get your hook on

Moving Day

2007-05-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

Hey kids, the Phoenix was right -- I am saying goodbye to Blogger and moving over to WordPress. I've moved all my links over, including the ones that Blogger ate (which was pretty much the last straw on the camel's back that has been my experience with Blogger over the past year).

So change your links to include http://getyourhookon.wordpress.com -- where you can comment on what I have to say all the damn time, no matter where you're blogging from.

To celebrate my new digs, I'm hosting a giveaway over there, with these beauties as the prize:

It's KnitPicks Sock Garden in Morning Glory. The yarn line and the colorway have been discontinued, and that makes me sad. What makes me happy is that I bought four skanks of it before it went away. I'm using two, and I'm putting the other two up for grabs.

Come by http://getyourhookon.wordpress.com and leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about springtime knitting (or just "hello," I'm not picky). Do this by Tuesday (5/15) night at midnight (Central Time), and I'll choose a winner via random number generator.

Cheers guys!

Blogger Ate My Blog

2007-05-07T08:19:00.001-05:00

Ack!

Since Google took over Blogger the comment setup is requiring everyone to get a Blogger/Google account or be Anonymous. I am not a fan of requirements of any kind to be involved in my blog conversation (except the requirement that you be a real person and not a spambot), so I decided to install Haloscan. Of course, having the non-updated version of Blogger's template I couldn't install the darn thing until I upgraded to the fancy-schmancy version that some of you have and enjoy. So I upgraded.

Now my blog looks like poo, half my links are missing, and I'm grumpy about it.

And, in yarn-related grumpiness, my kitchen scale (similar to this one) tells me lies about the weight of my yarn when I wind it up:

It's my Fearless Fibers Kildare, and I am going to be making two different sized socks from it.

Femiknitter Will Probably Appreciate This Most Of All

2007-04-30T23:08:00.000-05:00

Hey kiddies, sorry to have left all that yarn up there for a week. I didn't mean to make you wach my commercialism on purpose. I spent most of last week either blowing my nose every three seconds, bitching about my inability to smell or taste anything, or under heavy sedation (god bless Nyquil), and wasn't able to get to the computer. And then, when I was able, I didn't really want to. You know.

But I started feeling loads better on Saturday and Sunday, and this is what happened:

This might be more impressive if I had a picture of what this corner of the office looked like before. Or what the insides of the drawers looked like, for that matter. I got rid of FOUR huge BAGS OF YARN (stop freaking out, it was crap acrylic) which I had acquired in the days when I was a new crocheter with high hopes of an afghan for everyone I knew! and purchased with quantity, rather than quality, in mind. Lots of Red Heart. Lots of leftovers. Lots of crap just taking up space. Those bags were surrounding the dresser like grumpy castle guards, making it very difficult for me to get into the drawers. Eventually I stopped using them for actual storage. When I emptied them out they just had a few scraps each. Excellent use of space!!!

Now, the dresser holds almost all my yarn (not the sock yarn, that's still in the living room). The top drawer holds leftover balls that are actually worth keeping around, a case of embroidery floss, my shears, and probably other things. (What? It's a spring cleaning, not a spring complete-conversion-to-the-church-of-Martha.) The other three drawers are packed with all my real yarn. I even emptied out the under-bed storage box and moved that stuff in with the rest.

The blue bag to the left of the dresser holds the crocheted ripple afghan my grandma Shirley was working on before she died. The plastic bags in the foreground hold all the yarn I'm trying to sell (see previous post and also here if you are interested and if you are I love you a lot). I do have one more large bag (another crocheted afghan project) that's currently out in the living room. It taunts me with its mass.

This is the top of the dresser. The wicker basket is holding my current WIPs. The crate holds my swift, ballwinder, and Eucalan (other stuff too, but I'll share that another day). The top of the crate holds some Cascade EcoWool (for swatching or for a house cozy - that stuff has some outstanding yardage), my straight needle roll, and the dyepot and dyecolander, which of course both hold extra yarn that won't fit in the dresser.

And that is the story of how a little case of cabin fever can turn into a giant destashing and a soothing feeling of having control over one's yarn. Let us hope it lasts.

Pssst! Wanna buy some Mohair?

2007-04-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

All yarn has lived with me for 3+ years in a non-pet, non-smoking home, and has spent most of its time in plastic bags. It's lovely stuff, but mohair and I just don't get along. I'm open to PayPal and check (will wait until it clears). Shipping (you choose method) is not included in the price here, but will be when the order is compete.

For Sale Unger Legacy Cotton/Mohair

9 x 50g balls of Unger Legacy, one ball had been swatched and then rewound, but all the yardage (appx 140 yds per ball) is there.
32% nylon, 26% acrylic, 26% cotton, 16% mohair
Color #01, Dove
Price: $35.00 the lot

For Sale Mohair of Unknown Origin

A friend works at a place where yarn companies send their stuff to be made into color cards. They have huge amounts left over, and I got this batch in a sale a few years ago. It came to me in weird cone-shaped hanks, and I've wound them into yarn cakes. I don't know what brand this is, what the total fiber content is (though Mohair is pretty obvious), and I don't know the yardage. The yarn WPI is about 6 with space left for the fluffs to spread out.

Dark purple, 9 ounces
Price: $20.00 now $10.00

Blue/purple variegated, 11 ounces
Price: $24.00 now $12.00

Raspberry/deep pink, 10 ounces
Price: $22.00 now $11.00

Midnight blue, 6.5 ounces
Price: $11.00 now $5.50

Medium blue, 5.5 ounces
Price: $9.00 now $4.50

Turquoise/robin's egg blue, 2 ounces
Price: $4.00 now $2.00

Acid green, 3 ounces
Price: $5.00 now $2.50

Dark blue, 4.5 ounces
Price: $6.50 now $3.25

Want the whole lot? All Mystery Mohair for $40.00 plus shipping.

Having found my sub-niche

2007-04-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone for your sympathy in my last two posts. I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to all of you directly -- Blogger doesn't give me your email addresses all the time. Grr.

This week has gone better (dark chocolate and Merlot have kept me just out-of-it enough), and is ten times more better because I have tomorrow (Friday) off. And though that means I have to work Saturday, I'll be all alone in the basement of the library and can play music through the computer's speakers instead of my headphones. !!! That's just the kind of rebel that I am.

And for the record, I did totally kick winter's ass and send it packing. For about three days. Now it's cold and grey and rainy and entirely non-glorious today, and winter just sits out there, begging to come back into my life and telling me it's the only season that could make me happy, that spring doesn't love me like it does, and that summer's just a flash-in-the-pan.

Whatever. Winter, you suck.

And I suck for not having a photo of anything WIP-ish, but I am in a bit of a snit with most of my projects just now, and we're not speaking.

This, however, does not suck:

Yes, it's the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Knit Along. I'm a fan of Buffy, I'm a fan of knitting, it all works out beautifully. It's the whole pointy stick/pointy stick affinity. The sweet thing about this KAL, aside from the obvious BtVS-ness, is that there are no time limits, no mandated patterns. Just hang out and knit and discuss. Plus you get to pick which category you want to be in -- Slayers, Vamps, Witches, Scoobies, Watchers, Demons. It's awesome. If you love Buffy (or Angel), you should join. (I'm talking to you. You know who you are.)

I embrace the weird, and it embraces me back.

Revenge of the Snowed-Upon

2007-04-13T19:18:00.000-05:00

Take that Winter, you bastard!

(It's a bad cellphone pic of me, kicking snow. Yes, I am twenty-seven years old and mature beyond my years.)

The Universe Slaps Me Down

2007-04-11T07:38:00.000-05:00

Just a short post to let the internet know that I can't write a decent post right now. This week is not going my way in so many different ways that it's hard to know where to start the story of how I hate it. I'll give you a list, because as Femiknitter knows, there are few things I like as much as a good list.

1. It freaking snowed last night. Ugh. Winter is starting to act like the scummy, needy ex-boyfriend who won't leave you alone and leaves notes for you on your doorstep and slowly creeps into stalker territory. Winter is a stalker. Go away, Winter, you bastard.

2. I can't count. I have now put the heel in one of my socks twice, and both times I have had either too many stitches or too few. I have temporarily banished them until I have my wits about me. This may take a while.

3. I don't know what month or week it is. Seven times this week (and keep in mind that I'm writing this on Wednesday morning, so that makes it "in two days") I've thought that it's either next week or 5 weeks from now. Seven times in two days. I need more of something in my diet. Probably more vacation.

4. The software switchover at work is not. going. well. Day one? 1500 errors from the offline/back up system we were using last week. Day two? Staff records still not uploaded. What could day three possibly bring? My money's on a plague of toads. Toads or book-eating locusts.

5. I had ten people clamoring to get into my beginner knitting class, and I could only take eight, and ONLY FOUR OF THEM SHOWED UP LAST NIGHT. I could spit nails. And one of the four women left right away. She already knows how to knit (using a spool to make i-cord) and just wants to know how to bind off (she'll come back on the last day). Another woman just could. not. get. it. I felt so bad for her, especially after a 7-year-old girl came up to us while I was helping her do the long-tail cast on (she was trying to use two needles; she never did get it), and told us she learned to knit when she was five years old. After a while this woman just sat and cackled and tried to knit with three straight needles (I honestly have no idea). I don't know how to help her, especially as I've already put my hands on her hands and demonstrated the knit stitch and she still did not get it. Fortunately the other two women took to knitting like ducks to water and are even knitting continental (yes!). Only one of the four people who showed up actually brought the yarn (Cascade 220) that I put on their required materials list.

And now I have to get ready for work (deep sigh). I wonder how this day will go.

I Am With My People

2007-04-05T23:05:00.000-05:00

My day started all virtuous-like. I went to the chiropractor (where I heard, again, that I'm running sideways, and to stretch ALL THE TIME), went to the gym, then stopped at various stores for those necessities I mentioned.

And then apparently I made a vow to devote my writing time equally between normal writing and parenthetical writing (I think it's working out pretty well so far).

So, I ate lunch, thought about what I was going to pack in my knitting bag, showered, and then had like 3 more hours until I wanted to leave for Oak Brook (I wanted to get there early, but 6 hours before the reading started sounded a little nuts, even to me).

What did I do with all that time?
I made the bed (a rare occurance Chez HookOn, unless I've just changed the sheets)...

... I washed most of the dishes and cleaned the counters and (though you can't see it from here) I even swept and sort-of-mopped the floor (I used a wet paper towel to get all the leftover crumbs)...

... and I cleaned the stove (it was truly horrific. The bowls and protective rims that sit under the burners? I'm not sure if I have ever cleaned them, and I've lived in this apartment for three years. They are soaking in the sink.)

At this point I was feeling quite virtuous, and very deserving of a trip to see my most favorite author. I selected projects to take along to the reading, two of which you've already seen...

the grey bag ends (heh) for the to-be-felted bag,

and the second pair of socks (STR Fred Flintstone, lightweight, 2.5mm needles).

(make note of how much shorter the top sock is than the bottom sock... this will come into play later on.*)
The third project is a headband (the same one that Femiknitter made a while back) that I just started yesterday as I waited to leave for Oak Brook. I'll talk more about it later, because right now it is just i-cord, and you know what that looks like.

I left my house about 4:00pm with my knitting, necessities, water, and camp chairs. Why camp chairs? Because I heard that Borders in Oak Brook was only putting out 75 chairs. Then I heard it was 100 chairs. Foolish muggles -- when will they learn?

Laugh at me if you will, but I get a little nervous driving into the suburbs when I'm going somewhere for the first time. I don't get nervous about the actual driving, but I worry that I'll miss my exit and accidentally drive to Indiana (almost happened once).

I arrived without mishap at 5:10pm. Here's the view I had (from the fourth row... yes!!!!)

I walked in and saw the tell-tale signs that I was not the only knitter there. Shawls on shoulders, knit-or-die t-shirts(no actual picture, I was walking out of the bathroom and, strangely, didn't have my camera ready), felted bags... it was great. I bought some books and while I was in line I saw a woman wearing this great pink cabled sweater (do I have a picture? No, of course not) and I asked her if she made it and if I could touch it AND SHE DIDN'T BACK AWAY! She was a knitter and she understood!

