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2009-03-22
Today was a lovely, relaxing day. You'd think that, what with no job to go to, every day would be lovely and relaxing but in fact you'd be wrong. Many days are just plain interminable -- a not-exactly-interesting mix of boredom tinged with sadness, with lots of little tasks to accomplish and random appointments thrown in for flavor. Some of the tasks and appointments are in and of themselves quite interesting, but it's not enough to keep me buoyed up. In short, I'm kind of bored, and though I know that there is still lots of work ahead of me on the job-search path, it doesn't have the same satisfaction of feeling connected to something larger than myself.
I mean, come on. How much knitting can I really do non-stop? Yes, I have been practicing drop-spindling -- emphasis on drop -- but I'm not seeing skill development yet.
So what was fab about today? Well for one thing, I met a ferry-friend for pedicures first-thing this morning, which was such a nice way to start the day. Once home, I knit for awhile and watched a movie, then finished sewing on a pair of pants I've had in-progress for way too long. They're kind of not so great, actually, so don't expect a pic of them. I did make some progress on the lace scarf I've been working on for a few months, though. I also had time to do some reading and generally laze in a sunbeam, before a delicious dinner of My Favorite Thing Ever -- a simple roast chicken. Chocolate cake for dessert. All in all, just one thing I enjoy after another. I felt very blissy.
Karen and James are coming in tomorrow night, and staying for (I think) a few days while getting ready to move into their new place. It will be such fun to have them here!Labels: knitting
2009-03-16
Didn't take me long to start another sock project. This time, it's the Cloning Anemone Rib socks from BMFA's RSC last year. I think I've learned my lesson this time, since instead of using US0's I'm using US1.5's as the pattern suggests. I'm also 75% through Yet Another Diagonal Noro Scarf since I keep losing them, but that's not so interesting, even by my low standards of what's "interesting."
I've been in an interviewing frenzy of late, which is both fabulous and super-draining. I think that having nice hang-out time with friends plus lots of knitting is keeping the shiny as charged as can be expected for now. I didn't give up anything for Lent this year, given that I figured the stress of being "in transition" (UGH I HATE THAT PHRASE SO MUCH) was enough without artificial austerity. I have plenty of genuine austerity at the moment, thank you.
Did I mention that Karrie came by last week to teach The Boy and me how to spin on drop spindles? Cross that one off the Zombacolyst. It will take lots of practice, but she loaned me a learner's spindle and left a load of lovely fiber to play with as well.
Okay, off to the DMV to fix my incorrect birthday. It's been wrong the whole time I've had a CA license -- and now I have time during the day to drop by and fix it.Labels: interviews, knitting, lent
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2009-03-15
Will I never learn? This is the second pair of socks in a row I've made that turned out too tight. Though my usual toe-up formula - size 0 needles, 64 stitches, shortrow heels - has worked time and again, my beloved STR yarn just don't have the stretch of, say, a Lana Grossa... and I know this and I still make the same damn mistake.
So, I rigged up some sock blockers out of wire hangers (thanks to this tutorial) and I'm hoping that these will have a bit of stretch in the blocking process. I mean, I really love how they turned out and the colorway. They're just too damn tight.
Hopefully this time I'll learn my lesson and follow the damn pattern recommendation on needle size next time!!Labels: knitting
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2009-01-04
The house is finally coming together, I think. We have a hard deadline because The Boy's mom is coming to visit in a few weeks, and of course we want everything to be "just so" for her trip. I've had a pretty good holiday, all things considered. Back to the grindstone tomorrow.
I've spent the last several days working on my first lace project from Victorian Lace Today, which is a lovely book but oh-so-intimidating for lil ol' me. I think I'll do a nice safe boring scarf next... or maybe some socks since I must admit with shame that while I've been a member of BMFA's Rockin' Sock Club, I have not yet made a SINGLE pair of socks from club yarn. Not one. Feh.
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2008-12-25
Finally. As in, I have finally finally FINALLY finished my Space Invaders socks. They turned out great, but I'm weary of them. So many teeny teeny little stitches!!Labels: knitting
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2008-11-12
And since we've been packing, I can say:
I have a CRAPLOAD of yarn.
That is all.
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2008-03-15
No, I'm not going to talk about work. On the incredibly teeny chance that's why you bother to slog through my rare posts about knitting, go ahead and unsub now.
Now that that's out of the way, I'm back on my 80% finished Bombshell sweater. Why oh why did I ever put it down? The color is beautiful, and Cash Iroha is buttery and wonderful to work with. I'm sure the sleeves will still annoy me when I slog through them, though.Labels: knitting
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2008-03-09
Greenie is done! I'm not sure what I'm going to work on next. Maybe I'll finish up that green silk sweater that's been hibernating for months.Labels: knitting
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2007-11-29
Dammit dammit dammit.
I have messed up the heel on this first space invader's sock freaking again. Dammit. I have to rip back and start over freaking again. Ugh.Labels: knitting
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2007-11-21
New haul of fancy string today. To mitigate the growing stash, I picked out some yarn to send to Sarah today. Mostly lovely things I just don't think I'll ever use or remnants from socks I've made in the past. Because she's making things for her kids, hopefully they can be of some use to her. I also added in a tshirt that I bought her awhile ago.
But onto the new yarns. I got some Louet Fingering Weight for the bmp socks. I'm going to use my new Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Irving Park to make Pomatomus socks, and the Miss Priss will become a Mr. Greenjeans. Busy busy busy. General Bonkers would be horrified.
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2007-11-16
Diets are overrated. Take yarn diets for example... I get the concept, but I just can't stick to them. Like at all. Got a shipment from Blue Moon today, from my feverish "OMG RAVEN" ordering last week. Absolutely gorgeous. Thraven for a sweater, plus Rook-y, Backstabber, and Pond Scum for socks. The colors are, of course, wonderfully rich. I'm delighted.
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2007-11-09
This week... finally over. Whew. It's been a roller coaster, and I'm wiped out.
I'm about 75% through the orange gloves, and then I think I'll probably pick up the arm warmers again. I ordered way too much from Blue Moon on Monday, but that Raven group is just... wonderful. I love it so much. So I got a few skeins of lightweight, plus enough heavyweight to make a fitted sweater. Couldn't help myself.Labels: knitting
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2007-11-05
Uh-oh. I am in love. Maybe too much love. Blue Moon's Raven colorways are out.Labels: knitting
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2007-11-04
One down, one to go. These are such a quick knit, I like that part. I'm not sure I especially like the interplay of the cables and the ribbing. I think I prefer the single cables on a cleaner background.
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2007-10-31
The socks, they are finished. And it is good. Socktober 2007 is over!
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2007-10-26
Two new yarn acquisitions this week. First, a lovely lovely robin-egg blue skein of silk - a gift from Cyn carried over from the UK. The other I can't show. I can't describe or name. It's the most recent Rockin' Sock Club delivery... and I am in love. In LOVE. I love it so much. Must... Have... Another... Skein!
I'll get the silk into Ravelry this weekend.Labels: knitting
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2007-10-24
Determined. I'm determined to finish ONE pair of socks for Socktober. Just one pair. Will I make it?Labels: knitting
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2007-10-23
Languishing armwarmers. They're just lovely, and they're languishing. Will I actually finish them this fall?
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2007-10-18
I love my final iPhone cozy. Fingering weight or leftover sock yarn is perfect for this pattern. I used US size 1 DPNs and a size 5 needle for casting off.
- Using the two-needle cast-on I described here, cast on 18 stitches on each needle for 36 total cast-on stitches.
- Work in the round until the piece is 5" long. It will look too narrow, but I found in prototyping that negative ease is a GOOD thing in an iPhone cozy. My prototypes were just too loose.
- Switch to 1x1 rib (k1p1) for 1/2". Cast off LOOSELY in rib. This is easier using the larger needle for the cast off.
