Pink Wallaby Done!

Ta Da! The Pink Wallaby is all done!

Pink Wallaby, Knit Picks Options size 6 and 8. Cotton Ease, color Berry, Start date: July 18th, End date: July 29th.
Well, that was just another lovely project. If you look closely, the left side pocket trim is a little messed up. I don't know what happened. I should've left it alone. I had a spot of looser stitches so I tried to distribute them better with a crochet hook and got carried away and had this giant loop mess thing going on....It's OK, kid's clothing. I would've redone it had it been for me. I also made the stockinette stitch hood this time, stretchier and can be worn more comfortably and for a longer period of time. I made the sleeves two at once, magic looping and they got done very quickly. This was a very nice short project and will be added to my Christmas knitting.

I am also picking up the Jaywalkers once more and hopefully they will get done this week. I cannot find two things in the house and it's very annoying. Honest, I am a very good record keeper. I used to be an excellent record keeper when it was just me. Now that there are four of us, there are more records to keep. Anyway, the day before I took my last vacation, I think that was June 28th or so, I took my socks book to work and my poncho pattern to work. I can't write on the poncho pattern, it's laminated. So, I made ONE COPY for my PERSONAL use. I stuck it in my sock book and put it in my laptop bag. I have the books but not the pattern or the copy. I have looked all over and I am beginning to think that I left it at work. I will look tomorrow, tear apart my desk.

The other thing that I can't find is more important. For the past 14 years, I have had the same car. It's a nice 1994 Mercury Sable. It's on it's second engine. That's a long story, but here's the cliff notes...the car was recalled due to an O ring problem. I brought it back in but the mechanics at the dealer told me it was my imagination. I guess that the temp gauge is supposed to go up and down, a symptom of the problem. If the problem isn't corrected, the engine blows. I brought the car home and drove it for the next week and it drove and sounded like *$_D@@#. So, I pull into the gas station by my house......I put the thing in for the gas to pump...I pay at the pump, I get back in and BANG!!! The engine blew right there. The nice man who had dollar signs in his eyes, came over and helped me move it out of the way and I walked home. The dealer had to go there, tow it, fix it. Somehow I had to pay $1,100 but I don't remember the details, this was years ago. I kept the car like new. I hardly drove, being I worked in the city and oftentimes just walked to the train. Later, we bought a minivan and I gave this car to hubby who ran it into the ground and had the inside looking like crap. It now has 101,000 miles on it. Whoever has the kids takes the minivan and being he's a teacher and home for the summer, he has the van and the kids and I commute in the car. The other day, temp gauge problems. It turned out to be the thermostat but the mechanic told us "It's time". You know, like when the vet tells you, "She's in pain". So, Friday night on the way home from work, I bought a Chevy Equinox. It's nice and we get it on Tuesday night. I got the LS with side air bags, FWD, sunroof. There isn't much optional equipment that I would want so I was happy with the base model.

Oh yes, back to what I was saying, what to do with my Merc? I can't find the title so I didn't trade it in, not that I'd get anything for it. I tore apart the house and still can't find the title. I am letting one of my friends at work look at it tomorrow and if he wants it, he can make me an offer. If he doesn't, I'll donate it and get a small tax deduction. He's a good mechanic and can fix it and sell it or whatever. After that, the plates come off and we wait for my replacement title to come in the mail. Another $20 that I didn't need to spend but what the heck, I've gone through thousands of dollars this summer and I just don't know where it's coming from.

We still have to fix the leak in the kitchen and we need a new front door. And we bought a pool a camera and a car instead! Some people never grow up, right?

We were supposed to go and see the first place minor league team, the Long Island Ducks play tonight but the game got rained out and postponed until Monday, August 6 at 7:05PM. I guess they'll pick me up at work that night and we'll head on out. We'll see. Should be fun. We'll be going with the Day Care Crew. You know, my son has more friends that I do...!

Still learning how to use the camera a bit. I have to tinker some more. It's fun!

Well, back to the Jaywalkers!

It's Soup!