I don't know if this applies to anyone else, but I've gotten the feeling that people (muggles) think I'm working a few beers shy of a six-pack when I walk up to them and ask to examine their sweaters. This is off-putting (to me) and makes me feel like my knitting is this highly un-understandable weird anomaly, and therefore, you know, so am I.

But this! This room full of knitters! I felt completely at home and comfortable. If you know me personally, you might snicker at this, but generally I feel kind of shy and awkward with people I don't know. Especially groups. However, this appears to apply only to muggles. I was all over the place, talking... (turns out my one-seat-away neighbor Renae [Hi Renae!] used to live in DeKalb and demonstrated how to use 2 circular needles to make an in-the-round item [a new-to-me concept]) ...and ogling yarn across the aisle and getting up to talk to the knitter about where she got it and what was it, and having a grand old time. Everyone was saying things like "I love that, what is it?" and "What are you working on" and eventually a wise woman stepped up to the microphone and said "While we're waiting, who wants to have a show-and-tell?" So we all showed off what we were working on. It was amazing. It was like this huge stitch-n-bitch full of happy energy. During the show-and-tell (I think), Nick sent me a text message saying he hoped I was having fun. My return text message said "I am with my people!"

Anna (who has written about all this already) and Heather were there by this point, and we were just looking at each other grinning. Grinning like fools.

Then Stephanie appeared. She blogged us blogging her blogging us (one of those infinite cat things... infinite blogger?),

(the Bohus? freaking stunning in person)
and she spoke. And she was hilarious and encouraging and unifying and hilarious and smart and strong and ohmygod was she funny. I saw her two years ago (or thereabouts (I just said "thereabouts." I am my father.)) and I loved that experience, but I had just learned to knit and didn't feel comfortable doing any work while I was trying to listen to her. This time, I had no trouble knitting while she was talking (I knit on the socks only, by the way), and could even look up from my knitting when I got to the stockinette parts! I felt like a real, live, grown-up knitter!

After she was done speaking and taking questions (during which she introduced a seven-year-old knitter to the word "harlot" and some of its meaning, and almost fell over laughing while doing so), we all got in a line to get our books signed (knitters with children first!). Strangely, the three of us all had socks on the needles. A lovely fellow knitter took our picture:

and then I took hers -- blog, meet Rachel. Hi Rachel!

Her sock (that of her second pair ever) matched her knitting bag and her top and jacket ENTIRELY BY COINCIDENCE. She may be the most coincidentally well-put-together knitter I've ever met. (it was great to wait in line with you!)

Then we got to the signing table and I gave Stephanie some wee gifties (from the three of us DeKalb knitters) and I got to hold the sock (!!!)

and of course, we're blurry.

I had the best time.

*(And the socks that were wildly different lengths when I began my tale?...

... I can't tell them apart now!)

Matters of Great Import

2007-04-03T00:08:00.001-05:00

1. The Llama Song
I am going to be singing this in my head all day today. And now, so are you. Because the orange slayed the rake. Think about that one.

2. The Walker Treasury Project Hosts a Contest
Yes, friends and neighbors, a contest! Head over to The Walker Treasury Project and check out the contest page. You can win fabulous prizes just for commenting! Or for swatching up a pattern from one of the treasuries and posting for the first time during the month of April! Or for taking a really good picture! The possibilities are almost endless. I'm donating a bunch of MOHAIR yarn as prizes (it's good stuff, it just isn't my scene, man), and Karrie is donating some world-famous moustache buttons (god, I love them!). You need to enter the contest.

3. This Is What Spring Looks Like Where I Am

Yes, my town still has its Christmas tree up. I took this picture last week, when it was still March, but still -- it was March, and Christmas had been over for three whole months. 'Tis no longer the season, and we're not a town known for its year-round jollitude. Let's just put it away.

4. Work Gives Me Nightmares
I sort of woke up this morning freaking out (but slowly, in that half-asleep way that seems all fast-paced in your head but is really just you drooling on your pillow and twitching) about the software switchover going on this week at work. I'm so delighted to discover I'm this immersed in my job.

5. I'm going to see the Harlot tonight!
I've planned my knitting, plotted my route, and taken the day off work (in the midst of software switchovers, we are in life). I'm going to purchase a few necessities, pack a lunch/dinner/meal thingy, and get to Oak Brook by 5pm (at the latest). Stephanie's not scheduled to start talking until 7:30, but Borders is only setting out 100 chairs. Foolish muggles *shakes head*. When will they learn? And don't these people research anything about their speakers?

I'll report back tomorrow(-ish) with pictures from the Dada camera (hopefully it'll take a few decent shots, what with the event being indoors at night -- its favorite environment) and tales of my exploits. Ah yes, the exploits.

The Magic Words

2007-03-30T12:31:00.001-05:00

So, this past weekend (that of the 24th to the 25th), Nick and I went to Geneva for a little getaway. I planned the whole thing without telling him where we were going, where we'd be staying... only that we would be going away for a night. Orginally I wanted to stay at a cozy little bed and breakfast with lots of hiking trails and scenery, but holy crap on toast -- those cute little B&Bs cost upwards of $200 a night. Even in off-peak, non-tourist season. Curse them. We ended up staying at a very nice (and well within our price range) chain hotel in Geneva, with a lovely room, and only a short drive up the river to the downtown area.

Some of you who know the area might think that I planned this getaway in this particular location because of a particular store in the downtown area. I did no such thing. My only consideration was that Geneva is close to DeKalb (about 30 minutes' drive) and picturesque (of course I don't have any actual picturesque pictures because the camera has entered its Dada phase, the stupid bastard, and refused to take pictures of anything). My plans had nothing at all to do with shopping.

Right. Yes. So, Nick was all surprised and happy when we got to the hotel and saw our room (it was very nice), and then I gave him his gift (sorry for the stock photo, blame the Dada camera). His eyes got all big and he looked kind of sad and said "Honey, I didn't get you anything, I'm sorry."

And in the same breath he uttered the magic words:

"We can go to the yarn store tomorrow."

And we did, and my husband bought me Koigu for our ten-year dating anniversary.

He helped me choose the color (I love when he has input on my knitting!). I had it down to three different colorways, and he liked this one (after I explained that lots of colors are fun on socks -- he's a solid color kind of guy).

And in case you were wondering, the skeins are sitting on this book, with which I am in serous lurve

This Just In: This arrived as I was typing up this post!

Hooray! The book is here! I'm going to see her on Tuesday and I have the book! Hooray!

O Frabjous Day!

2007-03-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

I'm knitting again!

The chiropractic problem with my wrists/shoulders has been solved, and I'm knitting!

This is one side of the to-be-felted-tote. It is garter stitch and a little boring, but I love it! Because I can knit!

This is the side of the bag with the pocket sitting on top. I think the log cabin deal is going to look very cute, and will dress up the whole thing a bit.

These are the two ends of the rectangle. I'm knitting (!!!) them at the same time for speed and consistency (because garter stitch is so very difficult...?).

These are the next pair of socks that I mentioned having cast on. They are the same pattern (.pdf!) I used with my first pair of socks, except I'm working over 64 sts and I've put -- what else? -- a 2x2 ribbing on the instep which will continue up the leg.

The yarn is Socks That Rock Fred Flintstone, purchased at Stitches Midwest last summer. I showed these socks to Heather the other day and she got all googly-eyed and demanded to know what kind of yarn that was so that she could buy some and make it her own THISVERYMINTUE! I told her and then she looked a little sheepish. "Oh," she said, "I have that in my stash at home." Snerk.

And today is frabjous for another reason. Ten years ago today Nick asked me to be his girlfriend. Ten years. TEN YEARS. I stand gobsmacked. And more goofishly in love than ever. Woohoo!

The No-Knitting Content part of my Knitting Blog

2007-03-20T10:50:00.001-05:00

I just realized that the last four posts of mine have been entirely without photos. That's boring. Really boring. So, to revitalize this blog, I give you pictures of what I've been up to during my non-knitting time.

1. I haven't had these since fourth grade

I now have bangs.

(I was going to talk only about this new haircut and title this post "She Bangs" [because for some reason Ricky Martin songs are burned into my brain and nothing NOTHING! can remove them] but I didn't want the really creepy perverts finding this site. I'm only comfortable with the sort-of-weird.)

The last time I had bangs was the fourth grade. I would get bored in class and just stare at my hair, which screwed up my vision, and which resulted in my not having bangs ever again (and also in my getting glasses in sixth grade, the end result of which are my new glasses visible in these fine photographs).

I got the rest of my hair cut, too, but I'm still not sure how I like it. The very enthusiastic stylist suggested layers, and I wanted a change so layers sounded really good. Then she took off so much hair that I feel dangerously close to mullet territory. THEN! she blow dried it all poofy and put more hairspray in it than I use in an entire year, and I looked like a lion. A lion, people. I've been wearing my hair up ever since.

2. What does a vegan have on her pizza?

We made pizza on Sunday night, using the following ingredients...

black beans...

diced cooked potato...

sauteed/carmelized onions (so tasty!)...

fresh mushrooms...

green olives (for which I have a mad passion)...

avocado (which we peeled and diced, of course)...

and fake mozzerella cheese, from Vegan Gourmet.

And pizza crust, and pizza sauce. And it all turned out amazing and tasty and good, but I didn't get a picture of the finished product because I was hungry like the wolf and ate it all up before I even thought of the camera. Best pizza I've had in a long time.

3. When you can't stitch, plan your next project!

Or your next project after the fifty in line ahead of this one.

There's this long story behind the pictures I'm going to show you, but as I want this post to be more about the pictures and less about me rambling on and on about some crazy story, I give you the pictures.

This is Nine-Patch Number One...

...and this is Nine-Patch Number Two.

I started making these squares about three years ago, thinking that I'd make Nick an afghan (a visible and warming manifestation of my love). Turns out these squares are pretty small (7 inches across). I've made 20 of the buggers, and I'm not making any more. My current plan is to (1) Weave in the ends, (2) Crochet them together, (3) Somehow make one afghan out of two giant squares. I think I'm going to crochet a border around the nine-patches, then attach the two and make that the central panel of the blanket, then work some basic stitch on the sides.

Easy as pie, right? I'll get to it right after I finish everything else.

It will make a great 15-year anniversary present.

Laughter makes the cramps go away

2007-03-16T11:01:00.000-05:00

Dude, go here.

And know that though I am not posting about knitting (again), I have a doctor's note to hide behind. I've been told to lay off the knitting for a little while, because it's screwing with my wrists, shoulders, neck, the state of the spotted owl, and the weather.

Apparently knitting is that powerful. (Although I suspect my physical issues have more to do with my sitting in front of a computer for 40 hours a week, it's difficult right now to say I can't work, and easier to set aside the non-income part of my daily life. If "easier" means "more financially sound," and it does right now.)

So please, bear with me as I post very little about yarn and the looping of it over the next few days. I hope to get back to it soon. Before I really start getting cranky.

I am nothing if not complex

2007-03-10T09:10:00.000-06:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Countess-Palatine Katherine the Complex of Yockenthwait Walden
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

(unabashedly stolen from Kate)

Today's post brought to you by the blogging trifecta of Laziness, Nothing Interesting On the Needles, and The Wretched Time Change.

I know the time change was on Sunday (ages ago in blog years), but it's still screwing with me. The later nights this early in the year ... it's nice, but it's making me a little nutty. The light in the sky says it's early, but the clock says it's late. I'm already not-very-punctual, and this isn't helping.

The weather is lovely, though. Apparently it's 69 degrees F right now. March 13th, everyone, and we're pushing 70 degrees. Of course, it will return to its usual weather devilry this weekend when we have a high of 35 on Saturday.

I am really just defining the word "lame" here aren't I? I'm using my blog to talk about the weather. Ugh.

I really should get something interesting on the needles. Right now it's all garter stitch, working up that bag. Doesn't make for spectacular blog fodder the way home renovation, or a cute FO, or a stunning shawl, or a new job, or a baby (which can arguably be called a "cute FO" as well) all make for spectacular blog fodder. As I have no home to renovate, no fabulous job offers, and no immediate plans to reproduce, I guess I'll have to get on the knitting and finish the bag.

