The sock had quite an exciting weekend. Friday night we went to the local cable TV studio EBCTV while Dale filmed some footage for the Calvin Harlow Program, air date TBA. I sat and knitted and Dale sat and talked on camera about what we did back in April. The sock enjoyed seeing Dale on the television monitors.

Saturday night Dale’s band, Dale and the Duds, was playing at Fonzie’s. This is turning into a regular gig and every time I’ve gone I have sat there and wished I had my knitting. I always bring my knitting when they play outdoor concerts but I’ve never had the guts to bring it to a club. Well, this time I brought it along. I knew Dale wouldn’t mind and I had a blast. I only dropped a stitch once and only two people made snarky comments. Dale even brought the sock up to the microphone so I could snap a picture. I have made a most excellent discovery - knitting to rock ‘n roll makes me knit faster!

Sunday we hung out with the Nelson’s. There was knitting, bocce, beer and martinis. We laughed and ate and drank and played games until the rain came. It was a blast!

Memorial Day I woke up and found this in the perennial garden. A beautiful poppy to enhance a perfect weekend. We spent the day relaxing and memorializing. There was a service on our town common in the morning and knitting in the afternoon. The feather and fan scarf is nearly done and there’s something new on the needles. More about that tomorrow.

The observant among you may have noticed there is something missing from the “on the needles” list. It’s not a finished object either. Those of you who need a hint should look at this. Dixie and Mason are quite enthralled, as you can see.

Recognize it? Here’s a really big clue - it used to be this.

Sigh. Yes, indeed, the sad truth is that I have frogged the entire Charlotte Bronte Shawl. I figure I invested about 64 hours of time in knitting this thing - that’s calculated at 12 minutes per row, folks - and it took about 20 minutes to rip it out. That’s life as a knitter on-the-edge, I guess.

There is good news, though. I can’t bear to look at Charlotte anymore so instead I’m going to use this yarn to knit the Leaf Lace Shawl from Fiber Trends. I’m reasonably sure I’ve got plenty of yarn (now there’s some famous last words) and I actually like this pattern better than ole Charlotte anyway. I’ve ordered new addis from elann.com and once they arrive I will have forgotten Charlotte forever. Just a bad bad dream.

In the meantime, I have worked on trying to complete some things to make myself feel better. I finished the Mary Higgins Clark book in one day and multitasked by working on the Einstein Coat at the same time. Reading while knitting this is the only thing that’s going to make it bearable, I think. The bottom is finished and the top left is cast on and I feel like I’ve finally made some progress. Since I’d like to be able to wear it this fall - and I know that once (or should I say if) the weather warms up I won’t want to be anywhere near these miles of Lopi - I’m working on it while it’s warmth is actually comforting. Here’s a boring picture of the boring project made slightly less boring by the inclusion of Mason the Wonder Cat.

I’ve also made some progress on the koigu feather and fan scarf. See?

You’ll note that’s an indoor plant the scarf is draped over. Everything outdoors is soaked because it’s been raining since Sunday. Raining.Since.Sunday. Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. Will it rain? Gee, what do you think?

This past weekend my family and I experienced what’s called a “Time Line” event at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH. We were there as part of the New England Brigade staff and represented the American Civil War time period. There were also reenactors offering other impressions.

Definitely not Civil War, ay?

The sock had a great time checking out the various time periods represented throughout the camp. This WW II tank rolled through camp late Friday night and it was really cool to see. The sock was impressed. Here it is, admiring the tank.

And again, this time admiring the 1940s VW. The guys with this car were all set for a little road trip - until they remembered they hadn’t put the plates on the vehicle. They rushed back to camp pretty quick when they saw a police officer looking at them quizzically!

Of course there was much knitting throughout the weekend. The sock leg is finished, and I’m working on the gussets now. The Lorna’s Laces is very soft and the leg pattern was pretty easy once I got my mind wrapped ’round it.

I leave you with this picture of moi, taken by Betty, who had just returned from Disney World. My knitting was in my lap and I hadn’t been drinking. Honest.

The shower was a rousing success! Heather was surprised and everyone had a good time chatting and eating and watching the mother-to-be enjoy opening her gifts.

The gifts for the baby were terrific and included a beautiful “I-Spy” Quilt made by Lois. Here’s a great picture of Heather and Brant (peeking around the corner)holding up the quilt. There are lots of bird and fish fabrics mixed in, along with alligators and flamingos for Heather’s Florida family.