It's Soup!? No, the Wallaby isn't finished. But, the new camera is in and I just HAVE to show you a few of the pictures that I took with it. Here is a picture of one of my Lillies. I think it's called "Star Gazer" or something to do with the Fourth of July, maybe, like "Liberty"? I forget. The detail is truly amazing. I cropped the picture to see what I would lose. Check it out! Makes for nice wallpaper on my desktop.

"Flowers at the Playground"
Go ahead, double click on it, zoom in. Do the same with the leaf. You can see things you didn't even know were there!!! I gotta find me a spider or some bugs to show you! WOW!

"Sunset at the Supermarket"

Check out the little tiny leaf..Isn't that the coolest??? Looka that detail! I call this shot "Leaf on Playground". That background is that rubbery stuff they have on the playground. Probably made out of recycled rubber. Kids don't play in sand and glass like I used to.

Unfortunately, I had to shrink the leaf picture in order to upload it, these files are gigunda. Really cool though, I love the camera!! Here's another small one of DS and DD, they were moving and it was sunset. This was taken moments before the sunset one above but I used the flash and backlight settings so it came out more 'day like'.

And, I leave you with, "Jaywalker Gusset".....

Now that I have this camera, all of you can find my mistakes! Darn it!

Midweek Quickie Post

Hi everyone! Just have a few minutes before heading out to continue making license plates so I thought I would post.

The size 6 Wallaby on my average sized 3 year old:

I am up to the placket and neck openning, only a tad past where I was when this picture was taken the other day. Remember, I've been reading Harry. I hate having two projects going on. The Wallaby should've been done and I'm only on page 150 or so of Harry. The Jaywalkers sit in my basket. They're up to the gusset decreases now. If I just get past that spot, I'll sail through the foot one morning before work and do the toe at night. The plan: finish this Wallaby, finish the Jaywalkers and start a new Wallaby and a new pair of socks. Big ol' man socks will be next, with Trekking Tweed, a rib pattern that I will pick out very soon.

AND, we'll be taking pictures of everything with the new camera!

That's another reason why I haven't posted or knitted. Last night, kids were in bed and hubby was off teaching a music lesson. The camera arrived yesterday and I read the entire manual. It wasn't that long, I got through it easily. I'm familiar with how cameras work, shutter and aperture, ISO speed and all that. I'm not sure how to take pictures totally on manual though. This morning, I took some shots of my lillies on 'flower' setting. I'll take some more on different settings and hopefully have a nice post for the weekend. Maybe beach (it's own setting) and sunset (also it's own setting) and if it snows, SNOW SETTING! Unfortunately, we'll have to wait awhile to try that out. I am not currently planning a trip to the Southern Hemisphere. This is the first time I've had a camera without a viewfinder. It's weird not holding it up to my face but it's nice because I can take pictures with my glasses on!

The puppy is calming down a bit but still digging holes to China. Hubby and kiddies put bricks under the soil all around the yard so she can't explore the neighbor's yards. We really don't want her to eat the rabbit next door. On the other side, there are two dogs that are each four times her weight and she terrorizes them. My 14 year old Sheltie, Bonnie, has arthritis and Zoey bothers her. Bonnie went to the vet due to limping and is on medicine. She's better today. Other than that, she's in pretty good health for a 14 year old dog. I'll post a picture of her very soon.

This weekend, we are going to a Ducks game with DS's old daycare buddies, a/k/a "The Four Families". We each had a first born boy in daycare at the same time. The kids all will go to different schools but the families are very close. We've vacationed together and everything! It's nice that we stay tight with them. I love them all very much! We are also going to a BBQ at one of the Four Families' house. This will also be a very busy weekend. I'd best get those two new projects started by Saturday morning so I can bring them and be at the easy part for the game.

Harry and the Wallaby

Happy Harry Day! My book arrived yesterday by Owl...I mean postman..I think! At first, when the Postman was walking up to my door, I said, "It doesn't look like you have my Harry book .... " and he said, "No, I do! It's in the bag, I couldn't carry it!" And here it is. Year 7. The Final Year.

He should've sent the Owl.

