Time Off for Good Behavior

As a thank you for using him on the sale and purchase of our houses, our real estate agent gave us a two night stay at the Montage in Laguna Beach. Holy crap, you guys, this place was sa-weeet!

Our balcony

The view from our balcony

We went down on Thursday and came back Saturday. It was a heavenly little getaway for Chris and me. We soaked up enjoying a last vacation as just a twosome.

It's about a one hour drive away. But we had these nightmare visions of me going into labor and us being stuck on the freeway in rush hour traffic for, like, four hours, trying to get back to our hospital here in LA. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

The service was absolutely outstanding. Every single hotel employee we ran into was extremely friendly and helpful. Upon check-in, they brought us complimentary champagne. When they saw that I'm pregnant, they came back with sparkling cider.

Of course, I was knitting. The Sock Madness round two pattern had been released on Monday. I had gotten in some good knitting time on Monday, but not as much on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the drive down to Laguna, I was working on the leg of the second sock. By the time we got there, I didn't have a whole lot of energy for much more than sitting on our balcony. So I knit while enjoying the view, the sound of the ocean, the smell of the sea air mixed with flowers... it was wonderful.


As the sun began to set, we saw little bunnies come out on the grass. There were tons of them. They're probably the scourge of the grounds keepers, but to us they were completely adorable.



After a delicious room service breakfast on Friday morning, Chris and I went out exploring the grounds and took a short walk on the beach. It was too chilly for our delicate SoCal constitutions to entertain going in the ocean or pool, though there were people doing just that. Instead, we walked around bundled in sweaters and enjoyed holding hands and hugging for warmth.







I did not bring the sock on our excursion. I didn't even think about it, we were having such a good time. Until lunch. While having a lovely meal at the pool side grill (even this place was pretty schmancy), curiosity began to creep in. Using Chris' iPhone, I checked the standings and saw there were only five slots still open in my division. A competitive fire was re-lit within me.

We returned to our room and I basically spent the rest of the day working on the sock. It was actually perfect, as my energy was quite low by then anyway. Plus, after the baby comes, long stretches of uninterrupted knitting time will be hard to come by.

When I finished the sock, Chris took a picture with his phone and e mailed it to me. I then went down the the hotel's business center and got the picture up on Flickr and sent off my finished e mail to the Sock Madness Mistresses. Phew!

It's quite a cool pair of socks. The pattern is called Reversai because the socks are completely reversible. (It's currently only available to participants of Sock Madness, but I believe the designer will be offering it for sale later.) We had been told the test knit sock was made using Socks That Rock Lightweight. I've never knit STR Lightweight, but I do have some in my stash and I was planning on using it. However, when I saw the pattern started "Cast On 72 stitches...," I knew the STR would make a sock too big for me. So I used some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (Glenwood colorway) and size 0 needles, instead. Now, 72 stitches of Lorna's Laces on size 0 needles with a knit/purl pattern is slow going for me. But the effort paid off, because I'm quite happy with the results.

I doubt I'll ever make these socks exactly to pattern again, but I can definitely see a modified version in the future. I think the charted pattern in a solid or semi-solid darkish colorway would make very handsome man socks. I'd probably do a flap heel and stockinette foot instead of the garter stitch short row heel and foot. I will say, of the garter stitch short row heel, that it was the least troublesome short row heel I've ever worked. I usually get quite frustrated with holes in short row heels, but the garter stitch is very forgiving.

Working the garter stitch foot was kind of annoying, but I'm wearing the socks right now and I'm happy to report, they're very cushy and soft. This is one of the things I really like about Sock Madness. It forces you to knit patterns you might ordinarily pass right over. In doing so, you may find that you really like a technique or design element you wouldn't have considered appealing otherwise.


Plus, you get a new pair of socks in about five days.

Another Overdue Post - FO and Thank You

Man, I'm feeling inarticulate. I've just typed, like, seven different starts to this post - each one less sensible than the last. I think the solution is to fall back on some good ol' photos. Let's go with my Hemlock Ring Blanket, shall we?

