The following is the text of an actual conversation between Dale and I last night when he called me from his band job, a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina victims:

Dale: work blah de blah de blah blah blah music blah blah blah cold blah blah blah tent blah blah lots of tickets sold doo doo doo good food dum dee dumm dumm
Carole: that’s great, honey
Dale: blah blah blah what are you doing?
Carole: knitting and watching the Red Sox
Dale: Gee, no kidding. (heavy with sarcasm)

And I wonder, why did he ask? Because what else would I have been doing other than watching Big Papi save the day?

Can you say MVP? Sure you can.

The upcoming weekend includes 3 games with the dreaded Yankees so there will be plenty of knitting time! And it’s good to knit while watching the Red Sox. It’s the only thing that reduces the stress!

On Sunday I’m heading into Boston with my friend Sharon for the Knit Out. I’m planning on hooking up with Kathy the Knitigator. And perhaps Julia of Moth Heaven. Anyone else going? Leave me a comment and let me know so I can be on the look out!

Have a great weekend. Go Sox!

Yesterday I finished the “watermelon” striped socks.

Aren’t they pretty? Isn’t it nice that I have zinnias to match the socks? Can I just tell you that Vesper sock yarn is addicting? You think Kidsilk Haze is crack? Wait until you try this stuff! If you can ever get it because it sells out incredibly fast.

I set a new land/speed record on sock 2 since I had only cast the thing on last Thursday. How did I accomplish this freakishly fast knitting of sock 2? (Well, freakishly fast for me, anyway.) I owe it all to Julia. And Magic Loop. If you haven’t tried it, you need to give it a go. Find yourself a knitter who uses the technique and is willing to show you or buy yourself the booklet. Knitting with the Magic Loop, it’s a good thing.

I also want to show you the bee-ay-u-tiful bracelet that Heather made for me.

Isn’t it wicked cool?

She also sent me stitch markers.

Very chi-chi, no? Mine were presents (just because she likes me so much) but you can buy your own from her if you go look here.

The Eyelet Cardi is done but the neck is wonky in the back so I’m not showing it to you yet. I may be ripping a bit and re-doing the neck if I can figure out how to fix it. Kiri still mostly looks like a lunch lady hairnet and there are new Trekking socks on the needles. Magic Loop, of course.

Finally, a big shout out to my friend Betty who has started her own blog. Betty lives (and yarn shops) in NYC and is a fellow reenactor. She’s also a Jimmy Buffett freak and a great knitter. Go say hello, will ya?

Meeting knitbloggers, both online and in person, is wicked fun! Last week I not only had the opportunity to shop and hang out with Norma but I also got to go to a book signing for Stephanie’s latest book, The Yarn Harlot.

Being the over-achiever that I am, I arrived at The Sheep Shack at 5:30 for a 7:00 appearance from the Queen of Knitbloggers. It was all good, though, because I got to hang out with Christina, the shop owner, and I did some shopping. Yeah, I know, you’re shocked. Once my shopping was done, I sat and knitted and waited for the crowd.

Our dear Stephanie arrived with Cate and Julia in tow. I was very excited to meet them but managed to contain myself until Stephanie was done with her talk – which was excellently funny and charming. Once Stephanie started signing books, I was all about meeting Cate and Julia and I plopped down on the floor with them and we just started gabbing like old friends.

I was working on socks and complaining about ladders and Julia offered to show me the “magic loop” technique. I have wanted to try this for some time but was worried that the learning curve would slow me down. Cate and Julia assured me that wouldn’t be the case and were they ever right! I caught on pretty quickly and just love knitting socks this way. Stephanie did call me a traitor and said I was turning away from the one true calling of knitters everywhere – to knit socks with teeny dpns, I guess – but she’ll just have to get over it because I’m loving me the magic loop.

If you’ve read Stephanie’s entry about this particular night (and I’m certain you all have) then you know that we bought out all the Trekking. Good stuff, that Trekking. Here we all are and Stephanie is holding MY Trekking. Slick, eh?

from left to right: Stephanie, Julia, Cate, Kat and Christina

There was an excursion for beer after the shop closed. We might have missed a turn or two trying to find the restaurant, but I’m not telling. We talked about everything and drank beer and laughed until our jaws ached and it was good. As I said to Cate, the cool part about reading blogs is that we already know so much about each other that when we meet in person it feels like meeting up with old friends.

Listen up, gang, because I have some fun stuff to share! I know you’re all dying to hear about Thursday night at The Sheep Shack with Stephanie (and other and bloggers!) but that’s just going to have to wait because today was such a great day and I’m bursting to tell you guys about it.

So, here I am in Vermont and I spent the afternoon with Norma. I had met Norma back in May at NH Sheep and Wool and I’ve been pestering her for weeks about trying to get together today. She finally conceded agreed to meet up. And we did. At Kaleidoscope Yarns in Essex Junction. Sigh. It was wonderful. They have Koigu. They have Cherry Tree Hill. They have Mountain Colors. They have Lorna’s Laces. (No, Norma didn’t buy the Gold Hill color way but she might have bought a different one. I’m not telling, you’ll have to ask her yourself.) So we shopped and talked about knitting and laughed and talked about blogging and shopped some more. Did I mention they have Koigu?

