Monkeys and Memories

First things first...Johanna won my leftover Walking on the Wild Tide contest and the yarn and a little something else are winging their way to Canada. Second, I finished my Monkeys!

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Yarn: Mediumweight Socks That Rock in Blue Brick Wall
Needle: Inox 2.5mm Magic Loop style
Started: 5/17/07 Completed: 5/25/07

These went so fast I couldn't even believe it! I really love the colorway and the way it works with the pattern. I think I may do another pair of Monkeys, but probably toe-up....stay tuned.

Today has become a rather introspective day for me. While still in my morning lounge wear (read: t-shirt and Target sleep pants) I read two articles on The Gate that propelled me down memory lane. The first was a rundown of the Monaco Grand Prix results, the second the Cannes Film Festival award winners. I looked down and realized this was the T-shirt I had on:
Twelve years ago this month I was staying in a little youth hostel in Monaco with a view of the castle from my tiny window. The streets were abuzz with the upcoming Grand Prix, grandstands and barriers being erected, roads freshly painted with race markings. My friend Megan and I took the train to Cannes one day, saw some interesting displays about various movies being honored, bought a t-shirt, saw Barbara Hershey and Peter Gabriel walking down the sidewalk. Not together.

I started to realize that travel during the months of April and May is a recurring theme in my life--1994 found me in Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand/Vietnam, 1995 was France/Spain/Monaco/Italy, 1997 a return to Italy, 2002 Japan/Thailand/Cambodia.
From a practical standpoint, April and May are 'shoulder seasons' when travel may be a bit less expensive, but for me it was more about starting new chapters of life. Leaving the country, I often felt lost, aimless, unsure of what direction I wanted my life to take. Each time I returned stateside with a renewed sense of self and a confidence about what lie ahead.

As May 2007 comes to a close I find myself floundering once again. If I were single and childless, I know what I would do--grab my passport, backpack and a Lonely Planets guide to somewhere. I am not saying I wish I were single and childless, as my husband and son mean more to me that anything else in the world and enrich my life in countless ways. But I struggle with finding a way to capture that confidence, take a quantum leap forward, overcome the aimless uncertainty. Travel made it easy because of the giant step outside of Me, the Me defined by my day-to-day life in the USofA. Just days in a row of self-discovery through meeting new people and new challenges, discovering amazing works of art in world class museums or climbing ruins in Cambodia, bungee jumping or finding a public bathroom. Everything I "own" for the moment fits in my backpack and has a use. Each day is new and different. I gain perspective on who I was when I left, what I have discovered about myself while away, where I see myself headed. At some point, the desire to return and start fresh hits. Not a feeling of being homesick, but an excitement about stepping back into Me albeit a changed Me, a fresh Me.

The challenge for me is how to accomplish something similar within the context of wife, mother, inability to take 1-5 months off to travel alone....?

7 Random Things

I got tagged by newlywed Bev, so here are 7 Random Things about Me

1. I love to travel and have visited 30 countries so far, 28 before the age of 30.

2. I have a yin yang tattoo on the outside of my left ankle to remind me to strive toward Balance in everything I do.

3. I was an only child for 12 years before my brother came along

4. I drove a stick shift for 16 years until February when I cracked up my car. I've been driving an automatic for three months but my left foot and right hand still haven't quite figured out that they don't have that job anymore.

5. I have a piece of marble that once was part of the floor of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It was given to me by a worker doing some maintenance, at the insistence of the security guard. Even though I am not Catholic I cherish it.

6. I have seen Les Miserables 5 times on 3 continents.

7. I had a Lauren Hutton/David Letterman gap between my two front teeth until my wisdom teeth came in and pushed them together in my mid twenties. It still freaks me out when I get stuff stuck between them.

So many people have already done this one, I'm not tagging anyone in particular, but if you decide to do it, leave me a comment so I can check it out!

32.8g

The contest is officially closed, however, I have a TIE!! Bullknitter guessed 32.2g and jl guessed 33.4g! Now, I am not going to split the Silkie remains in two, but will resort to the Random Number Generator. If you two would kindly email me at: Annimol AT aol DOT com with a number between 1 and 100 and your snail mail addresses, I will get and a little sumpin' for you both and the silkie remains to whoever gets closest to the generated random number.