Having little time this very busy weekend......I am currently on page four.........

We hit the beach today. I brought knitting, not the book. I want to get those sleeves attached tonight. The waves were nice and low and the ocean was quite calm. You can see in the background right here behind my DS who is looking very handsome. He looks alot like my dad there for some reason.

One must always have nothing but respect for the ocean. Even though the waves were calm, there was a rip current. Not too dangerous, not enough wind to drive the waves hard. To those of you from the midwest, I remember seeing crop circles from the airplane when I flew out to Las Vegas. Well, they probably mean something. You might not have ever seen a rip current so I'll explain. It's when the waves break crooked on the beach, sometimes slightly and sometimes really hard. This example is a small rip current. They break and suck the water back through a trough, which forms from the crooked waves. The current in the trough is very strong and can suck you out to sea. To escape, you must swim across the trough and then let the waves carry you back to the beach. You will not be able to swim in a rip current. You would tire easily and possibly drown.

Here is a very small rip current, not too dangerous at this point. The man on the right (ruining my shots!) is standing in water that is pulling back out to sea at a different rate than the rest, forming the gully in the sand. Do you see it? See the girl on the left, on sand, he's still in the water. To his left, sand, to his right, sand. Notice the small wave breaking right at the center of the trough. That's the danger spot. Now watch....

See the two people in the water in the middle of the picture on the shot below? Just behind and to the right of them is a small eddy formed by the rip current. That can become potentially hazardous, particularly if this widens and becomes stronger.

One can never be to leary of the ocean. You never know when you may get that rogue wave!

DS running away as a particularly large one crashes to the shore!

I did go in the ocean and both kids swam in the waves. DS and I get out there and he says, "Ok, let go". So, I did, briefly. He wanted to swim to London...

As for my Cotton-Ease Wallaby, looking good!!!

Wallaby Update!

Have to show you my lovely pink Cotton-Ease Wallaby! Isn't she lovely? It's hard to see how nicely the pocket is fused. It's also hard to see that loose spot on the right that I have. I don't know what happened. I had a looser row of stockinette stitch and i tightened it a bit, working across the row with a little crochet hook. It needs a little more surgery to lie nicer. It's minor and can be fixed. I also haven't woven in the ends yet. It's starting to look more like a size 6. Suggestion: Make the body length longer than the pattern states. If you don't, it'll wind up at belt level, kinda short. I think that pullovers should be a little longer. Also, for a child, they can wear it longer. This is going to be slightly over sized for my THREE year old and it's a size 6. She is in the 65th percentile so she's an average sized three year old. (nearly 4..but still.) So, I suggest you watch the pattern and figure out the chest measurement. Her actual is 23" I believe (I will remeasure later) and the six actual completed is 27" unstretched. Be careful with the sizing for both children and adults. As for the sleeves, I chose the gradual method of increasing and I am magic looping them instead of knitting them flat like I did with hubbies. We'll see how I like a seamless sleeve. It's like making a sock, actually, with increases. Hmmn...this is giving me new ideas.

Here's how to do the sleeves this way. You CAN choose to drive yourself and do this:
1. Cast on half the number of sts for sleeve one. Then cast on ALL of the sts for sleeve two.
2. Put the ends of the needles together and attempt to join sleeve 2. I think...all these ends flapping around, a mess..

The easy way.
1. Using smaller needles, cast on all of the sts for sleeve one and do all of the ribbing. COUNTING THE ROWS.
2. When you've completed the ribbing and it's time to use the larger needle, knit half of the sts on the larger needle and then put the rest on a st holder or DPN. I use a DPN, size doesn't matter.
3. Cast on all of the sts for sleeve two and knit all of the ribbing, same number of rows as sleeve one.
4. Knit all of sleeve two onto the larger needle.
5. Knit the sts from the DPN onto the larger needle and there you have it.
6. At this point, you should have the tails both hanging to the left of each sleeve.
7. Mark beg of row to be at the left edge.
8. Now, magic looping, knit half of one sleeve, half of the other, pull needle through and knit half of the other and half of the original. You should be back at the marker and have completed row two of each sleeve.
9. Don't be an idiot like me. Once in awhile, I've knit socks together and it's a pain to fix, particularly if it's lacy.

