Another day. Hey, at least it’s not raining.

It was a quiet night last night. I heard some helicopters but that was all.

Yesterday Caroline asked for a close-up of my ID chains. Here you go, Caroline!

And you all get an update photo of Valtos today, here. I’m coming down the home stretch of the first sleeve. Right now I’ve got about 5cm before shaping the sleeve cap.

And I’m thinking about my next project. I may hold off on the Norsk Strikkedesign Virgin Jacket for a bit, because there’s something else I’m thinking of . . .

Why, do you ask? Well, there are many reasons why Kate is cool, but I have a particular reason this time.

I got a package from Kate yesterday. Here’s what was inside:

Isn’t that fabulous??!! But wait, there’s more!

What a great bracelet! And do you think that’s all? Wait for it . . .

Those are ID holders for my work badge!

No, we’re not done yet . . .

Isn’t that a cute necklace? Hematite with a very Native American-y/ethnic charm.

And then, for my friend Odie, Kate made this:

So, you can imagine how happy I was when I got home yesterday and saw all these goodies. Kate, you are IT!!!!!

Not too much knitting went on last night — I was very tired. But there’s a photo of my sock-in-progress here. That’s Regia 6, the sportweight. Does the sock look long and skinny to you? It’s for my father, who wears a size 13AAA. I’m doing an allover 2×2 rib.

On the train yesterday afternoon a guy saw me knitting on the sock and asked: “Are you doing your homework?” And I thought I’d heard ‘em all.

No more murders yesterday, but no one caught yet either. I slept last night but this morning I’m wiped out. Got that sleep deficit thing going on.

And last but not least, you didn’t think you’d get away without looking at Izzy, did you?

I was dozing off to sleep last night when I heard the sound of helicopters. I got up and looked out my window — traffic on the highway was at a standstill, at close to 11:00pm. I heard police sirens and more helicopters. So I knew the sniper had hit again.

Sure enough, another person had been shot and killed, this time very close to where I live. The police had shut down a number of major roads in an effort to catch the sniper.

So I laid awake last night, listening to sirens and helicopters. And I kept getting up to check the news online, hoping to see that the murderer had been caught. I finally fell asleep less than three hours before my alarm went off, but kept waking up. I’m tired.

But on to knitting.

Izzy was happy to stay snuggled on the couch yesterday — the weather’s turned a bit cooler.

She was a big help with the knitting, we got a lot done on the sleeve. Progress photo here.

The increases are coming along fine — I’m keeping track of them closely so have no problems incorporating them into the pattern.

As per usual, I’m not increasing at the frequency directed by the pattern. The pattern says to increase every fifth row — I’m doing it every fourth row. Why? My experience is that by the time I’m done with the increases, I’m pretty damned close to having the required length of the sleeve. I often like to shorten sleeves a little, so I like a bit of room to negotiate, as it were.

Instinct is a wonderful thing. Izzy saw a bird on the windowsill and sprang into action.

Thank you to all of you who sent me good wishes and cautions to keep safe this weekend. I’m still alive and kicking, as you can see. Thankfully, there were no sniper attacks over the weekend, but I shudder to think what today may bring.

We had a good weekend. We worked on my Knitty assignment (Shhhh! It’s a secret!) on Saturday and went out for a while. I did some outdoor KIPing:

I rode an escalator!

I hung out:

And I shopped in the Dollar Store:

And I even did some knitting.

I finished the back of Valtos, photo here.

And I started a sleeve, photo here.

The sleeve requires some thought, as one has to increase on each side at intervals and incorporate the increases into the pattern. no big deal, but this is a huge pattern repeat, 38 stitches. So I have to keep close track of what I’m doing here.

I’m off work today — Columbus Day. Ah, the joys of being a government employee.

I’d like to wish all my Canadian friends a very happy Thanksgiving!

Well, in spite of the rain and gloom yesterday I was able to take some photos.

Here is a shot of Izzy with my new shoes. The shoes are part of a sad story. I’ve been limping around on a bone spur for the past six months and as a result have stretched and inflamed ligaments in my right foot. I finally broke down and went to the doc the other day. He said no going barefoot at all and I have to wear these orthopedic inserts in my shoes, like for the rest of the year.

Okay, I live to go barefoot. As soon as I get home from work, the footwear comes off. That’s bad enough. But the other problem is my cowboy boots. If I have to wear shoes, I wear cowboy boots. I have over 100 pairs of ‘em. Hot pink lizard? I got ‘em. Turquoise snakeskin? I got ‘em.

Well, my foot is swollen and with the added bulk of the heel insert . . . I . . . can’t . . . wear . . . my . . . boots.

whimper

So I went out yesterday and bought two pairs of shoes a half size larger than normal. You’re looking at the brown ones. I also got ‘em in black.

But today I’m wearing New Balance walking shoes. It is, after all, Friday.

End of sad foot story.

I finished Dave’s Socks!!!!

And I started my Dad’s socks:

These are also Regia 6, same as Dave’s.

And I did manage a Valtos pic, here. I’ve finished the armhole decreases and am working my way up to the neck.

So that’s the knitting update.

The latest sniper attack was in Manassas, Virginia. Real close to where my brother lives. Who knows where next? I’m now afraid to go to a gas station.