It really IS a small world...

So last night I'm sitting with a couple of my knitting mommy friends at the Yarn Garden. I'd just gotten done with a massive shopping spree:



which took full advantage of my 20% birthday discount card (I managed to snatch their lone copy of Folk Socks off the shelf shortly after it had been put there). I had it all spread out on the coffee table in the cafe to show it off when a group of people wandered in. One of them came over to check out my sock yarn and we started chatting. She mentioned she was from Boston. I thought she looked familiar, and asked if she had a blog. She said "Yup, I'm Stariel." How completely insane is that? She was just passing through town on her way from Seattle to Salem, just happened to stop by the yarn shop that I happened to be hanging out at (which doesn't happen all that often, sadly), and just happened to strike up a conversation about the sock yarn I just happened to have sitting out in front of me. Talk about serendipity!

Anyway, it was a total delight to talk to her (if you ever meet her, ask her about mouse sperm), and I couldn't have been more surprised to bump into one of you in a Portland yarn store (except perhaps Virtuella, who would've had to come from Norway, which is only slightly farther from Portland than Boston...).

I also spent a few minutes working on the Sweet Mary Jane Cardigan, which for some reason I'm still knitting on, dull needles and all.



Check out all the stitch markers! It's a 9-stitch lace repeat, and in the pattern she insists that stitch markers must be used - that they are critical to the pattern. I scoffed, thinking that it was such a simple lace pattern I certainly didn't need all those stupid stitch markers. In all honesty, I didn't want to have to do an entire row of *k9, pm; rpt from *. After several half-rows of tinking, I decided that I'd be better off with the stitch markers. So much for me knowing better than the pattern designer! For some reason those little jump rings make me think of lip or eyebrow rings. The knitting reminds me of the cousin in Vegas Vacation who has like 30 piercings in his face. Sadly, I do think that this will be set aside very soon for more work knitting. It was nice while it lasted!

New E-mail Address! And another call for test knitters.

Since I've been having so much trouble getting e-mails at my hotmail address, I've signed up for a gmail account. Please send all future SAM2 updates to:

knittinmom at gmail dot com

Hopefully that will help with some of the missed e-mails! I'm just a little bit ticked off at hotmail right now...

Also, I'm putting out the call for test knitters once again. I am looking for knitters of all interests and skill levels. I've got a couple sock patterns up right now and will be adding a sweater, bag and more socks very soon. If you're interested, drop me an e-mail and I'll send you the guidelines for the group. If, after that, you agree to the rules and want to join, I'll send you an invite.

Thanks, guys!

We're on a roll!

I got so excited by my FOrgy of last week, I decided I need to get some more projects moving. First up was my Summer Sock Party sock, which turned out fabulously, if I do say so myself. I don't want to give away the farm, but here is a little tiny sneak peek. I will be offering this pattern for sale in the next few months, I hope!



I also got all inspired to knit something else just for me, from someone else's pattern, so I wound up the yarn my SP7 sent me for the Sweet Mary Jane Cardigan. However, it looks like I won't be continuing on this until I get some different needles. I can't find my size 6 Addis, so I'm using a bamboo circ and it's killing my wrists. Plus the tips aren't sharp enough to get under the laceweight yarn very well. I did order myself some of the new Knit Picks needles after hearing a few different rave reviews, so we'll see if I get reinspired when they finally get here. Plus the lace pattern is not very interesting, so I may lose patience with it before I get too far. Whinge, whinge, whinge.

If I need something else to work on, I don't have to look too far. Lookee what I got in the mail the other day:



Yup, that's a whole lotta Lorna's Laces (and yes, that's Lion and Lamb there on the left) that will be used for two projects for Kerrie Allman's upcoming book Handpainted Yarns (Kerrie is the editor extraordinaire of MagKnits. They're not due until the end of October, but it would be smart not to procrastinate, now, wouldn't it?

I attended a workshop yesterday given by Helen Hamann, the author of Andean Inspired Knits:



We got a copy of the book with the class and even though most of it isn't stuff I'd make for myself, she uses some really interesting techniques for construction and finishing - lots of facings, short rows, colorwork, embroidery, and a little technique we learned that she calls surface weaving:



First we backstitched a little square (the green), and then we wove yarn through the legs of each stitch to create the cool effect at the top. There is a sweater in the book that has an edging using this technique - very pretty. We also practiced some duplicate stitch (yippee) down towards the bottom. She had samples of all her sweaters at the class, and they are gorgeous.

Now for the socks! Before we start, it has come to my attention that I'm not getting all my e-mails. So, please feel free to re-email me and pester me until I respond or your update/name shows up (although give me until after Sunday, since I try to contain all SAM-related activity to Sundays so it doesn't take over my entire life...). If it seems like I'm ignoring you, it's probably because I haven't gotten your e-mail(s) or it's not Sunday yet! I check my spam folder every day, but it could be that some of them get deleted before I get to them even though I have my spam filter set on the absolute lowest level. Anyway, I apologize! And now, on with the socks...

Kathy made some Cabled Footies for her lucky SP8 spoilee.

ZhiWen has a couple pairs - some Conwys (how much do we all love that pattern?) and some Fixation Sorbet Coolers.

Johanna has a manly pair of August Socks done.

Christy knit up some awesome Hederas.

Rachel made some Sheri's Lace socks for her mom. She's also co-hosting an awesome new swap - Sock-ret Pal (you think it somehow involves socks?). Anyway, I was just thinking that I need another swap (yeah, like a hole in the head) since the One Skein Secret Pal and August Birthday Swap are both over, so I just e-mailed her to sign up. Sign-ups go to Oct. 1st or to 100 members, whichever comes first. According to Rachel's blog, they were up to 65 folks yesterday, so if you're gonna sign up, you'd better hurry!

