The yarn for Ribby Cardi should arrive tomorrow! No idea on the arrival time of the yarn for Wicked. I am not going to have both pairs of socks done for the end of Summer of Socks on Friday, but I should have Fawkes done. I haven't even started the second Anastasia sock. I hate the toes on toe-up socks for some reason. I offered to test knit a pair of really cool and complicated socks for Kelly at kelp! knits. I think it they will be a fun challenge and I have some perfect yarn for them in the stash. I also need to start some socks for my new Sockapalooza pal. I have a car ride coming up soon so I am going to devote that time to those socks.

Heather, my PI, and I are taking a class on microscopy. We are not officially enrolled in the class (we worked out a deal with the head of the department), but we are still doing all the homework and have to do presentations at the end. I am really not looking forward to that part. I enjoy microscopy, but I do not enjoy homework and especially not giving presentations.

Why did I bring a can of soup for lunch when it is going to 85 degrees outside today? Too hot for soup! Well, I think it's too hot in general. I need fall weather soon!

Don't forget it's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

It's a pair, right??

They don't match, but two socks is a pair! Left is Fawkes and right is Anastasia. The colorways look kinda similar knitted up, but completely different in the skein. Fawkes is for me but Anastasia is a Christmas gift.with matching headband included.

I better cast-on for their mates before I go to sock club. I also signed up to be a sock savior for Sockapalooza. I am going to go on a hunt for some perfect sock yarn for my new Sockapalooza pal and for my mom. I think the yarn I got has too much brown in the red. I have another option in my stash, but that one seems a little too orange. She's pickier than I am so I am being more picky than usual.

I have two sweaters planned for myself and yarn has been ordered for each. One is a zippy cardi and the other a pullover. One is a cotton blend yarn and the other is wool. One is knit seamless, in the round while the other is knit flat. I think that's some good variety for first and second sweaters.

First, some knitting...

The first socks of Fawkes and Anastasia are almost complete. Anastasia just needs to be bound off and Fawkes needs another 2.5" before I start the toe. I am making Anastasia a little shorter than I normally do because I want to make a matching headband from the remaining yarn.


Now, on to beer...

On a whim, I purchased some Fat Tire beers at Fareway. There were $3 for 22oz bottles. I picked up the Amber and a black ale. I think we drank them in the wrong order because the amber tasted bland after the black ale. It was reminiscent of the Blackout Stout from Great Lakes, that is one of my all-time favorites. After awhile the amber tasted better; it is actually really good. I can't wait until we get the 6-packs around here. I also can't wait until Josh's amber is ready!

I have a question: Do the boxed mixes for Funfetti cakes use sprinkles for the confetti look? I believe that is the case, but it has been such a long time since I made a cake from a mix that I can't remember. Josh' b-day is Sunday and he wants a Funfetti cake, but I can't bring myself to used a boxed mix, especially when a cake from scratch is not much harder and tastes soooo much better.

Lexsea, if you are reading this:
Do you think mom will like this color?



I think it may be a little too dark and reddish for her. I think it may even look a little darker in person than in this pic.

Josh went for two motorcycle rides yesterday. He had a lot of fun and I am jealous. I didn't feel comfortable riding with my cold and Sudafed in my system. I didn't even feel comfortable driving my car! Josh was very kind and took me to work yesterday afternoon so I could get some bacterial colonies growing for today. I need to get a pic of the bike. It has been painted and has a new seat. It looks so much better than it did.

As for knitting, I didn't get a lot done. At least not as much as I thought I would. I knit the heel on Anastasia 3.5 times. I gave the short-row heel another try, but had a gigantic hole where the heel and instep met before the start of the cuff. I switched to Wendy's toe-up slip stitch heel and it worked much better. The cuff and most of the heel flap are done on Fawkes. Oh yeah, my reason for not knitting a ton was this.

So, that cold I thought I was getting, oh yeah, I got it. I got progressively worse during the day but felt better for about two hours while I taught at the GymNest. Before I went to bed I started sneezing and coughing again. I ran out of cough drops and cold meds so I will have to suffer through it until I can get to the store, which may not be until after work. I forgot my lunch so I may just go downtown for some food and drugs.

