CURSES! I had made it to the toe shaping of the first blue Feet when I realized I had one too many stitches. I was hoping I had just forgotten a gusset decrease on one side: I figured I could just drop down to fix that. Unfortunately, I had actually picked up one too many stitches on one side of the heel flap so I had to rip back. The consolation prize here is, now that I have almost finished what is essentially my fifth Feet I don’t have to look at the pattern anymore. By the time I finish the pair for me I’ll be the Feet Knitting Master.

My order from Elann came yesterday. I ordered it SUNDAY and it came WEDNESDAY. Is that some kind of record? I have always gotten orders from them super-quick, but Damn! That’s fast. Work on the Retro-Prep Jailbird Cardy has been put on hold while I work on these Feets (I want to felt them at Matt and Rob’s Felting Party Sunday), but I did a couple rows with my new bamboo needles last night.

On the FO list are the Opal internet socks. They look great and I had plenty of yarn: I didn’t have to buy more to finish the socks I started from remnants. That HAS to be good. Instead of starting another pair of ’net socks right now, I think I’m going to use the Jailbird Cardy for internet knitting since, aside from the stripes and the shaping, it is basically just a stockinette piece. I’m Ready For Spring and, in that vein, I’m ready to start the Pacific Northwest lace shawl. Wendy notes in her Knitting Gallery that she knit HERS in a WEEK. (Okay, twelve days.) Somehow, I don’t think that will be me.

Watched an interesting movie last night: Dogtown and Z-Boys. I’m not a skating fan, but as a pop culture history bit this is entertaining. I liked how “vertical skating” was born in an intense drought that drained all the swimming pools in Santa Monica giving the Boys a chance to skate in them.

A 6 is a 6 is NOT a 6. Sometimes a 6 is 4mm, and, apparently, sometimes it is 4.25mm. The Boye dpns I had used on the Jailbird Cardy sleeves were 4.25mm. When I went to Wal-Mart to buy the 29" circ Boye they had BOTH 4mm and 4.25mm needles labeled and sorted as #6. That is a discrepancy in THE SAME BRAND. Irritating, no?

This has become relevant to me because, as I knew it would, this Boye I’m using for the body of the Jailbird Cardy is already wearing down at the tip. I checked my catalogs and found that Pony, Bryspun, Noble, Addi and Inox call a 4mm a #6, and Brittany, Clover and Crystal Palace are 4.25mm for a #6. Not even a 50/50 split. But at least they’re consistent, unlike BOYE. I went ahead and ordered a Clover from Elann because they had something else I wanted: an old Classic Elite pattern with a cardigan that may be just the project for my pile of Bottle Green Rowan Recycled Chunky.

Washed some woolies today. I read a while back in a Lopi book that they recommended washing the wool garments by hand then spinning them out in the washer to get rid of the excess water. I went ahead and tried it with a store-bought sweater today and it seemed to work well. I wonder about creases forming in pure wool sweaters this way, though.

Here’s a depressing sentence: “With smaller needles and A, cast on 216 sts.” I did it, though; all 216 of those babies are on the needles. Now that I have both sleeves and a good start to the body of the Jailbird Cardy done, I think I will take a break and make some Feets. I wound the Blue Flannel Lamb’s Pride into balls this morning and I hope to get these Feets done tout de suite. They are for someone with a small foot so they should go even faster than the first pair.

There used to be a chart online to estimate someone’s foot length (for making socks) by using his or her shoe size. It seems to be gone. I did find one that is similar in concept, but more comprehensive in scope at Fibergypsy, and a converse chart: finding shoe size using foot length.

Enjoyed the Brand-New SciFi Original Stargate episode last night. Leave it to my husband to bring this up: “How come everyone they meet speaks English?” Unfortunately, it is a legitimate point. Only the Asgard have any reason to know the English language and yet there is only rarely a language barrier to be confronted. As far as I know, all the humans that populate the other worlds of Stargate were taken there from Earth in ancient times. Last night’s people were a perfect example. They were descendents of ancient Celts. Shouldn’t they be speaking some derivative of Gaelic? I imagine that, unlike Star Trek, where they explained it all with two words (“Universal Translator,”) the Stargate folks just decided not to worry about it. It IS a more relaxed approach.

Just checked in on said husband. He’s spent the whole afternoon playing Pharoah. He said so far none of his Ancient Egyption society has been turned into slaves by the Gou’uld and transported to another world by way of a Stargate. How odd.

Is there anything more fun than opening the mailbox and finding yarn inside? I submit that there is NOT. My Lamb's Pride worsted came this week from Threadbear, wrapped up inside the USPS box in lilac and purple tissue paper just like a present. I have seen Lamb's Pride before but this is the first time I've really studied it. I think 15% is just enough mohair to make it nice and soft without being real fuzzy. I'm so excited to start some more Feets. I think I'm going to make the Blue Flannel ones first and use what's left to accent the Fuchsia pair that I'm making for myself.

