START, DON'T STOP. If you stop, the wake you created will wash back up your tailpipe. And then you are stuck in the middle of an intersection, blocking the way of the rest of us who aren't clueless.

Even though it took us triple the normal time to get to the airport, our flight was only delayed by about an hour, and my eldest son and I arrived in Maryland...well, pretty stinking late. And on Friday, my brother and I went down to his bank and transferred ownership of this baby:

Friday afternoon, my son and I began the long trek back to Houston, including a celebratory side trip through Shenandoah National park, where I took the picture.

I had lured R to accompany me on this trip by promising frequent stops for Frappucinos. Two hours into Day 2, I finally spotted a Starbuck's. Why is it there are 7 Starbuck's within 5 miles of my house, but not a single damned one visible along Interstate 81? I thought they outnumbered McDonald's, and there were plenty of those. Next time I will do my research before I make promises I can't honor. But at least we found one:

For some reason -- well, one of two reasons -- R insisted we drive all the way west across Tennessee rather than dropping diagonally across the South. I suspect he was influenced by his dad's worry about driving an unfamiliar car through the numerous storms blanketing the South. But Ryan said he "just wanted to see Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis."

Spotted from a rest stop near the eastern Tennessee line:

That's a building on the other side of the freeway -- the "neck" is a breezeway to another building. We noted that billboards in Knoxville claimed it was the Birthplace of Country Music. Memphis welcomed us to the Birthplace of Rock and Roll. We spent a fair amount of time talking about guitars and rock-n-roll.

On Sunday afternoon we finally arrived back home. And I'm pleased to report that the MINI was every bit as fun to drive as it looks. It was a blast driving it across country. I'm starting to wonder what other road trips I can fit into my calendar...

Back in the Saddle

Mid-week my new US sz 1 DPN's arrived in the mail, so I was able to get going on the Monkey's again. I got in some time at restaurants and some time while chatting with friends last night, and I am now about 1 repeat away from beginning the toe decreases:

I also worked a few hours on Josephine during the evenings at home and have finished the lace section of the front. Since summer here will last until October, the odds are looking good that I'll get to wear it this year despite the delays and rework.

And our friends whose critters we tended last week returned from Wyoming bearing thank-you gifts. T-shirts for most of us, but this was for me:

A 100g ball of Tofutsies from a yarn store in Wyoming. I think only the best kind of friend helps you build your sock-yarn stash when she is not herself a knitter!

On the music front, 15YO R reminded me of my promise -- that if he worked hard to learn guitar using his dad's old acoustic, then we would buy him an electric guitar set-up. He seems to spend about half his waking hours with a guitar in his hand, so yesterday I made good:

That is an actual smile on his face -- more rare than you could imagine. And the smile stayed on his face for the rest of the day.

And finally, a picture from my garden. Although we rudely transplanted them in the spring and have had freakishly cool/rainy weather for most of hte summer, the birds of paradise decided to bloom after all. So beautiful it makes August in Houston worthwhile: