Knitting Friends & FO #2

Happy Sunday!! Last Friday was the 1st meeting of the East High Knitwits for 2008. There are several teachers at East who knit, so we've decided to get together on a regular basis to knit & unwind after a week of teaching teenagers. The East High diehards were there - WinstonsMom, ravelry's Iknitforella, and blogless, Angie. I do need to clarify that Angie does have a blog, it's just not about knitting & pertains to the classes she teaches. So - if you'd like to know more about the foreign language program at East High, go here. An all-call was also put out on Ravelry, hoping to encourage other local knitters to join us. What fun when HollyJo and LisaW joined us! It's fun to meet in person folks you've only known via their blogs. HollyJo has encouraged me to plug away on my minimalist cardigan & Lisa has inspired me to perhaps try the Tilted Duster. She knit it up using Noro & it turned out ab-fab. So... we'll see what happens in 2008.

While hanging out w/my knitting and teaching friends, I finished these:

Child's French Sock

Details:

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Marble Colorway. **Everything you read about yard shortage w/this yarn is true!! I had to frantically order a 2nd ball to finish sock #2. So - the feet don't exactly match, but I'm hoping that subtle difference won't show since the recipient will be wearing shoes.

Needles: My trusty Addi-Turbo US #2 - Magic Loop, of course.

Pattern: Child's French Sock from Nancy Bush's book, "Knitting Vintage Socks"

Size: Knit over 72 stitches for a size 10 foot.

Modifications: I went up a needle size to accommodate the recipient's foot.

Recipient: My secret pal in the Vintage Socks Swap. I'm terribly late mailing these - they should have been sent last Monday. Hopefully she'll forgive me with the other goodies in the package.

Here are the socks outside at -3°F. (Yup - the (-) sign is not a typo - it's darned cold outside!!

So far so good with my 2008 knit-o-lutions. I've finished sock #1 for SAM5 & have cast-on for February's sock & have almost completed the back of two sweaters. Yeah me!!

Also - Yay Chargers!! - They squeeked out a win over the Colts to move on in the playoffs. I don't normally watch American football, but since Wade & I attended college in San Diego, if the Chargers are heading toward the Superbowl, we've got to do what we can to support them. Too bad the Seahawks didn't pull through against the Packers.

Out There Having Fun

In the warm California sun. Ahh... San Diego. So much to do! San Diego is a wonderful place to visit. Great weather & lots of activities for the whole family to enjoy. My husband's family is originally from San Diego and he and I graduated from U.C.S.D. so we find ourselves down here almost every summer. I can't imagine trying to enjoy all San Diego has to offer in one visit.

Let's see - since my last post, what have we done? We've been to the beach. No photos - I was worried about getting sand in the camera. I just hung out on the sand watching the kids play & enjoying the "scenery" - use your imagination here. :-)
I've done a bit of knitting. I finished Jaywalker #1. I don't think the Jaywalker & I will have a long term relationship. In fact, I think we need a break. Sure - I'll come back for a visit. We just weren't meant to be. On the other hand, I did find another love. Remember the "Tulip Sweater" Stephanie blogged about June 5th? Remember how she just couldn't stop knitting it? Well - I jumped on the sweater bandwagon & immediately fell under its spell. The yarn! Dream in Color yarn! OMG!!! It is sooooo soft, the colors so rich. I just couldn't take my eyes and hands off of this yarn. While I was knitting this sweater, I kept fantasizing about what other projects could benefit from this yarn. I mean - knitting this sweater almost made me want to have another baby so I could knit more sweaters! Wade is relieved that those thoughts quickly passed. My sister is expecting a baby at the end of August, so I'll just have to knit for him/her (the gender is yet unknown). If you would like to fall under the spell of this sweater, please visit Coldwater Collaborative . All babies should have this sweater! Have a peek of where I am thus far: Only the sleeves to go. Did I mention there is NO SEAMING involved? Anyone who knows me well (Hi Margaret!) knows I avoid seaming like the plague. However- I've vowed to turn over a new leaf & pick up that needle & actually finish some projects that are sitting at home in my closet waiting to come together.

The Lower 48 Yarn Crawl has continued. While here I've visited "Common Threads" and "The Black Sheep" both located off S. Coast Hwy 101 in Encinitas. Both fabulous stores. No new yarn - a couple of books (including a finishing book). I'm waiting to find some STR yarn when I get up to the Pac Northwest.
Today we went to the Wild Animal Park. I haven't been there since I was in college (14 years ago!) so it was nice to return. Nice day - not too hot thankfully. Here's some photos of what you can find in the park:











Tomorrow is my birthday - I'll leave it that my age contains two of my favorite digits & that my favorite band is Duran Duran. Nothing planned thus far - hopefully dinner out & getting together with a college friend. I'm sure some knitting and coffee will also be on tap. I've cast on a Monkey Sock using my new Lorna's Laces yarn in colorway "Somerset".

Ciao~

Take Me Out To the Ball Game...

We've arrived at Wade's brother's house in San Diego. Okay - technically he lives in Carlsbad, which is north of S.D. But - when you've driven almost 5000 miles, it's close enough.

Today we went to Petco Park to watch the San Diego Padres take on the Florida Marlins. Let's cut to the chase - the Padres lost. Not much of an exciting game - 3 up, 3 down. Great pitching by the Pads, but horrible hitting. Apparently they forgot that in order to score - you have to get on base. In order to get on base, it's usually easier to hit the ball really far & run. Relying on the opposing pitcher to throw balls or hit you with a pitch is really a poor strategy. See - I don't even play baseball & I can figure that out!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had the opportunity to go to Germany last summer & attend a World Cup Soccer match. My friend Lisa & I went to the U.S. vs. Ghana game. The U.S. lost, but that didn't matter - it was the atmosphere & experience which made for an unforgettable time. During the excitement - I had time to ponder the striking differences between watching a soccer game vs. watching a baseball game.

Going to a game is a fun outing for the family. We sat on the third base line in row 11. A few foul balls were hit our way - that certainly gets your attention. I'm not a great baseball player by any stretch of the imagination & I was a bit worried about a ball bouncing off the tops of our heads. Fortunately we didn't have to worry this time. The fact that complete strangers can get together & celebrate a double play and commiserate a missed opportunity is fascinating. It's a great time to forget about the horrible things happening in the world. It's an opportunity for hope. Perhaps the World's leaders need to forget this war thing & agree to duke it out on the futbol pitch or baseball field. Again - just a thought.

Of course - another fun thing about a baseball game, is it provides great opportunities for knitting! :0)