Stacey finished a gorge pair of Gentleman's Socks.

Janin whipped up two lovely pairs of variegated socks.

Aimee knit up these lovely knee-socks - they are Evening Stockings from Knitting Vintage Socks:



Lolly made some beautiful Trekking socks. And those of you who participated last year will be delighted to hear that Lolly is planning Socktoberfest 2 in October. For those of you who didn't get in on it last year, be sure to join the fun this time around! Keep an eye on the ever entertaining Lolly Knitting Around for more details.

Tanya finished some green Jaywalkers:



Debbie, my awesome One Skein Secret Pal, has been going absolutely crazy with the socks this month! She has 8 pairs! Wowza!

Sara finished some cute little grey baby socks.

Kelly made these striped beauties:



Kristy knit up these STR lovelies:



Sarah made her hubby some Camo Socks, and took a picture of them on a rock. Did you guys know I was a geology major in college? I have a special place in my heart for rocks...

Crazy Knitting Lady has Cable and Rib socks done!

Anastacia finished two pairs of socks but due to circumstances beyond her control (as in, a fried motherboard), we're not able to see them. Bummer!

Stariel's got yet another pair of socks done.

Pat has Sockotta Socks and Trekking Socks done.

Vicki knit up some Neapolitan Ice Cream Socks. I've gotta get me some of that yarn - I love it!

Emily whipped up some Opal Faux Fair-Isle Socks on the train.

Sarah made these lovelies for her niece's Xmas present (I'm so frightened that people are already doing Xmas knitting, although it is rather smart to be getting it out of the way...):



Jamie finished two pairs - Trekking & Tropical Punch.

Nicola knit a pair of Awesome Unsts.

Teri made a lovely pair of variegated socks using some pretty handdyed yarn.

Deirdre knit up these very nice Straight Laced socks:



That's it for this week, folks! Thanks for sharing all your fabulous socks - every single pair is so gorgeous!

Also, don't be alarmed that the SAM1 stuff is gone from the sidebar - I just moved it to the archives.

We've got knitting, folks!

Yup! I have been a busy, busy girl. And I have to say, I'm loving these quick little projects. I feel so productive!

First, the post-felting photo of the clutch I made for my One Skein Secret Pal:



Love it! I have enough yarn to make at least one more, and I may have to do just that. It was so fast. In fact, it was so quick, I decided my OSSP needed another gift:



This is the baby hat from One Skein, but I used Blue Sky Cotton instead of Lush. I finished this up today (started it this morning), so it was another supersonic knit. With all this quick gift knitting success (forget the idea of knitting everyone socks for Christmas!), I decided to make something for my SP8 whose final package is going out as soon as I get around to putting it in a box and printing out postage...



Yes, it's a dishcloth, out of the latest Creative Knitting (sent to me by my One Skein Secret Pal). It's so nice knitting other people's patterns for a change. I need to take the time to do it more often. And you gotta love those dishcloths. Will dishcloths become the new socks? I think there's a very good chance.

In other knitting news, I'm happy to report that the Summer Sock Party sock has been located and is well on its way to having a heel. I might actually get that sucker in the mail by Sept. 5th! I am feeling so much better now that I've finished a bunch of the stuff that has been hanging over my head all month. I've just got one more pattern to write, and I'm all set for a little while. I might actually have to start submitting again! I thought I might want a little bit of a break, but I'm getting all twitchy at the thought of not having any big deadlines bearing down on me.

Thanks for all your great tomato suggestions - now I just have to find the time to implement a few of them!

It just wouldn't be right...

That is, for me to give out all the SAM1 prizes without forgetting something. And that something is the Brownie Point Prize. I think Karen can truly call herself a sock-aholic after knitting 39 brownie point pairs in addition to her five monthly pairs (she was a late entry, or I'm sure she would've had all seven months covered). Many of those socks were baby socks which she sent off to cover needy little baby feet. Rock on, Karen! And thanks for being patient with me as I'm sure you thought I totally forgot about you.

As her prize, she'll be getting a hank of Augustus, the August Project Spectrum Sock Club color from yarn dyer extraordinaire, Mama-E. Appropriately, it is in shades of brown (brown, brownie point, get it?). Hee hee!

I actually have some knitting to show you this morning. Yes, it's true! I finally knit something from someone else's pattern. This is the pre-felted version of the clutch from One Skein.



It's for my One Skein Secret Pal. And yes, I know that technically you can't do colorwork with just one skein, but it was stash yarn, and I think that the whole thing could've been done with just a single skein of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. It was a great project - I knit the bottom two color bands yesterday afternoon and then finished the rest of it at knit night last night. Fast! Stay tuned for a post-felting pic in the next few days.

I got some yarny goodness myself in the mail yesterday, courtesy of Jill the totally awesome. Here's what she sent me for a late b-day present:



It's gorgeous sock yarn in my favorite colors from Everything Heather, and a little flip flop mop to wear on your foot so you can clean up spilled milk, juice, barf...whatever with a baby on your hip while talking on the phone (at least, according to the little picture on the tag). I love it! Thanks, hon!

We are being taken over by tomatoes. Literally. They're like tribbles.



This is just a small portion of the total number of tomatoes we've picked in the last couple weeks. They just keep coming, and coming, and coming... If anyone has any great ideas about what to do with hundreds of tomatoes, please share them with me. We're desperate! I won't even tell you how many have gone on the compost heap because we just can't keep up with them (but at least they're going back into the soil...). Here are the out-of-control tomato plants that have taken over much of the front yard:



We also have crazy pumpkin plants that are growing over everything and these insane 12-foot tall sunflowers:



You don't totally get the scale of these things from the picture, but the big one over on the right is reaching right up to the telephone line. The flowers on these things are like dinner plates. I'm starting to think that our house was built on some kind of radioactive toxic waste dump or something. But it's probably just the manure that was mixed into the new soil we bought last spring. It's incredible.

Bill finally got to fill the Jetta up with biodiesel yesterday. I drove it to knit night last night and got a nice aroma of popcorn as I was idling at stop signs with my windows down. So cool! I adore that car.

I'll leave you with this picture and I ask you, is it just me, or does this seem like a lot of shoes?



This is what I picked up and threw into Bill's "shoe corner" yesterday while cleaning the house. Unfortunately, whenever I ask him how many pairs of athletic shoes one person needs, he throws it right back at me - "well, how much yarn can one person possibly knit in her lifetime?" Sigh.

Here we go!

And we're off, in a desperate rush to get the sock updates done before the kids get up. You guys have been busy this week, so I'm pretty sure it won't be happening (you'll know whether it did or not based on what time this post actually shows up).

But first, let's talk about me. I have been knitting furiously on a few different things, including the Creative Knitting project which is due on Wednesday. Eek! Today is all about the miles of attached i-cord I need to finish it off. After I finish that pattern, I have two more patterns to finish grading (the Big Girl Knits 2 sock pattern and the Y2Knit sweater pattern) and polish up before the end of the month. Whew! I also have my Summer Sock Party sock to finish and send off by Sept. 5th. That shouldn't be a huge issue, except for the fact that I seem to have lost it somewhere in my ridiculously messy house. I was going to take it along last night as a car project, but it has vanished. I really hope I can dig it up soon, because I don't want to start over!

We had a yard sale over the last two days, and it was a pretty good success. We got rid of lots of the big baby stuff that we still have hanging around (did I mention in my last post that I've given up on having more kids so Bill and I can stop arguing about it all the time? I do reserve the right to change my mind, but I agreed to get rid of all the baby stuff as a bit of a peace offering). I also put out a ton of baby clothes and Sydney's toddler clothes, which I thought would go right away (if I found a yard sale with clothes like these, I'd go totally nuts!), didn't sell much at all. Some of the stuff I thought would never go sold really fast. It's so bizarre what people will buy. I had a great time just observing people! I also had some breastfeeding propaganda out on the check-out table and was quite happy that several pregnant women picked it up.

But enough about me. Let's talk about YOU!

Stariel made some Trekking socks.

Gerlinde knit up these beauties:


This is a mommy-daughter duo knit out of Knit Picks Sock Garden in Zinnia.


And this is a pair in Sock Garden Daffodil.

Shelley has finished a pair of children's socks and is also starting a Knittin' Mittens knit-along. Go check it out!

Michelle knit up some Orange Camo socks for her honey and has also been incredibly busy opening up her new online store - The Sweet Sheep. She's offering a discount to everyone who e-mails her (details in the post below the socks), so get over there!

Hanne knit some Madder Ribbed Socks.

Ragan finished some Clown Socks and some lovely cabled socks of her own design.

Ginny finished some loooong garter rib socks in fall colors.

Bettina has Shell Socks and some cute doggie pics!

Christa finished some Bearfoot Socks for her dad.

Lara finished two pairs of German socks, one of which is too tiny and darling for words.

Nancy G finished these super-cool King Snake Socks:



Aimee knit some lovely Regia socks for her daughter, but I can't get the picture to download so you'll just have to take my word for it!

Melissa knit these River Rapids socks in Socks That Rock:



Emilee finished her first ever pair of socks - Straight Laced from Knitty! Yahoo!

Nicole finished a pair of Cascading Leaves socks.

Emily whipped up a pair of Knitty's Pedicure Socks (yes, I know, they don't have a toe, but I've made an executive decision to count these as SAM2 socks, so go nuts, pedicure fans!):



Sprite finished some Grey Fixation Socks.

Eva knit up some Dublin Bay Socks in a brilliant shade of Lorna's Laces.

Karen finished up her Embossed Leaves socks during a well-deserved day of couch-sitting.

Sarah whipped up these beauties (love those colors SO much!).

That is all for this week. Tune in next week for much, much more socky fun!

It's official...

I have too many things on my plate. I realized this today when I was shuffling through the huge pile of papers on my desk, found the entry sheet for the Oregon State Fair, and realized with great horror that the drop-off date was yesterday from 12:30 - 6:00. Aaaah! I had seven things I was going to enter, but unless I can make it down to Salem in 40 minutes (only possible if I had a helicopter at my disposal), I'm SOL. Such a bummer!

I guess that means I'm officially a knit-along loser for the State Fair-along. Not that it would be the first time (see also Branching Out Knit-Along, Hopeful Knit-Along and Josephine Knit-Along, all projects for which I've only gotten as far as buying the yarn...). I'm too darn busy running my own knit-along to knit stuff for other people's!

This would be a good time for me to apologize, once again, for not being a better comment responder. It would make it soooo much easier if Blogger would include e-mail addresses with comments, but since that doesn't happen, it makes it ever so hard to go in, track down someone's blog from their profile, and leave a comment. Not that every single comment doesn't deserve a personal response, but I just can't do it. I'll end up like the comment queen Chris, who has given up on blogging for now since it had started to take over her life.

I remember when I was a new blogger and I'd get annoyed when I'd comment on people's blogs and never got a comment in return. I mean, I made all the effort to find their blog, read it and come up with something to say. The least they could do is drop by my blog and say "hi". Now I understand. After blogging for a year (yesterday was my blogiversary, which of course I completely forgot) and running a relatively popular knit-along, I just can't keep up with all the blogs that I want to read and comment on. But I just want to let all of you who comment know that I read and treasure every single one. I'm definitely not ignoring you if I don't return the favor - I just have to put limits on my internet time so that I don't end up with a 1-year-old and 3-year-old out on the street corner smoking cigarettes!

The internet time I do have is now split between knit blogging and MomMA as well as the ton of work-related e-mails I get now that I seem to have 500 designs in various stages of being published. I decided to do a second round of SAM2 for selfish reasons more than anything else because it's one way I can force myself to take some time and go around to people's blogs. I usually spend some time on each one, seeing what everyone's been up to besides socks. It's a lot of work, but I love it!

Anyway, since it's my blogiversary, I'm going to do a little more talking about me with another meme that I grabbed from Elizabeth, my August Birthday Swap giftee. At least this one just requires bolding, not typing!

Life's to do list - Completed items are bolded

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen an eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces or all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake Dead River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in aisles at Rocky Horror
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

Wow, guess I've done a lot, huh? Let me know if you do this. It's pretty cool!

Here we go with the prizes!

All right. We've got some serious prize-giving-away to do. But first, let's review a few statistics.

I cleaned up the list of participants a bit and cleared out anyone who didn't actually report any knit socks to me. That left us with a whopping 129 of you who knit socks for this knit-along. Wow! When I broke it down to see how many socks were knit (not including brownie point pairs), it totals up to 464 pairs, assuming I didn't miss any. These are just the monthly socks. When I add in the brownie point socks (267 pairs of 'em), we're up to a grand total of 731 pairs of socks! I can hardly believe it myself.

26 of you knit socks in all six months of the knit-along, and of those, 17 were in it from the very beginning and knit at least seven pairs of socks from January through July. You are truly serious sock-a-monthers!

Congrats to everyone for making SAM1 such a fun, successful sock-along. You were all fantastic, and I loved seeing all the great socks week after week.

Enough delays - here's what you've been waiting for! First, we'll draw for the July sock prize winner. And it is...Khris! What do I give as a prize to the girl who has her own yarn-dying business? Koigu, of course, courtesy of Jill!

Next, we draw the prize for the knit-alonger who knit socks in all seven months of the knit-along, including January. This very special prize is the hank of Hip Knits Cashmere sock yarn. Mmm, cashmere! The lucky winner is...Sheri!

Since there were so many awesome knitters who knit six pairs of socks (Feb thru July), I'm going to draw a few other names out of this particular hat as well. You may remember these prizes from a few posts ago, but here they are again:



The Intertwinement yarn, courtesy of Wendy, will go to Dene. The Lorna's Laces goes to Roberta. The Trekking XXL goes to Stariel. We also have some secret prize yarn (as in, I don't have a picture of it) which will go to Lisa and Dave. Yay!

And now, the moment you've been waiting for...the grand prize drawings. Just to refresh your memory, there will be two prizes.

Basket 1:


Basket 2:


Each of you who knit at least one pair of socks will be entered in the drawing. The more monthly pairs (as in letters by your name) you have, the more entries you will get. But, no matter how many socks you knit, your fate is in the hands of the random number generator. With no further ado...

Basket 1 goes to Persnickety Knitter. I'd like to send a special thanks out to Persnickety Knitter - due to her participation in this knit-along, I will never again struggle with how to spell the word "persnickety".

Basket 2 goes to Virtuella!

Congrats to all who won, and thank you to all who participated. I am looking forward to a rollicking good SAM2 time thanks to all you busy sockers.

If you won a prize, I will try to contact you via e-mail or blog comment very soon. But, if you beat me to it and come here first (which is kind of more fun and surprising anyway), e-mail me your snail mail address so I can get your prize off to you.

Sock on!!!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Okay, today's not actually my birthday (it was on Friday) - it's my mom's birthday. So, happy birthday, Mom!

I wasn't here to post on my actual birthday. Bill took the day off, we played an early round of golf (yes, golf, to which I am quickly becoming addicted despite a lifetime of scoffing at golfers and their ilk), and then we packed the kids in the car and headed for the coast to do a little sightseeing and camping. We were supposed to stay at the coast for two nights but headed home last night after the temperature had hit 54 degrees and the sun wasn't even down yet...brr! The kids' sleeping bags are only rated to 40 degrees, and we were quite sure it would've gotten colder than that, so we decided to high-tail it back to warmer climes to avoid freezing them both into little popsicles.

But before I left, I got the best birthday present ever - I got one of 8 highly-competitive slots (I think there were over 30 people who applied) in Cat Bordhi's Visionary Retreat for self-publishing authors! It's going to be for a week in January in the San Juan Islands up in Washington, near Friday Harbor (I'll have to finish my Friday Harbor socks and wear them!). I'll be able to bring Bill & the kids w/ my mother-in-law along to help him out with the babysitting. This takes a huge load off my mind since I won't have to worry about night-weaning Owen before then (I know it's six months away, but better safe than sorry, right?) or dealing with a pump while I'm there. I am so excited, and this means that I'm pretty much going to have to go ahead with self-publishing my book. So far it's just a nebulous little idea, but part of the retreat will be dedicated to getting the book idea fleshed out so you can come home and run with it. Yay!

I had a good mail week last week, too - thank you to my wonderful One Skein SP Debbie for this amazing final box of goodies:


(Picture 1)


(Picture 2)

Yes, I needed to take two pictures to fit it all in. Wowza!

