Lacey Contest

I finished the Circular Scarf in Old Shale pattern. The pattern was free with the purchase of the Primero yarn I bought at Stitches West from Brooks Farm. The picture doesn't show the blue that's in the yarn very well. The yarn is so soft and yummy and I will definately be getting more of it in the future. I was worried about casting off too tight and then it not blocking very well and I think I ended up casting off too loosely! The cast off edge is a little wavy still even after blocking.

I'm still working away on the STR Inside Out socks. I also am working on a crocheted hat out of jute using my own pattern but I need to make a run to the store for some ribbon. I'm thinking about making the pattern available here for it if anyone is intersted.

The saga with the electrical and gas inspections continue. No response at all from the previous owners in helping to defray the cost of the inspection. Also, haven't seen "Joe" since last Wednesday. I'm getting very frustrated and I dont' know how much more frustrated I can get at this point! (Edit: Just heard from "Joe," he says his brother has been in the hospital and he'll be out tomorrow.)

Ok, time for a contest to liven things up around here! I'm hooked on lace since finishing swallowtail and want to start the next lace project. I bought a skein of gorgeous Claudia's Handpainted Silk lace weight at Stitches West. It has 1100 yards. I also bought a copy of Victorian Lace Today. So please leave a suggestion for which pattern in Victorian Lace Today (or if you have something else, but I may not use it if I have to buy another book) you think would work with the silk.

I'll pick a lucky winner to receive a skein of Gentle, 690 yards, in a light blue color. This is the same yarn I used to knit swallowtail with, it's 5% cashmere and so soft. You have until Sunday morning when I plan to cast on.

The color of the Gentle I think is closer to the first picture and the color of the Claudia's is closer in the second but with more sheen.

Electricity is So Over Rated

Ok, so settle in for a looong story, oh, and it's not knitting related.

We just moved back to New Orleans since The Storm in December. We bought a house at the end of January. Called up the electric company, good ol' Entergy, and asked for the gas and electric to be transfered to our name. Now mind you the gas and electric were already on at the house. Entergy says that the gas and electric were turned off last May. I spoke to the previous home owners and the gas and electricity were turned ON last May, but Entergy says, "We don't make mistakes." Since the gas and electric have been off for over 6 months we are required to get an inspection from the City of New Orleans. With The Storm and all that they want to be sure people are getting the work done right.

Our house got about 6' of water during The Storm. Last year when the work was done to our house the City didn't have enough inspectors to go around so your electrician was allowed to file an affidavit with the City that they did the work. Called up the electrician that did the work on our house, let's call him "Joe". Joe tells me that City Hall lost the affidivit that he filed and now they won't accpet affidavits. Oh and they've also changed the requirement, apparantly last year things only had to be up to the '96 code and now they have to be up to the '05 code. Our house isn't up to the '05 code.

The electricity is ON already! After much debating Joe and I have come to a compromise. He will come over and finish getting the house up to code and go through the inspection. We will pay for all the needed parts. We also have to pay for the inspection ($500 for electric and another $500 for the gas). There is also a chance that the City inspector will require us to get a new meter which we will have to pay for, not cheap. Not sure how we are going to afford it.

I think the whole thing is big scam to support the good ol' boys network of New Orleans. Somebody's getting some kick backs or something for all this cr@p.

Am I the only one who finds this completely insane and unfair? I'm trying to convince the previous owners to help out with the cost of the inspections since we thought all this was taken care of when we bought the house but I'm not making much progress there.

Joe has been coming over every night this week to do the work. So the electric goes off and on until 9 or 10 pm every night. I had terrible migraine Monday night with everything that's been going on and it's been threatening to come back again. Somebody please tell me that everything will be ok and it'll be over soon.

Next time I'll tell you about the DMV in the Winnebago. Living in a disaster area is so much fun.

Shark Attack

Hi and welcome to the new blog! I hope this one is more user friendly, for both you and me.

These two FO's are on the old blog but I had so much fun making them I just have to repost here. I also want to try and figure out how to do the smaller picture and then click on it to make it bigger so let's see...
These are the endpaper mitts based on Eunny Jang's pattern. CJ made the skully chart for me. The pink yarn is Claudia's Handpainted and the black is Gems Fingering Weight.






This is the Swallowtail shawl from the fall Interweave Knits. This was my first lace and I love it! The yarn is called Gentle from the Yarn Place. It's a cashmere and merino blend. I think it turned out a little on the small side and if I made another I would make it a little larger. A hint that I found for doing the p5tog is to slip 3, k2tog, pass the slipped stiches over, so much easier!

Just yesterday I finished a pair of socks for DH. These are in Claudia's Handpainted the limited edition Sharks colorway that I got at the Purlesence booth at Stitches West. These were supposed to be for me but started to turn out way too big. DH has been bugging me forever for a pair of socks so these turned into his. It's a simple 1x1 ribbing knit from the top down.

I'm working on my STR kit for the Inside Out socks. I'm a couple inches past the toe but they are going slow because the size 0's hurt my hands. I've started a second project, a circular scarf in Primero from Brooks Farm, also purchased at Stitches West, to give my hands a break.

Ok, let's hope this works.

There's a new Sheriff in Town

My new blog will be moving here.

Posts on my old blog are here.