the mighty momogus

Let's Get Caught Up

2009-06-30T09:17:00.003-04:00

Here are some random images that I've been meaning to post for some time, but could not get my act organized. We have to backtrack a little, but then we will all be up to speed. In medical news, though I've been coughing non-stop for the past 3 weeks, after a doctor's visit and a chest x-ray, it was determined that I do not have pneumonia, nor a heroin addiction (which alarmed me on WebMD when I checked on what a "persistent cough" could mean). Probably just a mild lung infection. Anyway, here goes:

Here is GYAC Farm League All-Star Team. Please take note of the ONE kid without his hat on.

Here's Gus and Stephen, representatives of the mighty Orioles:

Here is the beginning of the Kingdom Gloves from Knitty that I started on my Columbus/TNNA trip:

I consider myself a fairly competent knitter, but you're looking at the most complicated, butt-kicking piece of knitting I've ever done. And that's just the cuff! I had to take a break from them, which may be permanent.

I did finish my Lady Eleanor Stole:

Love love love this project! I would do another one in a heartbeat.

I taught a yarn-dyeing class at the Tangled Web last week. Here are my students' efforts, which I brought home to dry:

For an emotionally-corrective experience from the Kingdom Gloves, I started the Cozy Cabled Mittens by Karen Konop. I absolutely lurve these:

How I love making a mitten. The yarn is 100% merino from Adams Farm in Vermont. It is so gloriously sheepy-smelling that I stop every few rows and just bury my nose in the yarn. It is divine. I even made Matthew smell it, which he did, grudgingly. Cream-colored mittens are not the most practical thing, though, so I may overdye them when I'm done. Stay tuned.

Here's what's occupied most of my recent spare time, between coughing fits:

This is the last of the TNNA orders, almost ready to be shipped out. That was a lot of pattern printing!! But now I'm almost caught up and am thinking and planning about what's next for Momogus Knits patterns. Stay tuned here or here.

Gussie, come home!!

2009-06-25T21:53:00.003-04:00

Gus is at sleepover camp this week. He's never been to camp before, let alone sleepover camp, so we weren't sure what to expect. Campers are allowed to call home each evening. So each evening since Sunday, we've been waiting for a call. But no, not a peep. At first I was relieved (oh, phew, he's having a blast!); then I was a little wistful (hey, why isn't he missing us??). We pick him up tomorrow. I am dying to hear everything about his week!!

In the meantime, the nonstop rain and general dampness around here has encouraged the wisteria in the backyard to behave in an unrestrained and unacceptable manner. It's wrapped itself around the bird feeder:

It's even tried to push in the back door (Silly is on patrol):

This plant and I wage war every summer. I cut it back to the nubbin and then it happily insinuates itself into every nook and cranny in the back yard. I have to go to Home Depot and get some proper pruning shears this weekend. Watch out, wisteria!!

What's going on....

2009-06-24T07:53:00.002-04:00

Well, I meant to write a nice grand post about Columbus and TNNA and Momogus Knits and other knitting, but the days have flown by and here I am.

I'll get to all that, but I got sideswiped by some sort of mock-pneumonia and by the fact that Gus is at sleepaway camp for 5 days. Now of course you might think that being sick and having all that time to myself might make me contemplative and blog-worthy, but you would be wrong. The coughing wears me out and having nothing to do all day makes it so that I get nothing done. But I am here. And I promise some wildly pithy and entertaining posts to come.

I'm in Columbus!

2009-06-14T18:13:00.002-04:00

I'm here in beautiful (I mean it) Columbus, Ohio for the annual TNNA (National Needle Arts) Trade Show. I have lots of pictures and chatter about our trip, but it'll have to wait until I get back because I can't find the photo cable. Plus I'm exhausted. But in a good way!

(psssss - Go Phillies! Go beat those ding-dang Red Sox!) (I cannot speak this out loud in front of the two supposedly "neutral" Red Sox fans I live with.)