Was I also going to talk about Laziness? Meh...

It's Science, and you can't argue with Science.

2007-03-09T08:03:00.000-06:00

Help a knitter out!

Eve of Needle Exchange needs some help with a project. She explains the situation (and the potential SOCK YARN prizes that await) in detail, giving extra points (more chances for SOCK YARN) for men who take the survey, and for women who recruit men who take the survey. So I'm off to register Mr HookOn and myself for ~~SOCK YARN~~ -- I mean, science.

A Miracle of Time Management

2007-03-07T14:49:00.000-06:00

This is what it says on my latest KnitPicks order...

Order Number: ******
Order Date: 3/4/2007
Status: Shipped
Ship Date: 3/8/2007

Note the date of today's post. Note the ship date.

Now, maybe they have a time machine that makes it possible for the future (3/8/2007) to be in the past ("shipped") and if that's the case I want it, or maybe they're just doing some really good drugs. In which case I want those, too.

Some Observations

2007-03-02T08:14:00.001-06:00

1. The weather has gone bat-shit crazy, as is usual here for March. Yesterday it rained all morning, got sunny and warm at lunchtime, then went grey and evil during the afternoon. Then it snowed all night with high winds (my apartment building? It sways in the wind. Yes.), and that seems to be the trend for today. Fantastic. But the weird-and-happy thing is, the wind that's blowing feels not as soul-crushingly cold as it has been. That long-awaited season (I'm not going to jinx it by saying its name) is coming!

2. I have purchased new yarn.

Cherry Tree Hill in Monet.

Fleece Artist in Moss.

I decree that this is not a falling off of the KFYS wagon. I have determined that casting on for a second pair of socks practically equals finishing a second pair of socks, the prerequisite for purchasing more sock yarn. Plus I wanted it. Plus the CTH has turned into a beautiful teal-green-based rainbow of a yarn cake. And the pretty pretty Moss is for a specific project (more on that later... it is marinating just now). So I am entirely justified. I mean it.

3. Our friends Mark and Amy are coming to town tonight! We haven't seen them since New Year's Eve: Hammerfist Style and I'm totally excited about it. Friends of ours are having their wedding reception tomorrow, and MarkAmy are staying with us and it's going to be awesome with the cooking together and the dressing up for the party and the hanging out. I've started the pre-preparation for the crockpot dinner I'm going to put together on my lunch hour, and dinner will be ready just after they get here, and all will be awesome. Awesome, I say!!

4. I have made progress on the to-be-felted tote.

I finished the base,

and cast on about thirty-seven times for the side. First it was too small. Then it was too big. Then it was way too big. Then it was too small. Now it is just right. Ugh. Garter stitch is a little sneaky stitch when it comes to how many stitches equal how many rows. This last time (the time that seems to be working, unless I have jinxed myself by saying that) I cast on 64 stitches, which is the number of ridges (2 rows of garter) I have in the base. I hope this is right.

5. My Mom's feet make sort of cracking/snapping sounds when she walks. It's not painful (I think) or problematic, her feet just do that. When I was little I could always tell when she was walking down the hall or up the stairs or wherever, just by hearing her feet snap. I never really thought about it until I moved out of the house and didn't hear it regularly anymore. This morning, as I got up early to chop vegetables, my feet made the snapping noise and I realized that my feet have been making that noise for a long time. I have my mother's feet. It made me all happy.

(I just don't have any good recent pictures of me and Mom, what with the camera being a twit, so I give you a picture from my wedding day)

Anyone else have any physical trait from your parents that makes you smiley and happy?

Aw, You Guys!

2007-02-27T09:19:00.000-06:00

I am feeling better now, and in posession of all my wits enough to say:

Thank you to everyone who shared their happy things with me. Vacations, planting the garden, wine, finishing projects, new sneaky yarn -- hooray for you ladies! Winter hasn't kicked our asses yet! Especially not those of us who live in Australia and who are revelling in summer. Kate.
Thank you for your well wishes. Lisa, I didn't get a chance to try the hot toddy -- I took some NyQuil on Friday night, slept for 10 hours, and woke up feeling much better than I had the whole past week. Then Nick and I cleaned house all afternoon and I felt way better (it was the stuff of nightmares). My kitchen is actually amazingly clean, courtesy of my husband -- hey! my dream totally came true! Awesome!
Thank you for the happy comments on my socks, which I posted about almost a month ago. I'm sorry I didn't say Thank You earlier, and appreciate everyone's input. It's nice to be validated.
Thank you to everyone who said nice things about my birthday, which was a month ago. What is my problem? Sheesh! I am shamed. But still grateful for the happy wishes. They all really perked up my day.

And now, I'm going to run away from this room in my apartment because I (stupidly) opened up an old jar candle to see what it smelled like, and it smells like awful cheap perfume. And it's making me itch.

May your day not involve awful smells.

I Snark Because I Care

2007-02-22T21:46:00.000-06:00

Let me just get right to the reasons for my snarking.

Reasons One through Five: I have a cold and I have no idea where it came from. I have been a good girl this winter and have worn my woolen hat and wool/alpaca blend scarf EVERY DAY, even the warmish ones! I have taken my vitamins, have been drinking LOTS of water (okay, and beer, but still! lots of water!), and have diligently sanitized my hands and the gym equipment every time I use them (both hands and gym equipment). FROM WHENCE CAME THIS EVIL PLAGUE??!

I had to take Monday and Tuesday off work, went in yesterday and today and moved, as my Grandma would say, slower than molasses in January due to all the snot sloshing around in my noggin (yes, I'm being disgusting). And I have to go in one more day this week. One. More. Day. I don't think I can make it.

To top that off, I'm taking this lovely concoction

and it says it doesn't contain alcohol, but I think they're lying. Unless they are using alcohol-flavored non-alcohol. Ponder that one for a minute.

Reason Number Six: My camera is beyond being a jackass at this point. Now it's just taunting me. I finally got my shit together (yes, I'm swearing) to post on the DeStash Blog, wound up all this yarn I want to sell or swap, and took pictures of it. In natural light. For I hate myself and want to make my life harder. Of course.

Can you tell what that is? Through the horizontal-blind-like madness of my camera's fiendish gaze? It's mohair, kiddies, and it looks pretty craptacular.

Reason Number Seven: I still haven't figured out how to knit by using only my brain, so progress on all projects has been slow, much like the proverbial molasses in January. Although I did rip out the bottom to the to-be-felted tote and cast on fewer stitches, as it was way too big initially. So, does that count as progress or not?

And I know I should find seven things to be happy about, as is my wont, but I am so cranky about wanting to feel better (it's lovely, really, to see a grown woman whinge about like a toddler with a toothache. Shame you aren't all here.) that it's hard to see the happy things.

Really hard. I'm in massive hate with the whole world right now.

Seriously.

Okay, fine. I'm really not that cranky and I do in fact have a heart that could be compared to marshmallow fluff and not granite. Witness:

Happy Thing One and Thing Two: The needle cases I ordered from granny's closet came today and made me smile all big, through my snot. They are pretty and perfect and well-made with love and care.

Circular needle case, holds nine.

Double-pointed needle case, holds eleven sets.

Happy Thing Three: My neighbor gave me this anerable bumper sticker, and she left it stuck to my door in a sneakily fun way, and it made me laugh out loud. And then cough.

Happy Thing Four: I'm wearing my travelling garden gnome pajamas,

from Wanda and Heath, from two Christmases ago. Thank you.

Happy Thing Five: We watched The Protector (a.k.a. Tom Yum Goong) last night, and it was the most amazing kung-fu movie I have ever seen and I now have a love for Tony Jaa that knows no bounds and if you don't see it there will be a hole in your heart and you will weep. There were three distinct fight scenes during which Nick said "this is the best fight I've ever seen." Story, not fantastic. Fight scenes, freaking amazing.

Happy Things Six and Seven: More Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight 72% Cacao chocolate, because he feels bad that I feel sickly. Good lord I love this man.

Okay, now that I have proven my ability to find some good in this world, you have to spread the cheerful love and tell me at least one thing that has made you happy this week. C'mon. Help a sickie out.

Clearly my fantasy life needs an upgrade

2007-02-19T15:55:00.000-06:00

The other night I had the best dream ever.

I dreamt I came home to ... a clean kitchen! The dishes were done, the garbage taken out, counters clean -- and I didn't have to do anything! Someone else did it all! It was great!

This is possibly the lamest thing I have ever dreamt.

Officially a Sock Knitter

2007-02-12T19:08:00.000-06:00

I have completed my Koigu Sherbet-Berry-Sunset socks.

I couldn't be prouder. Or more addicted.

Pattern: None, just Wendy's Generic Toe-Up sock pattern over 60 stitches. Short-row toe, short-row heel. I added a 2x2 rib for a change (and also because I seem to be held in the thrall of 2x2 rib) at the leg.
Yarn: 2 balls Koigu KPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPM, in a colorway whose number is lost to the mists of time. I almost snarked up a storm when I found knots and ravelings in one skank, but gracefully moved on without a murmur. Yes.
Needles: KnitPicks dpn 2.5mm (they're calling it a US size 1). They are pointy and perfect.
Time spent: Begun December 2nd, 2006 and finished February 3rd, 2007. (Except I haven't woven in the ends at the toes yet. I don't know why.) I started these right after I learned that my grandma had died, and knit on them during the visitation. It was nice to be able to focus on something else.
What I learned: Short-row toe, short-row heel, provisional cast-on, patience.
Thoughts: I completely love sock knitting. I love the wee bitty needles and the wee bitty stitches and I adore the way they fit and feel. Does everyone know about sock knitting? Should I be running up and down the street shouting about the benefits of handknit socks? Maybe not?
Bonus: Hey, this yarn has been in my stash since May of last year, so not only am I knitting from my stash (yes!), but that means that I can buy more sock yarn because I just knit a pair of socks! Or did I say I had to knit two pairs of socks? Dammit, it's two pairs. Screw it, I want to buy some sock yarn!

Edit: I forgot to write down what I did for the bind-off. I normally bind off very loosely and don't tend to have problems with final products (and here I speak as though I have a lot of those) being too tight in that respect. However. I tried binding off in my normal way, very loosely, because I wasn't sure how to do the sewn bind off (I have never kitchenered, for those who might tell me it's just like kitchenering). Didn't work -- it was too tight. When did I realize this? After the entire first cuff was bound off, of course. After many tinkings (very frustrating when I wanted to WEAR THE SOCKS IMMEDIATELY and be done), I discovered the perfect bind-off that does not involve sewing: work 1 rnd in pattern in same needles (2.5mm in my case) very loosely, then work bind-off rnd using a needle 2 sizes larger (3.25mm in my case), also very loosely. Put your socks on and dance around your abode.

All the posts about my first-ever pair of socks:

(this post being the end)

How Cold Is It?

2007-02-09T10:13:00.000-06:00

It's so cold that there is no moisture in the air anymore. Everything is drying up and freaking out. I live in fear of the inevitable bloody nose, my hands appear to have aged 75 years in the last week, my hair is static-y and clinging to my face and neck which is making me want to just hack it all off with a knife, and the snow makes this annoying squeaky-squeaky sound when one steps on it.

That's how cold it is.

I am pretty much done with winter, thank you.

Oh, and the vegan bechamel sauce? Right. The other night I had a taste for pasta with leftover vegan sausage (it tastes amazing and very much like sausage, because sausage tastes like spices), and thought I'd make a white sauce to go over it. In my mind it was going to be a lot like biscuits-and-gravy, a very savory white sauce full of pepper and goodness.

Did I go to the computer and look up "vegan white sauce" or "vegan biscuits and gravy"? Of course I didn't, for I was feeling cocky and oh-so-capable and full of my ability to MAKE FOOD OUT OF NOTHING! So I just grabbed a non-vegan cookbook full of pasta sauce recipes, found one that resembled the concoction in my brain, pulled out my vegan ingredients, and went at it.

