Glad to be wrong
“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”~ Benjamin Franklin
I really didn’t think it could happen. I believe that the United States, as wonderful as it is, is a racist country in some pretty fundamental ways. As was written by Shoghi Effendi in the 1938:
…racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society…
- The Advent of Divine Justice
So I really didn’t think we, as a nation, were this far along. You might never hear this from me again, because I really do love to be right all the time…but I am so GLAD to be WRONG!
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There is knitting happening: I am slogging through the Cabled Tam; I added another repeat’s worth of increases and am now trying to do cable decreases that don’t look awful. SInce I’ve not done it before, it’s rather a puzzle to me. And I’m almost done with all the afghan squares for this round of swapping. Note to self: never try blackberry/trinity stitch again – it is NO FUN.
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I got this groovy thing from LesleyD’s blog. Please feel free to do it yerself. If you do – let me know’ cos I wanna see what you’ve done.
The official rules are mark with bold the things you have knit at least once, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.
Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal/wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public
Yes, I did.
Did you?
I live across the street from the school which is our polling place, so I grabbed a little knitting and headed over there at 7 am. I ran into my friend Niki so we amiably chatted in libe for 45 minutes. There was some grumbling because there were supposed to be 3 lines – A thru H, I thru Q and R thru Z, but since there were no signs or “velvet ropes” to keep people separated, there was a bit of a set to because somebody supposedly cut in line…..ah yes, we are all grown ups here, I think.
I was DELIGHTED to see so many people out to vote. Some had brought chairs, several people had books or newspapers, but mostly, folks were chatting with each other. I saw many of the people I know by sight who live in this part of town, and several people were taking pictures – it did my heart good. And I thank everyone, both now and in the past, who has worked and sacrificed so that I and everyone else in the United States CAN vote.
I hope you will, too.
FYI – most polling places close at 7 pm; if you are not in line by 7 pm, you won’t get to vote.
A quiet Halloween et al
Studmuffin was out of town all week in California for work and of course I had a cold. Am I actually getting wiser because I did NOT try to do everything I had on the to do list to try to rest and get better?
Actual knitting content
There’s a good bit of knitting going on…especially during this wacky sleepless phase I’m going through – falling asleep at 8:15 pm, waking up at 1:30 am and staying awake. Ugh. So here are a few pictures of what’s doing:
The cabled tam from Vogue Knitting’s 2008 Holiday issue for my best friend, Tangela.
I’m modding it by making it even bigger – more increases and bigger needles. Yarn is Cascade 220 heather in some shade of brown (can’t remember what it’s called). First picture is more color accurate. Second picture is me messing around with my new-ish camera and all those settings I’m not really sure how to use….
Sonya’s Bling-a-licious mittens in Rowan Cashsoft DK. I will be embroidering or duplicate stitching white polka dots all over these. They’ll be very “woo woo” when complete.
Noro Silk Garden Stripe Scarf number 3. The yellow doesn’t glow quite as much in real life….
And lastly, in the WIP department, this sad thing:
What is it? It is yet ANOTHER swatch in alpaca laceweight for a test knit for Mme. Landry. It is to be a hoodie in my size (read: enormous). I’ve been through the seven circles of Hell swatching this mofo (that’s right, I said it) and am beginning to wonder if this is the right project for me. Just sayin’….
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Major kudos to Franklin Habit for the mention on The Panopticon. I wonder if I can put “Vice President of Propaganda” on my resume? If you like, you can see my rather average mug in the picture collage – I’m on the bottom – extreme left. Franklin is a real gentleman, delightful and funny, and if you don’t go buy his book I’ma have a fit – I promise!
I did forget to tell him of the added bonus that came with his Dwarven Battle Bonnet – the pet hair that is a part of everything I knit.
The Amazing Bluto (amazing because of his inexplicable longevity) recently found a new perch here at Chez Oney:
That’s a Superman travel pillow that some wonderful kid that lives around here left on the floor. Bluto loves anything like this to drape his fur puddleness onto.
This is what passes for action photgraphy in this phase of the Big B’s life. And just so you can get an idea of size:
That little purple thing is a 6 inch ruler (15 cm). Yeah, Bluto’s a fattie and he sheds like mad, along with the 2 black & white dogs, Boris & Natasha. So Franklin, don’t be surprised if’n you find some black and white fur in yer hat.
Some actual photos/weekend wrap up
You might have noticed that lately there have been VERY few pix on the blog…and there is good reason for it: I put the camera battery charger in a “safe place” and could NOT find it. Until today of course. Today was a good day because I also found the other skein of Jawoll Sock yarn I couldn’t find for months and can now finish the second black & white marled socks I started over a year ago and have a pair! Photos near the bottom.
So let’s get some photos happening! Continue reading this entry »
The recent blogging break was brought to you….
- ….by Google reader.