After I finished the first sleeve of the Retro-Prep Jailbird cardy Sunday night, I had hoped to get started on the body. Unfortunately, when I opened the Knitting Treasure Chest to get needles, I discovered that I didn't have a long circular #6. Is that not bizarre? How on earth did this happen? So, I started on the second sleeve, and then, Monday, I had to go to WAL-MART and buy a BOYE. Of course, the second sleeve is now nearly done, but that leaves the big piece for last, which I don't like.

Speaking of odd knitting things, how did I not find the Odd-Ball Sampler Afghan until now? I think I'm not spending enough time on the Internet.

I need 7 hanks of Berroco Glace in the worst way.

First sleeve of new cardy just a couple rows shy of being finished. I'm seeing that the Wheat is not as much of a contrast against the Cream as I would have liked. From a distance, it just looks like black and white stripes. I'm afraid my fashion statement in this cardigan is going to be less Retro-Prep and more Couldn’t Make Bail. Heretofore this will be referred to as the Jailbird Colorway.

Feets are DONE! Ran them through another wash this morning and I placed the larger one directly under the water when I arranged the clothes in the washer tub. I hoped this would make it felt a little more than the other and IT DID. They came out the same size, and I hope the right size for the person I intend to give them to. I'm going to take the "after" pics when they're dry, then I have to take the film in and get it developed because I am the last Internet Enthusiast on EARTH without a digital camera.

Somewhere between the 478th and the 485th time I started this Stripey sleeve it occurred to me to check my gauge. Sure enough, I was off. I DID NOT throw it out the back door. I DID start YET AGAIN this morning with, finally, what appear to be the right size needles. Of course, by now I've lost interest in trying to carry the yarn up without cutting for the stripes. (My desire to do Meg Swansen's jogless join and move the starting point over one stitch at every color change then try to figure out if this affects how I count when I'm putting the sleeves and body together to do the yoke floated away with the wind Thursday.) SO, I AM going to cut and, more to the point, KNOT, at the color changes. I admit I’ve done this before (I feel like I am confessing a sin) only in very small doses. Last night, I remembered reading in Wendy’s blog about Knotting as a Technique, and thought, why not? (Is that a pun?)

I hunted around on the ’net and found a pic of a Retro-Prep Cardigan. This one was done in very lovely blue and green by Susan Willis at Sue's Kooky Knitting Extravaganza.

My Fuzzy Feet did an odd thing. I've run them through two wash cycles so far and one Feet has come out smaller than the other. I suppose it could be due to the position they were in: if one was directly under the hot water as it ran into the machine tub, for instance. They're still not small enough, though, so I'm going to decide after the next cycle what to do to make them match.

HERE are some GORGEOUS Feet.

Went ahead and started the Retro-Prep Cardy last night even though I DID NOT sew up the finished pieces of the Homespun pullover first. (I’m so bad.) I knew I didn't want to deal with all the ends involved with cutting the yarn for each color change so I'm trying to carry the yarns up as I go. This is challenging when working in the round. Also, the magazine I own with Meg Swansen’s jogless join technique was upstairs and, since I was too lazy to go get it, I was trying remember as I went. All this is an explanation for why I had to rip out my 4" of work twice because I kept forgetting to increase. It is also a justification for my habit of always starting with a sleeve. Ripping 4" of sleeve hurts a lot less than 4" of body width -- or, in this case, full body circumference. (I actually start with a sleeve in case my gauge turns out different from my swatch. This DOES happen to me sometimes. I don’t know why.)

Folks here on the prairie are abuzz: for the first time in recorded County history we have SNOW ROLLERS. It seems that if weather conditions are exactly right, bits of snow are rolled across flat spaces by the wind, spontaneously forming snowballs. There was a beautiful crop where my husband works, but you may have noticed I don't have images here yet. So, to illustrate for you, I offer a link to pics of Snow Rollers in Kansas.

Finished knitting the red Feets. I haven't yet had time to felt them and give this process the attention it deserves, but I am off work tomorrow. (One of the joys of working for the government in the Land of Lincoln.) So, Lincoln's birthday is Felting Day. Hooray!

Other than that, I'm mostly finishing things up around here. The second sleeve of the Homespun pullover is done -- hope to get it sewed up tomorrow -- shouldn't take too long. I was going to reinforce the handle of my patchwork tote with some cord run through the garter stitch, but I decided Sunday that since I wanted to actually USE this tote in the twenty-first century, I'd better just tie a knot in the handle. Then I did it. An FO! Will have the heel done on the Opal internet sock 2 by bedtime tonight.

Then, sometime tomorrow, I’m starting something NEW! I decided Saturday I wanted a light cardy to wear as a spring jacket AND I wanted to make it out of stash yarn, so I chose the Retro-Prep Cardigan from Fall 2002 Interweave Knits in stripes of Black, Fisherman (cream,) and Wheat (cream with black and brown flecks.) I think these neutral stripes will look particularly good with floral print skirts. And, STEEKING. Oh joy, oh knitting fun.