Thanks to everyone who participated! Camera battery died so no new photos today, but hopefully tomorrow.

Shhhh!! Be very quiet....

I'm stalking a Monkey.....ooh! I think I've got him backed up against a Blue Brick Wall!

Just like everyone says, an amazingly quick knit. Started these last night during "The Office". I am really falling hard for this colorway, picked up at Rhinebeck last year.

Thanks for all the sock compliments! My goal is to make a good sized dent in the current sock yarn stash before Rhinebeck so I can add on again. Not to mention the Bank Error discount at Blue Moon. This is pair #9 for 2007! No where near the caliber of those going for the 52 pair plunge, but someone has to cheer on the sidelines.

We are off to Cape Cod for the weekend, which will provide plenty of opportunity to wear handknit socks and knit socks, given the forecast calls for mid-forties and 100% "chance" of rain all day today and tomorrow. Another update when we return. Maybe, dare I say, even another FO!

As for the contest, keep those guesses coming! A few of you are close...but I'm not sayin' who!

a Twofer and a Contest

Two completed pairs of socks in two days! Woohoo! And it was even just chilly enough to wear these today:Grasshopper socks, Blue Moon's new Silkie Socks That Rock, Walking on the Wild Tide colorway. This was the Rockin' Sock Club April kit, in case you have just been rescued from a deserted island and haven't caught up. I love love love love LOVE them, which is ironic considering how much I despise purling, and the entire pattern is p2tog!! They were very comfy today, and stayed up very well. I knit them using an Inox 2.5mm circ, did not do any calf increases and only knit the leg to 4 inches, then did 18 rows of ribbing. I also have lots left over!

I started these a while back. The yarn is Jojoland Melody, which I'd been stalking on eBay for quite some time. Having never seen it in person, I wasn't sure about buying it. Then one day at the LYS, I saw it!! It was a titch splitty when I wasn't paying attention, and it does not claim to be superwash. But such a deal at only $7 for a single skein. I think I had about 6-8 yards leftover after finishing these babies. I knit them on an Inox 2.25mm needle, toe up, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants style, with a garter stitch short row heel.

And now the contest portion of the show! Below is a photo of my ball of leftover Silkie STR, sitting on T's digital scale. Note the weight has conveniently been blacked out.
Here's the deal. Leave me a comment with your guess at how much this lovely weighs and the person whose guess comes closest to the actual weight gets it! The weight is in grams, measured to the tenth of a gram. Contest closes Monday night, May 21st at 9pm Eastern.

Catch Up, Move Forward

The knitting portion of what I've been up to since my last blog post, over 3 months ago! Argh!
In no particular order:

Ariann in Araucania Nature wool color 48

Thuja in Artyarns supermerino
(fabulous Martini sock blockers courtesy of my amazing secret pal, Mary!!)

Clapotis in Malabrigo

Crusoe in Koigu

Falling Water lace prayer shawl in Artyarns Regal Silk color 110
(scroll to bottom of list of free rectangular patterns)

Inside Out Socks in Monsoon
Rockin' Sock Club February kit

I also rushed through another pair of Thujas and a pair of Jaywalkers for my niece and nephew for late Christmas presents, neglecting to take photos along the way. Add to that transportation issues, daycare/pre-school issues for Flyboy, health issues, flooding, and hectic work schedules and what do you get? A serious case of Blog Neglect.

Having signed myself up for Summer of Socks 2007, I realized I needed to get off my butt and just post already.

What's on the needles? Socks, of course. I'm 2/3's of the way through a pair of shorty socks in Jojoland Melody in green/teal/blue. I've been totally stalking this yarn on eBay, but had never seen it live and in person leading to some reservation. But then on a fluke trip into my LYS, I found a nice little stash and picked up a single skein for cheap to try out. Pics once sock #2 is done! I am also halfway through the first foot of the April kit of the Rockin' Sock Club. I really like the yarn, and I've got a handle on the lace pattern now, and the p2tog over and over isn't too bad. Before too long I'm hoping to start on a 3/4 sleeve CeCe with yarn (RYC Cashsoft 4 ply in Aubergine) from the big sale a while back over at Knit Happens.

So yes, I'm still around, still knitting, and still blogging!