I'm famous!

Okay, this post was a) going to be done two days ago, but the super computer here ran out of juice and crashed and uh, I didn't save my draft and b) just going to be a regular ol' update but...I'm famous! Lime and Violet read my letter on their podcast (episode 13, in case you're reading this in the future)! Dude! They opened with my letter! To quote the patron saints of the yarn obsessed themselves, SQUEEEE!!! I've added their button to my sidebar there -- they're a very funny pair of knitter chicks and I lurv them. They make my commute considerably less boring. Of course, between listening to them and reading the Yarn Harlot, I'm constantly bursting into giggles and I'm sure my train-mates think I'm a few skeins short of a sweater. So if you're coming here because you heard about me there, hi y'all! I usually update a little more regularly, but work has been out of control insane lately. There was this whole launch thing (see the end of this post for more info and a really cool special offer from my so so awesome company, Tutor.com), and it's just been crazy, but in a good way.

Okay, I'm breathing regularly again. Back to our regular features. First up, Becky fix (read the whole post, folks -- there's more Becky in the knitting section):


Who's happier to see who?


That's my pretty girl. And smart, too (apparently you can't just tell your girl baby she's pretty anymore or she'll turn into Jessica Simpson when she grows up).


Mmmmmmmmm...Mr. Shmousie. Could we have some privacy, Mom?


I love Mommy and Daddy thiiiiiiiis much!

She's a super-duper googy poppet -- still growing like a weed. I'll have exact specs next week -- she had another cold this week so we had to reschedule her regular monthly checkup. I'm guessing she'll be just about double her body weight and about 30 inches. Taking my sister-in-law's advice (hi, Coll!), because she has awesome, well-rounded kids (hi, Taylor and Ryan!), I stopped getting crazy about the TV. Becky adores Madagascar, especially the lion and the part with the lemurs when they're singing "I like to move it, move it." She also loves it when Mommy sings that and dances with her. Oh, and holding her under the arms and spinning her gives her serious giggles.


Knitting/Fiber Fix:


She's a high...plains...drifter...

Yes, that's the Mexicali on Becky. You'll notice that it actually fits her. This means that it will not fit its intended recipient, who is about twice Becky's size. There was much colorful language used when I realized this. So I have cast on for a baby sweater of my own devising. There is no picture of this because, well, I can't find it. Don't ask (no, it is not lost in the Pit of Despair). Moving on.



Dude! Check it! I made a sock! Only one so far, and I'm not working on the second one yet (though you can see in the picture that I have cast on for it). I swear, I do not have Second Sock Syndrome (non-knitterly peeps, this is when you finish one sock and then can't bring yourself to start and/or finish the second one). I really want to get my First Pair of Socks done, and the yarns is just totally luxe and I love to touch it and knit with it. The stripey bits are one skein of XXX and there's one ball of XXX for the toes/heels/cuffs [looking for ball bands] -- incidentally, fellow yarn addicts, you can stretch your yarn budget further by using just one ball of the fancy stuff instead of two for your pair of socks and sticking plain yarn on for the toes/heels/cuffs. Plus, it looks really cute and people think you're a genius.

I am not working on Sock2 because I decided that I need black gauntlets for Otherworld, which is in a week and a half. So I cast on for those yesterday. My own pattern, possibly to appear as a Lauriginal soon, knit with...get this...STASH! So I'm working on those and not Sock2 or the Rhinebeck sweater:



I actually have everything but the back and collar done, and it moves really quickly. I'm thinking I'll probably be able to get it mostly done during our trip up to Pomfret next weekend (about a 4 hour drive, depending on traffic). The big benefit of being married to a man who hates being a passenger is plenty of knitting time in the car.

I also continue to knit Christmas hats while I walk, because I cannot knit on DPNs and walk at the same time (I can purl and walk at the same time, but not on DPNs). I've got TWO hats off the needles. They need to be seamed up -- the pattern (from Oddball Knitting - the roll brim hat) calls for DPNs, but if you think I'm going to use size 15 DPNs, you have another think coming. I've decided for Christmas knitting I'm going to do all knitting and leave the making up for later. This may turn out to be a mistake, but I think it's going to let me keep my momentum going. I also have a gift scarf (the Manly Muffler -- soon to be a Lauriginal) halfway done but it turns out it's going to need 2 balls instead of 1. I'm going to get the second ball at The Point tomorrow when I head up there with the lovely Erica and introduce her to the visceral pleasures of the Awesome Yarn Shop.

The cool work stuff/special offer I mentioned at the beginning of this post:

The company I work for, Tutor.com (leader in online tutoring, been available in libraries for 5+ years -- we know what we're doing), just launched our very cool, very usable, very helpful direct to consumer online tutoring service, Tutor.com Direct. This happens to be my division, so this is kind of my baby, and I'm very proud of it. So I'd like to invite you all to take part in the Friends and Family program we're running through the end of the month -- if you don't have kids the right age, pass it on to people you know who do. PLEASE don't spam anyone -- we're not trying to drum up usage, just trying to give a little extra break to our buds and their buds and so on. Sort of a six degrees of separation thing. Anyhoo, the special deal is this:

Updated: the original offer that was here has been discontinued. But there are still great deals available -- visit tutor.com for details!

posted by Laura Y. @ 8:27 PM