JessaLu Knits (and Spins!)

There are tons of things I’d like to be doing right now.  At the very top of that list is ’sleeping’ but we’ll get to that.  ‘First things First and not in that order’ as the omniscient Doctor Who has been known to say…

I’d like to be spinning…I need to finish up the 4oz of Lisa Souza BFL roving and get started on my Spunky Club fiber of the month.  However, I’m SUPPOSED to be working on the shawl…

I’d like to be knitting the socks from one of the two STR club packages I have received (preferably the 2nd one)…but I’m SUPPOSED to be working on the shawl…

I’d like to start one of several new socks since I have received three skeins of STR in the past week…BUT I’m SUPPOSED to be working on the…shawl…

Believe it or not, I’d like to be washing my Jeep.  We purchased a cleaning ‘kit’ at the car show last year that I’m dying to use and it’s finally warm enough out (it even came with a bar of something that looks like soap that you’re supposed to rub directly on the paint to get the ‘unseen’ dirt off and microfiber towels).  I’m an*l retentive about my car and love how it looks when its clean - nice and sparkly black…HOWEVER.  I have this shawl to deal with.

…I think you all see where I’m going with this.  There’s even work stuff I need to be doing that I’ve put off (*ahem* sorry Jamie) and my unread bloglines was 477 this morning (not counting my Audible.com RSS feed that counted 100+).

…and now it’s official.  I’m whining.

As for the sleeping…the power went out last night for about 5 or 6 hours (hey, when you are only halfway through a shawl that’s due in eight days, who’s counting.  Right?) and we sleep in a converted attic.  Yesterday it hit 80.  Just imagine how effing hot it was up there with no fan.  I thought I was baking at one point.  So, now I’m exhausted and trying to knit lace.

..and whining.  Don’t forget the whining.  ;o)

…knitting lace (or lace knitting…whatever) can be very frustrating.

Yesterday afternoon all was well, life was good - RR had gone to the Rhinebeck junk sale with my Dad, Dobby was working and the house was quiet.  I finished (or, I thought I did) the last repeat of Chart A on Moth.  I decided to take some outdoor photos on the patio:

I then began (and completed) the reverse stockinette ridge prior to Chart B and started Chart B.  Which is roughly where everything went to sh*t.  It is also where I realized that when the instructions say to repeat the chart 14 times MORE that means FIFTEEN times TOTAL….dammit.

So I had five or six rows of 340ish stitches that I needed to tink…or rip out.   I don’t have the patience for the tinking…so (after a Cadbury egg and an offer of a shot of whiskey from RR) out came the needles.

…fifteen minutes later Moth was back on the needles and ready to go:

 I only dropped one stitch ;o)

…she is out of the bag.

Not only is she out of the bag but she’s running around the room, jumping on stuff and calling way too much attention to herself.

…and you probably have no idea what the hell I’m talking about…let me clue you in.

The other night, Dobby and I had one of our wonderful mother-daughter ‘discussions’ which, as usual, consisted of much screaming, crying, guilt trips and throwing things (and that was just from RR) ;o). What started it was my lovely daughter’s inability to remember that there are people at home who love her and care about her and WORRY about her while she is not at home and therefore expect a freaking PHONE CALL when that someone who is running amok has written down the wrong work hours on the calendar and is therefore going to be an HOUR AND A HALF later than expected (AN HOUR AND A HALF. Imagine it). For some reason, she took offense to my tone. To which I replied that she would not have been offended by my tone if she had CALLED within a reasonable time - LIKE ON HER BREAK and told us when she was going to be home.

During this ‘discussion’ I happened to have my latest piece of ’stealth knitting’ on my lap since I have been working on it non-stop since it needs to be finished by the 16th (in order to be blocked and dry in time for…you guessed it…prom.)

…did I mention guilt trips? Yes? Well you probably already know where I’m going with this…while I was getting yelled at (and doing some yelling myself) I looked down, noticed the shawl and before I could stop myself started yelling that dammit I deserve more respect than what I’m getting especially since I’ve been KILLING MYSELF knitting the damned Wing of the Moth shawl (which I have grown to dislike greatly since it’s keeping me from knitting my new STR kit - not the pattern, the pattern is lovely. I’m just selfish *ahem*) so she would have something to keep her half-nekkid self warm with while at Prom. This stopped all yelling. I felt kinda bad but hey, whatever works.

She walked away, into the game room, slammed the door (the only room in the house she’s allowed in that HAS a door - other than the bathroom) and five minutes later yelled, “THANK YOU.” through it. I’m guessing that was a thank you for the knitting…not the guilt.

The joys of teenagers….

So now you *all* know that I’m working on the WotM shawl and hope to finish it by prom which is on the 18th…or the 19th… (even though I want to set it on FIRE by this point). I’m knitting it in Zephyr wool/silk hand dyed especially for her by the lovely Scout (Dobby doesn’t know that part…yet…) in a charcoal-y black-y color which should go well with her dress. Which is black. Of course.