TypePad’s home page has a feature section to showcase their user’s blogs.  Recently, they’ve featured Ben Roethlisberger’s Official Blog where I left comment #250-something, congratulating him and his team on their Super Bowl win.  Dork.  Not only that, but I was all misty watching Bart Starr deliver the Lombardi Trophy at the award ceremony.  I think my favorite commercial was "Addicted to LOST," (that’s a video link and may take a while to load) a bit of fun with a great, old Robert Palmer song.  Both the National Anthem and half-time show were uninspiring and disappointing; I was most disappointed in the anthem performance.

I completed the first short row shoulder over the weekend and I think it turned out great!  It’s very difficult to photograph and I think it’s hard to even see it (which is a good thing) — I can see some blurpy stitches on the row where all the wraps were worked, but it’s not bad.  It curves!  I’m not quite sure how the second shoulder will be worked technically, but I’ll be thinking about it as I work my way over there and it’ll get figured out.

Pics:  modeled on Maddy’s shoulder (above); right side (left); wrong side (right).  See the bend?  It’s like magic.  I do see an extra little twist in the cable at the bottom of that last diamond (the wrap row), but I’m not worrying about it.

I was in my PJs, celebrating International Pajama Day, until nearly 5:00 when I packed up Shirley Shrugs (& Her Short Row Shoulder) to go for pizza and football at Mom’s.  The nice thing now is that I can knit it in her presence.  Sometime after half-time, she said, "That a lot of knitting, isn’t it?  You wouldn’t think so, for a shrug."  Heh, no ordinary shrug, mum.

Katie called Sunday afternoon.  She had a busy weekend, visiting Hyde Park (where there are flowers!), Kensington Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral for evensong, Leighton House.  Actually, what she said was, "I went to Lord Leighton’s house."  I heard it in the same way that she might have said, "I’m going to Jay’s house."  I said, "Did he invite you in for tea?"  ; )  We had a good laugh.  (No, she didn’t have tea with Lord Leighton, nor with the Queen in her gallery at Kensington.)  ; )  A fellow student from North Africa asked her if she was going to be watching the soccer game…  She thought she’d watch a little.

Next weekend, Katie will be going to Wales — horseback riding, even.  And in a few weeks, she’ll spend a weekend in Peterborough with host parents my sister had during her time studying in England.

Any way you want me!  Baby I’m yours.  (Hmmm, I think that last bit is from a different song.)

On the left are two things that led to my vision of turning Shirley Paden’s beautiful Cabled Shrug in the Fall ’05 Interweave Knits into something just a little bit different.  With short row shaping at each shoulder, I’m hoping that it will hug the neck more and be more inclined to stay on the shoulders, but still be very shruggy and very much a shawl.  In the mail yesterday was my very own copy of Fall ’03 IK — that must have been the last issue before my subscription began — I’ve seen a few other projects from that issue recently that made me decide to nab a copy.  Obviously, "Short Rows" (the sweater) is inspirational in this endeavor, but the thing that really put it in reach was Teva Durham’s incredible pairing of "short rows" (the technique) and cables for the Aran Tree Skirt in Melanie Falick’s Handknit Holidays.  (Short rows also combine nicely with color work in the book for a Floral Tree Skirt).

Wouldn’t it be Teva Durham?  Who else!!  Anyway, I’m 10 rows from knowing whether I’m close to being on the right track.  I saw my mom last night and she loves it — loves the color, loves the texture, she even loves the wrong side.  (She better not love the wrong side best…  I don’t know how she could, but that could so happen.)  She can’t wait to wear it — and she means sometime in the six weeks left in this winter.  I remain true to this project and excitement is mounting at the moment — so glad that the weekend is nearly upon us.  If all goes well, I’ll be motivated to get to the other shoulder; after that, I’m afraid I’m going to have to plan some rewards (or something) for the completion of each repeat (or something) down the other (long, long) arm to the finish.