Despite having received a funny and sweet comment on Ravelry from someone begging me not to block it - I did block it. Well, I already had blocked it by the time I got the comment, but even if I hadn't, I still would have. Am I making any sense? To the point, I love blocking! I didn't especially love crawling around on the floor in circles, attempting to get all the pins even, but I do love the transformative power of a good blocking.

Pinned on the floor, as even as I could manage. (That's an oilcloth table cloth on top of the carpet, btw.)

Center detail while blocking.

Now, it's just waiting for Minnie Purl, whose crib is all set up.


I really enjoyed making this blanket. It's has a wonderful combination of "interesting" rounds and "mindless" rounds with a really tremendous final result. I would definitely recommend it. There are, however, some errors in the pattern. It is my understanding, that there are several write-ups of the pattern. Depending on which one you're working from, the errors are in different places. Luckily there are online forums and knit-alongs where the mistakes are sorted out. Ravelry or Google can help you find them. I was using the pattern linked at Brooklyntweed and there was just one round where the directions were slightly askew. I think it was round 35.

On another topic, I'd like to thank La Fuji Mama for sending me a lovely care package all the way from Japan. She has a fantastic blog. You should check it out. I defy you to read her blog and not come away inspired by color, hungry or wanting to board a plane.

Anyway, back on Valentine's day, she ever-so-casually posted a picture of a Cherry Blossom Kit Kat. I was all, "Sweet, fancy Moses, there's such a thing as Cherry Blossom Kit Kats?" (Apparently, wildly flavored Kit Kats are common in Japan.) Well, Fuji Mama was unbelievably sweet and sent me some! Plus, she included some extra goodies.

Kit Kats and cute stickers from Japan.

She also sent me a gorgeous book of baby and child knitting patterns.

I can't read the Japanese, but the book is so beautiful and inspirational it doesn't even matter. I love just looking at it.

Soooo adorable!

Thank you, Fuji Mama! You are a sweetheart of the highest order!

When The Zombies Come

Sock Madness 2 has started and it's just as much fun as last year! The first pattern, Zombie Socks, was released Thursday 3/13 and the race was on.

I had told myself that I would not knit at the same all-out frantic pace of last year and I stuck to that - a bit. I allowed myself plenty of breaks but they wound up being only for the essentials (eating, showering, sleeping, walks, watching Lost on TiVo, a childbirth class and, of course, checking everybody else's progress). It's such a fun pattern, it really lends itself to long knitting sessions. Plus, it's easy for me to rationalize that I need to keep my feet up these days, so knitting on the couch for hours and hours is really the wisest thing for me to be doing. Right?

I finished the first sock Friday night (or was it Saturday morning? Wow, totally can't remember. Clearly, the Zombies have eaten what was left of my already diminished pregnancy brain.)

It felt like the second sock went even faster than the first. (I often feel that way, actually. I think it's why I don't much succumb to second sock syndrome.) I had the pair finished on Sunday. It was a fast enough finish that I have cleared round one.


I used Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids in Nantucket Red and my trusty 2.25mm aluminum dpn's.

It was such a fun pattern that after finishing my adult sized pair, I made a baby pair.

Aaarrgghhh....the zombies are multiplying!

I don't know how much longer I'll be able to remain in the competition, but I sure am having fun right now. Gotta love the madness!

I also want to say I think it's really cool that this pattern (currently only available to those participating in Sock Madness) made it to the top five most active patterns on Ravelry. By the way, it appears that this will become a free pattern available to all sometime in May. So if you like the looks of it and you're not a sock madnesser, hang in there, it can be yours pretty soon.

I feel like I've been a bad blogger again. I've got lots of things to catch up on. I'll save them for other posts, but I'll try to be a little more frequent with posting, at least for the next few weeks. After the baby comes, though, I hope you'll understand things might get even more sporadic than they have been.