I will post a better tutorial, with photos as soon as I get my new toy. Yes, yes, I sprang for a few bucks and ordered this camera. Tee hee. It does everything. We will be trying it out next weekend with beautiful posts of lovely scenery and my socks and sleeves. I can't wait for it to come!!! It has macro and sepia and black and white. Cool, hah?

Well, got a BBQ to attend this PM and I am making Florentine Artichoke Dip. Recipe link next time! Actually, I should post some of my favorite recipes. I've been collecting them for awhile, thinking one day of actually attempting to have a cookbook...we'll see. Need new Meal Master Software though, mine is obsolete. Note to self: look into recipe software.

Harry Potter book hasn't arrived yet. I am going to go and sit in my bow window, waiting attentively for the post man. I sure hope it comes today! I ordered it from Amazon and chose free shipping which means that I shouldn't get it right away but I think I will. I did last time. Oh boy! Now I have to read and knit and work and raise two kids and clean...and blog!

"So little time, so much to do! " , said the rabbit. (That would be the one that got Alice into trouble that day she fell in the hole.

Pink Wallaby

Time for the Wallaby Update. The sleeves were totally ripped out so I am making the official start date yesterday, 18th. I am using Cotton-Ease, color: Berry, Knitpicks Options size 6 and 8 and gauge is exactly on, 4.5sts per inch.

Here's the size 6. I know you can't tell from the photo but this again looks very small. There is no way that it would fit my son, who is a rather small 5 year old so making him a size 6 down the road is out. It will have a chest measurement of 27 inches. I am going to try it on my nearly 4 year old average sized DD and see if it fits her and then give it to her cousin for Christmas. One of her cousins. I have two nieces, one is 4 but petite and this should fit her. The other is 2 and is a bigger girl so we'll see. I was hoping to get two pink Wallabies out of my 7 skeins but it's not looking good. I have to wait until I am past the pocket fuse which is in about 4 rows and then we can see better. Also, I have this on a tiny cable so it's gathered at the top behind the pocket where you can't see. I am still concerned that this pattern runs very much on the small side. Am I the only one who feels this way? I see Wallabies all over the net but I don't see too many people complaining over the sizes they're getting....odd. I really am beginning to like this pattern. I particularly like the way that the pocket is fused, it's ingenious and it's neat and it's nice and perfect. Once you've done it once, it's really a snap.

When I get my 12 megapixel camera, I'll give you nice close-up of the pockets!

I'm gearing up for the new Harry Potter Book! Can't wait to read it but I also can't wait to finish another Wallaby. Stayed tuned for Harry and the Wallaby!

In other news, it appears that the massive headache was at least in part due to sinus issues. I wound up taking Claritin-D yesterday and today and although I am very thirsty, I only had a slight headache today. Certainly nothing to write home about. Thank GOD for that.

The puppy is getting a little bigger and alot stronger. She enjoys rough play from time to time which results in too much crate time. She's done growing and she's a little over 20 lbs but she's solid, sleek muscle. She gets that way from digging holes to China in the backyard.

Yesterday we had a very bad rain storm, as you saw from that picture I took yesterday. There was even a tornado about 15 miles east of here where the conditions seemed much worse. I don't think that this was expected to be as bad as it was. Naturally, it happened during the morning rush and there was alot of flash flooding. Dense, hard rain. I was very glad that my roof didn't leak, which it does do from time to time. Alot of people didn't make it in to work. Fortunately, I was scheduled to telecommute and I did so which was great. Phew!

Beautiful sunset tonight. Only one more month until vacation! I can't wait to see the Adirondacks again. I miss them and I haven't been up there since October.

Well, it's 8:32pm and it's time to knit. The kids are in bed, time to tackle pocket fusion.

Humpday...

