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.

Josh and I took the motorcycle license test today and both of us passed. I missed one question and I think it was a dumb question to miss. I must have misread it or the answer. It's hard to say because I took some Sudafed and my brain isn't functioning at it's normal capacity. I also woke up at 4:00 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep which probably didn't help.

Our motorcycle will be back in our possession in about 2 hours. I don't think I will ride it today since I have this cold, but I would love to.

For some reason, on one row in each repeat of the Fawkes I have missed a YO. I don't usually catch it until two rows later. I think I have spend almost as much time tinking as knitting. Oh well, I like the pattern and it looks nice in this yarn. I should probably be working on the Anastasia socks because they are a gift and I still have 3 pairs that I want to knit for gifts.

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.

A couple Charades

A Christmas gift finished in September! I hope I can wait to give them to her. I love how they turned out.



Pattern: Charade
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Marrakesh
Needles: 2.75mm
Mods: eye-of-partridge heel

I dont' have any socks on the needles. It's a little odd, so I will decide what to start soon. For Sockdown: Ravelry the criteria are a Grumperina pattern or toe-up. I have a toe-up pattern I want to try and I have one Jaywalker to go, but that feels like cheating since I started them in June or July. As usual, I will probably start another pair as well, so I don't get bored with one.

Upside Down Leyburn Socks!

I found my 5th dpn in, you probably guessed if you have ever been to my apartment, the couch that eats crochet hooks, knitting needles and other related supplies. I don't know why I didn't find it in there the first time I looked. I also found a stitch marker and pen. Anyway, I finally finished them. Here are the specs:



Pattern: Leyburn Socks
Yarn: Gypsy Girl Yarns in Cattails
Needles: 2.75mm Knit Picks 5 dpns
Mods: CO 66 stitches for a cuff-down sock

We bought 2 games for the the Wii and 1 for the PS2 today. Actually the 2 games for the Wii are for Gamecube. I think I am going to try them out!