My first red flag should have been the quantities called for. Six tablespoons of butter (I used Earth Balance... mmm)? Some flour... three cups of milk (soy milk)? All this wasn't really necessary -- it was just Nick and me. Did I stop and reconsider? Of course I didn't, for I was feeling cocky, etc. It was only after I'd added everything together and tasted it that I realized what was certainly obvious to Nick (who was humoring me in the cutest way): it was wrong on many, many levels, not the least of which was the fact that it tasted like a damn sugar cookie.

We had marinara with our pasta and sausages that night.

Birthday Round-up, many days late

2007-02-06T10:33:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's been a while since last I posted. I am a bad blogger, and I deserve no cookie. I have a list of excuses, though:

1. It's been cold. It was -14 here (without the windchill) on Sunday night, and yesterday was the same and when it is cold I apparently cannot blog. (I realize that -14 might seem downright balmy to those in more northern (read: arctic) climes, but it's a big deal here in Northern Illinois) And now it is snowing.

(you can click the picture to bigginate, but I don't know why you would. It's just all white and snowy. I could have saved bandwidth by just leaving a gap in the prose and saying "this is an entirely accurate depiction of what it looks like outside my window this morning.")

2. The debacle on Sunday. I have been weeping. Let us speak no more of this.

3. I wanted my post about the Walker Treasury Project to stay up for a few more days so everyone (all 9 of you) could see it.

4. Work has eaten my brain the last week or so. I'm working on two big projects that are coming up next week and next month, all the windows in the building are being replaced, the plaster is being repaired, and the fire alarms keep going off several times a day. I have developed a mean twitch over my right eye, and haven't felt much like sitting down at the computer after sitting down at a computer all day at work.

Okay, those are my excuses for not posting, and here is my Birthday Round-up:

Friday the 26th saw me at my lady-parts-doctor's office (except I see a nurse practitioner, but "nurse's office" doesn't sound the same as "doctor's office." hm.) and I got weighed, which was a sobering experience (I am now extra-committed to going to the gym every day for the rest of my life), then got asked questions about my lifestyle, habits, concerns. And they let me keep knitting. I love them, even though I did have to endure The Speculum of Doom.

After my appointment Nick picked me up and gave me a present that was not at all birthday related

(not all gone, see above re: weight)
Three kinds of dark chocolate, not for my birthday, but because I had to endure The Speculum of Doom, and because he knows I need a little comfort after that. This man is amazing.

After I cried a little (which made him say, "Honey, it's just chocolate!") we went to the Yarn Sellar (website-less, sadly) where I spent my entire gift certificate on a Nifty Swift!

(I also bought a ball winder, but through the mail. I got it yesterday. I am in yarn heaven.)

I love this swift. I love that it sits on a table and does not need clamping. I love that it's made entirely of birch. I love that it's cute. I loff it, in fact. And with its new friend, Windey von Ball-Winder, I finally put up my Wedding Day yarn:

It looks like I took the picture through a veil or something, doesn't it? I didn't, my camera is just being an ass.

Okay, so after the Yarn Sellar we went to the India House (and if you're ever in Rockford, let me know so I can take you to the India House) and it was amazing. Then we went to Best Buy and I bought an iPod with my birthday money. And this thing is damn cute, let me tell you.

I had to kiss it when I took it out of the packaging, it was so precious. I'm so happy about this little buddy and its magical ability to make my workouts more fun and enticing and also to make the workday go by faster. (Oh, and the book underneath? My own gift to me -- the Second Treasury by Barbara Walker.)

The next day we had dinner with my family (as my sister Laura's natal day is six days before mine, we try to combine forces) and my mom gave me an Ott-Lite!

And it is like natural daylight indoors! It's made my knitting life a little easier on my eyeballs.

And I don't have a picture of it, (see above, re: camera acting like ass) but Margaret sent me a sweet bookmark in the shape of a frog made from recycled Thai telephone directories. I loff it.

This concludes our Birthday Round-up. Thank you for playing, please see the secretary on the way out for your prize. Next time I'll talk about the bechamel sauce that tasted like a sugar cookie, and why that is never good.

We Interrupt This Blog!

2007-01-30T22:50:00.000-06:00

For a special News Update! [important newscaster voice]

There's a new community knitting project in the Knitblogville! Every knitter knows that Barbara Walker's Treasuries are indispensable. We use them constantly for designing, for help with a difficult pattern, and for pure inspiration. Sometimes, though, the mostly black-and-white and small pictures keep us from seeing the full potential of a pattern. That's where the Walker Treasury Project comes in. We're gathering high-quality, color photos of all the patterns in all the Treasury books and putting them on the internet as a visual aide to this wonderful collection. Help your fellow knitter by choosing a pattern from a particular book, working up a nice big swatch in a light-colored yarn, and posting it to our blog. We can help you label and categorize everything. Also, keep in mind that we're not posting the pattern (no violations of copyright here), just the picture!

This was all Nicole's idea (kudos, girl!), but it's up to the rest of the commuknitty (ha! that has never been used before!) to make it work. Nicole, Alison, and I are moderators (and we could use a few more if anyone is interested) and we can steer you through the process if you should need steering. Check out the About page and the FAQ page and help knitters 'round the world get a better look at the Walker Treasuries.

Want to contact us? Email walkertreasuryproject ATTYatATTY gmail DOTTYdotDOTTY com.

(Next time: Birthday present run-down!)

Twenty-seven.

2007-01-26T00:24:00.000-06:00

To commemorate today, the anniversary of my birth, I am going to have my annual exam and hear those words that make women everywhere shudder: "Scoot your bottom down to the end of the table" and "relax your knees" and "this may pinch a little."

Oh, and "speculum." That one's a total bastard.

I believe I have mentioned my reasons for going, even though it's my birthday and I should by rights be having a lovely day at a spa somewhere drinking a mango-starfruit-wheatgrass smoothie and getting a massage from a man with the slow hands named Sven. Oh well.

Because it's what I do to make sure I go to my annual exams, I treat myself to something nice or fun or tasty after every year's appointment. Today I'm going to eat lovely Indian food with my husband at our favorite restaurant, possibly get a massage with a $10 off certificate (though Sven isn't on the agenda, more's the pity), and visit a LYS hitherto unknown to me. (I get all three nice and fun and tasty things because today is also my birthday. So there.)

No, I haven't fallen off the KFYS wagon -- perish the thought. Perish it, right now. I got a gift certificate from my FIL and step-MIL for belated Christmas. See:

And I have to use it soon, or it shall expire (perish, even) and I shan't have the bounty due to me. Shan't.

Anyway, this particular LYS called Yarn Sellar doesn't have a website. There is a website for a store called Yarn Sellar but that's in Maine. Obviously my in-laws didn't hoof it to Maine to get me a gift certificate. Obviously, especially if you know them. Wanda knows them. Hi Wanda! (My sister-in-law)

Okay, what now? (perhaps this would be a good time to tell you all that I've been drinking throughout the entire time of my birthday so far (it's 12:30am now) and started YESTERDAY for I am a monster at the drinking. There may be a little loss of point and also of typing ability.) Yes. The LYS. I'm going and I'm going to spend the entire thing on yarn which will not count against me. Because it is my birthday, and because I will have experienced the Speculum Of Doom.

And thank you to my Mom for the flowers she sent to my place of work today, as tomorrow is my day off. You livened up my day, you sweet and also sneaky lady. Thank you.

I sing of garter stitch, glad and big.

2007-01-24T08:02:00.000-06:00

I realize that I am probably the very last knitter on the planet to discover the beauty, wisdom, and sheer genius that is Mason-Dixon Knitting (the book). Such is my fate, to be the last person to know about anything new, be it a book or a movie or a war or a technological advancement.

Overall, I'm pretty okay with finding my way to new things in my own time. Part of that is due to a reduction in fun funds (not that we're not making any money, just that we're trying to not spend the money we make in a frivolous manner), and part of that is due to working in a library, at least when it comes to books and movies: "Oh, I'll just look at that when the library buys it." In the case of this book, however, the library didn't buy it until 2 weeks ago and I couldn't wait that long.

I'm making a bag for my good friend Christine, who I've known for -- holy crap -- almost 22 years (I had to call my mom to check how old I was when I started kindegarten). It's going to be a felted bag, and I'm kind of basing it on the Felted Diaper Tote in Knitting For Baby by Melanie Falick & Kristin Nicholas, but with a few changes.

Change #1: I'm using Cascade 220 instead of Classic Elite Montera, because Cascade is plentiful at my LYS and also inexpensive.

Change #2: I'm knitting it all in garter stitch, not seed stitch. Because I value my time on this earth.

Change #3: I knit the big front pocket in the Log Cabin pattern from Mason-Dixon, and the bag very nearly became a Log Cabin Blanket because I am so addicted to this pattern oh my god.

It's so amazingly easy! See these stitches? I picked them up while drunk. THAT'S HOW EASY THIS IS, PEOPLE. Drunken knitting that doesn't require frogging and regret in the morning! I have found my muse!

Behold my brilliance.

Behold the brilliance of the Knit-Lite! These were a Christmas gift from the lovely Femiknitter, who has a pair herself and decided to share the goodness. They are perfect for knitting in the dark, mystifying non-knitters, and entrancing cats. And for pretend light-saber fights. Oh yes.

The finished pocket, with a small border. The front and back of the bag will be the dark purple, so the grey border will help make the pocket stand out, I hope. The bottom picture shows the colors more accurately.

I am in love with Log Cabin and garter stitch, which kind of surprises me. I used to think that garter stitch was boring and "beginner" and unattractive. Obviously, I just hadn't knit much with it. It's so lofty and snuggly, and you can do it while not looking (and also while drunk!). I forsee this pattern/stitch combination being a great baby blanket down the road (in superwash, of course). For now, though, it will be a bag.

And now I have to go rip out the base, because it is three inches too wide. A fact I neatly discovered after knitting five-and-a-half inches into the damn thing.

Oh HELL Yes.

2007-01-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

Super Bowl Bound

What A Heel

2007-01-21T09:34:00.000-06:00

You know those secret socks I've not been telling you about, and which are nowhere to be found in the "current projects" part of the sidebar?

I'm still working on them.

First pair of socks worked together, first toe-up socks, first provisional cast-on, first short-row heel (short-rows made much easier with Wendy's new Very Detailed Toe-Up Pattern (.pdf), because I am new to such things), first use of Koigu. I'm a bit pleased with myself.

But this Koigu is kind of pissing me off.

In one skein (and only one, thank goodness) I have found two knots (so far), and five places where the plies are uneven or look like they've been ravelled somehow. I've cut the knots out and spit-spliced, and it's okay, but I'm kind of feeling snarky about this one skein of Koigu. Has anyone else had trouble with inconsistencies in this yarn? I mean, I love it and it's beautiful, and it was a gift from Heather lo these many months ago, and it means a lot to me because of that -- but I'm really not fond of knots in any yarn, and particularly in sock yarn.

And I am a heel, because I forgot to mention my sister's birthday here yesterday. (Not that I forgot it entirely -- Nick and I took her out for dinner on Friday, and we gave her a card and I promised her still more knitted gifts that will take donkey's years to fulfill. Such is life.) Anyhow, she is now 24 years old, which boggles my mind a lot, and she just got back from Italy (well, about two weeks ago) so go look at her pictures and read the tales she has to tell. They boggle my mind, too.

Happy Birthday, Laura!

My-graine, Mee-graine

2007-01-18T16:27:00.000-06:00

It's all the same stabby pain. It's like I've got a whole set of metal size 0 double-pointed needles stuck behind my right eye. But without the fun yarn possibilities.

My family is prone to migraines (except the middle sister and my mother, curse them) and I got my first migraine at the tender age of one year, and pretty regularly throughout my (almost) 27 years. Thanks go to my Dad, who realized that I was having a migraine before I could say "Dear god, why does it hurt so freaking much!!!" in actual words. Dad gets migraines too, and my sisters and I grew up knowing that "Your father has a headache" means "Shut up and don't make noise" or "Go outside, preferably to your Grandma's house" or "We're all going on a car trip to let Dad sleep." Happily, Dad got his headaches mostly under control by the time I was 12 years old, and has been a lot more involved ever since.

