Happy Trails

A Road Trip--AND--Disaster Averted

I'm pretty pumped right now because I'm taking some time off this week to drive down to North Carolina and visit my friend, Julia. She was my maid of honor in my wedding, and we remain good friends. I haven't seen her for over a year and a half, and it has been WAY too long! She and her husband Tom and their little daughter, Anna Grace, live right outside the resort area of Lake Lure. 

Right before Anna was born, I knit her the Baby Kimono from Mason Dixon Knitting. I think they enjoyed the gift, so I wanted to make her another little sweater now that she is almost a year and a half. After browsing through numerous options on Ravelry, I decided to make the Yoked Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. Next up was what yarn to use, and that was more of a challenge. I have SO much Malabrigo Worsted on hand, it isn't funny, but I was worried about it pilling (since I hope she will wear it often) and I worried about it felting (as I am sure at that age, it would need to be washed with equal frequency--and Julia is a non-knitter). So, Malabrigo was out--despite its luxurious softness. I didn't have any superwash worsted yarn on hand (which in retrospect, would have been fantastic), but I did have some Liisu that I purchased a long time ago from Orchardside Yarn Shop. (Liisu has apparently since been bought by the Unique Sheep, fyi). Add to that the fact that this particular blend is called "Anna's yarn" and the deal was done.

Anna's yarn is a 2-play mohair/merino blend, and knitted up, I find it a bit rough for a baby. BUT, I pressed on because I convinced myself that the mohair would lend wonderful strength and sheen to the yarn, which would carry the garment through multiple wearings and washings. 

The yoke was tricky. I didn't like it. It took me a long time and I have no idea why. Additionally, I don't think that the Liisu shows the ribbing well at all. If you look at other FO's (this one is my favorite, I think) you'll see what I mean. Given that fact, I made the decision to end the ribbing at the divide for the sleeves, and I think it was a good move!

 

I FLEW through the stockinette portion while enjoying the Olympics with Salmaan on Sunday, and bound off the body and completed the button bands during my day off yesterday. The garter border is 10 rows, the buttonbands are 8 rows. It was my first time knitting a button band. I dig it! 

I decided to bind off the sleeves where the yoke ended for a few different reasons, with the most important one being of a practical nature. I kept on thinking about Little Niece in her high chair at snack time ("Snack Time!!!! Yeeeeeaaaahhhhh..." as she always says), and how sticky and mucky her little fingers get as she plays with her food. Pureed yams in mohair...blurghegh...it's enough to make me go all green and...well...let's not think about that, yeah? Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah. 

So anyway I washed and blocked the little cardi-vest yesterday, and feeling QUITE pleased as punch (I hate deadline knits, and rarely pull them off on time--but I loved knitting this and it was done a day in advance!) I left the house for my Valentine's mani-pedi and massage. Salmaan met me out for dinner at our favorite sushi place. The head chef gave us a complimentary dessert. It was wonderful! 

We came home to items strewn all over the place, including my beautiful little cardi-vest, at the top of the stairs, with little bits of it cast about the hallway.

 I ran into the bathroom, slammed the door, and had a good cry. Salmaan very wisely gave me some alone time, and carefully picked up all the pieces. Eventually composed, I went to my computer, and the wonderful Amy was online, and patiently listened as I told her about the damage, and provided advice on my options, as well as encouragement in every way a discouraged knitter could ask for. (BTW, thank you, Amy. You too, Salmaan. Thank you for giving me the space that I needed to be a drama queen.)

In the end, I decided to make a patch. I knit it up last night, and made the necessary repairs today before sewing it on. 

My goal was three-fold: 1) make sure that the dropped loops were secured with the red wool (btw, I used the patons classic because it was pure wool, and would be a lot less slippery than the Liisu--plus I was hoping the mohair would catch on the wool a bit, and possibly felt JUST enough in the future to help prevent further unravelling--I think this was a good call) 2) find the loose ends, secure them to one another, and secure them to the red yarn (for reasons cited above) and 3) hope and pray like hell that this worked!

Honestly? (Knocking like a crazed judge in a courtroom malay on wood....) I think it DID work.  I pulled and yanked and tugged like crazy, with no additional damage. Woohoo! Disaster averted! Then all I had to do was secure the patch.

Since it was River's handiwork that necessitated its creation, I thought it only fair to give her credit. All in all, I think it came out nicely.