Yes, I finally sat down and figured out how to use an RSS aggregator to read blogs (it wasn’t very hard at all. Maybe they made it easier?). Now, instead of opening 20 or 30 browser windows at a time (veddy slow) and going through them all to see who has posted, I just log into Google reader and all the ones I’ve subscribed to just show up. It’s lovely! So I’ve been reading many blogs and have come to the conclusion that my blog is probably only interesting or amusing to very few people out there. That’s ok – I love those of you who read my verbiage and especially those who comment! I do not think I will ever have the widespread appeal of other bloggers, but that’s really fine. I mean I wish I did, but I know me and I won’t probably develop a masterful writer’s voice unless by Divine intervention. Oh well.
- by feverish knitting.
- because of catching up on swaps
- by the podiatry incident
- by long overdue graphic design for a CD.
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4See ya later. Like tomorrow.
The Shetland Triangle is done!….(well, kinda sorta….)
I’ve been under the all-too-gorgeous weather part of yesterday and all of today (a hormonal thing….), but that means plenty o’ knitting time!
I started the 4th skein of the Silky Merino thinking I would just finish that repeat….well I knitted another repeat (was 14? or 15?). This pattern is such fun and the yarn is so yummy it’s easy for me to forget all my resolve. So I could tell I was getting down to the end of the skein, and after looking at a bunch of finished triangles on Ravelry, changed my mind and decided I would do the edging after all.
Problem #1 – I’d given back the book to whom I had borrowed it from without copying the pattern. Of course I could go to the library….but this was Saturday night about 1 am so that wouldn’t suffice – I think the library folks would be a little upset if I broke in; if they were all knitters of they’d understand why. I had looked carefully at the chart, and there are lots of wonderful pictures on Ravelry, so I got out the graph paper and came up with the edging – if not the exact edging, durn close to it. Off I went knitting merrily.
Problem #2 – I got done with the smallest part of the edging I could get away with and have it look ok and realized I had 12 inches of yarn left! What to do for a bind off? AHA! Got out a crochet hook and linked all those loops together. It seemed a little firm but I figured it would loosen up in the blocking.
I wove in the ends and took some pre-blocking pictures:
This is all the yarn I had left!
Did the whole soak and spin dry thing (thank you Priscilla Gibson-Roberts) and got out my old cardboard cutting board and 240 t-pins I got at Wal-mart (that was all they had) to start blocking out on the patio.
Problem #3 – It’s too long for the board.
I decided to go ahead and block what I could – this board is great because it has lots of straight lines marked on it.
Problem #4 – The bind off is SO not stretching out.
I took out all the pins I had tortured this poor shawl with (probably 150 of them) and hung the shawl up on the line to dry. I cannot block it as it is, and I cannot leave it as it is. AAARGH!
See how the too tight bind off is making sort of a pouch? Not good. The color is pretty accurate in this picture by the way.
So, gentle readers, I leave it up to you. After it dries, should I:
1) frog back the edging and just bind it off at the last repeat? That means no edging.
2) frog back the edging and a pattern repeat, then knit the edging and bind off? That means a smaller but complete shawl.
3) wait two weeks til I can afford to buy another skein of the yarn (I’m on a yarn budget now), then finish off the edging and bind off? That means waiting, but I’ll have a larger and complete shawl.
Leave your vote in the comments and I’ll keep you updated on the outcome.
By the way, I am knitting one of the Dwarven Battle Bonnets for Franklin Habit as a result of the last vote (it was unanimous!). I’ll post some pictures soon…..
Nope, I didn’t medal in the Ravelympics.
I’m still a long way away from completing the sweater I set out to knit.
BUT
I’m really pleased with my progress. I would never have thought even a few years ago I could do as much as I’ve done.
Basically, I’m on the injured list; my fingers creak when I get anywhere near needles and yarn. My fabulous secret pal sent me a lovely package today (thank you thank you thank you!!!) but my fingers kind of squealed in pain when they thought about knitting up the beautiful yarn in the package.
I’ve learned a few things:
1. I cannot knit for hours at a time, day after day on the same project, especially if it contains cotton.
2. When I do this again, I will do several smaller projects and switch off.
3. I really can make an adult sized sweater.
4. I believe in doping at this level of competition. 
)
And I’ve now bought yarn for a Clapotis…….
Current news snippets
1) Ravelympics progress: I was going great guns on the sweater….but I knit so much that my hands are really killing me! I didn’t knit for 2 days hoping to give the digits some much needed rest but then whilst at the ER (more on that in a minute) knit just a couple of rows albeit very slowly. My hands are still aching; fortunately it is NOT the Carpal Tunnel Problem, just over use. Now I have some elastic hand bandages that may help (I’m wearing them now so as to permit typing without much pain), and I feel hopeful. It’s not so much that I fear I won’t finish the sweater by the end of the Olympics – I just miss the knitting!
