Sunday, October 02, 2005

Lotsa knitting

It seems I've managed to get a little knitting done this week. We spent some serious time in front of the tv, catching up on all of our Tivo'ed shows. We have a lot - The Apprentice, The Office, Desperate Housewives, House, Numb3rs, The Simpsons, Joey... The Office has really come into its own this season. This past week's episode was incredibly funny - I haven't laughed out loud at a tv show that much since Conan O'Brien was writing for The Simpsons. Numb3rs, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. This is a show that was perfect last season - smart, exciting, interesting...everything we look for in a new series. This year's season premiere was HUGELY disappointing. They added a couple new characters whose sole purpose seems to be to dumb it down. The second episode was a little bit better (my hubby convinced me that we should give it a chance and keep watching), so I have hope that they'll steer back in the direction they were going last year. It's just so sad that they need to try to fix things that ain't broke (although when I first watched the show last year, I was convinced that it would never make it to a second season because it was so smart).

Anyway, enough whining - on to the knitting. First up, Spork is off the needles. Here are the pieces, waiting to be sewn together and felted.


I made just a couple small changes from the pattern. I added the shoulder pad (the two small periwinkle pieces on the right side of the photo), changed the reinforcing lining strip to be all garter stitch instead of stockinette w/ a garter border, and I decreased four stitches on each side of the side pieces (one stitch on each side over the last two rows) to try to rein in any gaping in the mouth of the bag. I need to get the nylon straps so I can felt this puppy, but that doesn't look like it will happen until tomorrow morning at the earliest. I stopped by Fabric Depot yesterday morning, and it was a total madhouse. I couldn't bring myself to wait in a 10-person line to get the fabric cut, and then another 10-person line to check out. I then tried Jo-Ann, but they only had 1" webbing and not the 2" I need for the shoulder strap. If this bag turns out as well as I think it's going to, I'm going to make another one as a Christmas present, this time using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

When I got home, I was cheered up by the arrival of a box from Amazon with these inside:


I just love Knitting On The Road, and have of course joined the knit along. The pattern for the next couple months is Conwy (here is a lousy picture).


The pattern yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, so I'm all too happy to oblige. Now I need to figure out if I can knit this on my Addis, or if this is yet another too-complicated pattern that will be stuck on my dpns.

Finally, I made some good progress on my mother-in-law's gift (see here), and finished up my test knit for the brother-in-law/father-in-law gift (see here). I also cast on for Hopeful and got the bottom band knit. I didn't take a picture since it's pretty boring, but it's going well. I persisted with the long-tail cast-on since it makes such a pretty edge. I used such a long tail this time that I had a ton left over and had to cut a bunch off. Better too much than too little!

5 Comments:

Blogger Laura said...

I am IN LOVE with Numb3rs. It is my favorite new(ish) show. I wasn't crazy about the new characters either, but I am going to stick with it. I still have the 2nd episode on my DVR. May have to watch tonight!

As if I need more to knit, I am thinking about joining (or starting) a sock KAL. The Conwy looks nice!

7:08 PM  
Blogger Karen said...

Wow, you sure have been busy busy busy. Spork looks like it's coming along great, and I'm impressed with all the other knitting you've accomplished as well. That on top of writing that 4 page tutorial - which I've started using and it is very very helpful. Thanks so much.

7:13 PM  
Blogger chris said...

I can't believe how much knitting you've managed to get done with 2 kids and a hubby! ;-) No excuses for me anymore, I guess. Spork looks fantastic! Can't wait to see it all felted and sewn together. What a great package from Amazon, too. I definitely want to get Knitting on the Road- I usually like her patterns, and joining a KAL sounds like such a fun idea. I'll comment on the gifts where inquiring eyes shouldn't be roaming. :-)

10:59 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

OK, sorry for this non-knitting comment...Watched episode #2 of Numb3rs. Better than the first one. But please! The new agent with the breathy voice! Annoying!

She won't keep me from watching it, though. I just love Rob Morrow. I just love the relationship between Charlie and his mentor. I just love (now) Charlie's arts and crafts style house.

8:07 PM  
Blogger cynthia said...

OKC: your spork is positively drool-worthy. ((errr... MUST NOT BUY SPORK YARN...AHHH! Sorry, I'm better now.))

NUMB3RS: I was thinking the same thing about season 2. Charlie on a date I can deal with (IMNSHO David Krumholtz has gotten positively yummy, and the fractal-broccoli thing was so nerd-cute.) but the first two cases this season seem to be pretty much up to Don, with the math playing second and third fiddle. Not good.

10:23 AM  

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