Heather and Brant loved the sweater and baby beret - she even recognized the baby beret pattern as one she had admired last Christmas. I never did get around to the booties or the knitted teddy bear, but, I still have another 4 weeks until the projected arrival. And then I have a lifetime to knit for this new part of our family!

I think I managed to push my way through the shower preparations on sheer adrenaline yesterday because today I have succumbed to a lousy cold. My head is pounding, my nose is stuffy and it hurts when I cough. The good news is that I have made amazing progress on Mary Higgins Clark’s new book No Place Like Home and have even dragged out the long-forgotten Einstein Coat to work on while I read. I am almost, but not quite, finished with the bottom piece. This is quite frankly the most boring thing I have ever knit - miles and miles of garter stitch. However, I’m achy and have the chills so having this afghan-like garment draped over my lap while I read is not a bad thing. Plus, I am determined to finish it before I move on to something else. Famous last words, aren’t they?

Speaking of something else, the two Fiber Trends shawl patterns I ordered from The Knitting Zone came in today’s mail. I look at this and think, Charlotte who? And how long will I be able to resist starting this and work on the Einstein Coat instead? Anyone care to wager a guess?

There are showers inside and outside today. It’s raining. Again. Or should I say still? And I’m having a baby shower tonight for my (step)daughter-in-law, Heather. It’s a girl(!!!) and she’s due to arrive in about a month. The whole family is excited, but especially Hannah and I.

I knit the Rosebud Cardigan from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies and also the Baby Beret from Knit Baby Head and Toes. The yarn is peruvian baby cashmere from elann.com. Here they are, pictured next to the centerpiece on the dining room table.

And a close up of the sweater.

It will be more exciting when I have pictures of the mother-to-be opening the gifts - and then even more exciting still when I have pictures of the baby wearing them!

So the table is set, the chocolate trifle is made, the vanilla pound cake is glazed and the gifts are wrapped. I’ve also got fresh strawberries and ginger cookies and peanut butter cookies and two-bite brownies with raspberries and pecan pie tartlets. I hope I have enough!

Tomorrow - pictures from the rainy timeline at Strawbery Banke!

When it comes to books, I think Charlotte Bronte is a master. Jane Eyre is one of my favorites and I’ve read it many times. Not as many times as I’ve read Pride and Prejudice, but it’s still right up there on my list.

When it comes to shawls, on the other hand, Charlotte and I have a difference of opinion. It’s not that she’s not likable. I actually love the Charlotte Bronte Shawl pattern. It’s just that Charlotte is greedy and wants to use way more yarn than I have. Okay, so maybe the mistake isn’t really with her. It might be is my fault. But still, I had such faith in Charlotte as a writer that I assumed she would be equally good as a pattern.

Here’s my problem in a nutshell - I’m running out of yarn and I don’t seem to be able to get more. I bought 10 balls from elann to start and then 5 more when I realized it was being used up at an alarming rate. Now elann is out of stock. Sigh. Somehow, in a moment of stupidity blindness inattention, I started this shawl on size 3 needles instead of the recommended size 2 needles. What can I say? They were Addis, I was excited, perhaps even over-eager. Frankly, I don’t know what I was thinking. So here I have been, happily knitting away for nearly 2 months, thinking all was right with the world. I had bought extra yarn, after all, and while Charlotte seemed to be insatiable, I was sure it would all work out in the end.
Here’s what she’s supposed to look like when she’s completed.

She’s lovely, yes?

Well. Monday night I measured what I’ve got and Charlotte’s still not long enough. In fact, I’ve got several more inches to go before I’ve completed the center square. Right now I’ve got a center rectangle and that’s just not doing it for me or Charlotte. After the center is finished both the leaf border and the lace border will need to be knit. I’ve got 6 balls of yarn left and am just not sure at this point if that’s enough.

Here’s my dilemma: do I keep going and hope I have enough? Or do I cut my losses and frog her now and start over on size 2s? Comments, please? It’s an awful lot to lose at this point but I imagine I’ll feel worse if I keep going and run out of yarn after I’ve invested even more time. Sigh.

