... Here I am! ...

Wow ... has it really been that long since I've updated??

The short story of where I've been:

* September -- was a rough month, lots of back-to-school business mixed in with extreme grieving over my friend Laura, who I remembered later did make it into my blog once. It seems really weird, even now, that life just kind of continued on without her in it. (Her birthday was September 27 of that month, I believe, and she would have been 37.) Oh, and then the Little Girl was diagnosed with food allergies (no, not just milk, as we suspected, but also eggs, chicken, beef, pork, cats and dogs). No knitting, believe it or not! I did, however, get out my sewing machine finally.

* October -- I became the den leader of my son's Cub Scouts -- what, because I wasn't busy enough, right? Then, just as I started to be able to cope with my friend's death without a glass of wine each night and chapped eyes, we found out about the details to her death. Her (ex) husband, the murderer, had been friends with the Big Sweetie for TWENTY FIVE years -- isn't that insane?! The details surrouding her death, suffice to say, were worthy of a horror movie, leading to more glasses of wine and more chapped eyes. This has been a profoundly life-changing event for me, in so many ways. I won't say any more about it now than that, except that all of this will probably re-surface in March when he is put on trial for first-degree murder, and I will most likely be called to testify. Moving on ...

* November -- Things moved on, and we started to return to some kind of normalcy. I picked up my knitting needles again, and I've continued my sewing obsessions. (Why has it taken me so long to discover Amy Butler?) We deduced after a lot of experimenting that the Little Girl really isn't allergic to chicken, beef, pork, cats or dogs. The dog part, at least, we're counting on because we made the decision to bring home the CUTEST DOG IN THE WORLD for Christmas this year (Sorry to those of you who already thought you had one):


Seriously, isn't she a cutie??? We love her so much already, and we won't even bring her home until next week (the Saturday before winter break, giving us 2 full weeks with her before we're thrown into our insanely crazy lives again). We're so happy to be getting this little Bernese Mtn Dog. Though this puppy has started life as a member of the Brady Bunch, we're naming her Callie, mainly because she looks like my calico cats Rini and Chloe, but also because I'm apparently obsessed with a certain TV show (my other top choices of dog names were Izzie and Lexie ... Meredith just didn't seem like a dog name). After the kind of rough year that 2007 has been for me, there's something about putting my energy into some little creature that will love us back that feels very right to me. I think 2008 is going to be great.

And because I already told my Boulder Knitting Guild group about my recent FO, let me give you a peek as well ...

... FO Report: Quant headband, from Winter 07 Knitty, made with Noro Kureyon unknown # using less than one skein, on size 8's, fun and quick and easy project, especially if you knit backwards like I like to when I do entrelac ...

And there's more where that came from ... but first I have to hook up our wireless connection to our computer upstairs (this is taking forever, as some projects do in our house), and then I promise I *will* be back with more Callie news and FO's. (Some day. Hang tight.)

... a wedding and three funerals ...

So, this has turned out to be the summer-of-little-blogging. Sorry about that. Despite the title of this entry, it's been overall a pretty good summer. I've had a lot of family time, and not so much knitting time -- and I think that this is perhaps how my summer was meant to be. But I have been busy ... here is the catching up of my summer, via photos (a.k.a., the lazy blogger's way to update) ...


... the family photo of the summer while in Massachusetts -- here, on our way to a wedding. The wedding was a cousin of the Big Sweetie's, and we were excited to go to a happy family event. See that shawl? I'll blog about it next (it's one of very few FO's this summer) ...

... I did make a visit to the Black Sheep Yarn Shop in Needham, MA, where I (oops) I happened to accidentally acquire two skeins of Colinette Jitterbug. The shop was in the same town as an aunt of the Big Sweetie's that we visited while she was in hospice care. She did pass away while we were back there, so we went to her funeral as well. (A sad family affair, though I think the Big Sweetie was appreciative of the opportunity to pay his final respects. She was an amazing woman.) ...

... Back in Colorado, here is the view from my favorite mountain bike ride, from mostly our front door to the Flatirons in Boulder, a truly phenomenal ride that I'm happy I can do on a regular basis. (And yes, this means I've barely been running this summer.)...

