Little Things

I have lots of little things to talk about - little things that are all good, and have been adding up over the last few days. I've been busy in my spare moments trying to crank away at Pomotomus - I really wanted to finish that sock in time to display at the shop before Wednesday's spectacle, but this little project demanded my full attention so picking it up and putting it down during the day with the girls wasn't working for me. The few times I tried that, I ended up spending more time ripping back my mistakes. I did finish it last night, though, so it will be at the store for the Harlot event. All that boils down to is that I had to make a choice between eating up an hour writing a blog post or having an extra hour to knit, and this week more often than not I've chosen the knitting.

Pomotomus is done, though, and now I can blog, and get back to the other projects that are waiting so patiently. In the mean time, let's bask in the joy of an FO for a moment. Pomotomus takes a break in the back yard, admiring the green sprouting up in the grass while it waits for me to find a darning needle and kitchener up the toe.



Pomotomus found some pitiful tulips by the back of the house - they are just under our dryer vent where it is warm.



Pomotomus complete and on the hoof. Woot!



It was chilly today, but at least not pouring rain. Sophie fell asleep in the car again on our way home from the morning's entertainment, so I let Julie play with bubbles for a few minutes while we waited for Sophie to wake up.



While we were eating lunch, the UPS truck showed up and dropped off my new camera. Yippee!



I don't think we'll see much difference in quality of pictures in blog posts - the real difference will be in print quality. That, and maybe I'll get a few better action shots since it does snap the photo much faster than the old one. I'm still fiddling around with the features, but most of the menus are similar to the older model, so it's a pretty easy learning curve.

Here's a picture of Sophie on the old camera:


Here she is on the new camera - almost identical!



My friend Elizabeth dropped by this afternoon with her new little girl. Baby A's birthday is just a few weeks after Sophie's, so she will be able to wear all of our hand-me-downs, and I had a couple of tubs waiting to get out of here. I'm glad I have someone to just give it all to instead of having to organize a garage sale. Some of those things are so cute, it would be very hard to watch strangers pawing through them to pick and choose.

Elizabeth makes beautiful bags out of old kimonos and sells them on Etsy, and she brought me one today as a thank-you gift. I love it! I was just wishing for a second knitting notions bag, and now I've got it!



Elizabeth got a kick out of Daisy's napping spot, and since I had my new camera in hand, I took a picture to entertain my readers. That's the base of a potted ficus tree. She sleeps there all the time.



Oh, dear readers, there are so many other things I've been meaning to share with you, but I am so tired and my brain is so addled! Let's see....we had a staff meeting at the store to prepare for the Harlot event. The managers and Maura have been working so hard to iron out the details, and it is going to be great! Every single person who comes is going to get a special gift, and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say what it is yet, but it's really nice. I got to bring one home and I hope there are extras because I'd like one or two more just to have around. Even if you didn't get a reservation and are just on the waiting list, they have enough for everybody. We are very sad that not everyone can be accommodated...until New York last week, there had never been a Harlot event this big!

Oh, I know! I wanted to go back to the topic of that top I mentioned wanting to knit the other day. I got several suggestions from readers about adapting the pattern, or using a different pattern that is similar to knit something up with. First, let me just reiterate that I will not be knitting up any lacy tops for myself in the near future. There is a blue striped sweater awaiting finishing, and there is a poor neglected blankie that desperately needs some love. When those are done, I need to work up some projects for my girls for Fall, and there is a Bohus kit that has been ripening in my stash closet for about two years now. (I swear, it's been in there long before Wendy and Stephanie and Susan and Sally started theirs). I mentioned the top because I really like it, and I just wanted to vent about wanting to knit it because I knew that it's not going to be a reality any time soon.

That said, I got a giggle out of the idea that I should buy a pattern in order to rework it with different yarn in a different gauge, probably with long sleeves instead of the short. A huge part of what I love about knitting it the figuring-it-out part. It is not all that often that I knit a pattern written by someone else. No, I love to look at a picture in a magazine, or see something in my mind's eye, then try to create something of my own that is unique and special and more my own than someone else's. I will cut out the picture and tape it in the notebook I keep of design inspirations. There are several other wrap and faux-wrap sweaters in there, so I'm sure I'll get to that style element eventually. Some day when I have the time, or when my mind tells me that it's really time to do this project, I will look at the photo again. I will take my measurements, or more likely the measurements of a similar-fitting garment that I like to wear, and I will do a big gauge swatch in a lace pattern or two, and I will work up the numbers and make my own from scratch. I'm not saying that it's the easiest way or that it even makes sense, but that is how I like to knit.

And now, I am completely exhausted. I'm pretty sure everything I've just typed was incoherent. I must go get some sleep!