After we ran out of money finished shopping we headed for lunch. We figured it made sense to let Norma pick the place since she’s familiar with the area and we are visitors. Sure, Norma says, follow me. So we did. We traveled West and East. We turned around in a parking lot. We turned around in another parking lot. We went straight in a right hand only lane. You wanna know the sad part? The whole time we were doing this round-about we could see where we wanted to go- we just couldn’t figure out how to get there! Norma was laughing so hard that I honestly don’t know why she didn’t crash. The woman is a talented knitter and a terrific shopper but as a path finder? Maybe not so good.

Anyway. After lunch we went to Northeast Fiber Arts Center for a little more shopping. Just a little. Because we were out of money all shopped out. We might have bought a book but only because of Margene. I mean, after all, when you see a book in a store and you know your friend knitted some of the socks that are in it, shouldn’t you buy it to be supportive? I’m just asking, is all.

When Norma dropped me back at my hotel (which is lovely and we have a king sized bed!) we took a couple of photos for the blog. Here ya go, people:

That would be my haul. There might be some Koigu. And some books. And some Cascade 220 and Mountain Colors. Maybe even some Cherry Tree Hill. And possibly an Addi Turbo and some chocolate.

That would be Norma’s haul. There might be some Mission Falls 1824 Wool. It’s being discontinued so of course you have to get it while the getting’s good. And maybe a pattern or two for things that Norma really needs. Right now.

That would be me and Norma happily knitting in the parking lot of the Courtyard Marriott. Who says knitbloggers are strange?

Oh, and one other thing. Before meeting up with Norma we drove out Route 2 to Grand Isle. There were sheep. I took pictures of the sheep but the pictures are crap so you’re just going to have to trust me on this one. And we visited Norma’s sister’s chocolate shop. Oh boy, was it worth the trip! You need chocolate? They do mail order. Just a little public service announcement for all you chocolate fiends.

And one last thing and then I really will shut up. Right now there are fireworks outside my hotel room window. How nice of them to put this together in honor of my birthday. Vermont is truly a great state. I’m coming back as soon as I can.

I had a great 40th birthday! Thank you all very, very much for your comments (27 comments for one entry! a new record!), birthday wishes, and advice on aging gracefully! I loved Dale’s post and I’m glad you guys did, too.

Here are some photos of the things that made my birthday particularly special.

Flowers from my dear friend, Wendy. She couldn’t come to my party because she was sick and I missed her terribly! But, she sent me these gorgeous flowers, so I guess I’ll forgive her. Hi Wendy! Just kidding! Love ya!

Pumpkins for the front door from Dale. I guess he really does listen because I only mentioned wanting to decorate the front door this way once, in passing.

Wearing the finished Leaf Lace Shawl for the first time. It’s so soft and warm! And it matched my shirt perfectly. And I didn’t even feel like an old lady while wearing it.

Dinner at my favorite restaurant.

Having a very special guest at my birthday bash. There were LOADS of other people there, too. Family and friends and co-workers and reenactors and more. Did I get photos of any of them? Nope. Only my gorgeous granddaughter! I hope they all forgive me!

A birthday surprise in the mail from Kathy! Love the yarn, love the pattern and the card is a hoot! Thanks, Kathy!!

And I got a shout out on Jess’s blog and Kathy’s blog, too. Thanks grrlfriends!

So maybe 40 won’t be so bad. I’ve got yarn and friends and family and blog readers and a trip to Vermont for the coming weekend and the best husband a girl mature woman could ask for.

Oh, and tonight? Tonight I’m going here and she’s going to be signing this. Seems like a great way to start off my 41st year!

Hello Everyone,
If you don’t recognize my handwriting it’s because I’m not Carole, I’m actually her husband, Dale. Carole is taking the day off from blogging because it’s her birthday. She tells me that other bloggers have had guest bloggers filling in on their special day, so here I am.

If you read “Carole Knits” regularly you’ll know that she’s been dreading this birthday for a while! I guess it hits different people different ways and at different ages. I felt “it” at my 30th, but no other. For some people it’s turning 20 or 25 but I hear that more folks feel something weird about turning 40 or 50. The big four-oh and the big five-oh. I’ve always wondered why. Is it because each zero represents another decade? Is it the recognition that 40+40=80? Is it that 50 equals half a century? Or is it all in our heads, egged on by spin doctors selling birthday cards and the usual pathetic jokes about going over the proverbial hill?

Whatever the case, I can tell you Carole is surviving the ordeal just fine. She looks as good today as she did yesterday! The hurricane that she predicted to arrive during her birthday bash never materialized; it was blue skies and clear sailing all the way. I hope that’s an indicator of the forecast for her 41st year.

There’s nothing like a flood of emails wishing you a happy birthday to chase the blues away, so I would like to have all of you who might be reading this please join me in wishing Carole a very happy 40th birthday!