It's Wednesday. I've had a headache since Friday, every day except yesterday until 3 or 4PM. I thought it was gone but, alas, it's not. I think the orthodontist gave it to me. I got my braces tightened and it's just not feeling all that great in my mouth and my whole head hurts. This isn't working out too well. I haven't had a headache like this in months....

Speaking of headaches, it's pouring right now. The gardener is supposed to come and cut the grass. He will, of course. They work rain or shine and they love to cut the wet grass so that it has yellow tips. I hate that. I also hate cutting my own grass so there are some things that we have to live with. He'll cut grass even though it looks like this outside right now.



Speaking of headaches, never knit tired and always check your gauge. I did check my gauge, three times, in three different places. I made a nice little swatch and I decided to do the Cottonease Wallaby with size 7 needles. Doesn't work....well, it probably would work but I'm too much of a perfectionist. Enjoy these sleeves while you can, I'm taking them out in a few minutes.




The gauge is supposed to be 4.5 sts per inch and I have 5. I was considering leaving it, being this is for a petite three year old and there are only 112 sts around the body. That would work out to a difference of 2" around the chest. I'm making the size 6 and that would mean that I would get a size 5. Being DH's Wallaby ran so small, it's not worth the risk. I'll go with the bigger size. It also seems that the Cottonease is going through my hands faster than the wool so I will probably use more than expected. I don't know if I'm going to get a size 6 and a size 4 out of my 7 skeins. I'll make the 6 first and then make a stripe of eggshell on the 4 to conserve yardage if need be. Remember, trying to only work on one project at a time and I've been very good about that. That's the only way to knock things out quickly. I'm trying to knit for everyone for Christmas this year and I'm off to a very, very good start. If I wasn't suffering from a headache, I would probably have the right gauge and have more knitted.

What projects are up and coming? I'm thinking about Monkey socks, Grapevine from More Sensational Knitted socks, Embossed Leaves. I am also thinking about the Here there be Dragons socks. They look really cool, don't they? Other projects include more Wallabies. I am going to make an adult one with an overlapping placket, possibly for myself. I may do something funky with the trim, too! We'll see how ambitious I'm feeling. The pattern is fun and is also very easy to modify here and there even for crocheters like me. Speaking of crochet, I must get back to the baby blanket for Number 3 baby on the block. We had two births within a few days of each other and the lady across the street, the one who lives in the house that you can't see because of the heavy rain in the photo above, is expecting! I can whip up a crochetted baby blanket in only a few days as it takes me about 6 minutes to make one square when I'm pushing the tempo. Knitting isn't like that for the most part. I do enjoy knitting the Wallaby body though. It's circular, it's all knit and I can do that mindlessly and fast! That's almost like
crochetting.

In other news, the guppies had more babies. I am a grandmother yet again. I am so happy that the little fish are enjoying themselves, are healthy and living happily in that tank without the skunk loaches. No more ripped fins! The puppy, on the other hand, is being a pest. She is truly gorgeous but she digs holes to China in the backyard. I nearly broke an ankle stepping into one that was 12" deep and 4" wide. She buries bones and toys and rocks! It's the terrier in her....the beagle in her follows her nose and the terrier in her gets her digging. Two desirable traits in a dog.....

Today is a work day, not a beach day. Off to work! Photos of ripped Wallaby to come! Moral of the story: Never knit tired and always do work with a headache. No need to waste valuable time working when you feel good.

Wallaby is Tout Fini!

Ah, another FO! Here is my Wilbur Wallaby, by day, off basking in the sunlight of yesterday's beautiful sunset....

and, by night, playing Phantom of the Opera. You can see how little DD loves her daddy so much. Or maybe, she loves the Wallaby?

You can also see the snugness around the shoulders and waist. This is the large, people! It's supposed to be roomy! I don't buy it.

Well, more tomorrow, off to make a size 6 for my petite niece who is 3.

Socks on the Beach

As suspected, we hit the beach again today. According to the boat and beach report, the water was supposed to be 'rough' and the wave height was four feet. The wave height was a little shy of that and there wasn't much of an undertow. It was a little rough but more like 'choppy'. See: That's my little girl getting some water for her sand castle and my little boy is actually trying out body surfing for the first time. That's his little head bobbing up out of the surf on the left. They had a great time today and I'm exhausted.