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2) ER – We had folks over at the house until about 11 pm last night then waddled off to bed. I was then awakened around 3 am not by the usual hot flashes, but by the dear husband needing to be taken to the hospital. He was in a tremendous amount of pain and his symptoms seemed to indicate either a kidney stone or a bowel obstruction. I told him only about the bowel obstruction idea at first for 2 reasons (1) it would be the worst diagnosis of the two and his butt would be in surgery ASAP, so he’d need a little time to get used to the idea, and (2) if he only thought the worst, he might be relieved to know it was ONLY a kidney stone. So we went off to the ER where after only an hour and a half he finally got to see a DR and got some pain meds. I was torn in 3 ways: A) it is extremely hard to see someone you love in such pain and not be able to do anything about it, B) I haven’t been sleeping well and desperately wanted nothing more than to go lie down someplace and crash, and C) I had a small case of schadenfreude because after all, I have had 3 babies, mostly without pain medication, and was told by him many times during the process to just breathe into the pain. Many folks say you forget the pain of childbirth. I have forgotten many, many things – the number of things which have vastly increased in the last 3 years – but the pain of childbirth is very well remembered by me…
So he has a kidney stone and not a bowel obstruction, for which I am thankful. I mean to say that I’d prefer he was not ill at all, but if’n he’s gotta have something, the kidney stone is preferable. He’s got some really fabulous drugs to keep the pain at bay, a groovy little strainer (use yer imagination) and he also suggested we order out for pizza tonight ‘cos he’s feeling thankful for having me to take care of him. I believe Bill will drink far less sweet tea and more water from now on.
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3) The Boy in the Big Bad City
We got a phone call from Will’s girlfriend’s mother this afternoon saying that Will was robbed last night at gunpoint. He’s fine – I spoke with him on the phone later on. He and Ashley went on a date and then Will was walking back to his apartment (approx. 2 miles) from the train station about 1 am when there were still many people out and about, and was held up. He wasn’t hurt and the boy hasn’t much $ anyhow so they didn’t get much, but dang! He told me that there were two street cops about a block & a half away from where he was robbed and he went up to them to report the crime. They essentially gave him the brush off, saying there would hardly be any point in filing a report and I think that makes me EVEN angrier!! Please say some prayers for Will, for his poor worried mother, and for the population of Elizabeth, NJ and the burnt-out cops who are supposed to serve and protect.
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4) Te Vaka
I saw this group on public access tv in the DC area in 1996 maybe and thought they were great. They are nominally from New Zealand though it might be more accurate to say they are from Oceania and are a really unique combination of the old and the new. I just found out that they’ve been performing at the Beijing Olympics and I’m so glad for them! They have a fairly new CD out and I think everyone who is even slightly into world music oughta check them out. You can hear them (and see pictures of them at the Great Wall) on their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/tevaka
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5) Olympic thoughts
Look at the WOMEN!
Is it just me or are we seeing lots and lots more of the female athletes in all the different sports, not just the so called feminine ones? Are we also hearing more about athletes who are not from the U.S.? And what about these “Old Ladies”? Dara Torres at 41 – OK everybody’s heard about her, but what about 38 year old Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania winning the marathon? She has a teenage son. She wasn’t even the oldest one running; there was a woman who was 39…. heck I’m 39! And the race at the end between Kenya’s Catherine the Great and the Chinese woman? And tho’ she didn’t win, what about Paula Radcliffe gritting her teeth to just finish? I’m no runner, but wouldn’t it have been incredible to marathon through the city of Beijing? And I’m barely scratching the surface.
Yes, Yes yes, I’m a complete Olympics geek but this is very inspiring to me and I hope others are noticing too that women’s sports are as entertaining as men’s…. And for some reason, NBC’s coverage of the Olympics has been far less irritating to me than the usual Olympics coverage. I wish I was there…..
Also big props to my dad who, whilst my mother was at work, bought and hooked up a large screen HDTV as a surprise gift for her (another Olympics nut) in time for the opening ceremonies. A VERY classy move, Pops.
6) Band yearnings
I am getting serious about wanting the band to get onstream. On Labor Day weekend, there’s gonna be a local Blues festival and a number of the folks I know will be playing and it makes me feel like Mohair Sam oughta be too. The decision I’m getting to more and more is that I really need to get my piano or guitar skills happening and then we can at least rehearse ’til we get a lead player. At least that’s my thought as of today. )
In hopes of….
"How do you solve a problem like....?"
….winning more yarn (because the latest stash enhancements have only fueled the obsession…), I decided to enthrall y’all with a meme – oh, yes, I know what yer thinking: “Yay! More minutia about Helen! Just what I need!” (Actually, I was reading my friend Sarah’s blog and that how I heard about it).
Knittyotter is having a contest (deadline to enter is Saturday, 7/19/08).
Getting to Know you Contest Questionnaire:
1.) How long have you been knitting?
My grammy taught me when I was 7 or 8. Since I’m 39, that’s over thirty years. One would think there might be more output to show for all those years, but I have a sort-of excuse. I stopped knitting for a long time after I moved from New England (terribly, awfully, horribly, soul-stealingly cold) to the South (wonderful, warm, hot n’ humid, thank You God). SInce I was used to knitting mostly very cheap or icky hot woolen yarn, it never occurred to me that there would be wonderful yarns to make things suitable for here. Yes friends and neighbors, my excuse is a lack of imagination on my part.
2.) How long have you been knitting socks?
I’ve almost no idea. I made a few pair of lovely woolen “ski socks” – some even nice enough to give away…maybe 20 years ago?