I also got my August Birthday Pal Swap package from JennyRaye. Here it is pre-tearing-into-the-paper (it was SO hard to keep my daughter away from this):



And here is the b-day swag:



As you can see, Owen's taking quite the interest in all that good stuff, which is themed around Jenny's home state of Virginia.

I also got a lovely little giftie from Katrina, packaged up in a cute little straw bag which isn't pictured because it's currently in use:



Yes, that's another copy of Knitter's Almanac (Jen sent me one, too). Guess I need to update my Amazon wishlist! Although one can never have too much EZ...

I will try to post some pics from our trip later this week, but today we're going to get right to the socks. We have some prizes to draw for, yo!

We've got two more late July entries - Chrissy knit some Peacock Socks and Abigail knit some Sea & Sand socks.

Now, I really hope that I got everyone's socks and letters and all that right, so please forgive me if I screwed up your stuff. It was not intentional, and you SAM2-ers can feel free to hound me via e-mail until I get it right (do be warned, however, that I try to only do SAM-related stuff on Sundays so if you e-mail me on Monday you'll have to wait a week to see if I can finally get it together).

But, before we get to all the prize-happy craziness, we have some August socks to look at. Mmm, socks!

Rachel has some Big Black Socks, some Leisure Socks and some Mystery Socks done so far this month. That's a lotta socks!

Gerlinde knit up these babies from some sock yarn she got in Germany:



Karen knit up these lavender beauties for the Mystery Sock KAL and also test knit a pair of Opal socks for her sister.

Nadine made some blue Lana Grossa socks for her dad.

Bettina knit up some gorgeous Baudelaires.

Abigail has finished some August socks as well in the midst of a crazy dishcloth frenzy. They look very autumn, don't they?

Jill finished some socks on her birthday, and has the pictures to prove it!

Lisa has pics of some sock soles (she knit them for me, and you're not allowed to see the whole thing(s) yet).

Sheri knit up some crazy-cool rpms from fellow SAM-er Aija's pattern in the Summer knitty. Woot!

Vicki's got Lace Leaf socks OTN.

Julia has River Rapids socks done.

Nelda knit some gorgeous black-and-orange August socks.

Jennie finished her 4th pair of Jaywalkers. She's got a pair of River Rapids, too!

Laura threw her socks in the ring with a simple pair of Simple Stripes socks!

Manda (who I just realized is of the Knitting Psychos podcast) finished a pair of The Pattern That Just Won't Die. I mean, Jaywalkers. (I do love the pattern, really!)

Helga made some Fixation socks that she's in total love with.

All right, it's time to get the kiddos to bed and I didn't have time to get the prize drawings organized yet. Boo! I also have a bunch of new SAM2-ers to add to the list, so stay tuned. I'll get them up very soon, I promise!

50 things

I got this via e-mail from my friend Chris. I hate e-mailing these things out to people, so I decided to put it up here. Consider yourself meme'd if you like (and if you do put it up, be sure you come back here and tell me so I can take a look!).

1. FIRST NAME? Christine
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope! My dad wanted to name me Samantha, but my mom was totally opposed. This is the name they could agree on.
3. LAST CRY? About a month ago, when I sent off an application for a workshop and the organizer told me if I really wanted to attend, I was going to have to do much better than that. (I've since rewritten my application and was told that it was excellent and I'm now a strong candidate...go figure!)
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sure!
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Honey roasted ham.
6. KIDS? You all know the answer to this one already!
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I like to think so, but who knows! It's hard to have that kind of perspective on yourself.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This is it!
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Constantly. I'm not always a nice person...
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup, and all of my wisdom teeth!
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way! I am terrified of heights.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? This is a tough one. Probably a tie between Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs, if I'm being honest.
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Depends on whether or not I'm holding a kid at the time.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Nope! I'm proud to be wimpy.
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Choc-van-straw, baby! Although the spumoni at the Italian place down the street is like crack to me.
16. SHOE SIZE? Used to be 7-1/2, now pretty firmly an 8.
17. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My lack of patience. Oh, and my thighs!
18. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandma Mary, who was the one person who always loved me just the way I am and was happy to show it.
19. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Well, this doesn't really apply, but I'd love to get to know some of my readers better - please meme yourselves!
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? No shoes (but I am wearing the socks from my Sockapaloooza pal) and denim shorts.
21. LAST THING YOU ATE? A jack cheese stick, last night before bed.
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Sweet, sweet silence (kids are still asleep).
23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Burnt Umber.
24. FAVORITE SMELL? Cucumber melon. Or green tea.
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My husband.
26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Butt (we are talking men here, right?).
27. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Absolutely! She totally rocks!
28. FAVORITE DRINK? Oh, you know I loves me the coffee. But I'll rarely turn down a good microbrew or red wine, either.
29. FAVORITE SPORT? To watch? Tennis. To participate in? Downhill skiing!
30. EYE COLOR? Blue, blue, blue.
31. HAT SIZE? Um, large?
32. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Not so often, now that I have a pair of glasses that I really like.
33. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza!
34. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? I used to love the scary movies, but now that I have kids I find I prefer happy endings.
35. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIE THEATER? Wedding Crashers (we don't get out much)
36. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black
37. SUMMER OR WINTER? Depends on how close the nearest ski area is...
38. HUGS OR KISSES? Both are great, but I'm really a huggin' kind of gal.
39. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ice cream! Or anything chocolate.
40. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
41. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? 99.9% of you
42. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Who has time to read? What I'm planning on reading is The Kid by Dan Savage and Easy by Kerry Cohen-Hoffman.
43. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't have one.
44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Frasier reruns
45. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Surf on the beach, wind in the pines, silence when both the kids are asleep!
46. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles, all the way
47. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Australia
48. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Why, knitting, of course!
49. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Aitkin, Minnesota
50. Who sent this to you? My amazing friend Chris! And you'd better believe that I wouldn't do all this typing for just anyone!