Overdue Post: FO - Oblique

My baby shower was this weekend. It was wonderful! I think it's safe to say that Minnie Purl now has more clothes than I do. Anyway, all the excitement and having family in town for five days has left me kind of exhausted. Sock Madness 2 starts tomorrow and I need to conserve energy. Therefore, I'm going to rely pretty exclusively on pictures for this post. I did get some buttons sewn on my Oblique and got some pictures of me wearing it, too. So without further ado, I present my finished Oblique. (My previous oblique posts and my Ravelry notes should cover all the specs and few modifications.)

dark brown mother of pearl buttons

all finished

8 months pregnant and it still fits.

I wear it open, too.

back view

I love it.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

So here's a scenario which has played out numerous times over the last few months at Casa de Golden Purl:

Interior - Chris and I sit side by side at our respective computers.

Chris: (Pauses typing to blow on his hands and rub them briskly together. Glances over at me. Resumes typing.)
Me: (Obliviously, continues blog surfing.)
Chris: (blows on hands.) Are you cold?
Me: Huh? Cold? Nah...I'm comfortable (resumes oblivious blog surfing.)
Chris: Oh, okay. (blows on hands, rubs them briskly together and resumes typing.)

I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure out that the poor man is cold! He's too sweet and thoughtful to turn up the heat because his pregnant wife says she's comfortable.

When I finally did figure it out, I had to hang my head in shame. What kind of knitter am I to sit idly by while my darling husband's hands are cold? Clearly, this matter needed immediate attention. (Well, as immediate as possible after I finally interpreted those oh-so-subtle signals of blowing on hands and rubbing them together. Bonehead, me.)

Enter Men's Fingerless Gloves.

Knit in the dark brown Japanese merino I picked up at this sale over the summer.

He likes them! And can now resume typing in comfort.

Lookit the blur as his fingers fly over that key board!

(Please don't look too closely at the fact that our computers are still on a folding table.)

This Is Still a Knitting Blog

The Hemlock Ring baby blanket came off the needles yesterday and I finished weaving in the ends today. It just needs a really good, severe blocking.

This blanket could have been finished a lot faster but with all the craziness of the move, I didn't get to work on it as often as I normally would have. Also, I had a bit of a situation deciding when to bind off.

I had worked through row 65 of Jared's chart and still had most of my last ball unworked. I didn't know if it was enough yarn to complete the next repeat and the bind off. To be safe, I put in a lifeline before starting the next repeat. Man, that was tedious. The scrap yarn I used was not ideal lifeline material. It was too thick and not smooth enough, but it was the best of the choices that I had easy access to at the time. It was painfully slow both putting in the lifeline and working the row where it was.

Lifeline in place, I got all the way through the next repeat (the last one on the chart) and started the bind off. I was maybe 1/16th of the way through the bind off when I had to admit there simply wasn't enough yarn to finish.

blanket stretched over exercise ball.

So now I needed to make a decision. I could rip back to the lifeline and start the bind off from there. OR, given that I'd gotten all the way through the last repeat and only needed more yarn for the edge, I could work the bind off in a contrasting color.

I contemplated this second option for about a day and a half. On the pro side, a contrasting edge could be really pretty and the blanket would be bigger than if I ripped back. On the con side, I'd have to go buy the new yarn.

Since when is buying yarn a con, you ask? Well, since about November I've been really good about knitting from my stash. I've felt very virtuous and clever every time I've found suitable yarn without having to go buy some. I realized there's lots of wonderful knitting potential sitting right in my stash. I already have the perfect yarn for many of the projects in my queue. To be clear, I have not put myself on a yarn diet. However, limiting myself to stash knitting as much as possible has given me the strength not to buy yarn. I've even passed on some killer yarn sales! It's been a stash-knitting roll and I wasn't sure about breaking it just yet.

From the pictures you can probably see that the edge is not a contrasting color, meaning I did rip back to the lifeline. I'll tell you what sealed my decision. It wasn't my reluctance to buy new yarn. It was that this yarn (Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK in Snowman) was a gift from my mom. She gave it to me the first time she saw me after I'd told her about my pregnancy. How cute is that? I tell her I'm pregnant and the first thing she does is run out and buy me some white yarn with the word "baby" on the ballband.