- For the pocket, pick up 18 stitches at the cast-on end. Work in stockinette, slipping the first stitch on every row. Work until the pocket is approximately 4" long, then switch to 1x1 rib (k1p1) for 1/2". Cast off LOOSELY in rib.
- Starting from the pick-up end, slip stitch the sides of the pockets to the body of the cozy.
- For the icord handle, pick up three stitches on the side of the cozy near the top of the pocket. Work as icord until the cord is approximately 4" long. At this point, you can cast off and sew the end of the cord down at the icord pick-up... OR you can do what I do. Pick up one stitch near the icord pick-up, slip to left needle, k2tog. Pick up another stitch near the icord pick-up, slip to left needle, k2tog. Now you have 3 stitches on your needle, but both ends of the icord are anchored. k2tog 2 more times - one stitch left. Break yarn and pull through.
- Weave in ends. Insert iPhone. Gloat. :-)
Labels: knitting
Comments:I know this pattern is over a year old, but I really felt I HAD to tell you how much I appreciated these instructions. I just finished the body of my first iPhone cozy, and I'm completely in love with it.
I told my husband my iPhone might wind up with more "socks" than our kids have. (I'm already planning to make another one. My first was a cute striped yarn. My next will be in black.)
kudos to you!
Thank you for this wonderful pattern! Now I can stop stuffing the iPod touch down my bra while at work.Post a Comment
My co-workers thank you, too!
2007-10-14
Toe-up sock two-needle cast-on tutorial. I always do my toe-up socks with the same tried-and-true cast-on, which I adapted from a doubleknit cast-on from Principles of Knitting. Over the years, I've showed a few people how to do this at the Mel-O-Dee, but it's fiddly. It's hard to show. Been meaning to document it for awhile. You need to understand a traditional long-tail cast-on to use this method.
There's a little movie of the cast-on HERE, as well.
- First, wrap the yarn around a DPN or circular needle as shown, or make a slipknot if you must.
- Place another DPN or circular needle beside the first one, between the tail and leading yarn, with the tail facing you.
- Begin a traditional long-tail cast-on putting BOTH needles through the thumb (tail yarn) loop. (Sorry about the crappy pictures here.)
- Using only the farther needle (the one that has the initial loop/slipknot, and also the needle that has the loop leading to the yarn ball), pick up the loop on your forefinger as you would for a long-tail cast-on. (Yeah, another crappy picture.)
- Using just only the closer needle (the one that leads to the tail yarn), pick up the yarn loop from your thumb.
- Gently snug up the stitches.
- When you have cast on sufficient stitches, begin knitting by working the stitches on the needle that came from the ball (not the tail) first. This makes for a neater look than starting with the tail stitches.
- The last stitch will be fiddly. Be careful to knit into the stitch from left-to-right, front-to-back just like a normal non-fiddly knit stitch, and you won't get a hole.
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Sock yarn and cobra basket down. Just, uh, all the rest left. Pulling out all my yarn to document it makes me want to make a pile of it in the middle of the floor and just roll around in it. But I won't.
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2007-10-11
20ish projects in Ravelry so far. Just old stuff, and I don't have everything documented. And that doesn't even TOUCH my stash. The stash will be a multiweek project!Labels: knitting
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2007-10-10
I can already tell. I'm going to lose the rest of the evening on Ravelry, Flickr (moving projects from the blog to Flickr), and LibraryThing.Labels: knitting
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2007-10-04
Short catch-up. I'm back. The Big Fat Hater is back. We're happy to be back. I destroyed our shredder and bought a new one that is huge and hungry and I think might be a menace to our cats. I have made my best iPhone cozy EVAR. It has a pocket. It's pink. I've been updating FB and Twitter much more than here, but that's to be expected. Maybe I'll even put up a photo of the cozy at some point soonish.
Maybe I'll even make it to knitting next week. That would be nice.Labels: knitting
2007-09-15
Wow. There are actually TWO patterns from the new Knitty I might want to make. Mr. Greenjeans and Cherie Amour.Labels: knitting
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2007-09-04
It's been awhile since I did a food-focused blog. Usually, these happen around holiday time. Since I'm skipping knitting tonight - I'm just wiped out - I'm going to go ahead and write about fried chicken. That's right, I said fried chicken. Not the most interesting topic, perhaps, but we made fried chicken yesterday and I finally remembered to document the process.
Yum.
- Cut up a whole chicken. You can buy parts, but it's more expensive for the total chicken, not to mention that when chickens are raised for "parts" they have exaggerated features. For example, the breast portions are gargantuan in some of those packs. The pieces shouldn't be ginormous for frying. Joy of Cooking and Cook's Illustrated have good descriptions on how to cut up a raw chicken, but I finally overcame my trepidation from watching Alton Brown dismantle a chicken on Good Eats.
- Brine. We brine our frying chicken in buttermilk overnight. It gives a nice fresh taste to the meat after it's cooked, plus helps it stay juicy. Rinse the buttermilk off the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
- Fry up some bacon. The grease adds flavor to the frying oil. We use an electric skillet for this kind of work.
- Make up a dredge with seasoned flour. Cajun seasoning blend makes a nice addition to a simple flour dredge.
- Dredge the pieces in the seasoned flour. Shake off excess.
- Heat the oil with about 1/2 cup of bacon fat. In the electric skillet, we set the heat to a little under 350, but that ended up being a bit hot. You want to try to keep the oil around 325ish during cooking.
- Gently introduce the chicken to the fat, skin side down. Cook covered for 9 minutes, then uncover and cook for 6 minutes.
- Flip the chicken pieces. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, then uncover and cook for 3-7 more minutes, turning in the last few minutes to maintain browning.
- Remove the chicken to a draining rig. Check internal temperature to make sure you're not going to poison anyone - temperature should be at least 165, though not too much higher than that or it'll be dry. The brining helps cushion against overcooking somewhat.
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2007-02-25
Karrie's right. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, from a "people watching" standpoint. Perhaps I jinxed that, but on the other hand I won of the knitting train grand prize bags. Heh.Labels: knitting
Comments:Fo shizzle. Not a sweater my sister would like in sight.Post a Comment
Even the VIP Fibers booth seemed tame this year.
2007-02-23
Tomorrow, I'll be taking the Knitting Train down to Stitches West. There, I expect I will buy many luxurious fibers that will go into the stash while openly mocking some of the fun fur monstrosities sported by other attendees. Then we will have drinks. And hopefully, not end up on the website again.Labels: knitting
2006-12-10
I can NOT believe that I missed knitting last week. Certainly if I had made it, someone would have told me about knitty's new knitted turtle!Labels: knitting
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2006-11-03
And since I'm in here, checking out the new Knitty... I like Serrano. I'm ready to do something a little more challenging, so if I can find some appropriate yarn in my stash this may well be my next project.Labels: knitting
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I need to learn how to do this. Even though it looks hard and kinda creepy, I think it's time for me to learn a new nifty knitting skill. Two socks at once on 2 circs is no stranger, but on dpns? Or even on 2 circs without the dreaded crossover problems that come with doing them side by side? Not to mention the magic factor...Labels: knitting
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2006-10-29
Progress. Big ass afghan? Done. Alex's toe socks? Done. And now I'm settling into sleeve island with the Ribby Cardi. Onward and... onward.Labels: knitting
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2006-09-21
I can't even believe how busy I've been. I work a LOT now. Like, a lot. I haven't finished a knitting project in months. There were some, uh, news stories about some events around the office not too long ago... the events themselves have meant lots and lots more work for awhile.
Honestly, I'm just plain pooped.Labels: knitting
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2006-08-05
It's a good thing you get (officially) a year to give a wedding present. Adam and Julie's blanket is nearly finished. I'm doing a bit of finishing crochet along the edges, then we'll add some tassels... just as soon as I find the yarn I want to tie them off with. We're still FAR from unpacked around here.