Today I got a migraine at work and tried to deal with it by taking the sort-of-effective painkillers I have here, and by putting on sunglasses. That threw off my co-workers a lot, but it makes the little kids at the library look all bug-eyed and giggle when I make faces at them. What cracks me up about this migraine is that it's making my language skills go completely to hell. I can't think of simple words (more than usual, I mean) and my typing is damned funny. Really, if there was no backspace key (which apparently I think is spelled "qackspage") this post would be ... something. Something I just can't think of.

I don't know what to blame this one on. I have some food allergies, but I ... wait, I ate some peanuts last night. Huh. Okay, maybe I do know what to blame this headache on. Or it's the fact that the vision in my right eye is getting worse. Or it's the weather. Or it's my ghastly hormones (what with the period and all). Or it's divine retribution for not posting any knitting content here in such a long time.

Really, I Cannot Be Trusted

2007-01-15T20:28:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since my last post, and I'll tell you why. It's been a while because last week was highly annoying and I couldn't adequately put my mind to wearing matching socks, much less turning out a semi-coherent (or even quasi-coherent ... does that mean the same thing?) post.

Work was more demanding of my brain than usual, I forgot appointments, and I double-booked myself for the weekend which was painful beyond belief (Heather? I'm still sorry). It was like my brain just evaporated and my body was left to deal with everything.

And on Wednesday I dumped a 10 oz. glass of water into my knitting bag.

Of course I immediately turned into a swearing tornado of crazy and flung the contents about the room. And then I got the camera. What? Like you wouldn't.

As it turns out, my past self was extraordinarily cautious and smart, and kept most of the wool and alpaca in plastic bags, and the patterns in plastic sheet protectors. I was one smart cookie, once upon a time. The only casualty was my notebook -- just a cardboard cover, spiral bound thingy -- which got some water damage on the bottom, but the notes are all safe. So that was exciting.

I have more to talk about (actual knitting pictures! of more than one project!), but it'll have to be later because my brain still has not solidified enough to be called "present." I think I'm getting my period soon. Neat!

And if you click here, you'll understand why being busy elsewhere on Sunday was tough.

It's amazing what you can find under your bed

2007-01-07T13:55:00.000-06:00

Being the annoyingly organized (about some things) person that I am, I've started to make an inventory of my yarn and needles. Seriously. I made a spreadsheet and everything. (Stop laughing.)

(yarn waiting to be assessed, categorized, and digitized.)

This effort may be seen by some as pure folly, or a waste of time, or just absolutely batshit crazy. Whatever. I prefer to see it as an effort to gain control over my stash (god, who keeps laughing?) and keep myself (a) focused on the projects for which I purchased the yarn in the first place, and (b) aware of how much yarn I actually own.

Just how much yarn do I own?

Well, for starters, I own 4 miles (7744.6 yards) of sock yarn. Not as much as some, maybe, but it definitely is cause for action Chez HookOn.

And I'm really not sure how much I own of the rest of the yarn (haven't gotten everything entered yet) but it astonishes me how much I've forgotten. When Femiknitter was visiting she asked to see my stash, and I pulled everything out. Everything (except the Red Heart) was a lot. I kept remembering little places in my apartment where I've randomly shoved yarn away, and I really surprised myself with what I found ("Huh, I've got 8 balls of a discontinued Patons superwash merino! I wonder where those came from.").

To sum up: the yarn/needle (oh god, the needles) inventory is a good way to make sure I shop for yarn only in my stash, and is a lovely time- and money-saving device. Lovely.

Placet

2007-01-04T23:53:00.000-06:00

For the last forty-five minutes I've been tooling around on my blog, adding new bits to the sidebar, cleaning it up, and trying to find a way to say what I was thinking.

Part of the problem was that I couldn't figure it out until just now -- I'm content. Things are going pretty well in my life, and I'm pleased with it. Oh, there are definite ways to improve it, and I do want to pursue a forward path, but I am not uneasy where I am.

This isn't my usual state -- I've always been thinking of what comes next, what's better than this and how do I get there, let's pretend I'm 7 instead of 5 (I actually said this to my Mom once). Always moving ahead of myself, or feeling stuck and unhappy where I was. Not now, though.

Placet.

Resolved

2007-01-02T09:22:00.000-06:00

Hapy New Year, everyone! I'm a bit late in saying that, but yesterday saw me in Michigan visiting a bunch of sweet people, then participating in a 4.5 hour drive home.

I did think about New Year's resolutions -- something I don't usually do because I think I set myself up for failure and disappointment if I don't accomplish said resolutions. This year I realized that if I don't give myself goals, I definitely don't reach them, so why the heck not? Why not, indeed. So here are a few off my list:

Physical activity is no longer optional.

Figure out (then TAKE) the next step, career-wise.

Travel.

Challenge myself, knit-wise.

Seriouly, knit more.

Take control of the stash.
I took a mental inventory the other day and am horrified at (or idiotically proud of) myself.

I have my sock yarn stashed on top of bookshelves in the part of our living room where lives my cozy knitting chair,

I have yarn stashed between the knitting chair and the wall,

I have yarn stashed under the end table next to my knitting spot on the couch,

I have yarn stashed under the bed in a plastic box that threatens to burst open,

I have yarn stashed in a 4-drawer dresser unit in the computer room,

I have yarn stashed ON TOP OF the 4-drawer dresser unit in baskets,

I have yarn stashed in giant plastic bags SURROUNDING the 4-drawer dresser unit,

I have yarn stashed under my desk at work -- AT WORK, PEOPLE!

And I have yarn stashed on the third floor of the library (again, MY PLACE OF WORK) which I call my "teaching stash" for when I next teach crochet or knitting classes. I have no plans as yet to teach crochet or knitting classes.

And I realize that this may be nothing to those master hoarders (you know who you are) who use yarn in place of fiberglass insulation to reduce their winter heating costs, but it's a lot of yarn for me, and A LOT of yarn for this tiny two-bedroom apartment. And certainly A LOT for my place of work. Plus, it's rather stupid of me to continue purchasing yarn when that money could go toward debt repayment or saving for a house or other responsible-adult-type things.

After realizing this for myself, I decided to join in on this little thing that you may have heard of.

(Evidence of long hours learning to use The Gimp, culminating in this, my first sucess at making a button! Feel free to snag it, but please save it to your own server. Because that's what nice bloggers do.)

I've stolen from Wendy, raided Rabbitch, and come up with my own rules for this game:

1. This game starts on January 1st (which means my yarn purchases from Femiknitter's visit snuck in just under the radar) and runs through September.

2. I get a bye for Stitches Midwest in August (what? Like I'm going to give that up), but will impose a monetary limit on my purchases.

3. I can buy sock yarn, but only after actually completing 2 pairs of socks.

4. Gifts of yarn are not my fault and are entirely acceptable.

5. The "I've run out of yarn for this specific project and must finish it" excuse is entirely acceptable.

6. I can succumb to the temptation of sexy sexy yarn ONCE AND ONLY ONCE outside of the other exceptions, so it better be well worth it.

I don't think this will be hard. At the rate I'm knitting, I won't even make a dent in the stash (which currently holds enough yarn to make (roughly) 5 shawls, 4 sleeveless tops, 3 me-sized sweaters, 2 baby-sized sweaters, 16 pairs of socks, 4 large crocheted afghans, 1 pair of mittens, 1 Christmas tree skirt, and assorted scarves, hats, and random randomness). I think I'll be okay.

2007 in going to rock!

My camera is a vampire

2006-12-28T22:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a damn fine day.

I had a guest, we went shopping, watched a goofy movie, and stayed up really late.

And I discovered that my camera only takes decent pictures when there is absolutely no natural light. It's a damn vampire. Let it not be said that my camera defies artificial light. Oh no, it defies natural light. So helpful for color accuracy. Stupid flux-capacitor problem.

Anyway! I had so much fun hanging out with Femiknitter and I probably acted like a squirrely puppy all day because I was so excited to see her. Yes, I did just see her in October, but this time we got to spend all day together and she stayed over and we knit while watching Talledega Nights and that doesn't happen every day, you know. (I'm usually pretty good with words, but the only way to adequately describe my excitement is to grin all huge, jump up and down, and twirl a bit. See? Squirrely puppy.)

Oh yes, there was yarn purchased (on sale! 20% off! I'll justify it anyway I can!):

I bought 1 ball of Noro Kureyon #40, 1 ball Noro Kureyon #182, and 2 skanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Flames (Flames! On the side of my face!). I've been coveting that colorway of Lorna's Laces for a while (and then there was a sale!), and since I announced my love for Lizard Ridge, I thought I'd get a couple balls of Kureyon to have around whenever I want to start that deliciously portable project.

And what's this?

Why, it's a centerpiece bowl full of sock yarn on my dining table of course!

(candlesticks = wedding present; bowl = Christmas present; sock yarn = sweet, sweet yarny goodness)

And hey, this is my last post for the year, so I want everyone to have a safe and fun-filled New Year's Eve! Woohoo!

The Rule of Sevens, Christmastime Edition

2006-12-27T00:39:00.000-06:00

See the previous Rule of Sevens posts here and here, know that the lists don't always make it to seven, and be warned: High Snark Content.

I Totally Despise These Things
1. Shopping for pants. I hate shopping for anything that goes on my lower half, but mostly it's the trousers and pants that make me insane. Mostly it's because my lower half is bigger than I think it is, or ought to be, or was last year. But it's also because there exist only three pairs of pants on this whole entire planet that would fit me, and none of them are located in Northern Illinois.

2. The Illinois Secretary of State's Office. This has nothing to do with Christmas, except they are screwing us at this most wonderful time of the year. They won't give us our title because there is a discrepancy between the mileage on the previous title (Nick's Grandma to his Grandpa) and the mileage on the current title. When Grandpa got the title, he was on his way to dementia and mis-read 12,478 as 42,478. When we got the car from Grandpa at 14,500 we filled out the required mileage discrepancy form, had a police officer verify that the mileage was in fact 14,500, and sent in the form with all our other paperwork (and a check for $237). The IL Sec'y of State's Office sent us back everything except the mileage discrepancy form, and told us we couldn't have the title. Our plates expire sometime in January, and we don't have a title so we can't get our plates (despite the reassurances of Marion The Phone Lady that she's sure we'll get our plates with no problem at all).

3-5. Being poor, or "just starting out." We decided not to give anyone any presents this year, to keep our finances financed, and we felt pretty crappy about it.

6. These extra 10 pounds that just sit here, mocking me.

7. Stupid, self-centered relatives.

I Am Decidedly Enamored Of These Things
1. Being home for the holidays.

2. Seeing or talking to friends over the holidays. Wooohoo!

3-5. Generous relatives.

6. My husband. He listened to me bitch about a headache one day last week and gave me what I wanted -- a refrigeratable gel eye mask. Even though we weren't giving each other presents.

7. My very clean apartment, awaiting Femiknitter's visit -- less than 12 hours away! Yippee!

A Sneaky Update

2006-12-22T12:01:00.000-06:00

It's a new season today, and despite all evidence to the contrary, it is winter (we've got misty fog and 45-degreeF temps and all our snow is gone). The days are getting longer (so I'm told, I can never tell until about March), which is the real reason for the season (thanks to the Laughing Librarian for the link), and all is right with the world. At least in the "rotating correctly" category.

I have random bits of information about my knitting (oh, that is funny... as though I knit) and my recent forays into social interaction. Not all of it is pretty. You have been warned.

1. Sock Update
I realize that I haven't put this project up on my "in-progress" projects sidebar, but in my defense I am extraordinarily lazy. Plus there's the guilt about working on a project for myself when I have all these gifts (for the bridesmaids. From my wedding. Which was in July.) to work on. But still I work on the socks. Sort of.

Not much difference from a few weeks ago, is there? No. Not really. My defense? Laziness.

