First place is...

I present to you, my very first running trophy! 1st place in my group***, baby!!! I was crazy for being up at 7 a.m. and out of the house in 31 degree weather but at least I came home with a trophy and it was for a good cause. I didn't even hear my name called. My Mom had to shove me forward to collect my trophy.

***Yes, my group only had 3 in it, and 2 of those were walkers. But who's counting?

It was one of those Saturdays that show that God has smiled down on Kentucky in October...Keeneland during the day (with the leaves changed and looking gorgeous) and football game at night. It was only 31 at 8 a.m. but fortunately warmed up just enough to be a nice day at the track, if you were in the sun. The boys were on some kind of win streak while betting and refused to move from their lucky spot. As it started to get more shaded as the afternoon moved on, we girls inched further and further away from them into the sun. I broke out my mini Koigu Clapotis for the football game. It gets prettier every time I look at it. It's not for really cold weather since it's tiny and thin but it's enough to keep my neck warm and looks great.

I think I need to go in business. I could make a fortune. The fashion accessory must have for every female Big Blue fan is apparently Kentucky blue Fun Fur-esque scarves. I noticed a ton of them last night. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Fun Fur but by the end of the evening, I found myself wanting one. Peer pressure, ya know. Trendsetter Aura is so fun and sparkly, and they have a royal blue color that is close to UK blue. All the ladies at the game will be soooo jealous (except for the one with the big blue and white pom pom scarf. It was much cooler than anything I could dare produce).

There WILL be knitting pictures this week, I promise! I have produced something that will be a sort of completed item for the great Socktoberfest. If I would stop blogging and head off to watch the football game, I may actually get it done.
Off to watch the Bengals game and knit. Happy Halloween everyone!

Heather, thanks for your comment on Mariah. I think you are right, to do it in a smaller gauge will be easier. Don't be too jealous of the smallest size thing. I'm only 4'11, and sweater patterns can be a nuisance because I have to resize so many of them. Now to choose a yarn...

Lauren saves the day! I checked out the designer's website, and sure enough, there is a 33" size. Perfect! I was really hoping to do this sweater in a worsted weight yarn, in lieu of all the fine gauge things I've been doing lately. So now I can!

Mariah Knitters, Help!

Ah, so we've gone from short sleeves and sunshine to sweaters and coats and freezing rain overnight. Gotta love Kentucky. There is no in between weather for us. It was kind of nice Sunday. Not outside, that was nasty, cold, and rainy. But I didn't have anything to do so I curled up inside, knitted, and watched the Steelers/Bengals football game.

This weather isn't a bad thing though because I'm starting to crave knitting again! I'm plotting out some winter projects (I plot projects all the time. About 1/100th of them actually get made). One at the top of the list is Mariah from Knitty. I love this sweater and all the pictures I've seen of completed ones.

I have a problem that someone that has knit Mariah may be able to help with (Karma!!! See her gorgeous FO). The sizing of the pattern is going to make the smallest size too big for me. Would it be easier for me to simply use a smaller gauge yarn (22 st/in rather than the pattern's 20) or to refigure the numbers for a smaller size? I'm comfortable doing either one with most sweaters but with the cable pattern, I realize that refiguring it could get tricky.

Another question: does it really use as much yarn as the pattern says? That seems like an awful lot for this cardi.

At the VERY top of my list though will be to finally finish Apricot and the last sleeve of the Silky Wool sweater I started last March and got mostly done before realizing I wouldn't get to wear it until fall, putting it aside in favor of Lucky, Honeymoon Camis and oops, not knitting at all.

There should be pictures of my finished knits in the next few days! I've mentioned my gifties but haven't described them in case the giftees read my blog. One is done, one just needs a bit of finishing, and they will be handed over. I hope they are loved. I think they are great but I may be a little biased.

Kentucky in the fall...

There is no better place to be in October than Kentucky. It's the fall meet at Keeneland, and even if you don't care about horse racing, it's so much fun. It's one of the most beautiful spots you'll ever find too. Last weekend was the opening weekend, and we didn't go out because the weather was bad. But this weekend was perfect Keeneland weather! Saturday, we got out there right before the 6th race, and while it was packed (see: perfect Keeneland weather), it wasn't too bad.

I saw Elizabethtown today. It's getting some bad reviews but I really liked it. Maybe it's because it's another one of those Kentucky things. While the movie was based on Elizabethtown, KY, most of it was actually filmed here in the Lexington area. It was fun to see the little Kentucky things that popped up in the movie.

I'm working on finishing up the gifts I've been working on! Hopefully they'll be ready by next weekend. I think the recipients are really going to love them because they're so cute. In the meantime, I signed up for Lolly's Soctoberfest. I got 2 skeins of Knitpicks Sock Landcapes and am working on a simple ribbed sock pattern with it.
















I also said I was going to do at least 10 rows a week on the Alphabet Baby Blanket. Here are the first 11 rows! I can't wait until it really begins to take shape. It's a fun knit so far.