The Patrick McDermott Plastering Orioles

2009-06-08T06:56:00.006-04:00

The season is over. And I feel bereft. As I said to Coach Matt on Saturday after the game, it reminded me of a spell of jury duty I had about 15 years ago. I sat on a jury for a first-degree murder case, which lasted 3 weeks. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but by the end of the trial the jurors had bonded so tightly because of our jointly-lived vivid experience that we all got weepy when we parted. I spent all Saturday afternoon and evening kind of floundering around thinking about all the great kids and missing them!

The team didn't win any games, but boy were they game. In a league for 9- and 10-year-olds, Coach Matt was given a team with 13 9-yr-olds, 5 of whom had never played baseball before. Half of their practices were cancelled because of rain, so they didn't start hitting their stride until almost season's end. But they loved their stern-but-loving Coach Matt, and they almost won their playoff game against a team more typically-composed of experienced 9 and 10-yr-olds.

Here are some images from the season:

Opening Day

The salty, Varitek-esque catcher. He's always liked catching, but this year he had a real pitcher to handle, and they both raised their games because of it.

Here's his pitcher, the fireballing southpaw, Stephen:

He could throw about 80 mph and the commissioner of the league put him on Gus's team because he thought Gus was the only one who could handle him. He pitched every game and never complained. A great kid, sweet and goofy. He and Gus hung out together between innings:

Gus would call mid-inning conferences where they would discuss strategy and how to pitch to the batter at the plate. It was insanely awesome:

They were both named to the All-Star Team.

Though they lost game after game, the team got better all the time and almost won their playoff game. But of course for a 9-yr-old boy, all disappointments are made better by post-game ice cream with his teammates:

Great season, Orioles. I'm so proud of my catcher and my Coach Matt.

2009-06-01T12:33:00.003-04:00

As promised, here's a picture of the Handsome Mitten:

I feel deep and true love for this mitten. My love for Peruvia yarn is well-documented and the colors are awesome and even purling the whole ding-dang thing does not dim my love. These will be for me.

Progress shot of Lady Eleanor Stole:

Chugging along...

Some random images from the past few days...

Here's something that appeared on our basement window screen. Matthew was filling a watering can the other night and made a weird shrieky noise. He said he was startled by a big spider. Of course I began to mock him for this, until I saw the spider in question:

Okay, EWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! It was like, FIVE INCHES across. Matthew, who's normally tenderhearted about killing bugs, tried to step on it, and it jumped like 50,000 miles an hour a foot away. My screams probably carried to the next town (I was sure it was going to land on me, at which point I would have to self-induce a coma.) He finally got it, and we drank our gin and tonics in peace and relief.

Here's Gus (in the grey hoody) in front of the Statue of Liberty from the Ellis Island Ferry. School trip last week - exceedingly pleasant. Great museum. I think the parents got more out of it than the kids, but it was still a great trip.

We left from the Jersey City Terminal, which was wildly fascinating to me. I would have liked to poke around the place and take some more photographs, but of course there was that whole pesky kid-minding thing. Here was one photo I took of the abandoned tracks:

Gus had a dentist appointment yesterday morning and we played hooky. We saw "Up", which was the greatest movie of all time. We didn't see it in 3-D, but it was pretty ding-dang good in 2-D. I was warned that the first 10 minutes were weepy-inducing, but I figured since I'd been warned, I wouldn't cry. BWA HA HA HA HA HA - that's so funny that I thought that!! Me, the Mayor of Crazytown. Needless to say, I cried so hard Gus leaned over, patted me on the arm and said, "You don't need to cry; the movie just started." Later on in the movie when I got all weepy again, he looked over and nodded in approval. I highly highly recommend. It was also very funny and wildly entertaining.

2009-05-31T06:53:00.000-04:00

One of my titles at The Tangled Web (other than Assistant Yarn Detangler, Executive Pattern Decoder, Chief Stitch Picker-Upper) is Executive Director of Educational Programs. Ha ha - not really, but if I ever look for another job, that's going on my resume. In reality, I'm in charge of choosing and organizing classes and Knit-Alongs at the store. It is a wonderful and endlessly fascinating job, but after 7 years sometimes Mary and I just stare blankly at each other and have no ideas at all.