And one last thought on age for you, Carole. Every day of those 40 years has made you who you are and I would hope you wouldn’t trade a single day back ’cause you’re pretty special just the way you are!

Happy Birthday, Honey.

There was a song in the 80s called Kyrie by Mr. Mister that was quite popular. My friend Chrissie and I used to sing it all the time while wandering the campus of Wheaton College. Do you guys remember this song? Well, I gotta tell ya, I grew up attending church, but the phrase “kyrie eleison” was one I had never heard until this song started playing on the radio. And, if you’re a Protestant girl from the suburbs, the first time you hear the phrase “kyrie eleison” sung on the radio it may just sound like “give me a laser” and not “kyrie eleison” at all. Chrissie clued me in on the real lyrics when she stopped laughing. Kyrie Eleison? Whaaaa? With just a little research (I was an aspiring librarian even then) I learned that the phrase’s origins are Medieval and it translates to mean “lord have mercy.” Well, that’s nice.

So, yesterday? I cast on Kiri and the song Kyrie was running through my head. Kiri. Kyrie. You see the connection, right? And as I started knitting with black lace mohair, I got to thinking about my misheard song lyrics to this song. Pretty soon I was wishing for a laser so I could actually see what I was doing. Black lace mohair? It’s enough to make a girl go blind.

And then I started thinking about the translation of Kyrie Eleison and I started praying.
Lord Have Mercy and help me see where I made a mistake.
Lord Have Mercy and help me tink back 3 rows to fix the mistake you helped me find.
Lord Have Mercy while I rip this whole thing out and start over.

I’d show you a picture of Kiri in it’s present state but it seems silly since right now it mostly looks like the hairnet the lunch lady at my elementary school used to wear. She scared the crap out of me when I was a kid so I need to get cracking on Kiri and make it bigger so it stops reminding me of Mrs. Holmes.

I’ll be knitting. And muttering. Give me a laser. Lord have mercy.

Amen.

Secret Pal 6 buddies are being paired as we speak. I haven’t heard from mine yet but should you stop by, check out my Secret Pal Answers. It’s everything you need to know about me.

The rest of you can just ignore this post. We’ll return to our regular knit blog next time.

In the meantime, this it what’s going on at my house.

Thank you everyone for voting and leaving comments on my Birch/Kiri dilemma. The exit polls have been most informative. Howevah, did you check the most recent results? We have a tie. A freakin’ tie.

Nevertheless, I have made a decision. I am casting on for Kiri based on the sage advice of the talented lace knitters I know. For those of you nervous that I would run out of yarn, I’ve got 2 skeins of Karabella Lace Mohair at 540 yards each. I should be all set with the yarn. Now I’m just waiting for my needles and then I’m good to go. I can do this by October 15th, right?

And, in case you think I’ve been slacking while I waited for the voting to be finished, I’ve been making mad progress on the Eyelet Cardigan. The sleeves are done and the body is about 1/3 done. I’d really love to finish this for our trip to Vermont at the end of next week. What a shame that I have to work for a living.

Can you guess what happens to me in one week? They look as horrified as I feel.

Okay, so, at Norma’s insistence suggestion, I headed over to LBDtogo.com and bought myself The Classic. I’ve got this wedding to go to on October 15th and I need something to wear and this should be perfect. Well, it will be perfect if it fits. But I’ll worry about that later.

So this wedding? It’s in Portland, Maine. It will be chilly in Maine come October. This means I’ll be needing a wrap of some sort. Or a knitted shawl, perhaps? Hunh. I just happen to have 2 skeins of lovely black lace mohair that I bought from Knit Pixie a few months ago. That’s enough to make Birch. Or Kiri. Or Birch. Or, maybe Kiri. Do you see my problem? I can’t decide which one to make. So, while I’m waiting for the right needles to arrive from The Knitting Zone, let’s talk about it and decide.

First, there’s Birch. The Birch pattern is in Rowan #34, which I have. It’s lovely and has been very popular among the knitblogging community. But, you have to cast on 299 stitches to get started. That’s a lot of freaking stitches, dude. Of course, once you get all those stitches on, you’re continuously decreasing, so the rows should go faster. And, it’s lovely. Have you seen Stephanie’s? Just lovely. Also, the pattern isn’t charted, which isn’t a big deal, but isn’t ideal. Did I mention that it’s lovely?

Okay, then there’s Kiri. Kiri photos and the free pattern are available from All Tangled Up and you can see awesome photos here. Sigh. Isn’t it pretty? You start with a provisional cast on (blech) and then you increase with each row. Basically, the opposite approach from Birch. Also, Kiri has a line down the center from the yarn overs, which Birch doesn’t have. I honestly can’t decide if I like that vertical line of yarn overs or not. However, the pattern is charted and charts are good. Oh, and it’s quite pretty.

Can you feel my pain? Oy, the dilemma!

Shall we bring this to a vote?

Please, provide your wisdom and guidance, my friends! Besides voting, I’d also love to know why you voted the way you did and, if you’ve got experience with either one, please share. This means comments, people! Let’s hear from the masses. (pretty please?)