Not having a TV makes it a bit harder for me to sit still and work on the blanket though. I get antsy and wander off, so this might take a little longer than I wanted it to.
After this, I'll finish Alex's other sock. THEN, I'll try to finish that Ribby Cardi that's been languishing. The ferry seems like it might be good knitting time.
Comments:I used to love knitting on the ferry. The only downside was that as a brand new knitter and learning to knit in the round and pretty out of it in the mornings anyway, I had a pretty well-established routine whereby I'd knit on the ferry on the way to work, have a latte at pete's in the ferry building, realize half-way through my latte that i'd been knitting the hat inside out, and then have to frog all my work. Still they were good times....Post a Comment
2006-07-24
We're moving. Today. Skein Lane is closing this week. So many changes! The Skein Lane closing does make me glad we grabbed back the shawl when we did, though. Stephen's taking on the brunt of moving pain, of course, but UGH my back is killing me today! Packing sucks. I don't know if I'll make it to knitting tomorrow. I'm going to try to, but we'll see how the move goes today. I did enjoy the pix of Debbie from AX, though! And just to scar anyone who happens upon this... Be afraid. Courtesy of Cat Rambo.Labels: knitting
2006-04-11
Lessons learned after 4 weeks at the new gig:Time for dinner, so that is all!
- It is possible for even me to get tired of the rain. If I didn't have to slog around The City in it, maybe my romance with water that falls from the sky would be rekindled. Until then... I'm over it.
- I am not over those parrots that I walk by on the way from the train to work and back again. Yesterday, I walked through a different kind of rain -- a rain of pink blossoms from the parrots tearing them from the trees above. Very picturesque.
- Aforementioned parrots are loud. I knew that already, though.
- I have a hard time reading on the train sometimes. I think I may be susceptible to some motion ickiness. Not quite sickness. Ickiness.
- I'm not really knitting on the train either. I'm kinda waiting for the rain to go away so I can carry my messenger bag instead of the waterproof backback.
- The afghan isn't finished yet. Neither is my latest (longer, bigger, won't be inadvertently felted) Ribby Cardi.
- The socks I was making are too small. They'll be gifted when I get around to making the second one.
- Being in the colo facility feels like being on an airplane. It's loud with fans and somehow it dehydrates.
- Maybe the colo visit contributed to today's train ickiness?
- My aunt who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer caught it SO early that she's probably going to get to skip chemo. FAB-o-roonie!
- Some of the boss battles in Kingdom Hearts II are really really hard.
- Losing boss battles makes me throw the PS2 controller. I'm so mature.
- Somewhere along the way, this list devolved from being about work. Ah, well. I think that's probably a good thing.
- Getting alterations done tomorrow for the bridesmaid's dress.
- Tomorrow is also Stevie's birthday.
- I'm really not at all impressed with a single pattern in the new Knitty. The new MagKnits, however, has a few good ones in there. Not the loopy hat, Nezumi and the cute wrist warmers that actually make me consider trying some color work. Well, that and Karrie's amazing progress on the Eunny vest.
Comments:I thought all the patterns this time around were fairly blah too. I'm moderately interested in the scarf, but nothing else.
I completely forgot about the socks. I dug the socks, yellow/black scarf and nautiloids from knitty.Post a Comment
Glad to hear about your aunt!
2006-03-18
If any of the four people who actually subscribe to this blog get spammed like crazy by their RSS aggregator... Well, I'm sorry. I had to add the blog disclaimer for my new employer to the site, and while I'm in there, why not fix the archives that have been broken for months? Publish, publish, and republish trying to get it right. Seems better now, though. The archives are now listed down the sidebar. June of 2002? That's a lot longer than I expected to have this blog. I think that knitting probably kept it from dying altogether.Labels: knitting
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2006-02-21
Oooh, look here! Karrie has a MUCH better SW post, including better pix. Now I just have to get that dog-hair bikini picture from Debbie, and all will be right with the world...Labels: knitting
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I took my camera to Stitches West. Honest. But I'm not in the habit of having it and they had this "photography is strictly forbidden" thing, so the only picture I took all day was this one of Karrie.
I like the way that my inability to hold the camera perfectly still translated into that "Moonlighting" effect. Notice that she's wearing lipstick. Schmancy! This was at the beginning of the day, when we were all sleepy but not yet wiped out.
What the hell is it with me and sock yarn? I have a serious problem. I need to go to Sock Yarn Buyers Anonymous:
Five skeins of sock yarn and three sets of DPNs. I have issues.
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I am so far behind. Let's start with the things that I decided were important enough to photograph, but not to blog. Yet. Heh.
First, I made another set of gauntlets from Elann Baby Silk, a silk and alpaca blend. Oh. My. God. Soft! Nice! I have enough to make the cardigan they have on the website, and I'm definitely going to make sure that's on my to-do list.
The week of 20 January, I remembered to do the Cthulhu annual offering.
Then, the boy gave me some cool bugs from The Bone Room for my birthday. Did I say that here already? They are super-nifty.
The day after my birthday, we went to Adam and Julie's wedding. Best. Wedding. Ever. Seriously. I mean, check out the table setting:
We had the best table, too, IMO. The pic I took of Karen and James didn't turn out - bah! - but the one Karen took of the Stephen, me, Tim, and Dave is okay.
I will continue to drown in the lovely afghan we're making for Adam and Julie's wedding present for awhile yet. It's slow going, but worth every bit of it.
That's probably enough for this post. I'll do SW next.
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2006-02-15
Long time, no see. No kidding. I've finished the antibiotic regimen that seems to finally be getting me out from under this damn cold. Ugh. I am feeling so much better than I have since Christmas, but I still have a bit of a cough. Better and better, though.
Lots of weirdness going on for me right now. On the knitting front, I've started another Ribby Cardi and I'm working (with Jamie!) on a throw for a recently married friend. I got my LONG Addi Turbos last night, so we'll see how quickly that moves along. Oooh, and Stitches West is this weekend. Heh. Got to remember to charge my camera battery so that we can get some pix of the chaos.Labels: knitting
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2006-01-25
I don't have anything of my own to post. I have a pic from LAST week's Mel-O-Dee knitting, though. It's a bunny-in-progress by Karrie, which I think she's already finished.
Labels: knitting
Comments:I, of course, like the bunny a great deal. However, I'd really like to see someone knit-up a nice Macbook Pro to go with this nicely knitted power cord mentioned over on BoingBoing!Post a Comment
2006-01-07
What have I done for me LATELY? I started on Samus, of course!
The first part is the cable at the bottom, which is kind of weird (for me) in this ribbon.
It's also a bitch to photograph. It shows up a bit better when it's blurry. Go figure.
This is classic what NOT to take to the Mel-O-Dee knitting. It's black. It's slippy. I have to keep referring to the pattern. If I screw up, it's a pain to rip back. All the things that don't work so well at the Mel-O-Dee. I'll have to start something else, too, I guess!
Leda's not sure what she thinks of this new camera.
Despite her fretting, I love it.Labels: knitting
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New camera has arrived, so this will be a picture-heavy post. Lots of FO's and a WIP. First, I made a pair of gauntlets/wrist warmers for Molly. They match the socks she got for Christmas. She sent me a few pix:
They're basically the same ones from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, with very slight modifications. They worked out so well that when I heard MoMo's office is freezing, I whipped up a pair for her from the tea-cozy leftovers.
I still have one more pair to work out, though, and that's using the Great Adirondack Seabreeze yarn, a.k.a. the worst yarn detangling nightmare I've ever lived through. Stephen really earned the husband points fixing that mess. At any rate, Karen has a skein of (hopefully) NOT tangled Seabreeze, and I promised her a pattern. Have to prototype it first, though.