Here's another shot of DD helping God as she scoops up a pail of water to bring it towards the sand.

I promised a picture of the twins and here they are working on their tan!

Here's another shot, Harlot Style!

Now, I know looking at my Jaywalkers is a really cool thing to do but I wanted to show you something even cooler! How about, coming home from the beach and actually seeing this?

The kids were amazed. The light turned red, the siren went off and we were second to the first car. They got a good view of the drawbridge going up. The boat that went through is not visible but it wasn't really all that big. It had things on top of it, like cockroach antlers and needed the space.

The camera was in the back of our minivan but I quickly unhooked my seat belt and dove back there for it so I would have a nice shot of the bridge to show you. There was plenty of time to do that before the bridge actually opened.

I can never get tired of wave watching. I love it! I like to be the front blanket, right on the edge so I can feel it, taste it, hear it and live in the salt spray. Ah!! Today, someone snuck down closer to the surf than I, parked themselves right in front of us..oh well... My husband, who I do love dearly, likes to go to the beach for an hour. I would stay for a good part of the day but he doesn't like to stay there all that long. :(

I'm sure we'll enjoy looking back at these beach shots come January so I'll be sure to take some more as there are more beach days to come!

Keep a watch out for mountain shots towards the end of next month. As for now, time to finish up the Wallaby Hood. Maybe I will spring for that nice new 12 megapixel Kodak camera that I've been admiring so we can take even better pictures.

Wallaby Hurray!

Before we talk about how Wonderful the Wallaby is, I want to tell you how wonderful the Long Island Power Authority is. The other day, we had a downed line. I don't know what kinda line, it seems that there are eight million lines now. There's power, phone, fiberoptic cable, Cablevision tv lines...whatever. So, it was in the street and we didn't want anyone to get hurt. They sent a truck right out and fixed it up for us. See what a good job they did?

Ahem...

So, anyway, I haven't really been working on the Jaywalkers, they're up to the heel flap, pictures soon. I did pick up my Wallaby. Now, I am making the LARGE size and my gauge is right on. It's not at all "ROOMY" as they indicate in the pattern. My husband can take a medium shirt although lately I've been buying large because..well, his chest has dropped a little...tee hee! But he is not what I would call LARGE by any stretch of the imagination. Here's what it looked like last night...

And here's this morning's work added to it. He's saying "HURRAY, YOU PICKED ME UP AGAIN AND NOW ALL I NEED IS A HOOD!!"

I think that I am going to go with the stockinette stitch hood for this but I'll ask hubby what he wants. I need to do two more rows of ribbing and then the increases for the hood. It's really a nice pattern, albeit small. I may make one for myself but I may make the extra large or go up a needle size, we'll see. So far, I changed two things on the pattern. One, the length. I don't think the sweater was long enough and his backside would be cold so I made it more hip length than waist length. I also made the sleeves a little longer, I made them to fit him. The shoulders are snug. This fits but not as I had wanted it to. I had one small problem so far with this pattern. The decreases in the yoke didn't work out evenly. You see, you place a marker at right side of sleeve, left side of sleeve each side. Then, you decrease two stitches at each marker every other row. Well, the number of stitches left on what was the sleeve goes down to two and the decreases didn't come out evenly so I wound up with two extra stitches after I did all the repeats called for. I fudged the pattern and it's mathematically correct and works but I shouldn't have had to do that. I didn't do the math but I don't see a place where I missed a decrease. I am 90% sure that I did it right. It doesn't matter, I made it work. The Yarn Harlot herself says that it's ok to do what works, right?

As for the pattern, sometimes it's chatty and I don't need that. It was fun to knit and I like the fact that there is very, very little finishing. You don't wind up with a sweater in pieces for eight or ten years until you feel like sewing it together one day. The drawback is that you may run out of yarn in a place where it is hard to sew in the ends without it showing. I did a good job, I must say...! You can also try it on as you go but who's going to rip out 800 rows of 268 sts, unless, of course, someone takes a scissor to it and cuts a hole half way down........