Back in Colorado, I attended my second funeral of the summer -- the 22-year-old son of the secretary of my school was killed instantly in a motorcycle accident. It wouldn't be quite so sad if he didn't leave behind a new wife and baby daughter ... On the other hand, maybe it would have still be as sad ...

... the new WIP of the moment. It's Benjamin Moore 's Pearl Harbor and Durango Dust, or in other words, The Biggest House Project We've Ever Done and Will Ever Do Again. (My recommendations: don't, folks, paint your own house -- especially if you live in a bi-level like me, and are deathly afraid of heights.) ...

... and that leaves me with the third and (please!) last funeral of the summer. I had blogged (on our now defunct family blog) a loooong time ago (three years, almost) about our friends Mike and Laura. After that blog post, Mike and Laura split up and I helped her through her extremely awful, nasty and difficult divorce. When Mike and Laura reconciled last year, I drew back from their lives as I just could not go down that road again. (I also had other things on my mind last year, remember.) Despite all the other friends of ours saying that Mike and Laura were supposedly happily in love and happy to be together again, I learned of some horrible news this last Monday. I'm still in complete shock, and just trying to put one foot in front of the other and to remember to feed the kids. I will be attending whatever memorial service that she will be having this weekend (or maybe next week). That's really all I can say about that for now.

I did receive two great packages recently, but alas, no photos. I'll blog about them shortly as well as the (very few) FO's of the summer.

... sockapalooza! ...

Before a catching-up-post, I have to share what came in the mail this week ...


... my sockapaloozas!


What a thoughtful package -- Katie O read about my adventures in crochet and send along a crochet hook along with an extra ball of sugar 'n cream. My favorite part about her thoughtfulness is her extraordinary handwriting. What a clever idea! I should try some of those cute scripts.


The socks are a perfect fit ...


... Katie wrote that they are the Groovy Socks by Sock Pixie, in Austermann Step (the aloe/jojoba yarn) -- I've been wondering what this yarn would be like for a while, and there's no doubt that they'll be really cute in my favorite shoes.

Thanks, Katie!

As for my package, I sent off a pair of socks as well to my partner ...


... I handyed the yarn, cast on 64 sts on size 3 (3.00 mm) needles, then chose a top-down 4-st pattern from my favorite sock pattern book, and looked through Stitchionary volume 1 for a funky stitch pattern. I found it in the "Herringbone Rib Pattern", which works like this in the round:

R 1: Knit
R2: *K2, YO, K1, YO, Slip first YO over K st and second YO*

For those of you on Ravelry, you'll recognize this pattern as the Charade -- an almost identical pattern, knit toe-up instead of top-down.

And speaking of Ravelry -- come visit me there! I'm Zenifer (thanks again to my favorite blogger for that baptism). If you're not on Ravelry yet, go get in line!! I know that I'm the seven-thousandth person to say this, but it really is pretty cool. (And, one more thing for me to do besides update my blog.)

But next -- the catching up, I promise!

... Harry!! Potter!! ...

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT !!

Okay, I know that I've been gone for a while from the blog, and I know that I have a GAZILION things to catch up on (meeting Chris, going to Estes, visiting the Cod, visiting Mass-area yarn shops, making a shawl while I was there which I then wore to a wedding, coming home, doing plenty of non-knitting projects in the home, and taking a Yarn Tour of Northern Colorado with some knitting pals from grad school) ... Hey, does that do it? Okay, not yet -- I see that you need some photos. I'll try to do that in the next entry.

But for now, there's only one thing left to talk about today.

Harry Potter. #7. The Deathly Hallows.

Have you finished it? If not ... this is your last warning. Turn around!

If you have ... what did you think? Michaele posted a great entry on her blog about the book and I've been talking with her about it -- mainly because the Big Sweetie (unobsessed reader that he is) hasn't yet finished the book and I'm dying to talk about it.

To me, there was a lot of good, and some bad. Let's start with the good:

The tragedy -- it was more than I could handle at times. (This was good.) Mad-Eye and Hedwig, both killed at the beginning? George actually got hurt (a Weasley got hurt?) And then the other deaths -- Dobby, Fred (!!), Remus and Tonks (right after they had their baby!!) ... as some commenters on mugglenet.com said, RIP. And maybe I'm more gullible than most, but I honestly thought Harry was going to die and not come back -- I cried straight through that chapter when Harry walked with his parents to his death.