I also finished a simple scarf using Twisted Sisters Voodoo. Oh. My. God. That yarn is SO soft and SO wonderful to work with. Highly recommended.
And I can't forget the Bee Sox - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Bee Stripe:
I finished a cashmere cap over the holidays, too. I got the kit some time ago at Jimmy Beans Wool. It turned out okay, and it was very simple so good sick-knitting.
That's about all I've finished recently. I'll touch on the new project in another post.
Comments:It's approximately the same as the crossover scarf they showed on Knitty Gritty. The pattern is here.Post a Comment
~~b
2006-01-04
Sick, sick, sick. I came down with something the Thursday before Christmas, and basically was laid up for a whole week. Stephen has it now, I think, and I stayed home from knitting last night and from work today to take care of him. Poor sick boy...
I started the ribbon Samus last night, though. The microfiber ribbon is kind of a metallic-pewter looking color. It will be excellent as Samus, but it's kind of weird (for me) to get started on the cables.Labels: knitting
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2005-12-05
I can now say OFFICIALLY that I'm done with the holiday gift knitting. Unless I whip out a few dishcloths for my MIL. No matter what, I'll have a post-holiday wrap-up post with the gifts on display.Labels: knitting
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2005-11-26
Before I forget, I DID finish that French Market Bag. Really. Here's before-felting:
And here's post-felting:
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2005-10-24
Holiday knitting is almost done! That is, unless I go down the path of the dishcloth. I started some Bee Stripe sox for myself last night, while watching Stevie play GTA:SA. I've only taken out two of the Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus... that game is a little harder than I usually play. Maybe I should stick to Katamari or Nintendogs? Nah... Time to branch out with my new-found love of recreation!
Is it lame that I make simple no-pattern socks? Nothing fancy on them, just simple round and round... and I like them that way.Labels: knitting
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2005-10-13
Hey, check out the cute knitted robots. Cute! Tiny! Would probably make excellent kitty toys!Labels: knitting
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2005-10-12
My boy comes home every night from work, smelling of sawdust. Yum. It's a good smell for a boy to have. Much better than the job where he came home every night smelling of diesel.
I skipped knitting last night because of work projects. Yuck.Labels: knitting
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2005-09-23
News, news. First, all family seems to be safe and accounted for and out of Houston. Second, Stevie got a job working as an apprentice carpenter this week. In many ways, it seems like an ideal job for him. We'll see how it works out, but I will miss having a house-husband. However, the extra fundage will be a boon. What else, what else? Work has been busy and crazy, and I took the afternoon for errands and mental health today. Oh, and a little blogging, too. Does that count as an errand or mental health? No links to that article about blogging as therapy are necessary...
MIL liked the tea cozy, so that went over well.
I'm working on Christmas knitting now, which isn't terribly engaging, unfortunately. I'm thinking about making Samus from the new Knitty, but maybe in black microfiber ribbon? I have some from Tess's Designer Yarns I picked up at the fiber fair a few months ago, and I think it should show the cables really well. So, that's on the "maybe" list. As is the Elann Cables and Lace cardigan. I guess I'm not sure if I'm willing to embark on a black sweater (which both would be) when I still have the Molly Lopi sweater floating around unfinished.
What else, what else? Oh, we're going to The City to check out all the ships during Fleet Weekend. That should make the boy happy. And if I can get it together, I might even blog about it. <grin>
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2005-09-14
Am I the last one to hear about this?Heh.
- Go to Google.
- Type in "failure".
- Select "I'm Feeling Lucky."
On an unrelated note, I'm still nursing this pinched neck, so I skipped knitting last night. I should have just gone and had a drink, in retrospect, even if I couldn't stitch.Labels: knitting
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2005-08-29
655, baby! Yeah-huh. That's right. My katamari was 655 meters. That's a ginormous katamari. I got a thunder god to go with my Jumboman.
It's the little things.
The big work project that's been taking up most of my work time is now, finally, signed off and completed. There will be some tidying up, making sure everyone's happy, but the time I'll need to dedicate to this project should go from a lot to nil effectively starting today. Ah....
And I felted this weekend. Pix to follow. I took the "before", but I'm waiting for the bag to dry to do the "after".
I heard from Iggy the other day. That was nice. I was glad to know he's doing well.
Let's see, what other little things are going on... I'm off to Dallas on Wednesday, then Molly and I will go shopping for a poofy white dress while I'm there. DMB on Saturday, then back home on Sunday. Just in time for Rome. Did anyone else watch Rome? It was killing us who played Octavian until Stephen finally remembered Master and Commander (a.k.a. "the turtle movie"). Cool credit sequence, too. My guess it's the same group that did the Carnivale credits, but I could be wrong.
So, I'm now only working on an alpaca hat for a coworker. Oh, and the Molly sweater that has languished unloved lo these many months. I just have a hard time going to sleeve island, but I'll do it. Really. By the time it's cold(ish), you'll have that sweater, Mol. I swear. And I have a few gifts that need to be shipped - the tea cozy, for example. Then, I'll really get into the few Christmas knits I'll be working on this season. And after that, depending on the selected dress, maybe a wedding shawl. We'll see...
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2005-08-22
Not much to say, except... WTF is wrong with ISPs that they think that indiscriminately blocking SMTP is a GOOD idea? I can handle an outside mail server, dumbasses....
I'm making a French Market Bag from Knitty. Damn. It is taking FORever. I don't think I'll ever have the love of felting that some others do. It just seems like a lot of stitches for not much reward.
So, knitting... blah, blah. I have some things I do need to get on with, like fix the neck on the cozy Big Sack -- I just don't like how it lays, though it is a dangerously comfy sweater. Or beginning Christmas presents. Or continuing to research the Molly Wedding Shawl. Or maybe just making something else for me, like the cashmere watchcap I've had tucked away or the Hourglass Sweater which was the inspiration for my recent buy of Noro. I made another Shedir, this one much smaller (I took out a few repeats) to make it more of a hat and less of a chemo cap. I really like the designer of that pattern. Her newest, Eris, calls to me. I just have to finish the 10 or so projects in front of it.
Leda REALLY likes harassing me when I'm on the PowerBook. Maybe it's all the heat this little machine can generate.
Enough drivel. G'night!Labels: beasts, family, knitting
2005-08-07
I'm a bit post-happy at the moment. I have these partially finished posts all going up at once. This is a completely new, fresh post, and it's a stash update. Oh. My. $DEITY. I have so much freaking yarn. It's pathetic. I think my next project will be the French Market Bag that was in knitty some time ago. I'm ready to play with felting. That will clear out a little bit of stash... but not much. I'm kind of bored with simple things, so I might have a lot of cables or something more complex for my next project after the bag. I had wanted to make another, smaller Shedir with some Calmer I have floating around... but we'll see.
And how much yarn, you might ask? Approximately 11 miles, not including acrylic, dishcloth cotton, anything on the needles, or partial balls of sock yarn. Damn.Labels: knitting
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It has been a weekend full of FO's here.
That's four FO's in one shot. Woo-hoo! From left to right: Elann "Sock It to Me Esprit Print" socks in black/white/grey; Silk/Wool tea cozy, from pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts; garter stitch baby booties in purple Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino; and Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multieffekt socks. The big socks are mine, as yet unwashed. The booties are a gift for Michelle at Barberella, who had a baby girl earlier this week. The tea cozy is a gift for someone who almost definitely doesn't read this, but I'll just not mention any names to be sure.
Here's another shot of the tea cozy.That's from yarn we won at Sheep to Shawl. Pretty!
Also, it's been SO LONG since I downloaded from my camera, I have pix from socks I made for Stephen in April. April. I really need to download those more often. At any rate, thrill at the enormous boy socks!
They took forever to complete. That's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in pinstripe. For a size comparison:
Those are the long-languishing recently completed Elann socks in the foreground for comparison. The boy has some huge feet. It'll be some time before I'm crazy enough to make socks for him again.
