After almost 10 hours in the car on Saturday I arrived at my apartment. It's nice to be back. I love being at the cabin, but there is only so much I can do to occupy myself. I brought a lot of books and knitting a long, which helped. A trip to Rainy Lake and a few trips to Target in Bemidji broke up what could have turned into monotony.

I read The Naming while knitting this pair of socks.



I read The Deathly Hallows while knitting this sock.



My copy was at home, as it arrived the day after I left, but my sister brought hers so I started The Deathly Hallows when I had finished my other book which nicely coincided with her finishing it.

I pretty much spent my week driving and listening to audiobooks(Break No Bones and Twilight) or reading while knitting socks. I got antsy one day and went for a short run. It was too hot and muggy to run for longer so I jumped in the lake to cool off. It was in the mid-90's for about 4 days and humid on top of that. It rarely gets above 90 in that area. We only had one fan and there was little wind. It finally cooled off on Thursday after a nice storm but it was so windy we couldn't get a fire started in our fire pit on the beach. It smoldered enough to give us decent coals for roasting marshmallows



which quickly turned into s'mores.



ETA:

I put a bunch of my cabin pictures on my Flickr page if you are really interested.

Sunset

I am supposed to be leaving today, but have yet to pack a thing. Josh took his truck to work, which I think means he is making me leave after he's done with work, which was my plan anyway. I am at work right now, but intend to go home so I can finish winding my sock yarn into cakes for easy knitting a transporting while in MN.

Next stop is the library and maybe the Java House. I still have to stop at Target and Sam's, but they are both on the way out of town.

Have a good week!

The Burrow toe

The Burrow toe
Originally uploaded by chelsealynnw.

Liz is letting me test knit some yarn she dyed. This colorway is called The Burrow. So far it's toe-up (obviously) on two circs. I may do something different for the leg; I haven't decided yet. I haven't decided what kind of heel I am going to do either. I have never done a short-row heel, so that's an option, or maybe Wendy's gusset heel. I really like how this stuff is knitting up so far.

I can't wait to get out of here and go to the cabin. I am looking forward to sitting by the lake reading and knitting with my feet in the water. I hope the water is high enough for me to sit with my feet in the water. That was not the case last year. Anyway, I want to start a fire in the fireplace and roast marshmallows for smores. I am hoping for a good thunderstorm because they are fun to watch as they come across the lake.

I know Josh is going to get lonely while I am gone. He has told me as much and he has already requested I make a loaf of Irish soda bread before I leave. I may make some zucchini bread to take with me and maybe my scone recipe.

Iced cold press coffee

Iced cold press coffee
Originally uploaded by chelsealynnw.

This plus a blueberry scone and a juicy peach is not a bad Tuesday Eve breakfast.

Sunday Morning Scones

Sunday Morning Scones
Originally uploaded by chelsealynnw.

Baking in the morning, when you have the time, is fun. This cookbook produces some of the best results for almost everything. This is not the scone recipe I usually use, but I had all the ingredients for it, so I decided to try it. I was not disappointed. A slightly sweet biscuit filled with blueberries is not a bad way to start a Sunday morning. Add a cup of coffee with a dash of Kahlua and you are set.

I am going to get some ice cubes started so I can have iced coffee tomorrow morning. It's going to get hot and humid again. It's a good thing I am leaving for more northern parts of the country soon.

I am a sock knitter

I am admitting it. I have knit toe-up, baby size, cuff-down and am working on some sideways socks. It's not a lot of socks by any means (7 total socks), but other things don't scream at me to be knitted right away. Sock yarns suck me in and I can't help but stare at them. when I get bored or have extra time at work I stare at sock yarn on Etsy or at all the sock patterns on Ravelry and the Sockapalooza socks. I have never knit a sweater or gloves or mittens or... Ok, so there are a lot of things I have never knit.

I am currently working on two pairs of socks, both of which have been frogged at one point. I joined a sock club at my LYS and just joined another sock club from a favorite Etsy seller because her yarns are gorgeous and so soft. I plan to make socks for Christmas gifts this year, therefor I am not buying sock yarn and knitting for myself all the time.

I am leaving for a week long vacation to my family's cabin (I will get outside pics when I am there)in northern MN in one week. I am planning which sock yarn and patterns I will bring a long and lining up audiobooks to put on my iPod so I can spend my days on the dock knitting socks and listening to books. I am also bringing regular books, a couple swim suits and some running shoes so I have something to do when my wrists and hands get sore. I also must have my camera so I can take some pictures of the sunset on the lake and any sock progress.

My mom and Lex are leaving tomorrow for the cabin and I really wish I was going with them. It is best for me to wait until next weekend to leave due to current work obligations, but I want to get out of here. Sadly, Josh isn't coming with me since he needs to stay to teach tkd since I am leaving. He is being too nice to me.

I will miss the arrival of my new HP book and the opening of The Simpson's Movie but I can always catch up when I get back. I don't think Josh will wait to go to the movie with me though. He called me today and sang a song from the trailer and I think that was pretty much the only reason he called me.

Too tight

Josh and I played hooky from tkd last night and saw Transformers. The special effects were great and it had a decent plot.