We had a moment like this the other day and finally Mary, in her brilliant way, said, "Go downstairs and look through the old magazines, Maybe we have 6 [class limit] copies of something." This was a great idea. We had 6 copies of last winter's Interweave Knits (how can that be?). So I went home and pulled out my copy and got knitting.

First this, Harvard Square Cap by Sean Kelly, in Cascade 128:

This was an interesting pattern - the swirls are made by carrying a 2nd color and picking it up in a left twist every 5 stitches. Look at the top:

Neat, eh? This would be a great class - quick project with an interesting TWIST! Get it?

I also made this, Handsome Mittens by Cheryl Niamath in Berroco Peruvia (one of my all-time favorite yarns, I have dozens of skeins lying around, so this was a perfect use-up for two.):
[oops - picture coming!]

The interesting texture is because they're worked in reverse stockinette - purled every row. I could have worked them inside out so I could have knit every row, but I thought for once I'd actually follow the ding-dang pattern. These would also make a good class because they're quick and fairly interesting (it's weird to purl every row and you change colors every row), but I'll probably choose the hat because it looks more interesting in a picture. I adore these mittens though.

I also want to bring in more crochet classes, which Lucia teaches. These are more problematic, since I don't crochet really well, but I am so taken with amigurumi animals these days that I bought a pattern, pulled out a crochet hook and some yarn and got going. Here is the result, Tiny Acorn by Anna Paula Rimoli:

Aaaaaggghhhh!! That face! So cute!! It actually needs to be worked on a smaller hook so that it looks not so, uh, crocheted. But it's a good start. And if I could do it, anyone could.

I'm still chugging along on the Lady Eleanor Stole, but had to take a break because I ran out of yarn and am waiting for more to arrive. Fwiw, learning to knit and purl backwards is one of the most useful things I've ever learned. If you ever take on an entrelac project, dear reader, I strongly urge you to figure it out - it's not hard, but it's so weird I think it must be great for your brain.

2009-05-21T07:06:00.001-04:00

One more White House photo, for clarification:

For Dad, yes, there's Romero, behind the trophy. And Utley behind him. And Coste and Lopes still do not have ties on.

Now, in knitting news - I've started a Lady Eleanor Stole. We're doing this project as the September/October Knit-Along at the Tangled Web this fall and we need to have a sample. I thought maybe there was something complicated about it, but it's basically just a big honking entrelac rectangle. Entrelac is fun - it's mindless once you get going, but something is always going on. I also taught myself to knit backwards so I don't have to keep turning it around after every 8 stitches. And that is a very useful skill to acquire! Here it is, in its unblocked baggy glory:

I'm using some Noro Silk Garden that I bought up in New York. I definitely do not love how it is pooling in big splotches of green. I love this colorway of Silk Garden - black, charcoal grey, green and blue. But I'm not going to do anything about the pooling - down that road lies Crazy Town, and I'm not going there..

I finished my February Lady Sweater, wore it to work, felt eh about it and gave it to my friend and co-worker Carole after she asked to try it on for size. She looked great in it, so why not? Look at her!! It's perfect on her!

American Idol finale tonight! I would have voted for Kris but I couldn't get through and then I fell asleep. I hope he doesn't lose by 5 votes - that would be my fault.*

*he won - the other ONE HUNDRED MILLION people who voted got me off the hook.

2009-05-17T10:55:00.005-04:00

Okay, here are some great images. The Phillies went to the White House to meet the President!!! I'm so proud of my team and my president. But Coste and Lopes - you go to the White House and you can't even put on a tie????!!!!! That's just wrong. I mean, look how gorgeous the rest of the guys look! Look at Milt Thompson, next to Lopes, working the light-colored tie - he looks amazing! Even Gillick, with his crazy red Willy Wonka tie looks great. Hrmph. Got that out of my system...

When universes collide! Here are the two greatest Americans from October-November 2008:

He looks like he could play! (He's probably the same age as Moyer!)

Reason To Patronize Your Local Fast Food Purveyor

2009-05-07T20:53:00.002-04:00

Gus stayed home "sick" today - at 8:45 he came into the room and said, "Can we go to Burger King for lunch?" (which apparently he associates with staying home from school when he's "sick"; being the ideal parent that I am, I somehow have allowed this to happen...) But then we got this:

When you press the button on his back, he says "Kirk to Enterprise". And it is awesome.