I understand why knitters wash socks when they're complete, to set in all the stitches blah blah... but why BLOCK socks? I mean, really? Just to take pictures? Would you block socks every time you wash them? That just adds way more maintenance to socks than I'm willing to invest.
So, that's a lot of gift knitting going on. I just need to finish the big itchy Lopi sweater, and I should be ready to start on Christmas gift knitting. Only a few "lucky" recipients of gift knitting for the holidays this year, because I am just not willing to over-commit like I did last year.Labels: knitting
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Late, but cute. I finally downloaded my pix from Sheep to Shawl. Karrie had some great pictures here, but I have to add just a few more.
Labels: knitting
2005-08-01
Sheep to Shawl, anyone? Woo-hoo, it was hot. Not always fun, though I think our spirits kept up pretty well. Check out the pix here. My favorite is Ingrid posing like it's chilly when it was absolutely sweltering, and we were just glad to be finished.Labels: knitting
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2005-07-26
What I learned from Clarion West. Unlike the authors of a few blogs I've been following, or the dear husband, I of course did not attend CW. However, it has still been an educational experience for me, and now that it is drawing to a close, I will share this with the four people who actually read my blog.That last one is no surprise to those who have known us for a long time, but for me, it was a bit of a rude awakening. I mean, I like to think that if something happens to the boy, I'll go through an acceptable mourning period and then eventually be okay. However, based on how hard it's been to keep me "up" knowing damn well that he's coming home, I don't think I'll be okay if he's never coming home. It's kind of morbid, I know. Not trying to dwell on it, but it was a slight surprise to me.
- Six weeks is a long time. No, really. It's a LONG time.
- Clarionites go to cool parties.
- Knitting can only pass the time for so long. I actually get more knitting done with the boy around, probably because I watch more TV with him than when I'm by myself.
- Carding wool works out that little muscle at the top of the shoulder.
- It's all well and good to have a list of things to accomplish in the absence of your honey, but you won't get most of them done. Examples of undone things: replace closet rod; dub movies (partially done); kitties to vet
- Using a Bosu is good for the ankles... but it does wear ya out.
- "A dream is a wish your heart makes..."
- The cats adapt pretty quickly to only having one person to afflict. Double the affliction, no waiting.
- My humor type is "The Wit".
- It takes a few weeks to get in the rhythm of doing your own laundry after you haven't done it for years and years.
- Nutritious meals are important for keeping depression at bay. Unfortunately, after about two weeks on my own, all I wanted to eat was chocolate and BBQ brisket.
- I can eat an astonishing amount of Riesens.
- Just because you can pick up fast food late at night, doesn't mean you should.
- Being in love is different after 10 years, but separation is still a bitch.
- If the boy dies first, I am fucked.
Ah, ego is a difficult mistress.
I think we're off to Karrie's again tonight for more card-stravaganza. Poor little muscle!Labels: knitting
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2005-07-17
So. Tired... Off to bed soon, but just a quick note before I go. I don't understand why it was hotter in The City today than it was here at the house. It just doesn't make sense to me. I went to hit the big Nordstrom sale and buy big socks for Stevie. Nordstrom is essentially the only place we can reliably find socks for him, just as it's just about the only place we can find shoes for either of us. We're just a big-feeted couple. After that, I browsed around Sephora and headed over to Artfibers. I like Artfibers, don't get me wrong, but most of what I see in there would be the accent piece for me -- not the main piece. For example, I adore their silks, but I just don't see me making an entire anything out of them. While some of their yarns lend themselves very well to lovely tanks and shells, again that's not really something I would wear. I find myself wanting to lust after their lovely things -- and they are truly lovely, I don't deny that -- but then coming back and thinking "Wow, I really love DB Cashmerino and Rowan Calmer," not fixating back on the shiny jewels of color lining the Artfibers shelves. Am I a traditionalist knitter? The horror....Labels: knitting
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2005-07-15
This plate tectonics scarf is awesome. Add another feed to my bloglines -- geoknitter is now in my feeds. And for the TMBG reference alone, I think I'll add Everybody Wants a Rock as well.Labels: knitting
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2005-07-12
Wow, squick takes time! Off to the Mel-O-Dee, where you will be very much missed, my anonymous commentor! Hope you made it to the musk ox farm safe and sound...Labels: knitting
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2005-06-25
Hey, I found the camera! Oddly enough, it was stuck in with the sock yarn. I wonder if that's a subliminal message to myself to make more socks?
Behold! The completed Audrey!!
Some detail on the shaping:
A closeup on the neck lace... including a stray cat hair. Just ignore that.
And, so long as we're here, let's look into the face of the contributor of that stray hair:
She has some sort of gyroscope problem where she spends a lot of her time upside-down. This is Leda's natural state.
I cast on for the second half of the Molly sweater last night. I really don't enjoy working with that Lopi. It's so easy to split with the D'Needles.
Comments:*bashfully kicks at the ground with my toe*Post a Comment
I too ran across your blog via Yahoo's non-standard hair color thingy...But I stuck it in my favorites folder because you and I both (drum roll please...) knit! You are quite cool, I like your site, and your sweater is realy nice. Cute cat too. Mine's a siamese.
Keep knitting, and keep those fingers away from the stove.
*hugs*
Marlene
onecatpurring.blogspot.com
PS. ever heard of knitty.com ?
2005-06-19
Audrey is really really REALLY almost done. Really. I have finished the lace and now have it pinned onto the body of the sweater. An evening (or two) in front of the TV and it should be all finished. Of course, without the boy here to take care of me in the manner to which I have become accustomed, I'm having to work my ass off to keep everything going here at home. I might have a bit of time tomorrow night, then Tuesday (Cheryl's farewell Knitting Night @ the Mel-O-Dee) and Wednesday (movie night at Jamie's -- knitting, but almost definitely no seaming) are booked. Thursday looks good for working on the sweater thus far. If I can get it all seamed up and finished this week, I'll ask Danielle to model it for me. Even though it will probably be a tad bigger on her than it will be on MoMo (the sister is a bit more buxom than the coworker), it will give me an idea of how it fits the slender and petite. Pic if I get Danielle to model.
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2005-06-14
Fools are cool. First, I will probably not go to knitting tonight, even though I want to show off the crochet assembly I did on the Audrey sweater. Next week, I'll definitely be there. Stephen leaves for Clarion West on Friday, and I'm basically hogging all the time with him that I can.
Second, I shall tell you why Fools are cool. I spend time on The Motley Fool message boards, and I have for years and years. Today, I posted about Stephen's impending departure for CW and how in a very roundabout way, it's all their fault. I first heard about NaNoWriMo at TMF, and that has led to Stephen actively pursuing his writing full-time. After the posting and some wonderful "huzzahs" from the group, one of my Favorite Fools, a literary agent, offered to read some of his work when he's ready. It's like I said: Fools are cool.Labels: knitting
Comments:awwww... i wish you were coming, but how can i compete with stevie? last week i was up to my elbows in blauband maxi-ringel tring to match colors and reinforcing thread. your expertise was greatly missed.
On a very old blog entry you made in 2003 about going to the dmv (link below) you mentioned that they wouldn't allow magenta as a hair color on your liscense. Turns out Ask Yahoo found your page and used it in one of their answers: http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20050614.htmlPost a Comment
http://bethanye.blogspot.com/2003_10_19_bethanye_archive.html
# posted by: 6/15/2005 1:30 PM
2005-05-16
I did work from home some today. But honestly, it was more like a half-day of work-work, and a few hours of thinking about how we can do more cool stuff work, and another hour or so of just daydreaming and petting the cats. So I'll take a half-day for this one. Anyway, I just finished reading Barnes?&?Noble.com - Throwing the Elephant: Zen and the Art of Managing Up. Though it deals much more with traditional executives in traditional corporations, it was interesting to consider in how many ways it could be applied to our company. While we're still a small and generally iconoclastic bunch, I will need to consider the lessons from larger companies that can be applied to us. In some ways, just the action of putting a bunch of people together to accomplish any task and dividing up the labor makes some features of the traditional large company take shape, even when the company itself is small and appears to have none of those features at first glance.