3.) What do you do with a problem like Maria?
Beatings. Repeatedly and with malice.
4.) What is your all time favorite sock yarn?
Usually it’s whatever I’m working on at the moment – I have good (and expensive) taste. If you’ve been following the last few posts, I’ve added some lovely things to the stash that absolutely could turn into a favorite….
5.) Toe Up or Cuff Down?
I’ve not done toe-ups yet. Probably the next pair will be.
6.) What’s your favorite color (this week or for all time)? Do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can’t stand?
Next to touchable-ness, yarn is about color for me. I love midnight blue/purple/indigo. I love cool season/blue undertone colors (Winter or Summer). Now I used to think I didn’t like olive-y greens, but lately I found a few that have changed my mind. I’ve also been pal-ing around with some visual artists for the last two years that have me seeing color in new ways….
7.) Do you have a pet(s)?
Yes, a pair of beautiful, loveable but dim “Labramatians”, Boris & Natasha, and an enormous antique yet surly cat by the name of Bluto.
8.) Babies: Oven Roasted or Barbecued?
Fully grown and/or belonging to someone else! This baby farm is closed down as a public service.
9.) Besides socks what is your favorite type of thing to knit?
Mittens have been my favorite thing for about a year; scarves and shawls are coming on strong for next year I think…maybe sooner.
10.) What’s your favorite scent?
Historically, I love the honeysuckle/jasmine/gardenia family, but grapefruit has been the favorite for almost 2 years now. One spritz just makes me so *happy* all of a sudden.
11.) What music are you really loving right now? Like a song or a band?
Crowded House’s “Temple of Low Men” has been stuck in my head for 2 weeks, intermingled with John Gorka’s “Land of the Bottom Line”; I’m not sure why.
12.) How many pairs of socks have you hand knit?
Maybe 10 pairs? I couldn’t really say as I’ve given most of them away, and that was in the days before Ravelry….or even Sanskrit and clay tablets perhaps.
13.) What’s your favorite treat? Salty or Sweet?
Cookies. Oreos, snickerdoodles, gingersnaps, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter…..mmmmmmmmmmmm Homemade or store bought, my depredations are widespread and democratic.
14.) What was the most interesting thing you smelled yesterday. Not good or bad necessarily, just the thing that stuck out most so that you actually took notice of it.
It’s really too disgusting to say here. Fortunately, I had a candle to disperse the noxious stench.
15.) Needles – DPN’s: Wooden, metal or plastic?
I do not like plastic needles…..at all. Oh I’ve tried – it would be better for the budget certainly, but just no way. I think the thinner the yarn, the more I like wooden ones. Otherwise, gimme some circs! I just discovered the joy of Addi Turbo lace needles.
16.) What is your favorite sock pattern that you’ve knit? What do you recommend?
Aurelia by Elizabeth Manning. Interesting to do, wonderful result, well written and to top it all off – it’s free. Why knitters aren’t making these by the thousands, I’ll never know.
17.) The last Question: If you were stuck on a deserted island who would you want with you, what knitting would you want with you and would you ever want to leave?
I think I would want my friends Tangela and Adrienne. They are some of the most interesting people I know, I adore them and @#$% can they sing! plus they let me hang around with them.
I would want to bring whatever knitting that they would like to receive, so that they’ll continue to let me sing with them, and we would probably never leave.
Really good news
Have you ever complained about all the bad news that seems so omnipresent these days? I certainly have, and so I wanted to share some really good news.
A lady’s aunt & uncle needed a fairly large amount of money to purchase a wheelchair for the uncle – their health insurance didn’t cover a substantial amount of it. So the lady decided to hold a raffle for her entire yarn stash to help defray the costs somewhat.
An actual FO!
It may be a cliche by now, but what a cliche! My first Noro Striped Scarf.
I knit it once, frogged it and knit it a second time because I wanted the texture to be more even. I was working on it some this weekend at the One Human Family 10th anniversary reunion and many of the Canadians had to come over and fondle it. I used a sewn bind off on this (I’ve never done that before) and I am delighted. I will be sending this to a swap partner, but I will be buying more Noro ASAP to make another one. The color changes are simply fascinating!!! My favorite kind of project – not huge effort for a BIG payoff. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I’m also really pleased the pictures came out as well as they did : my camera phone to the rescue!
Knitting lost & FOUND
My knitting bag has been found by the hotel! They are sending it back to me! YAY! It’s so nice to have good news to report. )
Technically, it isn’t Thursday, it’s Friday morning, but I will count a few blessings nevertheless. The first one is above!
2. My gardenia bush is blooming hugely.
I just love the smell of gardenias, jasmine, honeysuckle, etc. Even though I have been on a grapefruit scent kick for a little over a year, the jasmine-y scents are still my all time favorite. Since we moved into this house almost ten years ago, I have planted 3 or 4 gardenia bushes all of which died and not from lack of care. I finally planted one near the back door two years ago where it receives a little extra heat at night because of the western facing brick wall that receives a lot of afternoon sun, plus it’s very close to the outdoor spigot so it gets plenty of water. Last year, there were exactly ZERO blooms on it but I was happy it wasn’t dead. This spring, it got *quite* a bit taller and there’s probably 30 blooms on it right now. It smells heavenly.
