Taking the Plunge, playing with Simon

Tomorrow is the beginning of the 52 pair plunge II! I'm pretty excited; my sister is looking forward to a lot of new socks for her daughter :)

Speaking of my niece, I finished her turtle, Simon:



He took just 2 1/2 days.
Yarn: Cascade Luna, .5 skein lime, 1.5 skeins oxide green
Needles: US 4

I'm going to have to make another one for the son of some friends, but I'll probably make his shell 3-tone instead of just 2-tone (to save yarn).

I also knit two tiny socks for the June tiny sock swap. One of them is knit in an energized singles, something I've been wanting to try since I read the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook. Pics to come.

I'm off to prepare for tomorrow's plunge (and for moving into my new house)!

Kugel

Conversation between me and DP:

Me: Look what I got from the membership committee--a kugel!

Him: What's that?

Me: A casserole made with egg noodles, eggs, cottage cheese and sugar, with cornflakes on top.

Him: Why would anyone mix those things together?

Me: It's an old Eastern European recipe!

Him: With cornflakes?

He has a point :)

In other news, I'm working on a Sheldon for my niece. I used a gift certificate at the LYS, so the yarn only cost me $5.04. Score!

I'm also working on a Laminaria out of SeaSilk for myself. I'm about halfway through the star chart. It's an easy pattern, but it looks lovely.

Warm weather!

It's finally nice outside--hooray! In honor of the nice weather, I made this sundress for my niece:



It's based on the Katja pattern from Knitty's spring '06 issue. I used size 6 needles and some miscellaneous cotton from my stash. I made a skirt by lengthening the top and using feather and fan. I'm pretty pleased with it...we'll see how my sister likes it.

I also saw a great movie, Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, a suspense thriller from 1966. It stars Prithviraj Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz and Biswajeet. It's the story of a man who goes to visit his guardian, an archaeologist, and meets a woman who may or may not be a ghost. This was the first time I saw Biswajeet in an actual movie (not just a picturisation) and I thought he played the man who didn't know if he was in love with a ghost or not pretty well. He had a knack for looking insane one minute but normal the next, without a cut, just by his expression.

I got a 40% off coupon for Border's today, so I picked up a copy of More Big Girl Knits. Just like the first book, it's worth buying for the information on shaping and ease alone.

Back to the salt mines!

Pictures

Here is the clapotis I made for my sister:



I'm giving it to her today as a Mother's Day present--I hope she likes it!

Specs:
Yarn: 1.5 skeins SeaSilk in Woodland colorway
Needles: US 6
Modifications: Purled the stitches to be dropped so that I wouldn't have to use markers

I'm also working on a pair of socks for my sister in law:



The pattern is Monkey by Cookie A. It is totally hidden by the craziness of the sock yarn coloration, but it keeps things interesting for me to knit.

I've also decided to take the 52 Pair Plunge, wherein you try to make 52 pairs of socks in one year. Baby and toddler socks count, so I think I'll be able to at least make it halfway :) With all the new babies and as-yet-unborn ones coming up, I'll have victims for my creations.

Argh.

Things have been crazy 'round here. I've been really busy...buying a house! After 8 years of marriage, we finally saved up enough money for a down payment. If everything works out, closing will be at the end of May. Eek!!

My little niece is doing well--she's grown an inch and a half and gained a pound, and she's not even a month old. I'm so happy.

My best friend, who's premature baby passed away when she was six weeks old, is now pregnant again. I'm praying that what happened with her daughter was a fluke, and this pregnancy will be a happy and healthy one.

We had some scary graffiti on our building at work...I wish people had something else to do besides writing death threats.

Knitting has been done, but I have no pics yet. Soon!