Well, enough about work here. I'm not going to be one of those crazy fools fired for blogging about work. Nuh-uh. Not me.
On the knitting front, it's been all about dishcloths this week. Stevie reported that the ones I sent his mom are looking a bit thin, so I'm trying to whip out some replacements. Blah - BO-ring. Oh, pizza's here. Gotta run. More fun tomorrow.Labels: knitting
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2005-05-14
I am blogging from bed onmyStephen's new PowerBook. Which I originally typed as "PoserBook"... so I wonder why my fingers are trained to type "poser" instead of "power". Maybe this is telling about words I use in IM? Or wouldn't that be "poseur"? At any rate... I used it to set up his very stark (which suits him) web page today. Yes, I can use fonts in Photoshop. Fear me. It's boring, but so is the boy, so it all works out.
And I'm working on some super cute new socks to take some of the monotony out of being on Sleeve Island with Audrey. I have around 6 inches (and that's six actual inches, not what most men think constitutes 6 inches) completed. Out of many more than 6 inches. I'm doing both sleeves at once to try to get it over with, but you know how that goes - it takes just as long, you just don't have the false sense of completion when casting off the first sleeve.
Other than that.... not much to report. They're doing some sort of 24-hour walkathon thing over at the high school, and we can hear it pretty clearly from here. Now that I think about it, it's probably much louder at Karrie's place. Stephen's playing God of War, which is way too scary to watch to be working on anything else besides socks when I'm in the room - the 2x2 ribbing on Audrey was requiring lots of repairs when I tried to work on the sleeves. It's a very beautiful yet incredibly violent game. He seems to really enjoy it - it's challenging, but not completely miserable until you play it on "very hard" mode -- the one he's schlepping through now. Seems too much like work to me.
Well, it's past my bedtime. Maybe I'll find some batteries for the camera to take pix of the WIPs. I have been very good on my yarn diet, but I'm itching for the acquisition of new fibers...
One more thing - did anyone catch that bit on Knitty Gritty where they did the needle felting? I've never seen that before. I don't see how the design doesn't just peel right off the fabric. Anyone done this?Labels: knitting
Comments:okay, I read the URL before the webpage and was trying to figure out what absurd play on words "Shuts On Blount" was supposed to be. =) Of course, S. Hudson is much better.
Oh is that what is going on over there. i had no idea other than my street was full of cars all day.
my projects seem to be in a similar state to yours - i am avoiding my trip to sleeve island and i am about to start some cute socks. maybe i'll see you on tues!
You're supposed to go over the design with the felting needle like a hundred times or more for it to stay put.Post a Comment
--Debbie from knitting
2005-04-26
Well, the boy is gone and it's Soup Kitchen at Danielle's tonight. I'm definitely going to Soup Kitchen and then to knitting afterwards, but I think I'm going to need a nap to get me through. Hopefully I won't snooze right through. OTOH, I'll see if some green tea doesn't perk me up first.Labels: knitting
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2005-04-19
Hooray, it's Tuesday! That means knitting tonight. Hmm... I wonder how much money I'll need, now that there are consistent drink prices at the Mel-O-Dee...Labels: knitting
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2005-04-18
Oh, and one more insignificant thing before I go to bed. I have finished the World's Most Boring Socks. They're not so boring to look at, but they were very boring to work on. I have a few shots of them on the camera, but the batteries gave out before I could download 'em. Maybe tomorrow. Let's see... that's four pairs of socks so far this year. Not bad!Labels: knitting
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2005-04-17
Oh, and I only have three or four inches left on the World's Most Boring Socks. I'm not sure why these have seemed so damn boring. They just bore me for some reason. But I have to get 'em done so the boy can take them when he goes off to Clarion West this summer. Yep, I'm sending him off to camp for six weeks. It's very VERY cool that he got in his first try. It will be a great experience for him, if a rough six weeks for me with no boy. <sniff!>Labels: knitting
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Dammit, I almost forgot this pic I took when I was in Houston. The quality is crap because all I had was my cameraphone when visiting the Target, but here:
On the off chance that Karrie missed this, there's a whole line of "learn to knit" kits at Target under the brand "Knit This.". I laughed out loud, and then had to explain the whole thing to Doreen. I think it missed something in the translation. I mean... I thought it was amusing, even if no one else does.
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2005-04-13
Hospice care must cause good karma. I have the exit row all to myself - on the plane, heading home now (around 8:45 PM CST Wednesday night - I'll re-date this post appropriately). I'm having a beer in Doreen's honor. It was really... I don't know how to say. I mean, I'm sincerely grateful for the opportunity to be there with her during her last days. I helped to feed her, bathe her, tend to her. And seeing her so sweet and vulnerable and doted on by so many people who love her.... It was probably one of the most touching and fulfilling times of my life. I wouldn't give it up for anything. I'm very glad I stayed. Very.
I had dinner with Doreen's sister last night. It was good to have some time to check in with her. She's... well, she's coping. She's coping in the very best ways she can, which is all anyone can ask of her. She's not in the room -- she wants to always remember Doreen strong and vibrant.
On a completely unrelated note - the woman in front of me is having her ear chatted off by the woman from across the aisle who has invaded her row. The across-the-aisle invader is reading a book called "Coping with your Borderline Personality Disorder." Yes, I suppose it's possible that she is a counselor or psychiatric nurse or something... but it's more fun to suppose that the book is hers for self-help reasons. I understand you needed reading material, ma'am, but maybe something that doesn't have "COPING WITH YOUR BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER" in 128 point type on the cover would make your fellow passengers feel more at ease, hmm?
Well, long post so far. I guess that trapping me on the plane with more of the World's Most Boring Socks - the Stevie Socks - isn't really inspiring me to knit. I intended to do a lot of things while I was gone, including some product design projects, but none of that worked out save knitting. I finished the black and white variegated cotton/elastic socks and am probably half-way through the second Stevie sock. I want to make 10 pairs this year, and so I'm catching up. How many have I made so far? <counting...> Three? Striped, black-and-white, and Jamie's? So now I have to finish the Stevie socks by end-of-month to make it an even pair-per-month. I like hyphens and slashes today, apparently. Hmm... Oh, yes, and the gift Audrey is still waiting for me to be worked on as well. Those size 8 needles will feel HUGE after a solid week of socks.
Wow, after a week of being basically unattended, I bet my Bloglines is out of control. Something to look forward to.
I don't know if I'm going to work on Friday. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. I think I'll sleep for two days straight. Did I mention I helped write the obituary and am organizing the programs for the service? I'm not going to attend the service, since I'm going to be so far away, but I sure will help with it however I can from afar. There will be a bit of photo retouching and I've already built the template.
One hour into the 4 hour flight. How long will the plane blog be? Only time will tell...
Two hours in now. The BPD woman seems to be doing okay with her victim. I guess. I have the iPod cranking. Still can't sleep - I tried - and I'm not yet to the heel on that damn sock. That's my goal. To make the heel by touchdown. Can she do it? Stay tuned... OTOH... Does Karen have any good games on this thing? Maybe I'll play some Shanghai... MoMo used to LOVE that game!
Three and a half hours in on our 4:15 flight. I just got the heel into that sock. Damn, my boy has some big ol' feet! I'm putting in afterthought heels because I swear he has spurs on his heels -- he wears out the heels of his store-bought socks pretty quick, so I want to be able to replace these easily. Now I just have an interminable amount of ribbing to add in. Flight is getting choppy now. I'll write another post tomorrow when I get this one added in.