Soggy Spring

2009-05-05T07:17:00.005-04:00

Poor Coach Matt! He's been desperately trying to get his many PMP Orioles rain-cancelled practices rescheduled. But then those rescheduled practices get cancelled because of the rain. I don't usually mind a sprinkle or two, but c'mon, Mother Nature, give us a break already! [please note that in approximately one week I'll be complaining about how hot and sunny it is...]

In the middle of a particularly dicey Phillies game last week I took down my Phillies flag and put up the American flag. Raul Ibanez promptly hit a home run and the Phillies haven't lost since. You're welcome, Philadelphia Phillies.

I've been sort of floundering, knitting-wise. I finished Lucia's baby tank, which was really fun, and then got stuck. I finished the body of the February Lady Sweater and was not sure it was long enough, but since it's knit from the top down, I'm not sweating it since I can always add length on later if I need to. So I started one of the sleeves last night. They're extremely pleasant to knit because there's no increasing or decreasing. No wonder this sweater is so popular. I'd like to make some variation of it with a stockinette body I think. Someday. Here's a progress shot - I've finished one sleeve.

I also wanted to show you the super-awesome buttons I settled on (from Granny's Sewing Den in Glenside, which has a great button selection), but they are not to be found. Gus and I searched every inch of the house and I can't find them! Where did they go?? I just bought them 2 days ago and they're gone. Of course, if I go and buy replacement buttons they will immediately show up. Hrmph.....%&$*(% magic button-stealing house elves....

I feel itchy to start a new fun project, but with the TNNA show a month away I feel like I should be knitting Momogus stuff. But there's not much I can do in a month. I did start and finish this:

It's a ruffled neckwarmer that I think will be a fall Momogus Knits pattern. I'd like to do a ribbed one for a guy and sell them together. Neckwarmers rule.

Gus and I watched "American Idol" raptly last night. The guest mentor was Slash. Yes, Slash. Laura and I were debating whether Slash has become that uncool or AI has become that cool. Perhaps they're meeting in the middle, coolness-wise. I was hoping Adam would sing "Paradise City", but he sang "Whole Lotta Love", which is not my favorite Led Zeppelin song. It was okay. My favorite Kris looked overwhelmed and chose a Beatles song ("Come Together" - also not my favorite Beatles song) which seemed unwise. He did okay, but I fear that he is gone.*

(*nope - he was safe!! yippeeeee!)

testing....

2009-05-02T11:19:00.001-04:00

I did a May Day post yesterday, but it never showed up. What's up with that??

Happy May Day .....

2009-05-01T08:57:00.004-04:00

....from my epimediums to you!

2009-04-29T16:24:00.002-04:00

Oh dear - no posts for 10 days. Since I last posted, the Patrick McDermott Plastering Orioles (let's call them the PMP Orioles from now on) worked another tie, this time with hitting, against the Keswick Tavern Indians. Gus Born caught 2/3rds of the game.

He's got that Varitek-esque saltiness going on, even at 9.

I've been chugging away at my February Lady Sweater, but it's not very exciting, photographically. I also finished this:

which IS exciting photographically (or more exciting, anyway). This is a little shrug for my friend Lucia's granddaughter, due in a few weeks. Blue Sky Dyed Cotton in orange and pink, because it's a girl, and knitters with sons need to knit crazy-girly stuff for baby girls.

Popular culture-wise, Gus and I have been watching "American Idol" religiously for a couple of months now. I've never watched it before (and was admittedly a little scornful of it), but I see why people get hooked. It's great to watch with a kid - we have very serious debates about the contestants and Gus also fields the phone calls from his Aunt Laura during commercial breaks. It's all good!

