Finished!

They're finished! And they look pretty good on Dave (sexy legs, baby!) I even ripped back some of the first sock to make the foot a bit longer so it fit better. That was not easy -- the pitch-dark grey/black shade really messes with your eyes. I have to confess, I just don't love making socks. I know the Yarnmonster loves socks. Jenn seems to love socks. The Yarn Harlot loves socks. Even the guru loves socks. Everyone raves about their portability, their speed of knitting and the variety of possibilities there are in socks. But I'm sorry, I'm not hooked yet. I don't totally get the heel thing. And they don't stay up, no matter how small I make them. They just stretch out and slide down. I guess putting in an elastic would help, but I'm not up for more sewing. Maybe when I knit my next pair with the Yarnmonster's Avocado Fever flavor, I'll love them more. But for now, I'm moving on to the Rogue Hoodie (or so I keep saying) and those fall pumpkin hats!

Fall is here and I love the internet!

I have been such a lackadaisical blogger, and for that I am sorry. I can't expect one pic of my niece and an amusing link to hold you all over for long, right? I am still stuck on this 2nd sock, but as you can see, it's almost finished! And then onto the Rogue Hoodie (along with some quick pumpkin hats for the kids in my life).

This lovely picture you see is my artistic attempt to show my knitting progress along with the bounty of fall. The Farmer's Market was hoppin' this weekend, and I got some butternut & spaghetti squash, along with eggplant and some ears from the last harvest of corn for the year. There were gigantic pumpkins, sunflower heads filled with seeds, and apples, apples, apples!

I'm almost finished reading a wonderfully written book called "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. I love his writing and his comments resonate with me. Basically he talks about the different food chains in America -- industrial, organic (both industrial-organic and small-farm organic) and hunter/gatherer. It's really made me think even more about our food and where it comes from, I mean beyond my vegetarianism. I'm doing all this research into where to find raw milk and eggs from pasture-fed hens. And I decided that I wanted to go mushroom hunting, but didn't know how. So -- and this is where the "I Love the Internet" part comes in -- last week I posted a plea for help on a mushroom-hunting message board and someone just invited me on a hunt in South Bend this weekend. I'm so happy, just because it worked out so nicely, and it's all about bringing people together, isn't it? And tonight I'm going to meet my friend Jessica, who I met through blogland.

Thankfully ND beat MSU this weekend while we watched in hurricane conditions. OK, we left in the 3rd quarter when we were losing badly and the winds started howling, we're wimps. But you would have left too if you were sitting on the very top level, soaking wet.

That's Brady up there, who either slept or breast-fed for most of my last visit.

Check this out if you're bored...Gizoogle!

Go HERE and put in your blog's name...thanks Emily!

We...Got...Socked...

Now focus on the socks, not the newspaper story -- yes, yes, Notre Dame got beat, killed, whooped, spanked, destoyed by our rivals this weekend, and it was the most depressing football game I've ever been to in my life -- but come on, we're talking about knitting here, right? And we here in the The Bend would kind of like to forget about the game for a while. So about the socks -- I'm almost done with the leg of the 2nd one. I've noticed a few mistakes, and gone back and fixed some, but then I noticed more...like a purl where there should be a knit, and vv...let me tell you, black is a BITCH to tink and fix, you can't see your mistakes while you're "fixing" them and that leads to more mistakes where there were previously none. I decided that these are really not major errors and David won't notice and/or care, so I trudge onwards.

Very very exciting news -- Heather's book is out! Once I read that fact on her blog, I rushed to the store to buy Not Your Mama's Knitting. I am so proud of her, she did an incredible job penning an entertaining guide to knitting and its many possibilities. And I got a mention in the acknowledgements, which really means a lot to me -- plus Avocado Fever also got a nod in the blogging section -- yee haw! Thanks, Heather -- you are truly a wonderful chick and I wish you great great things in your knitting future -- especially a book tour that would take you to the midwest...

So back to the weekend...despite our humiliating defeat, it was a pretty good couple of days. The guru was in town with her special friend, and even though we didn't knit at all I always love seeing her. The visit was too short, in my opinion.

2 - 0!

That's our record so far, after a much more comfortable game against Penn State on Saturday. I say comfortable because ND was much more in control of this game than the previous GA Tech contest...not because I was more comfortable. Standing for the entire game (4 hours!) created a lot less exhaustion 10 years ago, and we were pooped when we got home, but I'll be damned if I was going to be the only one sitting down in the student section!

Luckily we powered up before the game at sensational tailgaters hosted by A Second Breakfast & her family and my JA friend Brian & his family. I had veggie burgers at the latter and Polish brewski's at the former...a lovely combination.

And I finished one of Dave's socks! I need to make the second one now, and I've already cast on. I think the foot needs to be a little bit longer, and I'll add a bit more grey at the toe...who says they have to be exactly the same?

Babies with knitted things on them

A mostly picture post -- and actually it's only Sam & Annika with knitted things. But Brady and Alek needed some press, too...I made Alek a hat too (colors for both headpieces chosen by Annika at the Michigan Fiber Fest last month), but couldn't get him to pose wearing it. I guess September is too early for wool.








Go Irish! First home game this weekend, plenty o' pics of that to come...

2-Year Tank for a 1-Year Old and Book Tag!

Rebecca's parents sent me this pic of her in her "One Year Old Two Year Tank", created by my very lovely good friend and author Heather. Now if only Sam's parents would send me such a pic...

Shrodinger tagged me for a book poll, and I'm late in answering, but here goes!

R1. One book that changed your life:

I'll have to agree with the Englishwoman in NY -- I'm not sure any book has actually changed my life. But I remember reading some of Emerson's works sophomore year in high school, especially the one about the transparent eyeball (I think it was called simply "Nature"), and that kind of rocked my world view.
2. One book that you've read more than once:
I too don't usually read books more than once, but "Catcher in the Rye" is one that I have been through a few times.
3. One book you'd want on a deserted island:
Either the bible or a really big thick dictionary -- just because these are both big books and have lots of things to think about in them.
4. One book that made you laugh:
"The Hotel New Hampshire" by John Irving
5. One book that made you cry:
I got really upset when the bad guys were trying to separate Lyra and her daemon (Pantalaimon) in Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
"Not Your Mama's Knitting" by Heather Dixon
7. One book you wish had never been written:
Who can answer this one -- to each their own, and what I hate some else might love. But I think Alex Garland could have done a lot better after writing the thoroughly engrossing "The Beach" than to follow up with "The Tesseract"
8. One book you're currently reading:
"Garlic and Sapphires" by Ruth Reichl
9. One book you've been meaning to read:
"A People's History of the United States" -- I started to but couldn't finish it.

This makes me sad...

The Croc Hunter died! And it was such a freak thing, he was snorkelling and startled a big sting ray. I'm sad because I feel like he got a lot of people interested in wildlife and promoted conservation. I feel like this is a big loss. And I feel so sad for his family.