This picture shows the colors pretty darn accurately, at least on my monitor. It also shows my heel, where I'm supposed to be turning the, um, heel of the sock. I'm not sure about this maneuver, as Wendy's pattern says to start the short-rowing at 2" before the heel. I'm guessing that's about where my heel starts on the bottom of my foot. It's still a long way off, as I'm only sort of knitting on these. It's surreptitious knitting. Stealth knitting. Right.

2. Margaret's Scarf Update
Also in knitting (or not) news, the scarf is taking shape.

I'm using an 8-row basketweave pattern, because Margaret will be returning from the wilds of Tallahassee, Florida, to the harsh winters of the midwest and requested a "non-wimpy" scarf. This knit/purl pattern is perfect with its thickness and cushyness and the softness of the sweet sweet yarn. I have about 30 inches, so I'm just under halfway along. Progress!!

3. What I Bought With My Christmas Bonus
Where I work we don't have a lot of money (public institutions are beloved by all and funded by none, it seems), but I did get a $25 gift certificate to Borders as a year-end bonus (not Christmas, really, because we are non-sectarian) and I got myself a pretty pretty book. You may have heard of it:

I'm totally excited about this, for reasons which are known to many of you already because you own this book. The directions are clear, well-explained, and are good at the hand-holding. This is a good quality, I think, because I have yet to complete a sock at all and I would like to know the ins and outs of every bit of sock construction. And this book (glory!) tells me all I need to know.

4. Knitting While Intoxicated
This amuses me no end. When I was in college, and especially during the times when I was single (we did the break-up-make-up thing a lot), I would drink a lot and get all dancy-squirrelly and generally make an ass of myself in front of people. Now that I'm a married woman (and can I just say how much I hate the word "matron"? God, that is such an ugly word. It reminds me of "apron" and makes me think of forced labor in a kitchen. Ugh. Anyway!) ... now that I'm a married woman and don't go dancing with crazy people for fun anymore, I exhibit different drunk behavior. Case in point:

We were at a little pseudo-Christmas-ish get-together on Saturday the 16th. Nothing fancy, just friends hanging out in the barsement (you know, the basement with the bar). Well, I wasn't driving home, so I decided to just keep drinking because it sounded fun and Hey, Jaeger Bombs! Okay, so I've had a few beers (only one Jaeger Bomb, I think) and... I bring up knitting. Not some redonkulous drunk-talk about how cool that last beer looks, or how silly the dog is acting, or how much your hair is pretty, but knitting. And this isn't the first time! I've done this before, only then I said I could show my friend the best yarn shops in town. What? Who does that while drinking? Who just brings up yarn stores to a bunch of apparent non-knitters?

Anyway, this time I turn to my friend C., whom I taught to knit in March, and ask her if she learned how to purl because I vaguely (remember the Jaeger Bombs) remembered that we only got so far as the knit stitch. It turns out that she's been knitting garter stitch for 8 months and is eager to learn how to form the mystical purl stitch which will allow her to make RIBBING! (Ah, it warms the heart!) So what is my response? I grab the sock I keep in my bag and sit her down and demonstrate the purl stitch a few times. Luckily, she either was really into it or is really patient and was humoring me.

I was going to write more, including the story of our Toyota (which we have back from the body shop, but isn't really ours yet -- Thank You Illinois Secretary of State! You Suck!) and the story of trying to find pants that fit my (as I prefer to think of it) voluptuous bottom, but I've got to pack up a bag for this weekend with the family. We're leaving tonight and not returning until Monday night, so I have a lot of planning to do. And I'm still in my Curious George pajamas.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post from the Land O' Dial-Up, so if I don't, I wish you all a lovely holiday full of yarn and safety and good health! Hooray!

Christmas is the sneaky holiday

2006-12-18T08:01:00.000-06:00

Um, so Christmas is a week away, and I only realized its proximity this morning. I'm kind of off my game because we had all the snow at the beginning of the month, and now it's all melty and warm and feels like spring. It doesn't make me think of jingle bells and Frosty the snowman.

I think we have two family Christmas parties this Saturday, two on Christmas morning, and we usually get together with Nick's dad and stepmom and brother and sister-in-law on Christmas Eve, but we haven't gotten around to making those plans yet. Because Christmas is sneaky and looks deceptively far away.

I'm also planning for Femiknitter's visit on Wednesday (woohooo!), and our trip to Michigan for New Year's Eve to see all our friends in one place (woohooo!), and possibly seeing my friend Tony who has been on a US Navy destroyer lo these many months (woohooo?). We are busy people this time of year, even if we didn't see this whole Christmas thing coming.

Hopefully, I'll have some time to work on something so I can show you that I do indeed remember how to knit. Stay tuned, as next time you'll hear all about my annual clothes-shopping excursion, the sordid tale of our car and the Illinois Secretary of State, and how I act when I get drunk now that I'm a knitter.

A Series of Interconnected Links...

2006-12-14T21:05:00.000-06:00

... to keep you entertained while I am busy elsewhere. Doing things that aren't knitting. They mostly involve hot chocolate and schnapps (peppermint). And some rather brilliant conversation, in my opinion.

In the Knitting Blog category:
If you don't already read Mad Hair Day, and I'm guessing you don't, go run away and check it out. This delightful lady discusses knitting, life, and (just recently) making chutney. All from New Zealand, where there are like 50,000 sheep for every one person (I may be making up the numbers, as I don't remember the actual figure. But they do have a lot of sheep.)

And In The Pink is discussing Santa Clams and holiday knitting just now, among other things. I like to watch others get knitty this holiday season, as I'm taking a break from it. [ETA: "it" being holiday knitting and deadline knitting, not knitting in general. No, never that.]

For the knitting librarians and/or readers, let me recommed to you Penguin Girl, who blogs, knits, reads, and is very smart and is also good at writing (much, much better than I am). There is learning and fun aplenty over there.

And I swear I am going to gain 10 pounds just by reading The Knitting Cook's blog/podcast site. She's got a whack of holiday recipes listed, and I'm so very tempted to go make everything she's talking about. Eeeeeevil. But in a good way.

In the Non-knitting Blog category:
My sister has started up a blog based on answering life's little reference questions. She's doing this as part of a library-school class assignment, but I hope she keeps it up because I learn a hell of a lot every time I visit her blog. Did you know that female marsupials develop an extra vagina in order to give birth? I didn't either, until I read her blog. Run away and read The Actress and the Bishop, and absorb knowledge.

Part of me is ashamed to admit to reading gossip rags in any form and sniffs derisively when it sees a photo spread of Stars! They're Just Like Us! But another part of me embraces gossip rags and their weird voyuerism (I'm probably spelling that wrong) and just giggle at the inane shit that goes on in that alternate reality peopled by the rich and famous. And that is why I have been reading The Superficial, and why you should too. Because you don't want to be the last one in your office to know that Britney has flashed her poon again.

(Special thanks to Femiknitter, who introduced me to this site. That's right, I outed you. Just be thankful I didn't post the tie-on-the-head picture. You know.)

In the Non-blog, Non-knitting category:
My pet cause, as well you know, is the annual exam and the prevention or early detection of gynecological cancers. This site has a very detailed and clear explanation of what to expect from an annual exam. It's run by Cornell's health service, so it's aimed at Cornell students, but the overall information is stellar. So go schedule your annual. Sing a silly song out loud while you're being poked and prodded to relieve the tension. Try to get your midwife/doctor/nurse practitioner to join in. And then tell me all about it!

The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation is a great place to find out what is going on in the fight against these cancers, and they have an 800 number (1-800-444-4441) for doctor referrals, in case you don't have a midwife/doctor/nurse practicioner of your very own. Interestingly, I just found out from their site that September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. My Gram's birthday was in September.

Check Your Boobies, a site dedicated to preventing breast cancer by making sure women are informed about how to do a breast self exam, when to do it, and how it's not a scary or shameful thing. Rock. You can even sign up to get a montly email that will gently remind you to get to know your boobies. I signed up for the reminder, because I never remember to do it on my own. I should get one of those hanging things in the shower. (You and I can both get a free one from the American Cancer Society by calling 1-800-ACS-2345)

It's the Flux-Capacitor or something

2006-12-11T18:19:00.000-06:00

*deep breath*

And I'm back.

And it seems my electronic equipment has risen up in arms against me.

See all those horizontal-ish lines? WTF is going on? I mean, it looked way worse in the thumbnail version on my camera and in the photo manager part of my computer (I am a yarn geek, not a computer geek -- specifics are lost on me), but it still kind of honks me off that I have lines running through my for-posterity photos of my first attempt at toe-up socks.

And this was the situation on... Sunday (yesterday)? I have no idea. Still with the lines. But the socks are moving right along. They're both farther than this, and I now have to figure out where to stop in order for the heel to turn out right.

Begun: Saturday, December 2nd, in the aftermath of a snowstorm, waiting to get shoveled out.
Pattern: Wendy's generic toe-up. I am in love with this pattern. Doing the toe first gives me a huge sense of accomplishment that the cuff-down sock never did. After only a short while, bam! I have a toe! Fantastic. And I'm combating Second Sock Syndrome by working them both at the same time. Forethought!!!
Yarn: Koigu KPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPM in some colorway that I cannot find on the internets at the moment, but was given to me by Heather as a bridal shower gift (can I get a HELL YEAH! or even a Heck Yes!) and described as "the most Kathy colors I could find." I would describe it as sherbet-ish-berry-ish-sunset. Which is why I'm not being paid to come up with names for yarn colorways.
Needles: Knitpicks 2.5mm (US 1) double-points. Set of 5. I'm actually using all five and feeling very much like a knitting rock star. Oh yes. Rock star.

I do have pictures of my other projects, but they seem to have vanished (again with the electronics trying to foil me at every step of the way). So I'll take some more, but later, my dears, later. After I've had a good sleep or two.

It turns out that the problem with our camera that is causing these delightful horizontal lines (and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these later), is the capacitor, or maybe the flux-capacitor, or maybe I watched too much Back to the Future the other day, and have no real idea of which I speak. But fixing it requires sending it in for an estimate, and then actually paying someone an amount of money greater than or equal to that estimate, and that's just not on the agenda these days. So, like I said, you'll probably get to see a lot more of these lines in the future. Charming, I know.

Maybe I can call them a design feature?

Never underestimate the power of Methodist Women

2006-12-06T16:04:00.000-06:00

I can't say "Thank You" enough. Everyone who commented and/or thought about me this past weekend -- thank you, thank you, thank you. You all warmed me up with your support and made everything easier to deal with. My mom read the blog and all your responses, and she wants to include my post & your comments in a tribute book / compilation / thingie for the whole family. She thought what you all said was very nice. So did I. (Especially Jau, who I hope will actually go for an annual exam -- your family [including your internet family] wants you to be healthy!)

[Please indulge me as I talk little of knitting but lots of Grandma for a bit here]
[it's a bit on the fragmenty side, and lacks new pictures because my camera is acting like a jerk]
[Edited to add: Thanks to my youngest sister, I have a new picture of the visitation's centerpiece. Just to break up my wordiness. And because I finally realized I have a camera on my phone, there is a new picture at the end, too.]

The visitation for Gram was on Sunday, and my sister, Mom and aunt had pasted copies of pictures onto posterboard for the occasion. They decided to cremate Gram (no instructions from her beforehand), so there wasn't a traditional viewing, and it was nice to have three big posterboards of pictures. Some pictures no one had seen before, and some I'm sure my cousins and I wish hadn't been included (man, there were some interesting fashion choices in the early 90s). But family was her life, so it was appropriate that all the pictures were there.

We also had two of her (many, many) completed afghans laid about the room, and one unfinished project at the table in the center of the floral arrangements. That one made me cry.

When the 4-hour visitation got too much, I retreated to the family room and dug out my knitting, a sock which I began on Saturday (yarn here, scroll down) (pictures later, after I figure out what is making my camera act like a big jerk). It was nice to knit for a bit, chat with some cousins I don't get to see very often, then go back to visiting with the guests. And there were a lot of guests.

Gram was so active in the church, even when she couldn't get out of bed. I heard so many people remembering her work at the church bazaars, or teaching Sunday School and bringing the baby twins in a washbasket so she could keep them near her, or sending birthday / get well / anniversary cards to members of the church (the "Sunshine Ministry"). She took care of everyone, and everyone there had good memories of her.