Stay tuned for the finished product as well as some Jaywalker pictures. Going to start a pink Cottonease Wallaby next...I think. Tomorrow, more beach, methinks!

The Beach!

Today, we went to the beach. That would be, DH, DS, DD and my Jaywalkers. DS wanted to try out swimming in the ocean but I didn't let him. There were some BIG GIANT WAVES! The waves were about 4-6 feet and they were only three seconds apart. It was ok for me, I did manage to get in without wiping out but I couldn't have done that with a five year old holding onto me. DH got knocked over a few times. The waves were powerful and the current was strong today, have to be careful.
DS wanted to go in all the way but I told him we could do that another day when it wasn't as rough. Instead, he played in the surf.














While she played in the sand.

































And the waves crashed all around us.

The sky was crystal clear and the water was a moderate cool 64 degrees. It was warm enough where you could easily get used to it and get in in a few seconds. (For we NYers, maybe not for you southern or island folk....) But the 'wave period' was so short and the water was quite rough, not for the kids or a novice swimmer. You would get slammed by a five foot wave and then there would be another just as large right behind it. Husband was trying to get out and there were three big waves in a row so he got knocked over. My son is cautious but starting to lose his fear of the ocean and beginning to see the fun in this.

Then, the sky darkened and got very hazy. Just when I was ready to knit! It looked like this:






So, we packed up and left. Can't stay in a thunderstorm and try to pack up two kids in a matter of seconds if need be. About 50% of the people cleared out. BTW, this is a town beach and it's Tuesday, it was kind of crowded. Oyster Bay is funny that way. It's $35 for a resident sticker, $25 PER DAY for non-residents. Usually, I go to the beach early, like 11AM. This time, we went later, like 1:30-3PM. That may've been why. Of course, it was 89 degrees today when we left and 81 at the seashore, which was beautiful. Alot of people may've had the same idea as I did but still, doesn't anyone work?

Now that we had our little serenity, stay tuned for sock pictures tomorrow. Actual knitting content to come! I didn't have a chance to take a shot of socks-on-the-beach. (Hey! Let's make that a new drink!) For now, enjoy my waves! BTW, I didn't bring a thermometer, I always look at the beach report on weather.com to see wave height and water temperature so I know what to expect. Car to sand time is usually about 15 minutes so the conditions are quite accurate!

Jaywalkers and Guppies

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I have two aquariums. They're both 36 gallon tanks. One houses guppies and the other gouramis. The guppy tank has been a mess lately. I can't figure out why the fish have such raggy fins. Then, I got to thinking that maybe the skunk loach. He's a sneak. I actually have two of them and here's a picture of one, hiding in the rock in his new home.

They're cute and small and the fish lady told me that they wouldn't bother my guppies. That store is no longer in business, I wonder why??? I'm nearly certain they did so I moved the two of them to the gourami tank. Thus far, no incidents of not playing nice with others. then again, I'm not so sure they would mess with some of these larger gouramis. Crappy picture, but this one is the biggest and practically rules the tank. He's beautifully marked and DH says, "That one is ready for the grill". Tankmates are smaller, see?

To replace the dead and tailess guppies, I got four pair of blond delta tail guppies. They have yellow tails. I got them yesterday and they had babies today. Here's a shot of the babies of my now deceased black tailed guppies and my newly acquired blonde guppies. Hard to see the new babies, they're small. The other larger ones are a few weeks older and almost ready to be released into the main tank.

I've had fish since my 11th birthday, on for the past seven years. It's good for the kids to see them and they make a relatively inexpensive pet. Last night, for the first time in my life, I witnessed my new guppy give birth. I was so excited. I ran for the camera but it happened so fast, I missed the shot. DS saw it and was thrilled. DH was there but he moves like molasses so he missed it. We are so happy that we're grandparents! We saw two babies being born. I think she had about 20 or so. I have rescued 13 so far.