Join me and Team MomMA! in fighting breast cancer

Did you know that a woman can reduce her risk of breast cancer by 50% by breastfeeding for two years? MomMA recognizes the importance of breasts and the need to keep them healthy. We are very proud to be working towards finding a cure for breast cancer as well as sharing how breastfeeding can help fight this deadly disease.

Come join us in supporting the 2006 Portland Race For The Cure! Visit our team page for information on joining Team MomMA! (there is a 5k run as well as a 5k and 1-mile walk, as well as Sleep In For The Cure for those of us who can't or don't want to do the actual run/walk). Or, help us fight breast cancer by making a donation. Even if you can only donate $5, you'll be making a difference (after all, $5 added up across 100 people is $500!).

Finally! Vacation pictures!

I know a few of you have been waiting with bated breath for our vacation pictures (hi, Erin!), so here they are. The road to getting these pics organized was fraught with peril (including a little boy who turned off the laptop in the middle of my caption-writing, causing much clever verbiage to be lost), so I really hope you enjoy them!

Go here to see them (don't forget to read the captions that I worked so hard on).

I'll also give you a brief overview of the trip, so you're not completely lost while looking at them. The point of the trip was to drive to Minnesota for my annual family reunion. We decided to drive, despite the fact that we have two small children, after the horrible flight home we had last summer (involving a screaming baby, whining toddler and horrendous weather, to name just a few). So, we packed up the car, strapped in the kids, and headed east on I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge.

The first night was uneventful - we stayed at the Best Western in Butte, MT. The next morning, after a mediocre breakfast at the Perkins attached to the hotel, we started our vacation in earnest with a trip to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, where Custer made his infamous last stand. I visited the monument when I was in high school and really found it fascinating, so I was eager to return. However, the kids were not quite so enamored with the place and the fact that it was over 100 degrees out made for a rather unpleasant visit.

We headed on to Buffalo, WY, and stopped at Taco John's to pick up dinner. We then drove up into the Bighorn Mountains in search of camping. We found a lovely spot up in the woods (thankfully, it was much cooler up there) and set ourselves up. It was a great stop, only slightly marred by the noisy generator on the ginormous RV where the campground host lived (which just happened to be in the site next to ours). Sydney got her first tast of pit toilets and actually did pretty darn well. Owen had a blast trying to eat as much dirt as he could before one of us noticed what he was doing.

Next on the agenda was Devil's Tower, where we dragged the poor kids on a short hike in sweltering heat. The trail was mostly shaded, but Owen got stuck in the Ergo since Sydney refused to walk (and I refused to carry her) and took over the stroller. He was sweltering hot and exhausted back there, and alternated between crying pitifully and snoozing with his head flung back at a precarious angle. There had been a forest fire in the woods near the monument right before we got there, so we got to watch the big helicopters dumping buckets of turquoise blue flame retardant on hot spots while we drove past. Pretty cool (the helicopters, not the fire)!

That night we camped in Custer State Park in the Black Hills in nice 80-degree temperatures (I don't do well sleeping in heat, so it was a bit uncomfortable there). Again, the kids got busy getting as dirty as possible as soon as we set up camp. Fortunately, the campground had a swimming beach so we all rinsed the top layer of dirt off in the lake. It was a great way to cool off before crawling into the ridiculously hot tent.

In the morning, we drove through the Hills to Mount Rushmore and visited briefly (did I mention it was hot?). Then we headed west to Badlands National Park where Bill lived for a few years when he was a kid (his dad was a park ranger). Again, it was way too hot to really do anything. We checked out his old school, church and house. We also had to stop at Wall Drug for lunch and a bumper sticker. That night we crashed at the Comfort Inn in Sioux Falls.

Wednesday finally brought us to our destination state - Minnesota! Since we were passing very close by, we stopped at my aunt and uncle's new house in Northfield. The recently moved from a small vintage bungalow with an equally small yard in south Minneapolis to a nice roomy split-level ranch with a gorgeous huge yard in Northfield. They're totally loving it, and I can't blame them! It's a really nice set-up.

Wednesday night we stayed with friends in Minneapolis and got a chance to meet Quinn, the most recent addition to their family. Sydney and Owen fought like cats & dogs with their 3-year-old Liam, but we all managed to survive and the adults had a nice visit, anyway.

Thursday morning was breakfast at my favorite breakfast place of all time, the New Louisiana Cafe in St. Paul, MN. I have never found an adequate substitute for their Cajun Breakfast (hash browns with peppers and onions covered with cheese, two fried eggs and slathered with cajun hollandaise sauce). Then up to my mom's house in Duluth for a night before heading to Aitkin to meet up with the rest of the family.

We spent two days in Aitkin, hanging out on my grandparents' farm, swimming in the Mississippi River and checking out all my old hangouts to see how they've changed (or not). Sunday was our family reunion at a state park northeast of Aitkin, and we camped there Sunday night (this time it was ridiculously hot AND there were a gazillion mosquitoes - not fun!).

Monday morning we hit the road again, with a short stop in Grand Rapids to fix a flat tire. We drove on to Itasca State Park where we rented a cabin for three days right on the edge of the park. I can't believe that I grew up in Minnesota and had never been to Itasca! After all, its claim to fame is being where the Mississippi River's headwaters are located. Anyway, it's a great park, and we had a great three days swimming, sightseeing and watching Sydney & Owen play with their cousins.