Entertaining Stargates last night, plus a bonus in the form of one of my favorite actresses: Musetta Vander. In addition to being Teal’c’s lost love, Musetta Vander was the She-Mantis science teacher on Buffy, and appeared as one of the Sirens in O Brother, Where Art Thou? This is how you get from John Turturro to Buffy in one easy step. (Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is way more fun than that Kevin Bacon game.)

I MUST have these buttons.

I came home sick from work today and spent the afternoon asleep. Now I'm up and feeling a little better and working on Feet 1. When I get sick, I get all weak and whiney and start thinking things like: I sure am a crappy knitter. My Feet is kind of holey. I had to use the #13 needles but my gauge is perfect. I think the Lamb's Pride, maybe because of the mohair, "fills" in the stitches a little better than this Galway. It's also possible that it's a little heavier worsted. Since this object is going to be felted, and, thus, shrunk, I am trying not to be concerned.

It's funny -- the pics I've seen online of pre-felted Feets look like oversized socks, but they still don't show just HOW oversized this sock is. It's like a bunting for a newborn baby. Although Kate's recent blog entry features a pop-up pic of her with her finished Feet on her head.

Evidence that my cat is the best cat in the whole world? I washed the AV pullover last night and laid it out flat in the spare room to dry under the ceiling fan. When I came upstairs just now I saw that I had not gotten the door latched good and it was standing slightly open. I turned on the light and there was Amelia -- curled up on the bed BESIDE my new sweater. She's very respectful of knitting. She doesn't even try to get in my lap when I'm knitting -- she hops up onto the back of the recliner and perches behind my head.

I got the cutest fish bowl off the clearance table at Petco this weekend. It is a glass globe that sits on an orange plastic pedestal shaped like feet. I has cartoon eyes painted on it and an orange plastic "hat." It looks just like a little cartoon alien! I went to Wal-Mart Sunday to look at fish, but all the ones I liked were fish that prefer to be in groups. The bowl is too small for more than one fish. So I filled it up with balls of sock yarn.

"Two Feets, they come up creepin'...like a black cat do...." Okay, sorry. I just love Lynard Skynard. Maybe it's wrong: I can't help it. I was raised thataway. And it's Feets day! As I worked the cuff of Feet 1, I cruised around the Fuzzy Page and looked at other people's Feet Reports. Most I saw seemed to be using the Lamb's Pride, but a few are substituting like me.

I just learned how to plant links in my text. I hope it works.

People talk sometimes about whether they are process or product knitters. I am definitely a process knitter. More than that: I am a tech knitter. If I see something with an interesting construction I want to make it. Case in point: Spring 2003 Interweave Knits. The Pinup Pullover has a "bodice ... cleverly composed of two fanlike strips that hug the body." I quote the mag. It's also a lot of ribbing which I don't think I'd like to seam or wear, so I am trying to resist. The Corset Pullover I want more every time I see it. The Mandalay Medallions is cool with a yoke formed of crocheted medallions, but, if I make it, I want shorter sleeves. And the Dresser Scarf Socks are calling to me. The leg is knit in lace as a rectangle that is grafted together into a tube. The foot is then picked up and worked down. As a bonus, the pattern calls for Fixation, which I have in my stash. I think they will be my next socks, even though they'll be no good for mindless internet knitting.

No Buffy party tonight, even though there is a new episode. We're going to tape it and party Friday due to scheduling conflicts. The UPN teaser for this ep said Willow is going to "change" into Warren and Spike is going to be struck by unexplained headaches. I wonder if Willow is going to really BE Warren or just be herself looking like Warren. Because Spike with headaches and Warren on the premises makes me wonder if they are going to decide they have to remove Spike's chip. Also, UPN said the gang is going to discover evidence that Giles may be the First. Gee, you s'pose?

"I'm a muse, stupid...." Okay, sorry. Dogma is one of my all-time favorite movies. And Rob, of Rob and Matt of Threadbear fame, said today I inspired him to stock up on Lamb's Pride Worsted (that's who I ordered my Limeaid and Blue Flannel from). Only moments before I read his e-mail, I saw an interesting pattern made up in LP Worsted. Moments before that, I opened my credit card bill. Is it possible for a human to be so emotionally conflicted that she would actually, literally, split in half?

Feets commence tomorrow! It appears I will start with the dark red Galway Heather. I've worked up a swatch and felted it, so hopefully I can anticipate any felting differences between it and the Lamb's Pride. It actually looks pretty good.

While I didn't buy any Lamb's Pride this weekend, don't think I didn't buy yarn. I got 2 skeins of Regia Mini Ringel in brown tones at the store where I had hoped to find the Lamb's Pride. At the hobby chain store I got some sport-weight baby cotton because when I swatched the dishcloth cotton, I decided it was too heavy for gauge for the hooded cardy. AND I bought 2 skeins of Cotton Ease, one dark blue and one black, to make the Bow Jest hat from Nicky Epstein's The Knit Hat Book. It's pictured on the cover in chartreuse and black. I’m hoping the cotton will make it not too hot for spring and summer and the acrylic will make it stay hat shaped.

My Spring Interweave Knits came today -- hooray!