I hit another gap at Barnes & Noble in my Patrick O'Brian series, so I was poking around the house for something to read in the meantime. I came upon a copy of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman that I must have bought for Gus but of course had never been cracked. I finished it in like AN HOUR because it was so exciting and interesting and then read The Subtle Knife and am in the middle of Book 3, The Amber Spyglass. As I recall, the Catholic Church had some difficulties with this series, and boy can I see why!! I'm not religious at all, and I have to admit that these books raised some very serious questions for me, especially this last one. I guess kids will gloss over the meaty stuff and enjoy the fantasy and the amazingly imaginative worlds. It's never occurred to me to censor anything Gus would read (other than the obvious stuff), but I think this is a book for a much older child - like a teen. Even then I'm not sure - the questions it raised have made me uneasy - and I'm an old lady!! But my parents never censored what I read, and I read some inappropriate stuff, and it didn't affect me......

Oy vey - parenting...

GYAC Opening Day!

2009-04-18T18:03:00.004-04:00

Yep, it's that time of year again! It's GYAC Opening Day, complete with parade (with fire engine, Mummers, State Representative extraordinaire Josh Shapiro!), photos, game, and post-game festivities. This year is extra-special because Matthew is coaching. Here is Coach Matt (in his GYAC regalia) and Gus on the way to the Parade:

Look at the veritable SEA of people!! It's a little hard to see in this picture, but this is a solid wall of people that stretches for 4 or 5 blocks.

Okay, I love this picture. The 2 kids on the right are Gus's best friends. Look at these 4 beautiful faces:

I know I am biased, but I have also followed baseball since 1974 and I tell you this kid has beautiful form. Look at this textbook stance:

(plus the nice smile)

The Patrick McDermott Plastering Orioles worked a tie with the Dynamic Modern Dentistry Rangers. This level is kid-pitch, as opposed to last year, which was machine or coach-pitch. Consequently there were a lot of walks. The ball was not put in play once - oof. But, hey, they didn't lose!

Our traditional post-first-game celebration, a Blendini (this year Gus opted for Cherry Water Ice and Chocolate soft-serve) from Rita's:

Yeah, it's all good.

What's going on, Thursday-wise...

2009-04-16T15:09:00.002-04:00

For God's sakes, McDonald's - for shame:

Think of the layers and layers of departments this cup went through, and NO ONE caught the very egregious and very obvious grammatical error. It made me not enjoy my soda!! I tried to complain here, but they kept asking for a valid email address, which I kept providing but it would not take it. Par for the course. Or "Par 'o the course".

On to less irritating subjects!!

If it's April, it must be GYAC Baseball Season!! This year, Matthew valiantly volunteered to fill in as a coach (they were one coach short, and we bore the brunt of that situation horribly last season). He was originally assigned the GYAC PHILLIES!!! But then the uniform company ran out of uniforms, so they are the Orioles again. Hearkens back to the '07 season! We had first choice of uniforms, so I made Gus take #5, which is of course the number of the second-best 3rd baseman of all time. (Debate and discuss....). They also didn't get the mighty Cork Tavern as a sponsor - they will be the "Patrick McDermott Plastering" Orioles this year. Every year, I dream of sponsoring a team. The "Momogus Knits Patterns" Orioles!!! How hilarious would that be?? Well, once I build up the old bank account.....A girl can dream, can't she?

Gus will be catching this season - check out how awesome he looks!!

I've always had a soft spot for catchers - Boonie, Tony Pena, Bench, Dutch, Sandy Alomar (there's no rhyme or reason). Opening Day is this Saturday, for which they close down all of Glenside, which is the best thing in the world. More pictures then.

I jumped onto the February Lady Sweater bandwagon. We're doing a Knit-Along next month and I thought I'd knock one out, so I could help people out. Here it is in all its halfway-done, sleeve-stitches-on-holders glory:

I'm also frantically trying to get my Easy Shell patterns finished, so we can start selling them. The samples are in the window at the store, and people have started inquiring about them....

Signs Of Spring

2009-04-11T18:12:00.002-04:00

Spotted in my neighbor's back yard the other day, either forgotten from last Easter or an early visit from the Bunny this year:

First daffodil (thank you, Cousin Beth!)

Time to dye Easter eggs!!