The action -- was more than I expected, as well, though I shouldn't have been surprised. It felt like there was one action-packed scene after the next. First, the seven Harry's flying through the air -- straight to robbing the locket off of Umbridge in the Ministry -- then the Christmas scene -- then stealing the cup from Gringott's -- straight to the final scenes at Hogwarts and in the Forest. Okay, there were some dull moments when it felt like the three protagonists were simply camping in one spot after another, with no clue what to do -- but I felt like it was extremely effective, because it raised my stress to feel like they were so clueless and hopeless. This book was definitely a page-turner for me.

The love interests -- I was glad that Harry still showed love for Ginny, and that Ron and Hermione still had their ups/downs.

The additional characterization -- though I really felt all along like Snape was a foe, I liked that chapter about his life, and it made sense to me that he was desperately in love with Lily, while he still despised Harry. And Dumbledore, after knowing more about his life, seems like more of a whole character now -- he did actually have flaws and wasn't always perfect.

The theme of life/death -- this, I felt, was the star of the book. I loved how JKR treated the scene of Harry marching off to his death -- how every last heartbeat mattered to him, and every last second. I loved how things became suddenly clear to him, as in what mattered in life. I thought it was so compelling. Then -- King's Cross -- that scene was just amazing. And Dumbledore saying at the end of it, "Of course this was all in your mind, Harry, but why should that not make it real?" (As an aside, I've been to two funerals and one wedding this summer, so this theme has really been on my mind lately.)

Now, the not-so-good (okay, I'll just call it the Bad):

Speaking of King's Cross -- who was that sniveling creature there?? Was that supposed to be Voldemort somehow? Ariana?

I think that Ginny should have emerged from the periphery at last -- but didn't, really, though she played a few big parts in trying to steal the Gryffindor sword and in fighting at the end.

The epilogue -- while I appreciate that JKR answered the question of What Next?, there is still a wide gap of knowledge that isn't answered. Who did Teddy grow up with? Who is doing what for a job (other than Neville)? Who are all the other kids? (Though you have to assume that Victoire is Fleur and Bill's daughter.)

In all, I think this is on the upper echelon of my favorite HP books -- perhaps even first, or second. I wasn't disappointed!

That does it for now. So, what did you think??

... even more Harry Potter! ...

By the way -- if, like me, you can't get enough of Harry Potter, then you should really go sign up for HOGWARTS SOCK SWAP TWO!


Sign-ups are already underway. I am officially known as Phyllida Crookshanks now.

And here is, by the way, my questionnaire:

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

Second Years

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

RAVENCLAW!! (Go Ravenclaw!)

2. Shoe size? Foot length? Foot circumference?

Size 8.5/9 -- Euro 39 -- Foot length 9.5 " -- Circ 8.5"

3. List your three favorite sock yarns.

a. Koigu-esque type yarns (Louet Gems, Nature's Palette, etc.)

b. Merino/silk by Knitpicks

c. Lorna's Laces

4. Would you like to try a new brand of sock yarn? If so, which brand?

Sure! If you're up to it (and can get it) Fleece Artist Handmaiden seasilk. If not, any yummy and unique yarn.

5. Do you prefer variegated or solid sock yarn?

Prefer semi-solids and variegated, not so much striping yarns.

6. What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash?

Any!! (Though I mostly prefer browns, blacks, blues, purple/pinks ... )

7. What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle?

I gravitate toward ribbed mostly, though I do enjoy some lace socks.

8. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.)

Nope.

9. Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them?

CATS.

10. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?

Sure! (French or Spanish-speaking is great as I know those two languages.)

... Dear Petunia ...

Dear Petunia,

I received your package via Owl Post!


The owl that delivered the package actually had the nerve to bite me ... I'm hoping he wasn't your owl. Anyhow, I opened the package to reveal a fabulous box inside ...


... a beautiful box, in its own right. Inside the box, however ...


... were the most amazing goodies. How did you know that my local yarn shoppes don't carry Inox needles? The size 0 were just the ones I needed. The yarn you included is beautiful ... I can't wait to hex my knitting needles and see the stripes "magickally" appear. When I do cast on for a pair of magically striping socks, I'll be sure to use your stitch markers.