I did the long graft on my Sidewinders Tuesday night and decided to try it on before I moved to the toe graft. First of all, I messed up the graft or my increases/decreases, either way, I ended up with 4 more stitches on one needle than the other. That really doesn't matter since even thought I knit the wide version, it was too tight in the foot. I guess my high arches are to blame since it fit well everywhere else. I am not too upset that I had to frog because now I can make my increases and decreases better and I can also use Maia's lovely modification which eliminates the sure to be messy toe graft.

Here it is before grafting




I started it with Maia's modifications on Tuesday night, but screwed up early on trying to add a heel gusset and gave up. I will try again this weekend when I have some time. I may also see about making my own swift.

Iced Coffee? No Sweat - New York Times

I think I may be making me some of this sometime soon.

Iced Coffee

Sockapalooza FO!

They really are the same length. I just can't take pictures upside down very well.



Pattern: Cable Twist modified for fingering weight yarn
Yarn: 2 skeins Koigu KPPM colorway #2233


ETA:
I love this pattern for fingering weight yarn. I may have to try it in worsted weight for the winter months. The yarn has a nice tight twist and doesn't split. it got a little fuzzy after frogging, but that's to be expected. I think the colors are nicely saturated, and I love the way it's not completely solid. I can't say I would use it again because for the price, the yardage is a little skimpy. I didn't run out of yarn, but I also didn't make them as tall as I was hoping to.

My changes (some stolen from other people):

I made it over 64 stitches with each repeat being k6p2. One sock has the cables twisting to the right while the other goes to the left. I used an eye of partridge heel.

My Sockapalooza pal's socks are done. After finishing the second sock I ripped back the toe of the first one and made it a little longer so it fits a little better. I haven't taken pics yet because I have been too lazy to weave in the ends. I also haven't finished grafting my first Sidewinder. I tried to on Friday night, but Josh kept talking to me and I kept losing my place so I gave up. I need an hour w/o him around to get it done, I think.

I don't have the energy to teach tkd tonight. I don't like teaching when I am tired. At least we don't have large classes. I think all Josh wants to do anymore is teach tkd and kickboxing. He talks about it all the time. I wish I had half his enthusiasm for it because I would enjoy teaching a lot more if I did.

My upstream sock pal is torturing me. She told me my socks are done and they are on Ravelry. That means I may have looked at them or could possibly find them and not know it! I just want to look at all the socks on there and figure out which ones are for me. Not that I think it's really possible, but you never know. We also have some of the same things in our queues so I could easily stumble across them while looking at other people's stuff. Torture!!!!

I meant to take pictures of my socks yesterday, but my camera batteries died and I didn't have any charged ones lying around. My computer is also driving me nuts. I need a new one but am not quite prepared to spend that much money right now.

I am so glad I took the 4th off. I almost started a project at work that would take 3 days, i.e. through Wednesday, but decided against it. I got to sleep in, play Zelda, and get a modest amount of knitting on my Sidewinders and Sockapalooza pal's socks done. I just need to graft the Sidewinders, and I am on the heel flap of the Cable Twist socks. I think I will wait to do my second Sidewinder until Maia writes her tutorial on how to eliminate one of the grafts by using two circs.

Act III Finished

May I present Act III of Sidewinders.



It took me a lot longer than it should have because of the addition of some stitches somehow, but I am back to where I was before frogging and hope to finish them tomorrow since I don't have to work! I love university holidays.

A lot happened this weekend. It was good, but also sad.

Josh and I got into a coaster fight Friday night before tae kwon do class and this is what happened.



I couldn't hit him, but apparently I can get coasters stuck in picture frames. It's still there because it's too funny to take it down.

After tae kwon do we went to The Vine for the second time in three days to see a friend who moved away about a year ago and was back for a night. It was good to see him and hear how he and his wife, also a good friend, are doing in Texas.

I am now co-owner of a motorcycle that doesn't run. It's an '83, good year by the way, Honda Shadow. It doesn't look that nice, nor does it run, but getting it to run, I believe, is a fairly simple fix and eventually we will get it all fixed up and shiny. We traded a new PS2 and a couple games and other accessories for it and I think it was a good deal even though the previous owner offered to just give it to us.

The sad part of getting the motorcycle was we got it from a good friend that is leaving today for Virginia. His wife a kids left for Virginia last month and he stayed behind to sell their house. Well, it sold and he is off to see his family and hopefully get a tae kwon do club/school going and find a new job that he likes better than the one he had here. I wish them luck even though I will miss them a lot.

Amanda and I went to the Iowa City Jazz Festival on Saturday afternoon and had a great time. The weather was ideal for sitting outside and doing a little crocheting and knitting. I made some progress on the Sidewinders and am almost back to where I was (I was actually a little farther than when the pic was taken) before I frogged back to the beginning of Act II. I also ate a lot of tasty food while I was there. Oasis had a stand set up and I got half a falafel pita then Pizza on Dubuque had their Pizza on Wheels set up, which I ate at all the time on RAGBRAI, and I got an excellent slice of their veggie pizza.

I finished one Sockapalooza sock before I went to the jazz festival, and I casted on for the second one yesterday afternoon. I might redo the toe graft because I messed it up a bit.





I have been to The Vine 3 time since Wednesday and to Old Capitol Brew Works once. That's a lot of beer.