Afghan Updates

This is the most recent picture of the afghan from hell. Yes, it is very pretty and very very soft and comfy, but it is sooo boring to knit! And one row goes forever!!! My plan of knitting on it every lunchtime hasn't worked as well as planned because I keep taking 30 minute lunches. As soon as I finish my giant granny square, I am going to have to start working on the 'ghan at home as well because it has to be done by Nov. 1st to mail out.



This is the giant granny square ( ok not quite giant yet ) it was actually the brainchild of my daughter. I really hate seaming. especially seaming crochet. So I was whining because I didn't finish the red/white/blue squares n time to mail to Min, so I have to seam them myself. My daughter said you should just make one giant square that you won't have to seam. ( did I ever mention she can be absolutely BRILLIANT when she wants to be?) So since I also can't stand boucle yarn, and I bought a bunch of Lion Brand Boucle for 99cents a skein before I knew I hated it (it's just really hard to knit off the needle I think) and the 2 colors I bought look good together i am using them. I kinda wish I had a bright green to throw in, but lets not get crazy. Depending on how big it turns out, if I need to get in an extra inch or 2, I may hit AC Moore or Michaels and see if they have any to make a border with.

As I have already mentioned the red/white/blue ghan is still just a pile of squares. Sigh. I haven't gotten much farther on my socks either. I really want to get them done so I can start my 49er socks. Maybe if I work the ripple at home, I'll bring the socks to work on at lunch. As they are SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the 'ghan at least I'll get more than 3 rows done a day. Then Friday I ordered 2 skeins of Malabrigo chunky. I bought a skein of paris night from The Backwards Loop - it's shades of darker blue. I bought a skein of charrua from Eatsleepknit - blue and brown. A friend of mine - sunnyspirit23 on Ravelry has created her first original design. It's a cabled cowl ( I think that's what you'd call it- kind of a short tube that goes around your neck instead of a scarf) , but with no offsetting purl stitches. She needed volunteers to knit some up, so she could make sure the pattern was ok, and I really do love cables, so I signed up. I figure I'd make one for Anna and one for Erica, for Christmas, since it's hard to figure out anything remotely fun to give them ( poor Angie - her aunts are 2 big what NOT to do's) I also have to figure out what pattern i want to use on the NORO I posted about a while back. Thinking shrug, but am considering looking for an EASY rectangle lace shawl. Will have to ask Grace if she thinks it will work for something like that (she's lovincomfortknits and the rate she cranks out shawls is nothing less than jawdropping. Of course I would also have to block it myself - every time I sort of mentionhow great her husband Tom is at blocking, Curt tells me not to even dream it)

Angie wants to go to the college fair at the County College of Morris today. It starts at 12, the race starts at 2 or 2:30 so I'll be letting her drive over. maybe I'll stay in the car and work on something. ( the weather is co-operating it's been really cool which for me at least is very conducive to knitting) OK sad story here. Yesterday morning she drove her father's car to breakfast. We were going to the diner which is right at the on/off ramp we usually take to get on route 80. She needed directions to get there. She has been going there maybe once a month since she's been alive. She has been going even more regularly because after games and other events at school she ends up there with her friends from school. Sigh. i told her grandfather (he's always calling me the week before an event and asking what to get her) that I was giving him 3 1/2 months warning that for her birthday (when she hopefully passes her drivers test) she needs a Tom Tom or Garmin or Joe Joe or whatever. The child will get lost in a paper bag. I have been thinking about this for a while now because her friends parents complain about the same thing. I think it is because when we were kids if we wanted to go somewhere we got on our bikes and pedaled over. Today, kids are driven everywhere. They are so scheduled with activities, that they've never had to figure out what to do for an afternoon, so they've never had to just get on there bikes and ride over to tommy's house or whatever. They need to go to dance ( the closest studio is like 4 miles away, Angies studio is 12), Rec leagues are at the field which is 3 miles away, the library is only like 2 miles, but you have to take a windy narrow road which barely has room for 2 cars, and there is no sidewalk. So none of these places are really bikeable. SO even around the town they grow up in they never really paid attention to how to get places.

Well - Tony is in kind of a no lose race at Talledaga today. He's in 11th. It is mathematiclly impossible for him to fall below 12th. So he can take some chances that the drivers in the first 6 to 8 spots can't. This also means that when he takes these chances, I will be having a stroke. so go Tony! and someone plase put 911 on speeddial! The 49ers are playing New England. going to be tough, but they can win this one. dallas is playing cinncinati so they are probably a shoe in for the win. sigh. I will tell you about the conversation I had about that another time. Buffalo is playing the cardinals. I really need Arizona to lose but that game can go either way. So - basically will be a rough sports weekend for me. (at least I no longer have to stress over the mets)