I also heard, several times, about how much she enjoyed going to my wedding, and how lovely a time she had, and how nice everyone was to her, and how she liked the flowers I sent (my boquet & 3 of the bridesmaids' boquets went to her).

The funeral was Monday, and was in the Methodist Church where my parents got married and in which I grew up. It was built in 1830-something (maybe? yes?) and it was amazing to be back there. I sat in the pew where my Grandma sat every Sunday. I would sit with her sometimes and scribble on the bulletin or doze against her side.

Somehow, we sang ALL SIX VERSES of "O Come All Ye Faithful" at the funeral, because we are Methodists and we are nothing if not thorough. And we sang some other hymn, which I don't remember, and then the pianist, who was my piano teacher and is Mom's good friend, played her rendition of "Amazing Grace" which is all very jazzy and gospel and swingy and really perked me right up. Well, in the sense that I enjoyed that musical selection. (I didn't think it could be done, but "O Come All Ye Faithful" sounded exactly like dirge.)

Then we went downstairs to the church basement and (if you're a Methodist, I bet you know what's coming) ate a lot of food. The ladies of the church put on a huge spread for everyone, and sent food home with the family. They just did everything. They are amazing.

So was my Gram, who just did everything for her family, blood-family and church-family.

Oh, and it turns out that Gram left three afghan projects unfinished. My sister is going to finish one ripple afghan (it's for her boyfriend), my Aunt Pat is taking the granny square project, and I've got the odds-and-ends ripple afghan. I will show it off here as soon as the camera's working.

A visual representation of my inheritance.

At least the camera on my phone is working.

Not putting it off

2006-12-01T09:03:00.000-06:00

A month ago I started a post about my Grandma Shirley, who has been in a nursing home since October 2005. I'm ashamed to read some of it now, because it was full of bullshit about putting off visiting because the nursing home gave me the wiggins.

My sister called me late on Wednesday night and said Grandma's doctor told the family "don't wait" and that it was a matter of days until she passed away. Laura and I made plans to drive up together on Thursday after work to see her.

My Grandma died early on Thursday morning.

This is the very last memory I have of my Grandma Shirley. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to come to my wedding (she's not mobile, and we had to arrange a wheelchair-accommodating van to bring her from the nursing home), but we got her there and she was very happy.

These are some of the last pictures I have of her.

My Grandma Shirley was a crocheter and needleworker who was never without a project. Last weekend she asked my Mom to get her some size H and size K hooks so she could work on a project in the hospital (she had recently been moved). She made ripple afghans for everyone in the family, donated a whole bunch to her church for the needy, and she made me a tablecloth with red cross-stitch style embroidery. It's on my table now, and looks very festive. When I showed Gram the Lacy Baby Blanket, and she told me it looked good, I was never more proud of myself. If she said it looked good, then I was doing damn fine work.

When my parents got married, 31 years ago, Gram made aprons for my Mom and her bridesmaids.

My Gram was admitted to the hospital 13 months ago for trouble breathing. Within a few days they determined that she had ovarian cancer and possibly uterine cancer. She wasn't a candidate for surgery or for chemotherapy or radiation treatments, so they slowed the cancer with an enzyme treatment. I don't know what that means. But the cancer was pretty advanced. It's amazing that she lived this long. (Of course, she's beaten every other medical event in her life despite poor general health -- overweight, poor diet -- and I kind of got used to thinking she was indestructible)

My point, if there is one other than that I have to convey my grief, is that my Gram never went to the doctor unless there was some emergency and she had to go. I don't think she ever had an annual exam or even a physical since I've been alive. If she had, the cancer might have been caught in time to prolong her life, but she kept putting it off.

My further point is this: Don't put off getting your annual exam. I'm serious. It's annoying and uncomfortable and makes you feel invaded, but it's necessary. My next exam is on my birthday. When's yours?

If you stitch, raise your knitting or crochet or needlework to my Gram, if you could. She was a good woman, and she kept many warm.

Up to here

2006-11-28T19:27:00.000-06:00

I am upset.
I am just about ready to scream highly offensive things at inappropriate times.
I am close to saying Just Fuck Away Off You Damned Inconsiderate Bastard to several people (or groups of people) (or my own body).
I can't do this because these are people (or groups of people) (or body parts) with whom I must share some part of my life or space or time, and can't afford to anger them in the way that would please me most.
The weather (grey and dreary and unseasonal) isn't helping.

Dare I knit? It soothes the savage beast, but will the savage beast scare the stitches into tiny shrunken unusable versions of themselves?

And of course this whole rant was just made to sound WAY more pathetic and whiney by a co-worker who dealt with four very pleasant people at the Reference Desk just now, and whose mood was vastly improved because of it. Dammit.

Pretty much a direct rip-off

2006-11-26T13:11:00.000-06:00

This post is essentially a "homage" (a better word than "rip-off" I feel) to Femiknitter's most recent post, because it's Sunday and what the hell -- I'm going to say some of the same things, so why not acknowledge the similarity (or "rip-off") and just go with it? Why not indeed.

My Thanksgivings (one on Thursday, one on Friday) were good, overall. The one on Thursday was laid-back, calm, and had an 11-month-old baby to entertain the family. The one on Friday was, um, not as laid-back or calm, was running late on everything which contributed to my bread not rising, and didn't have a cute baby to entertain us all. Although my grandmother did keep touching my stomach and hinting that I should be pregnant, a joke that was kept up all day despite my many glasses of wine. Obviously, I ought to be knocked up after only four months of marriage. Delightful! I love my family!!

But everything was easier to deal with when I thought of the totally awesome package sent to me by none other than Femiknitter, which arrived on Wednesday. (click to bigginate)

(everyone tries to lick their elbow. I did. So did Femiknitter. In the store.)

She sent me Vesper sock yarn in Tartan! I've been looking at Vesper and wanting to try it out, and she totally read my mind. I love the Tartan colors, very winter-cozy-by-the-fire.

Of course, it remains to be seen how fast this yarn becomes socks. Have you seen a completed sock on this blog? Or on hers? No, you haven't because there are none. Maybe this is the push I need to stop hoarding sock yarn and make some damn socks, already. Maybe.

The last time we hung out, Femiknitter told me about this musician and this CD, with music all about the great and mispronounced state of Illinois. And now I have my own copy.

And this was a complete surprise -- she loaned me The West Wing! I have never seen this show, and now I can watch enough to get myself completely hooked and desperate for more. Yes!

Hooray for happy packages that lighten the holiday mood!

And because she did it, I'm doing it too:

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Knitting content should grace the pixels of this blog soon. I'm making good progress on the Margaret Scarf, I think. And I'm considering casting on for something for me. And there is wee knitting to show off, and additional wee knitting to consider casting on.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T00:22:00.000-06:00

First, thank you to everyone who thought about Nick and I (whether you commented on the post or not) over the weekend. We both read the comments and felt warm fuzzies in the form of knitterly support. Thank you.

ETA: to answer Pica's question about the deer -- yes, it is totally dead. Our car is still in the hands of the body shop, and we haven't heard from them yet. And I get to take Nick's sutures out tomorrow morning. (!!!)

Second, due to the impending holiday my knitting is taking a backseat to the madness of preparation and logistic impossibilities that come up when two people are suddenly thrust into one-car-having when they are accustomed to two-car-having. I have today off work and would love to say that I'll be spending it knitting away at some lovely thing while listening to the mellifluous tones of Jim Dale reading Harry Potter. But alas. I have to pre-prepare our Thanksgiving meal, organize my errands to take place in very close proximity to one another, and bake some bread.

I'm actually pretty excited about the bread -- I bought a bread cookbook (a bakebook?) a few months ago and it's got all these recipes from around the world, and it's very very cool. When I brought it home and showed it to Nick, he mentioned a bread he knew from childhood that was the epitome of breads, the best of breads, and it was called Olive Oil Bread. The other day I flipped the pages of my new bakebook and came across Olive Oil Bread. I'm going to make it for him (and share it with the rest of the family, of course) and I'm totally excited about it. Whee!

Third, nature photos.

And that is all, for I am tired and must away. Tune in next time, when we hope to bring you more knitting content, of the no-reason-to-panic variety.

Why I Hate The Deer

2006-11-18T11:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of firearm deer hunting season in this part of Illinois (possibly for the whole state. I don't know.). It is also mating season for the deer. This combination of sexy hormones and un-sexy fear makes the deer go completely batshit crazy.

Just how batshit crazy do they go?

Well, one went so batshit crazy that it attempted to LEAP OVER MY HUSBAND'S CAR while he was driving 65 miles per hour. And missed.

The car caught the buck in the ribs, its head caved in the windshield (but did not go through), its hind end hit the driver's side window and shattered that entire thing, and rolled up over the roof.

Nick is fine. He has a lot of superficial cuts on his face, but he's fine. The car is less fine, but is getting taken care of (hello insurance! I love you!).

He called me just after 11:00am yesterday, while I was on my break at work and (oddly) in the middle of writing another blog post. An ambulance came out (really, he's fine -- it's just procedure) and took him to the closest hospital and I left work as soon as I found out where he was going.

Have any of you (my three readers) had to do something like this -- drive somewhere unfamiliar in a stressful situation? I had no idea where I was, but I was watching for those blue "H" signs that directed me to the hospital. I had no idea where I parked, or how I got in the door. My mind wasn't really on those unimportant details.

When I got there and saw him kind of bloody (superficial cuts to the head generally bleed more than you think possible -- think professional wrestling), I lost my cool for a moment and cried, but recovered because really, he was fine and he was hugging me and it was all okay. Then I helped him get the glass off his head and clothes, and kept wanting to hug him every 30 seconds. We waited a long time for the doctor (another, more urgent case was helicoptered in) and I knit on the only thing I had in my bag, the candy striped sock, to keep myself from flipping out (because even though I knew everything was okay, and he was okay, and I could see him in front of me being very visibly okay, I was still dealing with the adrenalin and what-could-have-happened. Fun!!).

Of course, for the life of me I couldn't remember how to make the pattern when I pulled out the sock. It just went completely out of my head. What was I going to do, not knit? I just knit plain around, because I think I forgot how to purl as well.

Everything is okay. Nick is okay (two stitches, which I watched with much fascination and enthusiasm, for which I felt only slightly guilty), the car is being taken care of, and I have my husband (of three months) home with me and I can hug him whenever I want. So it's all okay.

And that, my friends, is why I hate the deer.

The Rule of Sevens, which today is the Rule of Fours

2006-11-14T09:34:00.000-06:00

I try to find balance when I complain about crappy things by thinking of an equal number of happy things. Sometimes the happy things distract me from the crappy things. Try it. It may improve your mood. Maybe.

And the number seven came out of nowhere, except that was the number of things I was bitching about the first time I tried this. And it's four today, because I am tired. See #1 immediately below.

I Can Certainly Live Without These Things
1. This chest cold. I started to type out a description of my experience with this cold, but even I got grossed out. So, I have this chest cold and it completely sucks.

2. This grey, gloomy weather. The lighting is no good for taking yarn pictures.

3. The fact that -- after 26 years of working as a team -- my left eye is now worse than my right eye, lens-prescription-wise. When I got glasses for the first time back in 6th grade, my eyes were the same prescription. They've continued working well together (and saving me money, because when I lost one contact lens, I could just use one from another set and not have to worry about which eye it belonged to) for 14 years, until last week. Then the left one went all wonky. The sinister bastard.

4. My apartment ... well, I suppose I need it for the shelter and all, but damn is it feeling small right now. And dirty (not its fault -- I've been sick and Nick and I have both been busy). And annoying (I challenge you to get anything out of my microwave or nearby cupboards without hitting your head on the stove hood). And small. Quite, quite small. Not designed to hold all our stuff. Sigh.

I Cannot Live Without These Things
1. Wendy Bernard's new pattern Sahara (over at StitchDiva). I am more than a bit smitten with this sweater. I'm ignoring the fact that the blurb says it's an intermediate project, because in my brain I *am* an intermediate knitter, not a mere new-to-sweaters, can't-finish-anything kinda knitter. I will make this sweater, as [insert deity here] is my witness!