Are you still reading? If so, I commend you! This is getting long, isn't it? But it's almost over...on Thursday morning, we hit the road again. We stopped for lunch in Grand Forks, ND, after taking a short drive around the UND campus where Bill went to college. We then headed on to Minot where we stopped for dinner at my mom's cousin's house. All of her grandchildren were there, so Sydney & Owen were taken out and exercised quite nicely by the other kids. We left there about 9:30 pm, determined to get some road under our wheels before the end of the day. We made it to Glendive, MT, where we crashed out at the Days Inn.

We actually got a nice early start the next morning, and plugged "home" into our navigation system to see what it said. According to it, if we pushed it, we'd be home around 1 am. We decided to go for it, like horses that smell the barn. Unfortunately, we forgot to factor in the ridiculous number of potty and please-stop-crying-Owen stops we'd have to make along the way, and ended up rolling into our driveway at around 4:30 am. But let me tell you, it was so great to wake up in my own bed!

All in all, it was a very successful trip. I love road trips, and I love the fact that our kids are seeing much more of this great country than they would if we just flew back and forth over it. Never mind the fact that Sydney was glued to her DVD player 99% of the time (we did make her shut it off for several hours a day, until we were nearly driven to homicide by "Can I watch? Can I watch? Can I watch" coming incessantly from the back seat...). I think we're going to make it a summer family tradition.

Whew! Thanks for reading! I need some coffee.

For those of you in the Portland area...

Watch the Channel 2 news tonight for news on the MomMA nurse-out we had this morning in Pioneer Square. I had an extensive interview (we'll see what they actually show) for the news and there were a reporter and photographer from the Oregonian as well.

I'm getting nervous about seeing myself talk on tv - we'll see how it goes!

Here they are...the rest of the July socks!

Yes, I'm finally getting around to posting the July socks. Please take a minute and make sure you have all the proper credits. You'll have until the 13th, when I will be doing all of the super-duper prize drawings.

Also, before I get sucked into the sock vortex, I wanted to let you know that I've got a second blog now - a group blog for MomMA. That means that those of you who aren't so interested in breastfeeding won't have to hear about me go on and on here about it. For those of you who are, please go subscribe to the MomMA blog, read, leave comments and, if you're so inclined, e-mail me about contributing. We would love to have contributors from around the world to give their perspective on breastfeeding in public as they see it. If you'd like to submit a piece or become a regular contributor, just let me know.

Okay. Back to the socks!

Kelly finished some crazy pink striped slinky socks for her daughter.

Melanie finished some alpaca socks for her lucky hubby.

Stariel's got a bunch of socks (again), starting with these Hederas. She also gets a brownie point for a pair of socks she knit for me, for the upcoming Just Socks! book (but I can't show you those).

Tonia finished a pink pair of Trekking socks, and also gets a brownie point for the Just Socks! socks she knit for me (which also happened to be pink - go figure!).

Khris knit up a pair of Secret Pal socks of her own design (free pattern included!).

Karen (who I think has earned herself the title "totally and completely insane sock lady") finished TWO MORE pairs of socks for July. That puts her at a whopping 39 brownie points, folks. She knit up a pair of Opal Petticoat socks and a pair of Sisu Fantasy socks. Whew!

Monica polished of a pair of Opal Rainforest socks.

Sillyewe finished her Pomatomuses for the Sizzling Red Hot Sock knit-along.

Sheri finished some SHOCKING green Hederas. Wow!

Sara finished some Cape Code Socks.

Erica went absolutely hog-wild in July, finishing some really soft-looking socks from her own handspun, a pair of Lion Magic Stripes for her son and a pair of cool Koigus (both in this post) for herself. She even has a pair of August socks already! Amazing!

Brianne finished this pair of socks in just six days!

Linda finished up some Pomatomi and some Harley Davidson socks for her hubby.

Kris made some Hard Rock Socks.

Lara made some Thujas for her dad's 86th birthday!

Karen has some pink July socks.

Kristy in NC tried out Magic Loop on these babies:

(Of course, Blogger won't let me upload a pic, so here's a link to it instead.)

Julie finished two pairs of Fixation Ankle Socks. See one pair on her blog (the other was a birthday picture and is pictureless).

Roberta's sending out a striped pair to her Other SP.

Ragan's got some hairy purple cabled socks and a pair of patterned pastel socks done. Funky!

Dave's got a pair of pairs - one is radioactive (good or bad? Personally I kind of like them...), and the other is paleontologic.

Adrienne finished some crazy Lickety Split socks. Those make my toes squirm just looking at 'em!

Nelda finished some lovely Little Shell socks.

Lisa finished an amazing pair of socks which are a sample for the Hip Knits Sock Club (so I can't show them to you, but are they ever cool, if I do say so myself - modesty be damned!).

Jenni worked up a pair of crocheted socks. I love me those crocheted socks!

Quikeye shows off another pair of Pomatomuses, a pair of Drunken Lightning socks and a pair of cute little toddler socks (cute toddler included).

Zonda's got One Skein Sockettes!

Kristy W has some cool cuffed Rockin' Sock Club socks and some simple ribbed socks.

Dene has Rock 'n Weave Rockin' Sock Club socks as well!

Helga knit up some Austerman Step Mud socks.

Emily made Madder Rib socks for her boyfriend. Looks like he likes them!

Judy at Living Lakeside made some Fly Fishing socks.

Michelle made her first pair of toe-up socks using some leftover stash bits.