As for my Jaywalker, they're really nice! I am sorry that I didn't put some yarn aside to make the heel and the the toe the same. Next pair, I will. I will knit the heel and toe out of a contrasting solid so I don't mess up the perfect stripes. Pictures to be posted soon!

A Surprise and Jaywalker Update

Yesterday, I was vacuuming. It's become a pastime of mine ever since we got Zoey. She has short hair and many people think that short hair is easy. Bonnie's hair is like human hair, comes right up. Bonnie is a Sheltie who is going to be 14 next week. Zoey's hair is everywhere and stuck to everything. Zoey is getting a bath tomorrow. It's easy to give her a bath. Oh, and did I tell you? The 'Little 20 lb Dog" has successfully gone through FOUR leashes. The last two would've held up to a Rottie. "up to 80 lbs". She's a PEANUT! However, she has a very strong mouth and has no problem snapping right through nylon. We bought her a chain, the kind you would put on a German Shepard. Now, we can go for a walk...if I am strong enough to tote the chain, it must weigh like 2 lbs.

Back to the story, I was vacuuming away, enjoying having a somewhat clean house and then..., what to my wondering eye should appear, but DD coming down the steps with a bound. Giggling with a smile ear to ear. In her clutches was none other than missing Lamby! Lamby is back!! "The Blue Fairy found my Lamby and brought her home!!!!" You would think it was Christmas Morning. It seems Lamby was stuck behind Dear Son's toy bin, pinned to the wall, and we couldn't see her. Oh well, the house got cleaned up during the search and that was a good thing.
DD is euphoric. She couldn't eat or sleep or let go of Lamby for the entire day.

As for the Jaywalkers, still identical twins....! I am not so sure that I like these socks. Why do I always feel that way, you ask? I think ever since I made the Rose Quartz Crosshatch Lace, nothing compares. The Jaywalker sock are nice and the colors are definitely growing on me. That brown is SOOOO dark that it's hard to knit at night. I love the pattern, it goes fast and it's fun to make stripes. It's even more fun to make stripes that match and please me as opposed to stripes that aggravate me. I guess there really isn't much to say about them. Almost everyone has made a pair and almost everyone has blogged about them. I will most certainly make a second pair. This is a perfect pattern to learn magic looping two socks at once because it's so easy.

As for my next sock project...I am entertaining the idea of one of the fair isle patterns or possibly using my Lorna's Douglas Fir for Embossed Leaves. I must finish up the Wallaby but it's supposed to be 94 tomorrow. It's only 78 now so maybe I will work on him tonight and Jaywalkers tomorrow.

Be back tomorrow with more ramblings.

Right on the Money!

Knitting stripes and matching them up, yeah, that's the ticket. Last night, I decided that I was going to bite the bullet and ensure that my Jaywalkers turned out to be as close to identical twins as they could be. So, I unravelled the entire skein of this. It started out as 100 grams. I rolled ball #1 up until it had six repeats of the four colors. Then, I didn't cut anything, but rolled up ball #2. I should've done a center pull by hand but that was poor planning on my part. Anyway, they weighed the same but I had to have another red and blue added to Ball #1 to get the midpoint. Sigh. Then I (well, we, I had to employ husband's help here) rerolled Ball #2, in the opposite direction and found the exact midpoint and snipped. One ball was a little heavier than the other and I had to trash a small piece of green so that I could start in the same exact place. Then, I measured out 50 inches from the color change and casted on 84 sts. I did 5 rows of ribbing. I used my extra needle and did the same thing. I then put them together, patiently ribbing away, hoping that the color change to red would wind up as close as possible to the exact same stitch...would it? Could it? If it did, could I possibly get identical twins? Or at least as identical as Mary Kate and Ashley (who are fraternal, you know, but they do look very much alike.) Let's see....That snippet of green is the only waste from the entire skein. Can you see where the change happened?

Not wanting to get my hopes up, I finished the ribbing and started zigzag pattern. It looked like the color change to blue was going to work......

OMG! Sometimes I scare myself......it's to the exact stitch. (Yes, I counted them....)

Today, I would like to thank all my high school math teachers for making me the mathematician that I am today.