3. There will be no children at my house next week.
Our two younger children are off to Boy Scout & Girl Scout camp, and our oldest is off to New York/New Jersey to see his girlfriend and God willing find a job.
Overall, I really like my kids. But I will be happy to have a vacation from all of them. I might actually get some recording and graphics done….or maybe I’ll just knit. Then on Thursday I’m off to NC to see friends and sing!
4. Star Wars
Yup, I’m a fan. I go through phases with it; the last one was probably in 2005 maybe. I had to get everything on DVD – I still had some VHS tapes which still work, but they don’t have all the added content. Then I tried to get all of the Jedi Quest and Jedi Apprentice books by Jude Watson; they were written for 4-6 graders, but they are quite imaginative and I like them better than a lot of the novels in the Expanded Universe for adults. Once I am thru the phase, I don’t think about it for years at a time.
Yesterday, I was feeling rather punk so I watched Episode III with the commentary finally. Louisa had had the movie on early in the morning and I got sucked into it. THEN I go onto the Star Wars website for the first time in a few years and I find that a CG animated movie about the Clone Wars is coming out in August. Yay! It will be a real shoot em flick I know -not my favorite thing, but we will get to see Anakin’s Padawan – Ashoka Tano and that is cool. I know I’m in the thick of the obsession because I had a Star Wars dream last night……
I do wish that Episode VI wasn’t such a weak film……..
5. Megan Whalen Turner
I was starting a new book with Louisa last night and I found “The King of Attolia”. Ye gods, I had forgotten how much I loved these books! If you haven’t read “The Thief”, “The Queen of Attolia” and “The King of Attolia” – get thee to a bookstore! They are probably in the Young Adult section but don’t let that deter you. This is excellent fiction. I only wish she wrote faster.
6. My Noro striped scarf
This thing is WAY fun to knit. It’s so much fun, I’m actually considering frogging the whole thing and putting the skeins in a different order just to see how the color combinations change. Is that sick or what? It’s now close to six feet long and I’m nearing the end of the yarn…what to do? I’m definitely gonna make several of these over the next year-I just have to save up the $ to do it. Next time, I won’t mix Silk Garden with Kureyon, but who knew?
7. The weather.
We’ve been having a streak of simply gorgeous days – low humidity, highs in mid to high 80’s. It’s delicious! AND I have not planted any vegetables – I haven’t even planted the starts that I bought so most of them are dead now – so I’ve nothing to take care of…….. )
8. My walking partner, Michelle
For a few weeks now Michelle, my former neighbor, and I have been meeting at 5:45 am to walk. I don’t pay any attention to how far we go, but I know it’s close to 2 miles. What’s great about this is I adore Michelle and I hardly ever got to see her before this, even tho we only lived two doors away from each other, and the fact that I don’t wanna be the one on the phone at 5:30 am copping out because I just doan wanna get up is making sure that I’m getting some nice exercise on a regular basis. She’s more fit than I am, so I appreciate how she will adapt to my shortcomings on an as needed basis just cos she’s nice. And she’s funny. Hoo boy, I gotta get up soon…..
9. My friends
I have really, REALLY terrific friends. There are no words to describe just how great and how dear they are to me….. I’ve no idea why they let me hang out with them, and I hope one day to be worthy of them. ::::cue violins:::::
A knitting diappointment and one of my FAVORITE things
I was at beyooteefool Pensacola Beach last weekend for a meeting and I somehow lost my knitting bag. The bag was special because it was from the most recent Baha’i choral festival at the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, but the thing that I’m *really * sad about losing is the knitting.
I was finishing the second sleeve of the child’s gansey sweater that I was knitting for Macuwita Sni – I had just a few more inches to go! It’s the first sweater I’ve made in about 20 years….so I’m sad that I just lost it!~ Oh well – guess I should start on another one…..
I’ve finally started on my Noro striped scarf. I’ve got 2 skeins of Kureyon and 2 of Silk Garden and it is truly fascinating to see how the color changes are working out; I wouldn’t have chosen most of these color combinations – the 2 skeins of Silk Garden were given to me as a gift. I’m definitely gonna do this again! A word to the wise: do re-wind all your Noro before beginning. 3 out of 4 of my skeins had knots in them with a BIG color change….
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One of my FAVORITE things to do:
1. Every 4 or 5 days, go to Ravelry.
2. Look thru all of the new patterns that have been posted since the last time you looked.
This is just so satisfying and inspiring for me! I love to see what other people are creating and I’ve learned so much. I see all kinds of things that I wouldn’t have thought to look for on my own. And the Scandinavian knitters take my breath away. Try it!
