Soldier Field 10

The nice man from the trucking company came and took the crate for TNNA. You would think that would mean that things are settling down. Not so. We are still feverishly working on many last minute projects that weren't finished in time to go in the crate. We will tote them to the show ourselves. This year it will require the services of a sherpa.

Because much of the knitting these days is top-secret....new colors, new patterns etc., I can't really show you any WIP's. I'll post it all after we return from Columbus.

One of the things I did over Memorial Day weekend was run in the Soldier Field 10. It's a 10 mile run that finishes at mid-field on Soldier Field. The reason I signed up for it was I thought it would be a thrill to be able to actually be out there on the turf. I wasn't disappointed.

Soldier Field was built in the 1920's as a memorial to soldiers that had lost their lives in wars. It's probably best known as the home of the Chicago Bears, but many other events are held there as well. Soccer games, concerts, rodeos, circuses, stock car races have all found their way to Soldier Field.



It was a beautiful day in Chicago and along with 6000 of my closest friends, I took off for a run along the lakefront.













Besides finishing on the field, they closed a couple of lanes of Lake Shore Drive and we ran the first five miles there. Then we turned back and run on the path. The view wasn't bad.



















The finish didn't disappoint. We ran through one of the tunnels just like I imagine the players do and out onto the field. I saw myself on the Jumbo Tron and everything. It was fun!

Procrastination

Do you ever have one of those days when you have about a zillion things that need to be done by a certain time but you just can't seem to get started?

Like the in-laws are coming to visit but instead of cleaning the bathroom, you work on finishing the baby sweater for a child that has yet to be conceived?

Or that first one's evil twin: instead of working on the baby sweater for the shower this Saturday, you cast on for Christmas stockings. In June.

Or instead of working on the stack of term papers that have to be returned tomorrow, you reach for that bodice-ripper.

Or instead of making the dentist appointment for that nagging pain that you think is going mean a root canal, you head straight to the salon for new cut and color?

Or instead of working on the enormous list of things that need to be accomplished by Tuesday, when the shipping company comes to pick up everything for the booth at TNNA, you work on a blog entry.

Oh wait, that last one is me. For the past two weeks I have worked slavishly doing anything except get organized for what is arguably the most important four days of the year for Lorna's Laces. Yikes!

I wish I could figure out why. It's really not like me to be this way. I'm usually the one cracking the whip around here and staying late to make sure it's all done well ahead of time. It makes me crazy to find myself behind.

The next step in the process is to figure out who I can blame. I am considering my husband. Or vodka.

Edited: I just found out, it's Franklin's fault! He came by earlier in the week to work on a top-secret project. It's very important to know who to blame. I will rest easy tonight.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Sam has been busy making octopi. (I looked that one up. There are two acceptable plurals for octopus, octopuses and octopi. I picked octopi.) They are from an etsy vendor hansigurumi.

The patterns are for knitting rather than crochet like so much of the amigurumi. This is good for us. We're a little crochet challenged around here. I think many of us have good intentions about crochet and then default back to knitting because it's what we know. Like anything else, it's easier to fall back to the known and comfortable.

Anyways, this is Sylvia, he is made from our Shepherd Worsted in Huron with a very sexy Bittersweet underbelly.













And this Orlando. She is made from Brick and Bittersweet.













They are very much in love. They say it is because they are soulmates. I believe it is because they share that Bittersweet underbelly.

A quick WIP

This is Sam's Ernie sweater. It's from Debbie Stoller's Son of a Stitch and Bitch and knit from our Shepherd Worsted. Even though it's from a book for men, she's making it for herself.














Check back tomorrow for the winners of our sock contest and some interesting things from under the sea!

Sock contest

We've started getting entries to the sock contest we announced here and here and of course on Ravelry.

The deadline is May 15th. Can't wait to see what else arrives!

We're planning on having the winning socks knit up in new colors and taking them to TNNA. Yippee!!

Mother's Day

I come from a family of six kids. I always try and call my mom the day before a big holiday. I figure it's nice for her to have the calls spread out a bit instead of spending the entire day with her ear glued to the phone. Before I figured that out, I spent too many holidays frustrated by a never-ending busy signal. It's nice to find simple solutions isn't it?

The weather here yesterday was atrocious. When I woke up it was raining sideways. I love a great storm. Especially when it's one of those rare days when I don't have any pressing obligations. It was easy enough to text my running buddy Edward and cancel the run we had planned and hunker down for a nice, long day of knitting and cable movies. Ahhhh, perfection.

If it hadn't been so ugly out, I would have spent the day doing things. The run, meeting folks for brunch, maybe a movie in the afternoon. (The husband wants to see Iron Man.) But the truth is, I desperately needed a day with nothing on the agenda. I have been working alot of Saturdays and if I'm honest, I needed some time to myself. Yesterday was the perfect antidote.

A few WIP's

Here are some things that were being worked on around the lunch table today. This is one of several Fabulous Filigree Scarves from One Skein Wonders that Emily is making for holiday gifts. Does anyone else feel like an underachiever? Holiday gifts? In May? Please!



Next up is a sock that Stephanie is knitting in our Shepherd Sock yarn in Cedar. It's just a little twisted rib design that she's making up as she goes along. She knits so many socks, I should probably find out if she's got a favorite heel or toe. I bet she does. I heard a rumor that she actually has a sweater on needles at home. I won't believe it until I see it!



Last is Sam's Baudeliare sock. It's a Cookie A design that Knitty published awhile back. She's also working on the Ernie sweater. I'll have photos of that soon.

Speaking of Knitty, they recently had their 50 millionth individual site visit. Fifty million. I have trouble imagining numbers that big. I couldn't be prouder of Amy. Along with a few other folks, I think she's gone a long way to transform the knitting world. The site was like nothing we had seen when she launched it. Kudos!

A Little Perspective

I have been feeling kind of crabby today. I've been dealing with a particularly fussy customer over the past few days and it's been wearing on me. Mind you, I embrace any opportunity to complain and she's given me plenty of fodder. But still, I could have done without the headaches she has provided.

To add to my woes, I got a call from the vet this morning. Pearl's coat has been a little off lately. A little dry skin, a little thinning of the fur. She also had some sagginess around her belly. When I took her for her annual check-up the other day, we did extra blood work. Turns out one of her liver enzymes and her thyroid numbers are low. This would explain some of her symptoms. None of this would be a tremendous issue but it is in addition to another chronic ailment we manage with her. New meds will require something of a balancing act. She's no spring chicken either. I'm afraid we have reached that time in her life where more and more small things will start adding up. I'll have to remember to give her an extra kiss every day. She's a good dog.

On top of it all, at some point during this conversation with the vet I realized that today is the one year anniversary of the day we put Hank to sleep. Wasn't he handsome? I still miss him. I guess I will have to give Pearl his share of kisses too.

The upside of the less than stellar news about Pearl was that it made me forget all about the fussy customer. Somehow I even started to wonder if something had been going terribly wrong in her life that made her react the way she had. Maybe she needs a kiss on the nose too.