As the patch added a little bit more of a "handmade" feel to this garment, I went shopping and decided on these very playful ladybug buttons. I was originally (sans damage) going to use some pretty shell buttons, which, combined with the purple, evoked a very sophisticated "cottage by the seaside cliff at dusk" sort of feeling. (And yes, I actually thought that as I saw the combo of yarn and button!). Oh well, the ladybugs are perfectly appropriate for her age, and I think they look pretty cute. Anyways, seaside cliffs are dangerous!!! Yeah? Yeeeeeaaaaah. 

And, don't worry, I'm not upset with River. As Amy so fairly noted, "She couldn't help it, it smelled like SHEEP!" And goat, too, now that I think about it....sheesh, you really can't blame her, can you? And anyway, look at that face...who can resist it?

So, I'm off in the morning for my little road trip adventure--and off now to bake some cinnamon raisin bread for my hosts! Have a great week, all!

How Many Boxes?!?!?!

As previously noted, we ordered a Bowflex. It came quite quickly--ordered it Tuesday, and it came in yesterday. Only problem was, it got delivered when we weren't at home. And again, as previously noted, we don't live in a very good neighborhood, so we were worried that it would get stolen while sitting on our porch for 6 hours unattended.

Accordingly, we had our own little surveillance operation--I manned the UPS tracking website yesterday, and Hubster kept his day as free as possible to jet home and haul the packages into the house before somebody decided they wanted a free home gym. I refreshed the UPS page at noon on the dot. I called Hubster:

"It's been delivered! It's been delivered! 11:59--it's there!"

"I'm on it. *click*"

"*Laura hums Mission Impossible music into the receiver, until it starts to beep and she realizes she's humming to no one.**click*"

It was like the Geek Squad commercials, but with a different mission--prevention of felonies. Hubster called twenty minutes later:

"*panting panting* I got it. I got it all.*panting panting*"

"Yay!!!! Good job! Thanks! Was it hard?"

"Um, very heavy. It came in 6 boxes."

"How many boxes?!?!?!?"

And then I began to have flashbacks of our IKEA nightmare as newlyweds. Numerous boxes. An empty house. All that stands between me and putting this house together is...horribly written IKEA instructions. 6 very large pieces of furniture were purchased from that Swedish hell-hole. The debacle that followed has become my own personalized Greek depiction of hell. I don't want to relive it.

"Laura? Are you there?"

"*Sigh* Yes, right here."

"I'll put it together tomorrow night."

"Okay....can I help?"

"Only if you promise to be good."

"*Silence* How about I make appetizers and provide moral support?"

"Perfect."

So cross your fingers for us. Will we overcome the IKEA assembly nightmares of our past? Or, will we founder into dismal despair at the sight of too many bolts to mention, along with the mysterious absence of the one tool required by every screw...

(Hex://Law_School//Hex:)

When people find out I'm an attorney (at a wedding, party, in line to the bathroom), I'm frequently surprised by the number of people who say, "Oh, really? I'm thinking about going to law school! Got any advice?" Or, even worse, "Oh, really? I just got in to "X" law school--I'll be attending classes in the fall!" And I find myself faced with a horrible dillema: do I reveal to them the cruel and awful truth? Or, do I politely encourage/congratulate them and edge the conversation on to a less onerous topic?

I. Hated. Law School. There's really no other way to say it. It was the hardest time in my life, and it has changed me in ways that I don't necessarily consider positive. I am no longer able to think the same way I did before law school. And while that's great for my job, sometimes it can be a real bummer when I'm living outside of the suit. And it isn't that I don't like the law--I love criminal law. It's interesting, relevant, and exciting...but, I guess I just wish I had thought about going to law school more before I chose this path...like...I wish I had thought about not going. Sure, there were positive moments--like when exams were finally over, or when I overcame something particularly difficult...but most of the time I felt like the square peg being forced into the round hole--and for those of you who haven't experienced that before--it HURTS.

Even now, I feel like I'm still recovering. I've been out of the bubble for 10 months now, and I feel like I'm only just getting circulation back into the creative areas of my brain and soul that I had previously left for dead.

Sure, there are people that LOVED the experience--they thrived on it, and excelled beyond their wildest dreams. I just wasn't one of those people. And all I can say is that I never want to lie to anyone about it, even if it does make me sound like a negative nancy who still needs to work it out in therapy.

So in those moments when I'm put on the spot, I wish I was gadgety enough to have an iPhone or iTouch, because I would simply show them this video, and let someone else tell them the truth. Because while this is of course a comedic rendition of the experience...it isn't too far from the reality.