The Olympics begin in a week and a day.  I feel like I’m at Nationals, and while my programs for each competition are different, there are some similarities.  Shirley Shrugs for Nationals:  Big, Green, Cables.  Williamsro for the Olympics:  Big, Green, Cables.  My hands are getting used to cotton after a bit of a hiatus; you may recall that Shirley Shrugs was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my mother.  Ahem, don’t worry, she didn’t suffer.  I used to like knitting with cotton; these days, not so much.  I am persisting and resisting, picking myself up off the ice when I fall, getting back on course when I miss a gate…  Oh, the pressure to stay on the sled!  As of last night, I’ve begun the experimental short row shaping at the first shoulder and I’ll be nearing the half-way mark soon.

I intend to participate in Super International Pajama Day on Super Bowl Sunday (this Sunday) and perhaps I’ll meet and pass that half-way mark, meaning that the short row thing doesn’t look stupid and I don’t waste too much time with that.  It would be super if I made it to the other shoulder and started on the long, long, long home stretch.  (Did I mention that it’s l-o-o-o-o-n-g?)  Well, a girl can dream — and I’ll be wearing jammies.  Do click on the button.  I am going to meet that woman someday — on her turf or mine or maybe even in Scotland!  There will be wine, maybe pajamas — that would put a different spin on the international part, wouldn’t it, Celia?

More goodies in the mail!  I don’t remember if it was the Wellington Hat or the Celtic Braid Socks that I recently "saw" in progress somewhere (probably the socks), I immediately shot off an email to Yellow Dog Knitting, where they just happened to be putting together an order for Cabin Fever.  The yarn is stash yarn of varying ripeness.  I’ve got some Galway that I’m thinking of using for the hat, and some gorgeous Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in a pewter color for the socks.  They love the sock at YDK, too, and mentioned that they’re thinking of using it in a class.  It’s a different type of heel and toe for me, so I’m excited about that.  But resisting.  I’m in the middle of Nationals, you know.

Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, meaning six more weeks of winter.  First, we need winter to arrive in these parts!  I’ve got a little pansy action going on in my living room year ’round, and I finally found the perfect frame for the vintage pansy print that Cara sent me last year from Maryland Sheep & Wool.  I’ve been shopping and looking for months and here I had the perfect thing right in my own home, practically in the same room.  Isn’t it sweet?  Thanks again, C.

Big, Green, Cables…

Duncan’s got the best seat in the house for admiring the tree!  He’s been super-feisty lately, terrorizing his fellow pets and tearing around the house with such vim and vigor that some of us have been caught in the crossfire.  I was innocently folding laundry on Sunday when Duncan came tearing through the space between me and the basket; his paw landed on my foot and a claw was extended, striking right between two toes (OUCH! and many expletives deleted) as he launched himself through.  He actually drew blood — like I dripped blood on the floor when I went to get a band-aid!  He drew blood on Ali at some point, too, though I don’t think there was dripping.

The girls look like they’re playing Ring-Around-the-Christmas-Tree, don’t they?  Katie’s wearing my red cowboy hat — she looks way better in it than me, but here you go.  Yeehaw!  I got all gussied up this morning — even tied a bandana around my neck — for a bathroom mirror pic to keep y’all happy.  Y’all happy?  I hate having my picture taken and it’s absolute torture to take one of myself.  I must really love you guys.  (Don’t burst my bubble, okay?)  Added later:  Oh, for crying out loud, I didn’t mean to post a life-size picture.  Really, I didn’t.

Proof that wonders never cease:  there are knitting pictures today.  There we have Shirley Shrugs with not a bad reprsentation of color — it’s a toughie, a gray-ish, sage-y-ish green.  I think I’ve got one repeat to go before starting the first experimental shaping of the shoulder using short rows, though it seems to be measuring up a little short.  It’s all experimental.  I love that in a Christmas gift for Mom, two and a half weeks from deadline and several days behind, don’t you?

Man, I love these Log Cabin Socks.  I love that yarn, too.  Cascade Pastazza — soft, a little fuzzy.  I should be even further but I screwed up yesterday at the change from ribbing to pattern.  See how the ribs flow right into the cables?  I forgot to move a stitch and I was off by one and didn’t realize it ’til I’d already done the second cable.  R.i.p.