A trip to the library

I returned the horribly overdue Mason-Dixon Knitting and picked up these three knitting books on hold for me.
Spider webs were on the lawn yesterday. Weird.

Huh?

Spider webs? A fungus? I don't know!

Got nothing to say. It's been too hot to do anything. I will be busy all week so this is probably it until the weekend.

Drippy

No air conditioning means it's OK to eat a popsicle at 5:30 PM. I have blue drip stains on my shirt and shorts now, though.

Button or no button?

One reason it's taking me so long to finish a bib is because I'm not sure how I want it to fasten. Here's my current, button-less idea: Or should I just use a button like everyone else?

Garter stitch

I used to think garter stitch was ugly, but it's really not.

I want pig bacon!

My friend sent me bacon stitch markers because bacon is really tasty and we both really like it. And now I want some real bacon, some pig bacon! This post's title is spoken by a little boy in Syriana whose parents feed him soy bacon.

Summer=cotton knitting

One pair cotton socks complete, one in the works, and one to be reworked (again)
I haven't knit with wool in a while. I went to FedEx today and right next door is a craft store I'd never been in. I picked up one ball of cotton yarn to try out the baby bib pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting, which I have checked out from the library. It's a royal purple, not the blue it appears to be in this photo, and I think it should work for a boy or a girl. I'd like to make several but the color choices weren't so hot. There are other places in town to try, however.

M-D Knitting is a book worth owning. There's a huge collective blog for people knitting projects in the book. Here's a completed bib on an unusual model.

Where I've been

Create your own personalized map of the USA

My map is not as impressive as my husband's. Gee, which one of us didn't get to Oregon from Virginia by car? My world map is more colorful than his, though.

Rustic cotton socks

I finished these socks (made with Elann.com's Sock It to Me Collection Esprit) ages ago but one was too big, the other just right. I think I may have used too large a needle on the second sock, forgetting what I had done on the first one (write it down!). I ripped it out and redid it with a smaller needle. I had lots of yarn left, as you can see, and it's now a bit too small. So I'll do it over another time. The frustrating thing with trying on elastic socks in progress is that they can stretch and fool you into thinking they're the right size. I can pull on the sock into a nice fit, but after wearing it a few minutes, the heel moves down.

Who?

My husband's academic advisor is expecting her second child, so I've been thinking of baby projects. And then I thought that I could/should make something for her 2-ish-year-old boy as well. He loves owls, and so I went searching for owl stuff. I found a free pattern for "Snoozing Ned" at http://tinyurl.com/falo3. (You'll have to copy and paste to see him. This company has a ridiculous "linking policy" you can find here: http://www.coatscrafts.co.uk/Legal/.) I also found pictures from "And So to Bed…Handknits and Things," by Lucinda Guy. And what do you know? The Ned pattern is by Lucinda Guy as well. Guess she's the go-to person for knitted owl toys. Anyway, they're very cute. We'll see.

Check out the lovely house the above blogger recently scored in Portland, Oregon.

Guilty pleasures

I knit, drank a beer, and watched Bridget Jones on TV last night.