Rachel made a lovely pair of Baudelaires.

Jessalu (who is bowing out of the next round of sock-a-month so she can spend more time spinning - go figure!) finished a pair of Wyverns.

Christy finished some shetland wool socks as a gift for her uncle. Not only that, she entered them in the fair and won first prize! Congrats!

StarzAbove knit up some Yukon Leaves.

Jennie made some funkalicious Jaywalkers.

Jenn made Cabled Footies and Trekking Socks.

And last but definitely not least, two more pairs from Siri - Neapolitan Coconut Candy socks and Trip-To-Alaska socks.

Please check those letters and let me know by next Sunday if anything is missing. Blogger crashed in the middle of this post and I lost a bunch of stuff, so I really need your help to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. Then, stay tuned for the super prize drawings next Monday!!!

We also have some early entries for August - purple Hederas from Tanya. Yay!

Wow, that's a lot of socks. I need a beer!

Media craziness, SAM2 participants and some pics

First up, to the best of my ability, I've added everyone who has signed up for SAM2 to the sidebar. If you're in, please check to make sure your name is there and your link is correct. I really tried to get it all right, but I can't guarantee anything! We also have some great buttons - thanks to Karen and Ragan. Please take one for your blog!

Next, I wanted to share some of the media coverage that MomMA has been getting this week. Last night, our first coffee gathering in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week had a little blurb on the 5:00 news (you can watch the video feed here - I'm the one in the background with the black-and-white MomMA shirt on, and Owen is the little guy in the light blue playsuit). They're a little bit off on their facts since Chris is definitely not a first-time mom and I'm the one who actually started the group, but whatever. I think it's a pretty positive story. Then, this morning, the Oregonian article came out. I was really happy about this article and thought Shelby (the reporter) did an amazing job. I was a little disappointed that MomMA (and me, since I was there for the whole interview and did a lot of talking, too) only got a small little mention at the end, but it was great that she was able to give some serious space to Chris's Fred Meyer story and hopefully dispel some of the stupid rumors that have been going around about Chris flashing the entire store and trying to be as indiscreet as possible.

Now on to some yarn. As promised, I'm also going to post a few pictures (finally!). First, I've got some great swag that needs to be shown off. I'll start with the amazing package I got from my SP8:



Awesome green yarn and some really yummy-smelling soaps & lotions were just the highlights of this really great package. Thanks, pal!

I also got a hank of sock yarn from Michelle, who is a fellow sock-cruiser. I happened to visit her blog while she was having a little contest, and I won this baby!



She's starting up her own line of hand-dyes, and she's got some gorgeous ones still up for grabs so go check them out.

I also got a lovely little hank of Mt. Colors Weaver's Wool Quarters in the colorway Yellowstone from Sonya. She told me I could either keep it for myself as a thank-you for running the knit-along, or throw it into the prize pot.



What do you think I should do? I'm so torn, as I absolutely ADORE this colorway. I guess you'll find out what I decide when I do the prize drawings next week, huh?

And now for the fun stuff - the prize baskets. Here are the two grand prize baskets...

#1:


#2:


In addition, I'll be drawing for these four "future pairs of socks" to reward sock-a-monthers who have completed socks in all six months (Feb through July):



The cashmere (which is on the far right) will go to an extra-socky knit-alonger who has completed SEVEN pairs (January through July). Now, is that some serious prizage or what?

Next on the agenda is the sock update, which will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm also going to get my vacation pics in an album for those of you who want to see them. Thanks for your patience! I need an extra set of fingers to keep up with everything (well, actually what I need is a full-time nanny, but let's not go there...).

Yes, I'm back, but...

I've got nearly 100 of you who are signing up for SAM2, and I'm furiously working on getting the sidebar updated. I've also got a gazillion socks to post, and I'm waiting for the last few July socks to come trickling in. I will then ask you all to do an audit and make sure everything is correct, because I don't want to exclude anyone from the drawings due to the fact that I can't seem to get everyone's letters correct with any kind of regularity. So, I will get the updates posted by the end of this week, and then you will have until the end of next week to make sure that they are correct. I will do the drawings on August 13, my mom's birthday! And when I say we have some fabulous prizes, I do mean FABULOUS! I just took pictures of the two grand prize baskets (yes, there will be TWO grand prize baskets with enough yarn in each of them to make six pairs of socks), and there are also some bonus skeins that will go to a few other lucky winners including the yummy hank of Cashmere from Hip Knits.

But will I be posting pictures today? Of course not! That would require some level of organization that I just don't have in me. Plus, both the kids are still reeling from their long vacation and are extra clingy. Owen in particular is insisting on being held most of the day. So, since he has a strong affinity for pounding on computer keyboards when they're within his reach, that means very little computer time for yours truly. I'm going to see if Bill is feeling charitable enough tonight to give me a couple kid-free hours to get some stuff done. Never mind the fact that I have several patterns to write/grade that are due this month... August is only one day old, and I'm already worrying about the end of the month!

I'm also totally wrapped up in the events of World Breastfeeding Week this week. MomMA is hosting a bunch of coffees for nursing moms, and the Channel 2 news attended our first one this morning. We ended up sitting next to another new mom who was nursing her baby (unrelated to our group), and she ended up being interviewed by the reporter. Little did she know when she went to get coffee this morning that she was going to end up on the news! She was a very good sport about it, though. My MomMA co-founder Chris also got some microphone time in, and it should be airing on one of the evening broadcasts tonight, for those of you in the Portland area.

Okay, time to go deal with Owen before he pulls a Linda Blair on me. Stay tuned, for the sock updates will be coming! I promise!!!