The House that Yarn Built
I get the email newsletter of the Simply Sock Yarn company and this is what they had to say today:
It’s rare that I send out an e-mail that doesn’t involve tasty new yarn or fun accessories, but I just wanted to let you all know about a wonderful fund raiser that Christy has organized at the House that Yarn Built. As part of Brad Pitt’s Make it Right foundation, which is building “green” housing for those affected by Hurricane Katrina, Christy is imploring knitters to show what we are made of and help out those that are still so desperately in need.If you want to get involved, just go to my blog post here to learn more.And to show that I’m serious about this cause, I’ve pledged to match all your donations up to $1000! Just e-mail me at allison@simplysockyarn.com to tell me how much you donated, and I’ll keep track. By e-mailing me after your donation, you’ll also be entered to win a gift package from Simply Socks Yarn Company!I encourage you to e-mail friends, post on your blog and knitting forums, and do anything you can to spread the word about this cause. I really want to hit the $1000 mark and donate all I can!Many thanks,Allison
The long and winding road….
I was off to Bloomington, Indiana this past weekend for a One Human Family gig. I’d only ever driven thru Indiana before, which just made it seem pretty flat with cornfield after cornfield. Bloomington is in a lovely part of Indiana…reminds me somewhat of my favorite places in Virginia.
Bloomington is a very groovy, artsy place which was a surprise all of us. Almost all of us had never been there before and those that had spent little time there. They have some wonderful festivals and wonderful Baha’is!
Our hosts were simply lovely people; we all enjoyed them tremendously. Unfortunately, it was very cold and we had to perform outside one morning (like a doofus, I had forgotten my coat).
Ian came -under duress, I might add- and was wonderfully helpful. I love that boy! Here he is playing with Adrienne’s son, Langston.
Anyway, I should write more about the experience later, because I came home with a nasty head cold. A couple of folks were sick over the weekend, so I am grateful that it waited until I was almost home to develop. I’m really too sick to go anywhere tonight, so I’ll miss everyone at the Skanky Knitters club tonight. 
While I was gone, the rest of Ian’s yarn came in for his blanket, along with my new ball winder. Since my CTS is on fire today, I have been content to wind many hanks of yarn into yarn cakes. The ones I did by hand (before I learned from Meg how to do it right) often have to be rewound twice they are so bad! I still like doing it by hand, but for that I need my right hand healthy and today it’s in its brace.
I bought WAY too much yarn last week – completely messed up the checkbook. <sigh> I promise I will learn to do this differently! I went to Yarn Expressions and was pulling various yarns to swatch for Bill’s gansey sweater; by the time I had chosen a bunch, I realized I could just go ahead and buy all the yarn for his sweater for what I was planning to spend on the swatches alone! Doofus strikes again…
So I chose Classic Elite ‘Premiere’(from Lowell, Mass no less), a pima cotton/tencel blend I’ve used before, in a beautiful navy color.
I think it well turn out well and I want to get started on it! First, I must finish a few things….like all the swaps……
At least my cat loves my knitting…
So OK, I’ve been working on this sweater – the first I’ve made in about 20 years. Even though i did make a gauge swatch, I think it’s gone way off and gonna be big, but that’s ok. Some older child could wear it or I may felt it. I’ve been really proud of it and it’s actually been kind of a fun knit. I’m nearing the end of the main part of the sweater and I keep it in my main knitting bag; since my iPod is busted, I’m listening to audiobooks on the ‘puter and knitting so the main knitting bag is right out here in the kitchen/dining area. For the last three nights, my enormous cat, Bluto, has cozied right up to this thing, kneaded his paws like nobody’s business and curled up on the bag/sweater falling asleep purring. It’s so nice to have knitting appreciated. )
Last night before falling asleep, I was showing this knitting to my husband and he indicated some interest in having me make him one. It’s a good thing I was already lying down because I almost fainted! (Well, ok, I would’ve almost fainted if I were the fainting type….). I showed him the Knitting Ganseys book I borrowed from Bethany and he likes the one I want to knit for him. I’m getting excited – tomorrow I’m off the the LYS to look for some yarns to swatch. Yes, it’ll probably take me a year to finish his sweater but hey! I never ever thought he would want one knitted by me. The only challenge is finding the right yarn. I was thinking about buying a kit but that’s all wool yarn – probably too warm and scratchy. This sweater has to be not too awful warm and completely not scratchy…which will mean cotton or a blend or something. I have to swatch it out first because it cannot be hard to knit with. My hand are “singing” to me daily as it is and I do not want to have to grit my teeth to finish knitting anything. Recently, I flaked on a square I promised to do for a baby blanket because knitting with the yarn was so hard on my hands. Maybe a bamboo or silk blend? This is gonna be tough, because I don’t wanna pay too too much for the yarn – he won’t wear it, but I don’t wanna use cheap yarn, because life is too short…..
Lately, Bill’s taken to wearing a fine gauge cotton charcoal grey sweater I bought for him years ago at Wal-Mart that languished for years in the closet; I knew he would like it once he put it on, and he, like me, is of the old school where if you are cold, you put on more clothing – you do not turn up the thermostat. I wanna make him a sweater that he’ll really love. It’s kinda too bad he wants another dark grey sweater – it is hard for me to see the patterns to knit well. I told him it may be another color because I want to buy the yarn on sale, and selection may be limited…..