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2005-04-04
Then again, maybe not. I'm not taking Audrey to TX. Too much temptation in holding it up, unfinished, on the body of the as-yet-unknowing recipient. No point in spoiling it totally. In her stead, I'm taking the one Stevie sock, the my black/white variegated sock, yarn to make their partners, and a skein of pretty blue-green Lana Grossa variegated sock yarn. It will be all socky. Oh, and some dishcloth yarn. In case the tiny needles start to hurt my hands.Labels: knitting
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Things to take with me to Houston. Must remember:That's all I can think of for the moment. I'm sure I'll come up with more as the day goes on. Is it cheating to use your blog as a to-do list?
- Clothes
- Toiletries
- Makeup - which I WILL forget if I don't list it here.
- Audrey Pattern
- Lots of yarn to work on Audrey Pattern
- Sock yarn. Socks are always good.
- New game I bought for Jake - Lego Star Wars
- My GBA so I can play it first
- Some of those magazines I haven't read. Plenty to choose from.
- Powerbook
- A box of Twinings EB
- Cell phone charger
- Sneakers
- iPod Shuffle
Labels: knitting
Comments:it's late and i'm tired, but I thought you might be amused by my "re-interpretation" of the LEGO Star Wars PR:Post a Comment
original:
"...you become a true Jedi Knight as you battle against the dark side of the Force through all the fun, action and adventure of Episodes I to III."
Molly-fied:
"... you become a true Jedi Knight as you battle against the dork side of the Farce through all the fun, action and adventure of Episodes I to III."
2005-04-01
In knitting news, I finished the front (or back, since they are identical) of Audrey. I'll be taking her to Houston.Labels: knitting
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2005-03-27
I've decided to start on something a bit larger than socks. This is a present for someone... Someone who probably NEVER reads this, so what the hell. I've started an Audrey:
The part of this that impresses me is how even my 2x2 ribbing is. I guess it's that Ribby Cardi experience? Calmer is also much more forgiving on those edges, IMO, than the Highland Wool. It makes the lines less wiggly -- in this case, I really can't see any wiggle at all, and that is some major progress for me. I've also gotten much better at doing M1's without leaving holes. In general, this is a simple, calming knit for me so far. We'll see how I do when I get to that neckline.Labels: knitting
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2005-03-24
And in the interest of documentation:
Big Red:
She really doesn't have that wonky shoulder. I just suck at staging the pix. That's the SnB Big Sack Sweater in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. Yummy.
Little socks:
Made from the rest of a ball of Fixation I had from some socks of my own. They're really really teeny.
Almost done with these booties for CJ II:
They're about 4" long and one seam away from being complete. The usual garter stitch bootie pattern I've been doing for over a year now.
Now, back to work!Labels: knitting
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That's inspiring. Perhaps I should attempt the same. How many days in a row can I blog without ever resorting to the crappy "I have nothing to say" post? Interesting challenge, since my knitting AND blogging have both been sucking hind teat to work this past month.
Stating the obvious:
- I heart Deadwood.
- Carnivale is weirder to watch when you realize that Clancy Brown is also Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob. More Krabby Patties, Iris?
- I finished tiny green socks for C&C's new CJ... only to wait to long to send 'em. No way they'll fit her now. I guess I'll hold onto them for Michelle from Barberella's baby girl.
- Big Red is comfy. And as of yet unphotographed. Feh.
And, on a very sad note: R.I.P. Iain Chase Akira Moore. I'm sorry I never had a chance to meet you. My sincerest condolences to your parents.Labels: knitting
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2005-03-12
Big Red is complete. As are the tiny socks for the newest CJ. Pix tomorrow... probably.Labels: knitting
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2005-03-07
How long have I been working on my Big Sack Sweater? I call her Big Red -- and she's almost done. Just some seaming under one of the arms left... and just in time for it to be too warm to wear something all cozy and bulky. Damn.Labels: knitting
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2005-02-24
On another somewhat related note: I have completed two pairs of socks and a long sari scarf thus far this year. Three FO's. I have a Big Sack Sweater from SnB on the needles right now -- I'm about three-quarters through the front -- in lovely Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. A fabulous red. Molly's sweater is still hanging around, too, as is the second gia-normous Stevie sock (hello, second sock syndrome). Oh, and I have some cotton/elastic variegated socks going as well. Wow. I thought I had nothing going on, when in fact I have a lot going on all at once!Labels: knitting
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It's all about the socks. And it's not just me. Check out this article in today's Boston Globe.Labels: knitting
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2005-02-22
I gave away my first Ribby Cardi. See, it was always tight, and then when we washed it it shrank up just enough that it was crazy small. Too small to be comfortable. So I gave it to my friend Danielle, who is tiny and had admired it when I wore it to work pre-shrinking. She seems to really like it. It's the right length and fits a bit loose on her as well, which suits her overall "look".Labels: knitting
Comments:wow...that's awesome!!!! i find it hard to give away knitted items that are larger than a scarf :/ go you!Post a Comment
2005-02-16
First post-Stitches project is now complete. A drop-stitch scarf from one skein of this. It's probably 8 feet long with the fringe -- maybe I went a bit overboard on that one. Possibly a pic later, but I still owe a Ribby pic, and a stash pic, and probably some other pics. I finished two pairs of socks last weekend - the green ones for Jamie's birthday (he's wearing them today and seems to be absolutely in love with them) and those red/grey/blue maxi-ringel's I've been working on for me. My WIPs are just running out. I still have the Molly sweater... Ah, the Molly sweater. Yes, it will be lovely. And very warm -- like, you'll only wear it when it's pretty darn cold. And bulky. Just clear out a drawer now, chica. But it is also possibly the most boring thing I have done in some time. More boring than the Ribby, and that takes some work.
Well, time for lunch. Maybe pix after I get a USB hub. The new iPod Shuffle is now taking up the port where the camera once plugged in.
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2005-01-28
Who's going to Stitches West and when? Inquiring minds want to know.Labels: knitting
Comments:I am going, and i would like to go on saturday. i plan on buying my ticket online (the line for buying tix last year was horrible) and i hava coupon code for a whopping $2 off.Post a Comment
2005-01-27
So many things. First, Happy Birthday to Me! Yay! I've taken the day off and we're leaving in half an hour to go visit Sheila in Monterey. Then we'll come back for a lovely dinner and just chill out. Maybe watch The Official Birthday Movie (a la MST3K, of course) -- or maybe do that tomorrow. We'll see.
Second, I did finish my Ribby Cardi a few weeks ago. It's in the wash now, so no pix today. I'll post soon, though. It's the first FO of 2005! Still working - birthday socks, socks for me, and a big soft brown sweater for Molly. I ordered enough darker green yarn to make a Ribby for MoMo as well, but that will come AFTER those other projects.
Third -- I really do love going to Tuesday Night Knitting. Karrie's tale of the French Onion incident had me laughing so hard my tummy hurt afterward. And Karrie and I are off to visit Cheryl's fledgling SnB on the "godforsaken island" on Monday. It's going to be a very knitty week.
Well, Sheila awaits.
2005-01-14
Congratulations, Cheryl! Way back when (okay, here) she submitted a story for the next edition of Knit Lit, and her story was accepted!! Very very cool.Labels: knitting
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2005-01-13
Presents. For my upcoming birthday, I am buying myself some presents. I know, I do this all the time and it makes it a bitch to buy me anything, but it makes me happy! So, first of all, since I have enough leftover yarn to do the sleeves on another (small) Ribby Cardi, I think I will make one for MoMo. The sleeves would be the lighter green, and the body the darker green.
Any thoughts?
Also, I am in LOVE with those new iPod Shuffles. It would be perfect for me when I work out, so I'll probably get one of those as a "happy birthday to me" present as well.
