Hey there!

Long time no post. In fact, it's been about a month.

Well, we're in our new place, as of June 19, and what a fun trip it's been! I may have to gather my thoughts to put the whole big fun-time of the move into another post, but here's a good recap:

- Due to a scheduling fiasco with U-Haul, we ended up picking up the truck at 6 a.m. instead of my requested 11 a.m. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the temperature hit 90 degrees that day. We were done by about 1 p.m.

- We did most of the move ourselves. I found out that I am much, much stronger than I give myself credit for. Our friend Jason, bless him and we are forever indebted to him, helped out us on the new house end.

- My legs looked like a week-old banana from all of the boxes and furniture hitting them. I have a photo of them, but haven't uploaded it yet.

- We did not have Comcast (internet, phone and cable) installed until June 29, even though our first appointment with them was the 20th. The fourth time was the charm. It took many phone calls, and we finally got it done, but despite everything they said and despite being in the same city, we had to have a new phone number. (So, if you are reading this and you have recently tried to call us and couldn't, let me know via comment or email at zelia_and_george at yahoo dot com or zantimissknit at gmail dot com. Yes I have more than one email account -- in fact, I have four or five, including my work one.)

- The washer shit the bed the first time we tried to use it. It wouldn't go into a spin cycle, and thus, would not drain, so we had to get a new one. I bailed out the old one by hand. That was fun. We'll probably get a new dryer soon, because even though the one we have does work, it squeaks. It sounds like a giant hamster on a giant wheel.

Okay, so we have had a few little issues with the move and the new place. How about the good? The good is, we do love it. The cats love it (despite some of the first day freakouts and all of the stranger danger from all of the various Comcast technicians and appliance delivery folks coming in). The cats really really really love air conditioning (and I didn't realize how much I did until ours shit the bed last week while the temperatures were in the high 90s and the repair cost $2600. But I'm going to the positive points of the house, so I digress). We were on vacation last week (but it was a "staycation"), and did a few nature walks and did lots of work around the house. Lots and lots of work, but it's still not done. I have been taking photos, but they aren't on Flickr yet, so I will wait and post them another time.

I also set out to finish up the socks I've been working on during my vacation time, and I did:





Pattern: Express Lane by Diane Mulholland (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Purple Fleece Hand Painted Wool/Nylon Sock Yarn. Purple Fleece is a yarn shop in Maine. I got the yarn at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival at the end of April, and cast on at the beginning of May.
Needle size: US0. I used circular needles, and from the photos, it looks like I used KnitPicks.

This would have been a much faster knit had I not been in the middle of a move. The pattern is super-easy, but never boring. The socks are knit from the toe up. I, of course, have not worn them yet besides for this photo shoot, because it's been over 90 degrees for pretty much all of July so far.

I needed a quick and dirty project afterward, so I made myself a beer cozy:



And I, of course, had to test drive it:



Pattern: Bier Hugguz by f.l. ward
Yarn: Sugar n Creme 100% cotton in a burgundy color
Needles: US6 DPNs (I think).

I knit this in maybe a day. The pattern, as written, does not have a bottom on it so I decreased until I had one. I guess that means that mine is upside down. I don't like having beer bottles sweating all over the place, so I needed the bottom to it to work as a coaster. Sure, I could use a coaster (and I do, often), but I tend to bring my beer all over the house with me, and I don't have coasters everywhere.

I've since made one for Mike, using a different pattern, and I'll post that one when I get the photos up. You'll giggle.

It's put me on a beer-cozy kick. I think there will be more in my future. Of course, I have all kinds of ideas bouncing around in my head, and they're bouncing around NOW that I'm back at work and have less time to execute them.

The only other project I have now, on the needles, is my Swallowtail Shawl. I kept saying I would work on it during vacation, but I didn't. If I have time tonight, I'll work on it. I am going to the gym tonight -- for the first time in over a month, I think -- so I may not have time. I also have many many photos to upload so I can give you another house tour.