He’s such a funny guy – he told me not to worry about making it until I’ve finished “everything else”. Hasn’t he learned in our 20 years together that everything else doesn’t get finished…ever. The list just keeps getting added to and getting longer and longer. I told him if I start it soon, I might have it done in time for our 40th wedding anniversary!
Now my silly cat is sleeping with his head inside the knitting bag, as the sweater is inside the bag tonight. I guess I should knit him a cat bed or something.
I don’t recognize myself….
I am currently knitting an afghan AND a sweater. Me? The Queen of Small Projects? What is going on?
I went off my yarn diet in a fairly expensive way last week. 2 trips to Yarn Expressions and online to Woolgirl
At Yarn Expressions I got some Smooshy and some Classic Dream in Color and some more of Meg’s Hoobody yarn. And more yarn to replace that Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK that I cannot find the rest of for David’s scarf (VERY frustrating!!!). And some other stuff. ) Good thing the dear husband does not read the blog……..
At Woolgirl I got some 100% cashmere. I’m not thrilled with the color though…. can one return it? I decided I’d get something a little different than the purple-y blues I love so much. I know I won’t return it. I should just go ahead and make something beautiful with it and then give it to somebody if I don’t love it enough to keep it.
I also got some beautiful variegated hand dyed for a swap partner and a very colorful one for socks for me. The swap partner begged me not to send her chocolate (which I was gonna do). She’s trying so hard not to go off her eating plan so I got her this beautifully milk chocolate colored yarn instead! That just gave me an idea: I know where to get chocolate smelling shampoo…..
Meg had some amazingly dyed yarn that she’s making socks with – I implored her to do some for the store and she said that is was definitely the next colorway for Hoobody. I can hardly wait!!! I can see that yarn becoming exTREMELY popular…… She also said she may do a yarn dyeing workshop sometime – I would love that. Sounds like tremendous fun!!!!!
The afghan I mentioned is made with some lovely soft fuzzy yarn that I would ordinarily turn my yarn-snobby nose up at (Lion Jiffy). But I liked the pattern I saw for it and decided to give it a whirl. Of course the store didn’t have all the colors called for….but it was on sale so I made a couple of substitutions which are apparently successful if I gauge by the comments I got on it at the knitting group tonight. I should have it done by next week’s group (size 17 needles and 2 strands of bulky yarn held together go *fast*!) so I will bring it. When I should really be working on finishing this last mitten swap.
I promise that this week I will take some pictures and also write about my pilgrimage to Israel.
The COOLEST knitting thing I have ever seen!
A Montreal band, Tricot Machine, created this music video. What an amazing idea! Over 700 knitted panels were used.
My email is working again!
Since the end of October, my email hasn’t worked properly. Oh, yes I was able to get it on the Web, but It’s a bit of a hassle, and I could not set up message rules (so that the mail automatically sorts itself as you download it) so it was kind of daily slog.
However, today! I had to open my email program to look up someone’s address, and blammo! It downloaded all my email. I didn’t discover it right away; I was doing something online with the webmail and refreshed the Inbox, the screen said that the inbox was EMPTY. It feels almost luxurious to have my email working right again….
The choir sang today and they were very good. It was lovely. I hope to write a little more about that maybe tomorrow. Then I came home and actually watched television. I watched some of the Grammy awards……I dunno. I guess I’m weird, but I like seeing people receive their awards. Yes there were good performances but oh well. I’m sure it would’ve been better if the writers’ weren’t still on strike. And what the heck was Tina Turner thinking? Is she taking fashion advice from Aretha now? Goodness me.
So…I watched PBS. “Pride and Prejudice”, the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. What fun! I probably should have done something more productive, but I didn’t. All the time wasn’t wasted, though; I untangled a ball of yarn that the dogs had messed up big time and re-knitted the part of the partially finished hat the tangle is attached to.
Now off to bed.
So far behind……
Yes, I’m officially in too many swaps. I have a little swap problem…..but I can quit anytime I want to! So says the addict. )
In the meantime, I’ve been knitting these socks furiously for Death By Socks – My goal is not to die in the first round. Here’s a few pictures.
Not an exceptional picture, but it does show the different colors in the yarn. Overall color is washed out, but otherwise the photo would be too dark to see any detail.
Started Jan. 15, 2008, Finished Jan. 21, 2008
Adirondack Yarn, Silky Sock in Midnite colorway
Size 0 needles
“Best Wishes” sock pattern
A fairly strange thing happened…..
Last Friday, the UPS man came by with packages. That in and of itself is not so strange; he often comes by to deliver things and my dog Natasha loves to bark her head off at him and/or the brown UPS truck (she hates them for some reason). So these two big boxes came and I was thinking to myself, “Wow. Your brain is degenerating even faster than you know!” because I couldn’t remember buying that much of anything, like, ever. I do order things and then immediately forget about it but they are small things like a skein of yarn, a book, a cd, etc., and the last thing I remembered ordering was a magazine.
Once I got these large boxes inside, I glanced at the sender’s address: Interweave Press. Well, that whom I had ordered the magazine from! Did I win something? I was a little excited, and so were the kids. Louisa was saying loudly, ‘I thought we didn’t have any money right now!” and I agreed that it was true; cashflow right now is down to a trickle…..