This blanket is a gift to Minnie Purl from both her mom and her Grammy. Introducing new yarn to the project, even just on the edge, somehow would've spoiled the purity of that.

And also? All the tedium of inserting that darn lifeline wasn't in vain.

Home

One of the greatest blessings in my life is that I had a very happy, secure childhood. My parents were happily married and worked hard to provide a loving, nurturing environment for my brother and me. In my heart and memory that warm, stable environment is inextricably linked to the house we lived in when I was young. I lived in the same house from birth until I left for college. It was my home so completely that I wasn’t even aware of how emotionally significant a home can be until the day, during my senior year of high school, when my father sat us down and explained that we needed to sell the house.

It was the early 90’s. The recession had been dragging on for quite a while. While it was an extraordinarily beautiful house, it was quite large and very old. My father had owned the house outright since before I was born, but the maintenance and taxes on the house were very expensive. Not only that, but I’m the youngest and I was to be leaving for college soon. The house was way more than my about-to-be empty-nester parents would need. In the coming years, my dad’s health would begin to decline rapidly. He didn’t say it (and I didn’t suspect it), but I think he knew that soon he simply wouldn’t be able to manage living in a house of that size and that more money would be needed for medical expenses. On that day he simply laid it out as a sensible, financial decision. He recognized how hard it would be for all of us to leave (he’d been living there for more than 30 years, himself) but explained that it was the wisest thing to do, given the state of the economy.

It was one of those life events when your perspective changes in an instant. The house represented all the stability and security I had had in my life so far. I realize how lucky I am to have been 18 and seeing for the first time that up until then I had had the luxury of taking that stability and security for granted. But at the time all I could feel was the loss. The idea of selling the house made me feel adrift, confused and very sad. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I felt emotionally homeless.

Over the next 10 years, I lived in a series of dorm rooms and rentals. I had roommates, my own apartment and then the apartments I shared with Chris before we were married. I visited my parents in their new house, sometimes staying for months at a time. All those places were perfectly nice, but none of them encompassed that feeling of Home the way the old house had. I was the right age to be leaving home, which helped me make peace with the sale of the old house. But I never lost my fondness for that house and what it represented. And I never forgot how I’d felt like everything I had ever relied upon might slip away if that house was no longer my family homestead.

Two months after we were married, Chris and I moved into the house we have just sold. (We actually made the winning offer on the house on an evening we were having a meeting with our wedding planner and DJ, but that’s another story.) We have lived there for the past four years. Somewhere along the way, I regained that feeling of Home and it was wonderful.

The process of selling that house and moving into a new one has made a lot of old feelings resurface. This time, though, I’m not a naïve teenager. Instead, I’m a reasonably well adjusted adult who knows that while a house can be a big part of one’s identity and is the place one might call “home,” it’s the bigger principles of love, security, peacefulness and family that really define Home.

Two days before the close of escrow, Chris and I had our final walk-through at our old house. It was completely empty, save for the alarmingly huge dust bunnies and the mysterious bottle of Miller Light that was there when we moved in. (Leaving it there just seemed like the right thing to do.) I allowed myself to cry and mourn leaving the place where I had once again felt so loved and secure that I could truly feel at Home.

We left there for the last time and came to our new house. We still have many unpacked boxes, there are still areas of the house under construction, the furniture for our bedroom and the nursery has not yet arrived, but this house is shaping up very nicely. I’ve been having a blast picking paint colors, light fixtures, window treatments, etc. We’re putting our own personal stamp on this house and it feels fantastic. I love that everywhere I look, I see my life with my husband. And when I think about bringing our baby daughter home from the hospital to this house, I feel overjoyed. This house is the beginning of our next series of adventures as our family expands. We are filling this house with love and making it a Home.

When we were standing in our old house on that final day, Chris and I talked about the things I’ve said here. We let ourselves feel the sadness of leaving that house and then we hugged and reminded each other of a certain part of our wedding vows. It was the thing that made it easy for me to wipe away my tears. It’s the thing that has made this transition one of joy. On our wedding day, we said to each other, “May my heart be your shelter and my arms be your home.”