I am halfway through the first pattern repeat on Fawkes, but have yet to fix the heel on Anastasia. My order from Knit Picks arrived yesterday with my extra sets of 2.5mm and 2.75mm dpns so I may start another pair! Three at once! I have a feeling my weekend, other than taking the motorcycle license test at the DOT will be spent on the couch with some knitting, a glass of water or cup of tea and a Kleenex box.

I still haven't gotten my gym pass and it's already 2 weeks into the semester. Bad Chelsea! I should do that today.

Heather, a pediatric cardiologist at UIHC and my boss, and I want to take a microscopy class at the university. We thought it would be cheaper to do our research while taking this class since the fees for all the microscopy use and staff time are covered by the tuition. Yesterday, I decided to determine if our assumption that the class was cheaper is true. I emailed the microscopy core's business manager to get the hourly fees for use of the microscopes. I figured that this was a simple question, but apparently I was wrong.

We are already considered enrolled in the class, we have an account at the core and we have pre-paid for use of the microscopes as a way to use some grant money before we lost it. Anyway, the woman I emailed made a huge deal of me asking for the fees because of all this other stuff and was completely confused about why I wanted to know since all fees are waived while you are in the class. Even after I explained, she didn't get it. She emailed Heather, the professor, the core's administrator and the core's staff person we usually work with. I then received an email from the professor because she was worried that we weren't going to take the class and there are people waiting to take it. She would need to let them know soon if there is an opening. She did end up sending me the info I needed, but soon after i received another email from her because she was confused about something else. I replied saying I was sorry for causing her so much confusion with what I thought would be a simple question to answer. She then replied to say she knew what I was asking. I still don't think she did.

Later, Heather emailed her to ask if we could transfer money from our pre-paid account to pay for our tuition and that started another round of emails among Heather, this woman and the head of the microscopy core. She is hard to talk to in person, through email, and on the phone. The administrator finally stepped in and relieved Heather of the business manager and they are going to figure out something tomorrow.

Today, I went to the cafe in the building the microscopy core is in to get a Diet Coke and the business manager was standing in line at the register. I was so glad she doesn't know what I look like. I am sorry if this didn't make any sense, but I had to vent. I wasn't feeling well yesterday due to an oncoming cold, and she put me over the edge.

And here's a little knitting content:

I did a short-row heel on the Anastasia sock and I think it is too shallow. I have higher arches and so does the recipient of this pair so I think I will try a toe-up gusset heel instead. I did start Fawkes last night. for some reason I decided to try it on magic loop and quickly decided that wasn't going to work. The cord drove me nuts.

edited to add:
Crap! I just bought more yarn! One's for my mom, I think.

I started on some new socks! The yarn is striping just as I had hoped and the toe-up start didn't drive me crazy like it usually does. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in Lucky Stripe and the pattern is Anastasia. They will also be a Christmas gift. I am going to start another pair tonight so I don't get bored. I can't decide between the Socktopia Mystery sock or Fawkes.

I am not prepared for it to be September. I love the idea that fall will soon be here, but that also means I need to order Josh's birthday present and plan the rest of my Christmas knitting projects. I also want to start a sweater for myself, but can't decide on the yarn. I want to have it done so I can show it off at Thanksgiving. I also promised my cousin a scarf in his school colors. I should really get started on that b/c knitting a scarf won't be fun. Maybe I can find a way to make it fun. I still haven't made a chiropractor appointment either. I haven't had anymore bad headaches, but my neck is stiff.

River Rapids socks

My first lace project is done.
Pattern: River Rapids by Sockbug
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Prosperity
Needles: 2.75mm
Mods: eye of partridge heel

I love this pattern and the yarn. They fit really well and I am very much looking forward to cooler weather so I can wear wool socks again. More pics on my Flickr page.

River Rapids socks

Here's my progress so far. I started these on the 1st in honor of SAMKAL4. The heel flap and I had a disagreement, but we have sorted all that out now after knitting it about 5 times. There were dropped stitches and switching of patterns and all sorts of crazy stuff, but we are now in agreement on the eye of partridge heel.

Last night I made eggplant parmesan for Amanda and me. I baked it in the oven so it wouldn't be so greasy and it turned out pretty well. I love it when I make something for the first time and it turns out well.

Amanda also started her gauge swatches for her first knitted project while she was over. We did some yarn shopping yesterday and I loaned her my Denise set.