The Master at work:

As happens every Easter, the siren song of all that leftover dye calls out to me and makes me unearth yarn to dye. Here is my assistant, supervising some undyed yarn in a bath of leftover orange-pink-red Easter egg dye:

The MM Hand-Dyed Yarn Drying Station (some would call it a pitchback....):

Egg-y goodness:

More Baseball Notes

2009-04-09T08:37:00.004-04:00

Who knew that the bases-loaded walk would be the offensive weapon of choice for our 2009 Phillies? Well, they won and that's what counts.

I wish I could have seen the pre-game ceremonies, but here's a nice picture. In my opinion, this guy is why they went as far as they did:

I love that Pat Burrell came back and was wildly cheered [Question to Ponder: Why did Adam Eaton come back to receive his ring? Did he think he would be cheered? I'm sorry he got booed, no matter how little I think of his on- and off-field performance last year, but still...] I love that Burrell and Mitch Williams are the Most Beloved Ex-Phillies Of All Time. Phillies fans are weird.

I couldn't pull a picture of the 2009 Phillies ring close-up, but here is the 1980 ring, which is quaint in its smallness and relative good-taste-ness:

This was good to see:

I thought he was at death's door at the Inauguration, but look how great he looks!!

And now, finally, this. This is Johan Santana on Opening Day. No matter how he pitches this year, this will be his most impressive performance in my opinion. And as much as it kills me to say it, I love this:

Huh?

2009-04-06T20:38:00.004-04:00

I know I started a draft for a new post, but it has disappeared into the Blogger cosmos....And of course, as I remember it, it was the pithiest and smartest and wittiest post EVER!

Opening Day (or evening) yesterday. Myers did not look sharp, to say the least. But who cares? The season has started. And I remember Carlton losing every Opening Day he started (or it seemed that way).

New Admission

2009-03-29T12:09:00.001-04:00

Okay, after watching the Villanova-Pitt game last night, I realize I do care. A little. Go 'Cats.

Admission

2009-03-28T19:30:00.003-04:00

I don't have March Madness. Everyone around me is going crazy! Okay, here's the thing: I don't really like college sports. There I said it. I don't like that the teams turn over completely every 4 years. I like the pros. I like watching pro basketball. I like watching pro football.

Hey, the Phillies traded Ronnie Paulino!! Yippee, Coste is safe.

I have very very interesting Phillies news, but it will have to wait a few days.....

More Random Thoughts

2009-03-23T18:59:00.002-04:00

So I finish Patrick O'Brian's Treason's Harbor (Book 9) the other day and go to my local bookseller to buy The Far Side of the World (Book 10). Here was the demoralizing sight which met my eye:

What????!! They had every single book from 1-22, except for #10. What?? What's up with that? I ended up going to two other places before I found it. Huh!

Now my cats are as fancy and discerning as the next cats, but did Friskies really need to rename their cat food "Classic Pate" [complete with French accent] instead of "Loaf"?

Like that's going to make me more likely to buy it? Now that it's "pate"?

So remember last week when Gus finished basketball, and I lamely joked about baseball season starting up? Well, the day after basketball finished I got an email that this past Saturday was baseball tryouts. So here is Gus at 9 am:

And then here he is at 12 pm:

Gus's teacher Felix got married on Saturday and invited the kids from his class to attend the wedding. This was the moment the bride walked in - I love the kids with their wondering expressions.

Here is wonderful Felix, after the ceremony, surrounded by his students:

Random Thoughts...

2009-03-20T20:47:00.000-04:00

Excuse me, what's up with this??

Snow?! That's crazy-talk! But yes, there it was on the grill this morning. Begone, winter!!

What's up with Cole Hamels? Matthew read me some ominous news article about how pitchers who stretched themselves innings-wise one year, automatically, like 100% of the time were injured the next season. I don't believe anything I hear coming out of Clearwater these days.

They should give Chan Ho Park the 5th starting position and let Happ work the bullpen. Park sounds like he's having a great spring, and I like wily veterans in my starting rotation more than green-ish youngsters.

I forgot about Joe Blanton! Until yesterday, when he turned in a sterling performance. Hamels, Schmhamels.

Chris Coste better make the team.

Ahhh, I feel better now. I'm getting into my spring training mode now. Go 2009 Phillies!

