After four months of not posting (not that anyone noticed ... lol), I am DRIVEN to LJ by the unexpectedly delightful appearance of Joss Whedon's online supervillain musical, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."  It's silly and fun and ONLY AVAILABLE THIS WEEK.  Check it out at www.drhorrible.com.  (I understand there that folks in Europe may have had trouble accessing the film, but perhaps by now it's been fixed.)

In other news, I've finished some knitting projects and am spending the summer teaching children to knit at our local yarn store.  That's in the moments when I'm not despairing of having ruined my child for life.  One needs a break now and then, eh?

and I still haven't returned to sock making.  I have, however, knitted several scarves (including one lovely feather-and-fan for my sister) and a bunch of hats.  Most of the hats have been cabled, so that's an accomplishment.  I just ordered yarn for a shawl - now I'm committed (to an exorbitant amount, I might add), but it's going to be gorgeous.  I think I'll do some kind of feather and fan thing there, too.

Son is off to three (count 'em, 3) birthday parties this weekend, two of them overnights.  Woo hoo!  We may actually get to watch a grown up movie and go out for grown up food.  Or maybe we'll just sleep.  You never know.  Hubby is actually home this week and next, so will have to take advantage of that. 

My sudden interest in family history has waned slightly from a few weeks ago, when I was clearly obsessed.  But I'm very excited about all the early links I've found.  Luckily, someone's already done all the hard work on one branch of the family.  Actually, my husband's family is much more interesting to me, and since some of the folks are still alive, I may be able to find a little more.  If only I could read Japanese....

Will try to post pictures of some of my knits.  I need them to remind myself what I've done, and how my knitting has progressed (for those days when I am tinking for the 47th time....)

So hubby is home from 10 days on another continent; son is in the shower singing the Gregorian chant from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"; and I'm irritated and exhausted.  I've got a splitting headache, and hubby wants us all to go to Target after dinner to finish our Xmas shopping.  Then he pouts when I say I don't want to go.  I'm all for family outings -- really -- but why couldn't he just take the kid and have some much needed alone time with him? ARGGHGGHHG!

On the other hand, I finished two hats for Xmas today and had a lovely time at the local yarn shop.  There's an interesting circle of folks who knit and eat (not necessarily in that order) on Sundays.  We talk about everything and nothing, and occasionally I focus enough to get some decent knitting done.  It's nice being around people who actually appreciate the time and skill that goes into knitting.  Very inspiring - in fact, I just downloaded a new hat pattern after seeing someone's finished product this afternoon.  We'll see if it's as straightforward as it sounds.

In the meantime, my socks are going on hiatus until Xmas.  They'll be good to take on the plane with me (small circular needles may get through security more easily), and I won't feel pressured to actually finish them by the holiday.  I'm still not quite getting the hang of them - I'm okay up until the picking up stitches for the gusset, and then it all gets wonky.  But hope springs eternal.

Still haven't found the perfect cape pattern.  Maybe I'm not really committed to a cape.  As Stephanie Pearl-McPhee says in her Knitting Rules, "Socks and hats are fun and, in their elevated forms, can certainly be artful, but sweaters [and by extension, capes] are like a marriage (or at least an engagement."  Ok, I've done a baby sweater, which by analogy is more like a two-week stand, but sweaters and things that large are a serious investment of money, time, and attention.  Socks are still a challenge for me, but I can actually finish them before my interest wanes.  And it's not quite so much yarn to deal with.  Hmm.  Decisions, decisions.

Ok, it's time to take the plunge and actually post something here. So, if I can figure out how, here are my two most recent projects: a baby sweater (from One-Skein Wonders) and a pair of Sockotta socks that I'm wearing as I write. I'm almost done with a pair of hiking socks for my son, and I'm gearing up for more socks for the holidays. My knitting is definitely improving - I'm not even embarrassed to give away my projects!

I'm also looking to do a cape to replace a beautiful woolen one that I lost. I want a circular/ovalish open-front cape that's really more like a wrap but that looks like a cape, if that makes sense. No fringe or lace - maybe herringbone or basketweave, but nothing too elaborate.