I opened the boxes and found a packing slip: it was almost $500.00 worth of knitting books that was supposed to be sent to a yarn store in Georgia. Ian was all for my looking through the books – there were some in there that I really wanted to see, but I was a good bunny and didn’t. And the magazine that I ordered from them also arrived but in the post.
On Monday, I called Interweave Press and described what had happened. They said they’d arrange to have the “evil brown truck” come back and pick them up in a couple of days, which did happen.
My little devil that sits on my shoulder keeps asking, “What if you hadn’t called them? What if you had kept the books? it wasn’t your mistake,” and so forth. I know what would happen – I wouldn’t be able to sleep and my dishonesty would haunt me for the rest of my life; it’d be like stealing. But I do wonder just a bit; the person I spoke to at IP didn’t even say, “Thank you for your honesty,” or “Sorry for the inconvenience,” or even”Thank you for calling us.” I mean, I did just find almost $500 worth of books and I think I should’ve been thanked….just a little.
It sure was weird to receive those books though. On a practical level, it was a silly shipping mistake, but on a deeper level I wonder why the universe sent that shipment to me?
I must say, tonight I think it was the first time I’ve ever had to cancel choir rehearsal on account of SNOW. Like John Prine says, “It’s a big ole goofy world.”
<cross posted to my LJ (and you can hear the song there too)>
Rules are made to be broken, n’est-ce pas?
So, ok, took Bill to the airport – he’s off to Los Angeles for a week or two ( I won’t know til about Thursday), and – like the fool that I am – went to Hancock Fabrics and…….
………………….bought yarn.
It’s true – it’s for an afghan for the family couch. The last one I made – a single, giant crocheted granny square- has has bits cut out of it by several helpful children who live here. SO I retired it until I can fix the cut bits and I’ll either give it to Will at college or to Goodwill. Plus it didn’t match my couch. Although it is the LARGEST project I had ever done knit or crochet-wise, it was getting to the point where I didn’t like the sight of the thing….not a good place to be in with one’s own fiber creations. So I’ve been thinking about a new afghan….
Then, Lion Brand yarn has the temerity to send me this rather beautifully photographed spring catalog of patterns and yarn. I guess they are really tryna step up their game….and it’s working. I found an afghan pattern I liked! Wow. Didn’t see that coming.
Today, we were on the Hancock Fabric side of town and I vaguely remembered two things: someone said they were having a sale, and they sell Lion Yarn. So again like the fool I be I went to check it out.
Turns out, all their knitting stuff is on sale for 30% off thru Thursday (I know I won’t be over here again *that* soon….) and….I found another one of those Lion catalogs someone had left behind. It was for Fall/Winter, so as I opened it up I told myself if the afghan wasn’t in there, I wasn’t supposed to have it.
It was there. Shoot.
So I went and got a cart and got….more yarn. It’s for the family, right?
Started the afghan today – a fun “stupid” knit: dead easy on ginormous needles. This is the pattern: Glowing Colors afghan
(you may have to register to see the pattern). Even the kids think it looks and feels good. We’ll see how it goes……
I do feel a little bit bad for breaking my resolution (heck we’re just HALFWAY thru January), but 30% off is 30% off and so blah blah.
I did also get the yarn to make my Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 4 bag for my partner. I’m gonna make a felted tote for her – more fun stupid knitting, and also 30% off in all the right colors too. Yippee! I’m almost relieved about that. Since this is a secret swap, I cannot tell you what my Hogwarts name is, but I can tell you that I am in Gryffindor. If you like to knit socks, and are into Harry Potter and silly fun- you definitely need to sign up for the next one!
Hope to put up some current FO and WiP pics very soon. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with the final pics of the blocked Bird in Hand mittens.
*crossposted to the other blog*
Late, as usual…..
Some knitting resolutions:
1. Buy no new yarn until my finances get straightened out (this could take months), and then save for special yarns (like cashmere).
2. Finish my swaps on TIME
3. Knit gloves for hubby and #1 son.
4. Finish Hemlock Ring Blanket
6. Decide what to do about the poncho – To frog or not to frog?
7. Finish Aurelia socks
8. Buy size 00, 000 and 000 metal needles (hopefully in the 6″ size)
9. Knit at least one pair of children’s mittens a month for the Soaring Eagles project.
I could probably list about 20 more, but this will do. )
<crossposted to my LiveJournal>
Some finished things……
<cross-posted to Warm Hands>
Mittens for a swap -unblocked at the time of photo
This pic is blurry – I promise once they are blocked I will take better pix.
made with Crystal Palace Taos, black GGH washable merino and black Mission Falls (the Mission Falls is a heavier yarn, so that’s up above the thumb on both mittens. Pattern is Bird in Hand by Kate Gilbert.
And 3 pair for the Soaring Eagles project
Also used Sivia Harding’s mitten pattern mostly. The blue green variegated pair in the middle is an all-rib mitten; I like to do that when I am unsure of sizing.
Secret Pal 13