Call me crazy!

13 of these
(slinky, silky, soft Knitpicks Shine)

Plus

One of these
(that's a size 4, baby)

Equals

Me in a couple of months

OR

The beautiful Debbie Bliss Baby Knits Alphabet Blanket. Isn't it stunning?

How this came about...my first niece or nephew is due in May, and I'm pretty excited. I decided that any baby related to me (the only knitter in the family) needed a special baby blanket. I checked out several books from the library, browsed the internet, and leafed through patterns at my LYS. Nothing grabbed me until I saw this.

It's perfect. It's good for a boy or a girl. Since they don't know what they are having yet nor has nursery stuff been picked out (to my knowledge anyway), it made the answer to what color to make it easy. It's also not your typical baby blanket. Not that all handmade baby gifts aren't special but this one is just so nice. This is the one.

258 rows of the chart, not including the edging, at 6 st/inch. 187 stitches per row. What am I getting myself into??? That means 48,246 stitches just for the main part, not including the edging that isn't a small feat itself. At least I have until May! If I average about 10 rows a week, that leaves a few rows before baby's born to do the edging, and Baby H can come home from the hospital wrapped in a gift from Auntie Stacy (er, since Baby is due in May, maybe not. But the thought is nice).

I woke up yesterday morning and wasn't feeling so hot. The horrific display by the Kentucky football team didn't make me feel any better. So rather than do anything productive or actually leave my house, I began work on the blanket. Shine is so nice to work with. It's definitely deserving of all the raves it's gotten.

I cast on (187 stitches per row!) and did 4 rows. Oops, screwed up the whole RS/WS thing. Rip it out and do another 4 rows. Oops, should have purled that row way back there at the beginning, instead of knitting it. Eh, it doesn't looks so out of place given the border. No one will ever notice, right? Forge ahead and complete 7 rows. Of course, someone will notice. I NOTICE and can't take my eyes off the mistake. What if baby is as anal as me? Rip back and prepare to begin again. It's a simple chart, my mind just wasn't functioning yesterday. Let's hope I can make it past row 4 without any more major mistakes!

Speaking of the horror that is the University of Kentucky football team...

President Bush is trying to persuade Kentucky Head Coach Rich Brooks to take over as permanent FEMA Director based on his ability to evacuate 65,000 people from a stadium in less than thirty minutes.

In recent weeks, they have been so bad it was almost comical. Yesterday, it wasn't funny. Not even close. I love my Cats and will always love them but it's no wonder people are giving up season tickets in droves (not us, we're suckers). Thank goodness for basketball starting in only 5 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes, 36, no...33, no...29 seconds (you get the point) according to UKathletics! The boy's gotten me into the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, and I have always liked the Bengals. At least both of those teams are doing well so football season hasn't been a total wash.

We have progress!

I'm making great progress on my knitting gifties. I hope the recipients-to-be love them! Still can't post pictures but October is when they are to be gifted so it should be soon.

One of the gifts is almost entirely seed stitch. I hate doing seed stitch (or 1x1 rib), although I love the look of it. If I knit continental, it wouldn't be as bad but it's pretty clunky for a "thrower" like me. I just can't get the hang of continental. I should try to figure it out for these purposes, even if I never use it any other time. I've tried,and it just seems slower than my tried and true method. I still love doing cables though!

My week's knitting progress has to be directly related to the new season of all my favorite TV shows. I am so happy the Amazing Race, Survivor, and the Apprentice is back. The Amazing Race is my favorite show but I was prepared to hate this new family edition. Whadda ya know, I didn't mind it at all. I thought kids would ruin this show but there is only one team of kids in the show remaining. I think it may get old since I've heard that they don't go around the world like in other seasons, staying mostly in the US. Who knows, it may be fun to see what they can do in the US, although seeing new countries and customs is one of the reasons I love the show so much. My favorite are the Linzes. They are a lot of fun. Who dey!

E-mail I got this week:

Lexington, KY (AP) - A seven-year-old boy was at the center of a courtroom drama in Lexington yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents, and initially the judge awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed his aunt beat him more than his parents and adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the University of Kentucky Wildcats football team whom the boy firmly believes is not capable of beating anyone.

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. I love my Cats, as bad as they may be. And at least the Countdown to Basketball season has begun on UKAthletics.com. We're looking forward to another great year to take our minds off football!

Thanks for the comments on the photo and our trip! Truly, I wasn't as impressed with Eugene as I thought I would be. The University of Oregon campus was beautiful but otherwise, it reminded me of any other city, just with mountains on either side of it. We did eat at a really good Thai restaurant. The atmosphere was kind of fun given the big game against #1 USC in town. My opinion may change if we'd spent more time there! From what I saw of Portland, it is gorgeous! What I saw involved driving on the interstate to the airport, but it was so pretty even in that short stretch.