So help me, I already have a ton of sock yarn, yet I have such a difficult time resisting its charms. When I get the yarn for the MoMo Cardi, I will almost definitely pick up some grey sock yarn to make some more Stevie socks. I just can't help myself.
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2005-01-10
I got my blocking board today! I got it direct from the manufacturer at a price much cheaper than I've seen other places. Now, I have to admit that some of this was allowed by the fact that I am a total geek and, upon discovering that the "Order" link on the webpage was broken I read the page source to figure out how to actually order the table pad online. I admit, I was worried that they either wouldn't get the order at all -- I did use a "secret" link -- or that it wouldn't work. But it did! I ordered online on 2 January and the board came in today. Not bad!
If you're interested the links I used, here they are:
This is the small (27" x 21") board.
This is the large (51" x 33") board.
They're priced at $40 and $50, respectively. It's not the best price on the small one. The large board I've been hunting for quite awhile, and the cheapest I've seen it before now is ~$80. I'm pretty happy with it. In fact, the fronts of the Ribby Cardi are blocking on it right now!Labels: knitting
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Yeah, if you're not from Dallas it sounds like crap. It's Dallas's spin on a very old ghost story... If you've never heard it before, trust me -- Randy's not making that one up. Between the Lady of the Lake and -- don't be drinking anything when you read this, Molly -- Tabitha, we had some reasonably spooky things to drag out late at night.
Interestingly enough, there is nothing on Tabitha out there. Nothing on Google got a hit. I'm surprised.
On a less spooky note, I'm done knitting the body and sleeves of my Ribby Cardi. Now I need to block and assemble.
Comments:Unfortunately, I read faster than I drink. Tabitha got me. OMG, I have not heard the Lady of Lake one in a while. Of course, in the one I remember she's supposed to be in a prom dress cause her CAR crashed in to the lake on PROM night, etc. I suppose that made it scarier for Planoites. oooooh!Post a Comment
2005-01-02
Yes, with any luck, blocking will do my Ribby Cardi some good. I'm blocking the back panel now.
Finished the fronts, and I'm about halfway through my first sleeve. I am not very good at the "make new" stitches, though. I often end up with holes, and then I have to do them all over. Oh, well...
Back to work tomorrow. I am not looking forward to it. Lying around the house is definitely the way I want to spend the day.Labels: knitting
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2004-12-28
I admit it. It makes me want to move home. Especially this pic:
Molly's the redhead on the left (of course), then clockwise is Bob, JohnRoss, Melissa, and Jake. I've never even BEEN to Molly and JR's new place, but from the pics I can tell that it is worlds better than the apartment where they were before. OH, and Molly conveniently supplied a FO pic (since I didn't take one before I shipped it):
So, that's that. Finished the left front of the Ribby Cardi yesterday. I'm getting concerned that it's just going to be too damn small... but maybe after I block the crap out of it (to quote from the Ribby Cardi knit-along)...
Comments:cute xmas pic!Post a Comment
I am hot on your heels with the ribby catdi. i have the back and left front finished too. i think i did the neck decreases incorrectly though. i used a tubular cast on and ended up with enough stitches to do one size larger than i had planned, so i just went with it, and now i am glad. it seems a little small....
2004-12-23
And now, some knitting content. I have finished my first sweater! Actually, I finished it last Saturday, sewing on the fabulous buttons (more on those in a bit) and spent the rest of the day feeling rather smug that I actually completed what Karrie calls a "large wearable object". Pic:
Eww. There has got to be some dust on my camera lens. Gotta remember to clean that off. Anyway, it's finished. Fiber: Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra in Neptune. Pattern from "Hip to Knit". And it's perfect... except the sleeves are just a bit too long. Next time I wash it, I'm going to try to squish them a bit shorter.
And you can't see it here, but the buttons are to die for. They're abalone shell, and the color shifts in the light from black to grey to blue... just like the yarn does a bit (though it's from black to blue to green -- no grey). Anyway, here's a close up.
I think they're gorgeous. I'm super-tired from working on my Ribby Cardi, though. It's not the ribbing that makes it so tiring for me -- a good thing, since I decided to make the extra-ribby version -- but those tiny tiny needles with such a repetitive pattern. I just finished the back tonight. Maybe when I get to the smaller pieces, it won't be so tiring. Kind of a grey-green color -- which oddly enough is almost exactly the same color as Leda's eyes. Swatch:
The unblocked back:
It seems so... skinny right now. But I just keep remembering pictures demonstrating the magic of blocking -- "Here's an unblocked swatch, and now the SAME swatch blocked. See the difference?"
That's about it for knitting content for the evening. Hope y'all enjoy your holidays!Labels: knitting
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Oh, the knitting group will just love this one. It's freaking terrifying. Click at your own risk.Labels: knitting
Comments:these are in fact so terrifying, i cannot even imagine making one as a joke. i would have nightmares the whole time i was working on it.Post a Comment
2004-12-13
And I finished seaming my cardigan last night! That's right, the sweater project that was dragging on and on is now nearly compete -- all it needs is buttons and some finishing around the buttonholes. It was a little lumpy on the seams last night, so I washed/conditioned it and now it's drying on a towel in the guest room.
As an added bonus, I also organized my stash over the weekend -- sorted by fiber type or purpose (sock yarn is all in one bag, cashmere blends in another, wool in another, big project buys in the cobra basket...). It pretty much was what lit the fire under my ass to finish up that damn cardigan. I have too many other things in the queue to let it languish any more!Labels: knitting
Comments:You are an organizational machine! My idea of "organizing my stash" is stepping over it so I can get to the couch.Post a Comment
2004-12-10
So much, yet not enough. I have two pairs of socks on the needles -- some grey/black pinstripe ones for Stevie and those grey/red/blue ones I started Tuesday night. I have a boatload of winter white Polar and at least 10 skeins of crimson Debbie Bliss Cashmerino super-chunky. I have a sweater that still needs to be seamed (now that I've fixed the unfortunate armhole mix-up). Two more 100g's of sock yarn in grey and sand... and what do I do last night? Another 100g of sock yarn -- this time a nice variegated dark foresty green. That's before I got home and discovered my elann order had come in. Yet MORE sock yarn -- enough for three pairs in various colors -- and the yarn for my Ribbi Cardi in a lovely silvery-light green color. But does that stop me? No. I just bought a load of lovely baby silk in black. Of course I need a baby silk sweater!
This would be a lot easier to believe if I would just finish that cardigan I've had in the works for so long. Maybe this weekend, after I re-block the pieces...Labels: knitting
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2004-11-14
Working on a Sunday... But it's not so bad. In non-work news, I have the first four repeats on Shedir done now, and it is way gorgeous. Yummy. Me heart Calmer. It just feels buttery and fabulous. Maybe I need to make something else out of this lovely red. Not working on much else until I get that finished, but hopefully that will be this week. I have one baby sock finished, and I can whip out the other one pretty quick. I guess I'll take that to Tuesday night knitting. And I need to figure out what projects will be coming with me when I travel next week. Long layovers = extreme boredom without some projects to complete!Labels: knitting
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2004-11-11
I have not written much at all lately, and especially not about knitting. So here's my story. One: I have made some very cute socks. I now have three pairs of socks I have made for myself. Two: I am making that schmancy cabled chemo-cap from the Knitty Fall Surprise. It's hard. But Doreen is absolutely worth it. Hopefully, I can get it finished by Thanksgiving in a few weeks... but again, it's pretty hard. We'll see.
That's about it on the knitting front.
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2004-11-04
It's not just blogging I'm skipping out on right now. It's Tuesday night knitting, catching up with email and friends, basically just about everything. And I don't see it getting much easier until after Thanksgiving. Just too damn busy at work and a wee bit sick to boot, which is honing in on that working time I'm supposed to be busily utilizing.
Hopefully, I'll get to go knit on Tuesday night. I have a red hat to make for Doreen before I see her at Thanksgiving.
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