Potluck of Posting

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was great, even though the turkey wasn't done in time for the meal. Oops. It made a great snack later, though.
Thanksgiving is always crazy in my family. Well, any time my family gets together is crazy. Every meal we have together must have at least one instance of a bodily function being discussed at length. This year, explosive diarrhea and childbirth were the main topics of conversation. No farting contests took place, and my siser did not bring up one instance of veterinary grossness, so all in all we did pretty good. Oh wait, she did talk about pet cremation, so never mind.
We're just gross and weird.

Dinorino had his first taste of broccoli and ham, and gave them a big thumbs up.


I have been knitting like crazy on Venezia. Last night I finished the waist decreases and started the straight section for the waist. Although I am not knitting as fast as some people, it is actually going pretty quick.
While on our night out, The Plumber and I went to a craft fair and I bought some cute Alaska ornament kits. They are made of felt and this one only took about an hour to complete. I am excited to have some Alaskana on the tree this year. Isn't he cute?



Go over to myownlil'space and check out the salt and pepper shakers that I sent for the Thanksgiving swap. I forgot to take pictures before sending them away, but Elizabeth took better ones than I could have, anyway.
And here is what I received for the swap. 4 (!) turkey placemats, 4 lollipops (that the kids enjoyed), and a yummy bag of Blessing Mix (that the kids demolished in a matter of minutes). These placemats are awesome, and made the table look so festive for Thanksgiving. Thanks Patricia!

One Word MeMe

One
Word
Meme
No
Exceptions
and
No
Cheating

1. Yourself: Tired
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): Love
3. Your hair: up
4. Your mother: teacher
5. Your Father: preacher
6. Your Favorite Item: Yarn
7. Your dream last night: Hot
8. Your Favorite drink: Diet
9. Your Dream Car: Clean
10. The room you are in: Living
11. Your Ex: Army
12. Your fear: Crash
13. What you want to be in 10 years? Organized
14. Who you hung out with last night? Family
15. What You're Not: Organized
16. Muffins: Poppyseed
17. One of Your Wish List Items: ipod
18. Time: Late
19. The Last Thing You Did: Shopped
20. What You Are Wearing: Imagination
21. Your Favorite Weather: Sunny
22. Your Favorite Book: Bible
23. The Last Thing You Ate: Zwieback
24. Your Life: Crazy
25. Your Mood: Content
26. Your best friend: Monday
27. What are you thinking about right now? Knitting
28. Your car: Cluttered
29. What are you doing at the moment? This
30. Your summer: Short
31. Your relationship status: Married
32. What is on your TV? UFC
33. What is the weather like? FRIGID
34. When is the last time you laughed? Today
35. Who do you tag? You

Venezia Progress and a Weekend Away

After taking a deep breath, I cast on for Venezia this week. I was using size 1 needles and cast on for the 4th size. I completed the hem, tried it on to check out the fit, and saw this.



I had to rip the entire hem out, a whole days worth of knitting. This time I used 000s and made the 2nd size. Much better. And I actually got gauge! (Please excuse the stretch marks, what do you expect? I've had 4 kids.)




The Plumber and I got a night alone this weekend. My mom watched the older three, and we went out for dinner and stayed in a hotel. ( As parents of 4 kids, a night out with only one baby is considered being "alone") We had a great time, and the hotel was fine except for one thing. What's up with these mirrors? They made me feel like I was in a medical study or something. I kept feeling like there was some researcher on the other side taking notes.

" Now here is a couple in their twenties, who haven't had a night out in months. Let's see if anything "interesting" happens, or if they pass out from exhaustion at 9pm. Hmmm, Ok. Now cue the crying baby."




During our date, I finally got to wear a recent purchase. CUTEST. SHOES. EVER. I love these shoes soooo much. I almost got frostbite from wearing them in 5 degree weather, but dang it, I looked good.



I DID actually get to knit over the weekend. I am in that honeymoon stage with this sweater, and am loving everything about it. Isn't it looking pretty? Isn't it the cutest thing ever? I feel like one of those people who want to show pictures of their kids to everybody they meet. Would it be weird to have a picture of my sweater in progress in my wallet?

I am such a knitting wh*re

As soon as the new IK comes out, I am starting the Venezia Pullover by Eunny Jang. I have my yarn ready, waiting in a cute little pile, winking and waving at me. My plan has been to finish up the projects that I have "due"(baby socks for a friend, Sockret Pal socks, Christmas socks for mom), and finish up old UFO while I wait for the issue to reach newsstands. I worked on a scarf that has been hanging around 3/4 finished, and completed it. I was on a roll!



I picked up my Norwegian Socks that have been neglected for months and started working my way down the second leg. But then... I started noticing all of these lovely Lady Eleanors wandering around in bloggy land, and it got me thinking. "Hmmm. Those sure are pretty. And I never have learned to do entrelac, wouldn't that be a great project to start with. And what a nice big scarf it is! No wimpy scarf there. The colors meld so nicely in those squares. And it would be a nice mindless project to do before I start all that Fair Isleing. Hmmmm. " That night I was online looking at yarn choices. Who cares that I didn't have the pattern! I was making a Lady Eleanor like all of the cool kids! I decided on Patons SWS, and was off to Michaels with all four kids in tow. After buying only 4 balls (premonition?) I went home and scoured the internet for Lady E details. On one blog I found out how many to cast on, another blog informed me of the finished dimensions. I pieced the pattern together bit by bit, and with a tutorial on entrelac, I was good to go. (I ordered the book, but I couldn't wait that long) I was good at entrelac! It was so pleasurable, and the yarn glided through my fingers like butter. So pretty! Every square was a mystery. What color is this one going to be, ooh! blue! now red! All through that first ball of yarn I could think of nothing but Lady Eleanor.



Somewhere midway through the second ball, doubt started to creep in. " 10 balls sure is a lot... This isn't quite as fun as it was in the beginning..."



knitknitknitknitknit knit knit knit knit knit knit




"10 balls! This is going to take forever! I'm knitting less than a ball a day. That's more than 10 days of knitting. And when will I use this thing anyway? I have so much knitting to do right now. Those other projects are just going to hang over my head until I get them done. Ick, no more entrelac, I can't take it! " So this is how she looked at that point.



And this is how she looks now.


I am back on track (for now), and finished the baby socks for my friend.



I also have cast on for my mom's Christmas socks. Presently, I am being a good and faithful knitter, promising that I will never foolishy cast on like that again.

But I am such a fickle lover.