And as it turns out, I will not be able to make it to Hogsmeade again soon ... so the yummies that you included are going to be much enjoyed over this holiday break. (Luckily I know which color are the "vomit" flavored beans.)

The socks, however, are the best part of the package ... they're marvelous.


I love the Horcrux sock pattern and I've been very tempted to cast on for a pair of my own ... now I won't need to! The fit is flawless:


And my toes will be toasty warm when going to the movies July 11 and when cuddling up with a good book July 21. They're perfect! The many reminders of my favorite quotes at the bottom of the package were such a sweet last delight:



Thanks again for the wonderful owl package ... you really made my day.

Your devoted Ravenclaw friend,
Jenifer

... learning another language ...

So, guess what language I'm learning right now? The language of crochet. Really, this story started this last winter when I made that Debbie Bliss Scoop Neck Cardigan -- the one with the crochet edging. If you look closely at that cardigan, you'll see that the crochet edging that I did looks nothing like the one that DB intended. That's because I don't really understand crochet, nor crochet language. So, after making that cardigan, I decided to pick up a crochet hook and finally figure out what crochet is really all about.

(I have to mention that the parallel of first speaking French and then learning Spanish has been just like knowing how to knit and then learning how to crochet; I remember quite vividly how frustrating it was to learn similar -- but slightly different -- rules between French and Spanish, and how unfair it was that while being an expert at one thing I had to re-learn something else as a complete novice. This is exactly how I feel right now with crochet ... a complete novice.)

So, I snagged a copy of Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker on sale, and armed with the witty descriptions of how to crochet, I undertook what I call "the washcloth project." The goal: make as many crochet washcloths as I could, each out of a different crochet stitch. The result:

Dishcloth #1: Single Crochet (sc)

Dishcloth #2: Half Double Crochet (hdc)

Dishcloth #3: Double Crochet (dc)

You can see by the trapezoidal shape of the third washcloth that this is where my experiment went awry ... and rather than try to stick it out, I simply put down the hook and took up the needles again for a while.

Enter The Uberknitter's crochet hat from the most recent Interweave Crochet ... and I decided to pick up the hook again. That hat was just too cute to pass up! So, I picked up my copy of the magazine ... but instead of starting the hat, I instead fell in lust with that granny square tote bag, Larger Than Life*. As it turns out, there's a knitalong going on (excuse me, would that be a crochetalong?). A long time ago, long before I even had my alternate life as a blogger, I tried granny squares ... and crashed and burned. However, armed with my dishcloth experience, I went to my stash and found this bag:


These were a bunch of Kool-Aid Lion Fisherman's Wool that I had dyed before I started dyeing with WashFast Acid Dyes ... and as we all know, Kool-Aid is the gateway dye. So, once I started getting real color results, I cast aside all of this yarn (they were originally intended for a fair isle project for the Little Girl):


So, I picked them up, started hooking away, and look at the results:

This is side #1 ... where I ran out of the orange yarn.

Granny squares! I've even put some of them together for one complete side of the bag:

This is side #2, already done!

Very exciting. I ran out of the orange yarn, so I picked up a few more packets of orange Kool-Aid. Once I dye up that yarn, I'll finish these squares, crochet the edging, and sew in the lining. And I've resolved myself to actually getting out the sewing machine as soon as school is out (this Friday!! Woo hoo!!).

yarn for edging + fabric for lining = one purple-ish and bright bag

But while I was waiting to get more orange kool-aid ... check out what I made in the meanwhile:

FO: Fun in the Sun Hat; Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cotton DK in beige and white; Pattern: Spring 07 IWCrochet; Hook: 6

Yes, it's the crochet hat from the current magazine. I think that the edge is a little too floppy, however ...


... so I've started another hat, this one smaller to fit the Little Girl. (Pink and green ... her choice.)


Wish me luck!

Up next ... the most amazing swap package I've ever ever received!! Seriously!! (Good thing I haven't sent mine out yet, so I can try to match the quality of the package I received!)

*And can I say that the worst part about the Larger Than Life bag is that everytime I read the title, I can't get this song out of my mind?

... those pesky photos ...

They're finally up! These are, of course, the Bolder Boulder photos. These are for Judith ... and Syd ... and anyone else who just might be interested. :)