To cheer myself up, I took this picture. This is one of my day lilies and it actually came from the yard of my elderly neighbor at my first house in Brockton. It’s an heirloom daylily and probably over 75 years old now. This woman used to share her perennials with me and after she died her house was sold and slated for bulldozing. The night before the planned destruction, I snuck over to her yard with my wheel barrel and stole dug up this daylily plant. When I moved to East Bridgewater 8 years ago my perennials came with me and that first daylily plant I stole took has been divided 4 times. I think of my former neighbor every time I see them bloom.

Tuesday was a very exciting day. My library received a gift of $25,000 (yes, that’s 5 digits!) from Eastern Bank. This gift has no conditions, no strings, and - best of all - I didn’t even ask for it. You can read all about it here. My husband and one of the library trustees (Hi Ann-Marie!) and I went to the Coonamessett Inn in Falmouth for a cocktail reception. It was quite chi-chi with open bar and delicious hors d’oeuvres and they gave away $2.2 million with $650,000 going to area libraries. This bank is a-okay in my book. That’s a little library humor. Get it?

When we got home I took a picture of the trophy and the sock, just to record the whole thing for you guys. I did have the sock with me at the event, but even I, with no shame of public knitting, couldn’t picture knitting at this shindig!

I started a new scarf with the koigu I bought at NH Sheep &Wool. After some searching for something challenging different I settled on this pattern from Wendy Knits. It’s pretty simple and I like the look of it so far. So does Mason.

Tomorrow I will try to have the strength to tell the sad story of the Charlotte Bronte Shawl. Heavy sigh.

Our venture to NH Sheep and Wool was a success in every way. Dale finally got his arse out of bed and we headed north. The drive was pleasant. I was knitting. Duh. I also read several passages of Stephanie’s book aloud to Dale, just to get him in the mood to meet my hero.

We arrived and immediately started scouring the vendors. I had my eyes peeled for Stephanie (our beloved harlot) but it was Dale who spied her first. He called me over to where he was standing and pointed to her and said, “Isn’t that the woman you want to meet?” I looked over and it was her!

I have to admit that I felt a little shy but I got up my courage and approached her and just said, “Stephanie?” I introduced myself (Hi, I’m Carole from Carole Knits - nobody knows me) and she actually thanked me for calling her by her real name first! I soon realized that she had other bloggers with her - Norma and Teresa and Cassie. It was just so cool to meet all of them! Here we all are:

I’m holding my sock and Stephanie(!!) is holding my knitted camera case. It’s just too much, I’m telling you. It was fantastic to put faces and voices with the names of other bloggers. And, as Stephanie says, to realize that all your imaginary friends are actually real people is pretty slick.

Dale and I wandered around for the next couple of hours. Had some lunch - lobster rolls (In New Hampshire? They must have swum down from Maine) checked out the sheep and the llamas and did some shopping. At 2:00 I headed over to have Stephanie sign 2 copies of At Knit’s End. One for me and one for the library. She was charming and funny and I not only admire this woman for her talent and personality - I geniunely like her. Just to show how much I do in fact admire her, here I am genuflecting as she signs my book.

Of course she would have none of that and very happily stood up for this photo. (I’m not really an amazon, but I felt a bit like one standing next to Stephanie. she’s quite tiny.)

So, at the end of the day I had met my knitting and blogging hero. I also managed to make a couple of purchases, although, frankly, I was so overwhelmed at meeting Stephanie that it was difficult to concentrate. I did manage to rise to the occasion somewhat and bought this.

I love the bag, it’s a great size for portable knitting and the yarn is going to be the Branching Out Scarf from the Spring issue of Knitty. This falls into the category of “You Know You’re a Knitter When” because I actually noticed that the woman at the Green Mountain Spinnery booth was wearing a branching out scarf and asked for her recommendation for yarn to make this scarf.

I also found this. It might want to be socks. Then again, it might want to be something else. I know there are lots of patterns for things to do with 2 skeins of Koigu. Anyone have ideas for me? The shawl pin is for wearing with the clapotis and it’s really lovely.

Knit blogging is a fantastic way to meet other knitters and become inspired. I am so happy to have new friends that it’s actually a bit pathetic. But I’ll get over it. Pretty slick, eh?