What, a new post already??

2009-03-14T12:47:00.005-04:00

Look at me, posting every day!!! I have an uneasy feeling that it is the dearth of interesting events in my quiet life that keeps me from posting. Anyway, here's something interesting!

Today was the Closing Ceremonies for the GYAC Basketball Season. Gus's team, the mighty Gold Rush, finished tied for 1st with a 9-1 record. Here is a (hilarious) picture of the victors:

I can't tell who makes me laugh the most in this picture (and this was the most sedate one I took) - the kid on the uppermost left making crazy bug eyes, or the kid 2nd from left in front with funny hand-on-chin pose, or Gus's best friend who left his mouthguard in. Anyway, they were a bunch of great kids with a very patient and kind coach.

Next up - baseball season!! Who will sponsor the team this year?

Let's Catch Up

2009-03-13T07:15:00.005-04:00

Ugh - I hate that feeling that I get when I suddenly notice that I haven't updated the blog in ELEVEN DAYS! No one knows what I've been knitting! No one knows what I think of the Phillies! No one knows what's hanging off the pillars on my front porch!!

I spent several days this past week with beloved sister Laura. I got so caught up on reality tv it's not funny!! Why don't Matthew and Gus want to watch hours and hours of "America's Next Top Model" and "Make Me A SuperModel"??? It's like they're....guys or something! Anyway, it was lovely to have a big block of quantity as well as quality time to spend in Charm City (that's Baltimore) with my wonderful sister.

I did get a bunch of knitting done. Here's a quick rundown, and then we're going to talk Phillies and baseball:

I made another Moebius Handle Basket out of delicious Malabrigo to contain another family of spool dollies for Gus's birthday:

This has been the extent of my non-Momogus Knits knitting. I am now all about the Sample Knitting 24/7!! I finished both new samples for The Easy Baby Pullover:
Pink Button-Placket Version

Close-up of adorable button:

Blue Rollneck Version

I also started 2 new samples for the Summer Shells pattern. Here they are in blob form. I haven't figured out the waist or neck shaping yet, but I thought I'd slog through the boring beginnning bit first:

I'm a little bit embarrassed and chagrined to admit that the green yarn is Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I bought it at Michael's. "Hi, my name is Diana [Hi Diana!] I work in a yarn store and I bought yarn at Michael's because it was cheap." Okay, it's out. I figure that I support a local yarn store to such an extent that I can have a lapse now and then. Here's the thing: Not only was this yarn cheap, but it's a really nice color and it feels GREAT to knit with. Huh.

Anyway, here's my last bit of Momogus Knitting. This is a basic toe-up sock (using NS5 Basic Toe-Up Socks!)

The extremely cool thing about these socks is that this is yarn that Gus dyed last summer, using Wilton Cake Icing Dye.

I'm hoping to teach a workshop in this technique this summer at the store, so I thought I'd knock out a sock as an example.

Okay, now on to the Phillies. I've been idly following baseball this spring training. I've watched some of the World Baseball Classic. Kudos to those who are playing for Team USA - that's you, Rollins and Victorino!

Also, I was blown away by how many really good players are from Canada. We were watching one of their games and each time someone came up to bat, I'd say, "Wow - I didn't know [insert surprising name here: Bay, Stern, Morneau, Martin, etc] was from Canada!" and would reach for my 2008 Who's Who In Baseball and sure enough they were! Kudos to Matt Stairs too for playing. I know it's a pain in the patootie for some of these guys and a lot of people turn down the opportunity, but I really like the guys who do go.

And go Team Netherlands, who knocked off the Dominican not once but twice!

As for the Phillies, I am sort of in my baseball fan spring training mode, stretching, working out the winter kinks, reading the Daily News from back to front again. The only drama so far is the battle for the 5th starting spot. It looks like J.A. Happ has nailed that down and Chan Ho Park will get a set-up role in the bullpen.

And finally, from this morning's Daily News, a full-page ad taken out by my beloved/hated Pat Burrell:

(a little hard to read, but basically a love letter. I can't remember any other Philadelphia sports figure doing anything like this. Go Pat!)