Two and one half hours. That’s one hundred and fifty minutes and it’s the average length of time of a Spring Concert at my daughter’s school. During these two and one half hours Hannah appeared for approximately seven minutes to sing with the 7th and 8th grade chorus. She was very good but that still left one hundred and forty-three minutes when my kid was not performing. Hunh. Don’t get me wrong, the other children and young adults are very good. Some of them are even amazingly talented, like Jason, my friend Debbie’s son. (Hi Deb!) But still - this makes for a long evening and that’s how Dale and I spent Friday night.

The upside of the whole thing - and you knew this was coming because I am, of course an optimist - is that two and one half hours at a school concert makes for a lot of uninterrupted knitting time. Of course, I had the wildfoote socks with me. As we were leaving the house and Hannah saw the knitting bag and started this conversation:

Hannah: Mom, you’re bringing your knitting? (tone of disbelief and possibly disgust)
Mom: Of course I’m bringing my knitting. You don’t expect me to sit there and not knit, do you?
Hannah: It’s a concert. You’re supposed to be listening!
Mom: I listen with my ears, not my hands, sweetie pie.
Hannah: I think I liked you better before the whole KIP thing.

Of course, she was singing a different tune when I tossed her a finished sock during the first intermission. She immediately tried it on and we snapped this picture.

I had about 24 inches of yarn left over - it was another close one but there was absolutely no freakin’ way I was frogging this thing again. Thank goodness it fit.

So, naturally, I started the second sock and took this picture of Hannah. (I’ve found that bribing Hannah with the promise of a picture on the blog is actually a good motivational tool.)

So, today. Today is the day. I hesitate to even say it for fear of jinxing myself. Today is the day I’m going to meet Yarn Harlot. I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. What should I wear? What will I say? What if she doesn’t show up and my dreams are shattered? Gosh, that’s a lot of what ifs. We will head for the NH Sheep and Wool Festival shortly and hopefully come home with yarn and 2 signed copies of At Knit’s End. Keep your fingers crossed for me, please.

Remember how I titled my last entry “Librarians are Knitters, Too”? I know that it’s true. Pat and Lynda work with me and they are knitters. I have stumbled across knitting blogs created by librarians. I know they are out there. And yet, at the Massachusetts Library Conference, attending by over 550 librarians, I was the only one knitting. The. only. one. This did not particularly bother me but, honestly, I was a bit surprised. I felt a little self-conscious when I hauled out the knitting at my first workshop - Numerology (and not the New Agey exciting kind but rather the how-much-does-it-cost-to-catalog-a-book kind) - but I perservered and was glad for it. It definitely made the session time go faster and I got a lot done on the wildfoote sock.

After lunch I attended another session, this one about libraries and blogs and wikis and RSS. While I was waiting for things to start I pulled out the knitting and was surprised to have another librarian come rushing over to me. She had apparently been in the earlier session and had seen me knitting and wanted to know what I was working on. I showed her the sock (nearly to the toe decreases at this point) and she asked some questions about sock knitting, having never done one herself. I answered her questions and told her I was a little worried that the presenter would think I was being rude for knitting but she assured me that she didn’t think that was the case. At this point, Amy, the presenter for the current session, looked up and said, “Are you talking about knitting during this session? Please, feel free! If I could knit and give my talk at the same time, believe me, I would do it!” That put me completely at ease and I happily knitted away.

Until I noticed something. Something very scary. Something in fact quite horrifying. My yarn was almost gone. My yarn was almost gone and I still had to finish the rest of the foot and the toe decreases. I only bought 2 skeins of this yarn, one for each sock. I either had to rip out this sock and make the cuff and leg shorter or get more yarn. If I decided to get more yarn I wouldn’t be able to keep knitting during the session I was in because I was running out of yarn. I made an executive decision right then and there. I ripped out the sock and started over. Sigh.

By the time the sock was ripped out and re-cast the session was over. It was time for a beer break. I headed for the lounge and got myself a drink and waited for Amy. We hung out for a while and then she want to her last session of the day and I went up to the room to change my clothes and that’s when I took this picture.

I knit more on the second day of the conference and managed to get to the gusset decreases by the time everything was over. I did take the sock out to the beach since it was a beautiful day. Here’s a picture of the sock and surf.

Nice, huh? I could definitely have hung around for another day or two. Alas, it was time to head home. I was greeted by a very pissed off Mason who chose to show his displeasure at my absence by attacking the 2 skeins of Lorna’s Laces. I spent the rest of last night de-tangling yarn. Blech.