Seriously, this thing is beeeyoooteeful and it calls to me with a sweet, sweet voice made of silk and candy. Because I have a hundred other projects on the needles/hooks (in various stages of construction) I'll have to wait on this one, but that just gives me time to dream and lose weight. Perfect!!

2. Classic Elite's Tweed Four (booklet 9078). I have an unhealthy need to make the cover sweater (the brown one with cabley goodness on the chest above the boobal area), possibly in a pretty, deep red. I showed the pattern to Nick and he made the "ehhn" face and said "I don't like the twisty things." You mean the cables? The beautiful cables? The design feature to which I have pledged my very life? "Um, yes?" No, silly beloved man, no. You may not dislike those cables, for they are the essence of all that is good upon this earth.

3. Myrna by White Lies Designs. This is another perfect sweater, although I see a stripe-free and longer sleeve on this sweater in my future. The sweater is great, but I think the stripes create a bit of a target, look-RIGHT-here effect and that's something I can really do without, to be honest. We don't need to draw attention that much. The design is beautiful, and simple, and tres 1940s, and oh yes it is also MADE WITH RIBBING. We have discovered the true root of my obsession.

4. Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor in the last Knitty. My first thought when I saw this pattern was, for some reason, "ehhn." Probably because it's an afghan and knitting something as large as an afghan intimidates the bejeezus right out of me. But as I kept looking at it (because I return to websites that haven't changed to stare at the pretty pictures. What?), it grew on me like ... something growy that isn't disgusting (I'll think of something in a minute). I love the bright colors and how they go together, I love the wavy stitch pattern, I love the fact that it's made of blocks and therefore (a) is portable and (b) can be worked over a long time. Because the thought of going out and purchasing 21 balls of Noro Kureyon right now makes me break out in hives. But I can do one at a time, and perhaps convince my Mom &/or Nick that Noro makes a great stocking-stuffer.

One of Four

2006-11-11T16:32:00.000-06:00

I have finished one of the four promised bridesmaid gifts. This one is Maribeth's scarf, finished posthaste after a pointed observation about the growing chill in the air.

It's the FO I mentioned before, and here it is all pinned out for her block party. Heh.

Left = before; right = during. I love how the ribs have opened up.

Here it is all foldy. I'm totally impressed with blocking. It makes the scarf look fantastic and semi-professional. (I'm tooting the horn of Blocking, not my own. My stitches looked fairly squashy and uneven before the voodoo that is Blocking.)

Even the edge stitches look better. Does everyone know about this? I have the urge to become a blocking evangelist and travel the world telling every knitter about this fabulious (that's right, I'm keeping that word) technique and how it can save humanity by stunning us with its transformative power and making us speak softly and offer tea and cookies to one another.

Except I'm probably the last knitter on earth to have found out about the magic of Blocking (I think it deserves to be capitalized, don't you?). Ah well. I'll keep my eyes open for the tea and cookies then, shall I?

And here it is, all wrapped up and on its way to my sister. Hooray!

Pattern: None, just 3x3 rib over ... um... 30 stitches, I think.
Yarn: Catalina Chunky 100% baby alpaca (109 yds per skank) 2 skanks
Needles: US 10 (6.0 mm) aluminum circulars, inherited, unknown origin.
What I Learned: How to wash and block a finished object, which I had never done before.
Thoughts: I love the softness, but hated the bloomy-ness of this yarn. I kept sneezing all the time, and didn't like that my shirt fronts looked like I'd been wrestling cats after a knitting session. The yarn was splitty and loosely plied, too, which slowed me down a bit. But the color (natural - 101) is beautiful and will go well with Maribeth's winter coat (and I have some more natural colored alpaca -- Classic Elite -- which may be a hat to match later on).

One down, three to go.

Oh, and did you remember today?

What kind, indeed?

2006-11-09T21:33:00.000-06:00

Overheard tonight Chez HookOn:

[Nick prepares to leave for the game store (the "dork forest" as a friend of ours calls it) for to play Magic:The Gathering]

Me: "Ooh, look out! Don't step on the [finished object to be announced later] on the floor. I'm blocking it."
Nick: "You're blocking it?"
Me: "Yes, that's when you soak the [finished object] and then pin it--"
Nick: "I know what blocking is."
Me: "You do?" [amazed that some of my knitting babble actually stuck]
Nick: "Of course I do. What kind of knitter's husband would I be if I didn't know what blocking meant?"

I love this man.

The Day of the Dyed

2006-11-07T09:45:00.000-06:00

First: Did you go VOTE?

Warning: This post contains many pictures (but really, you should expect this from me by now). I apologize to anyone using dial-up internet service.

Credit Where Credit is Due: I followed Nicole's great tutorial on dyeing yarn in her dorm room. As my kitchen resembles a broom closet, her instructions worked really well for me.

It all started with some KnitPicks Bare Superwash/nylon sock yarn, and four little jars of dye (also from KnitPicks. Maybe I should just buy stock in that company and reap the benefits of my unstoppable shopping habit? Maybe?). And then we skeined up that yarn into the Giant Loop Of Doom at Heather's a couple weeks ago, with the help of Tipsy the Cat (who enjoyed trying to kill the yarn every time I walked around the chairs).
Then (time lapse narration here -- there were about 2 weeks between skeining and the "then"), I put the yarn in a pot filled with water and a glug of vinegar and soaked it overnight.

(I floated a smaller pot lid weighted with a glass jar on top of the yarn, as it had a tendency to pop up out of the water.)

On Friday (the Day of the Dyed) I took the yarn out of the giant soaking pot (after getting anxious looks from Nick -- "That's my good pasta pot. Are you going to be dyeing in that?" So cute.) and put it in the colander over a bowl to drain...

... and set up the table for some hot dyeing action. Yes!!

Lots of layers of Saran wrap all over my table. Like an idiot, I didn't put anything under the table. Thankfully the dyes didn't decide to go exploring.

By this time I had Anna (who had done some dyeing herself the day before) and her boys, Heather, and Beth all over because no one in our group has ever dyed before and the process was intriguing to all of us. At one point I got irrationally nervous because everyone was looking at me and I really had no clue about what I was doing. But then I calmed down, because they had no clue about what I was doing either, so I could totally wing it.

And the dyeing began. You can see that the Giant Loop of Doom was too big to lay out on my puny little table (but thanks, Mom & Dad, for giving to to me for free!!). I had to make a double-layered "C" out of it, but it worked.

I started with the yellow/orange (1/4 tsp yellow, 1/8 tsp salmon), moved to the blue (1/4 tsp sky blue), and on to the pink (1/4 tsp pink)

Bright, isn't it?

Then I wrapped the whole thing up in the Saran wrap...

... and plunked it in a Pyrex baking dish (I spiralled it all up first) and put it in the microwave.

Now, Nicole's tutorial says she microwaved her yarn (this sets the dye) for 4 minutes, let it rest, cooked for 4 minutes, let it rest, and cooked for 2 minutes. I followed this exactly, not remembering that sometimes, some microwaves are stronger than others and that my microwave is a big beefy bodybuilder in the land of microwaves.

I burned my yarn.

When I took it out of the microwave, I noticed these dark spots on the pink and yellow bits. I thought the blue dye had migrated and I was kind of sad, but thought "Oh well, it's my first attempt and everything else was going so well and this is just a little bump in the road and it's not so bad and it'll be okay and DAMMIT!" When the yarn had cooled and I was rinsing it, I still thought that it was the dye. After a long stint of drying in the shower, I realized what it was.

I had scorched my yarn. I am the girl who burns yarn.

Oh my god. I can never show my face to knitters/dyers again (clearly I have moved on since then). But I kept my cheery, can-do, it's-my-first-attempt-and-I'm-learning spirit about me and said "Whatever. It's my yarn and I like it!"

Then I took the Giant Loop of Doom and wound it up into a Much Smaller Loop of Doom, and this is what it looks like now:

(both pictures remarkably true to color) and I love it. It's 440 yards of sweet socky goodness. And I think it came out pretty close to the inspiration, too.

(doing the happy dance!)

What I learned: Don't drain out so much water from the yarn! Maybe temper the uber-bright colors with some softer colors next time. Always have friends around with you when you dye yarn, because the process is way more fun. Mixing colors together gets you better colors, and more bang for your dyeing buck. I am now addicted to dyeing yarn.

And now: I'm off to VOTE!

Adventures in Civic Responsibility

2006-11-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

As you may have noticed, if you live in the USA and are not deprived of every one of your senses, election season is upon us.

I don't have cable, so that means I don't have television (too far from broadcast towers to get any sort of reception) and am happily deprived of the nasty "don't-vote-for-this-candidate" commercials, and thought I was relatively safe from all campaigning as I only listen to National Public Radio. Wrong! Apparently, it's now part of the campaign process to invade voters' homes! I have received 2 phone calls and 3 slick brochures from the Committee to Re-elect Hastert in the past week.

My thoughts on this are two-fold:

1. Do the Republicans even know who they're sending this shit to? Because I'm on the left side of things, generally speaking, and shall not be moved. Maybe they're trying to lure me over to the dark side with their waste-a-tree pamphlets and southern-accented messages saying "President Bush and I urge you to support a strong Republican candidate" ... (is the message-leaver even from Illinois?) Maybe? They're wasting their breath [metaphorically speaking], for oh so many reasons.

2. Why aren't the Democrats doing this? Or maybe they are, and they're already aware of how much of a liberal I am thus feeling no need to waste time and precious, precious money on converting me. I hope they're calling the on-the-fence voters, though. Goodness knows we need all the help we can get.

Do you know who your candidates are? If you don't, may I direct your attention to the following?:
Wiki article about House elections (I have never been happier to live in the 14th district, because here I can vote against that assmonkey Hastert.)
Wiki article about Senate elections (complete with graphics!)
Pro-choice candidate information (see? See how liberal? That's how I roll.)
Human Rights Campaign (LBGT) candidate info (again with the liberal! It's amazing!)

I'm too late to tell you to register to vote for this election, but I can encourage everyone to vote on this coming Tuesday. I don't care how you vote -- just make sure you do.

Next time: see how the Great Dyeing Party went! Same Bat-time, Same Bat-station!

Finishing a finished object, again

2006-11-01T18:30:00.000-06:00

Perhaps you remember my Olympic Hat? It was my first project in-the-round, my first shot at dpns (I'm still not sure if I love them or hate them... it's a fine line), my first picked-up hem, and my first bout of I-cord. It was many things for me. It was also too big.

It being my first hat, I had no idea how to size it. I measured my head and got ... um, whatever measurement I got. 20 inches? I have no idea now. But I do remember that I thought "X inches, eh? Well then, the hat I am about to make must be precisely X inches itself!! I am a knitting genius! Well done, me!"

Perhaps you know what happens when you knit a hat precisely the same size as your head. It just sits there on your noggin all loosely, not grabbing, not keeping out the whistling winds of winter. My ears got cold when I wore this hat. Not very much fun.

So I decided to knit a cuff to my hat. A ribbed cuff, because as I said, I have this huge problem doing any knitting that does not involve ribbing. Thank the gods I had one ball of the yarn left over.

I started with picking up and knitting the stitches on the edge of the original hem.

*A-hem!* (hoo boy am I ever funny!) This is where I learned how to pick up stitches (don't judge -- we all learn at different speeds).

This is the cuff, about 1/3 the way through. Maybe. I can't be sure. But the ribbing -- the ribbing! It sang to me as I knit it! It looks fabulious (Hey Femiknitter!) and I love it with my whole heart.

This is the cuff, finished and bound off. (And it is also an example of me forgetting to rotate the image clock-wise. Multi-tasking!!!) I wasn't sure if I wanted to attach the end of the cuff to the inside of the hat, and in the end I decided not to attach it. Partly because I thought non-attachment would improve the fit, but mostly because I couldn't figure out a lazy way to do it.

My noggin, as encased in the hat. See the grabbiness? See?

Now you can see the grabbiness. See it grip my forehead in a firm but snuggly way. See also how I need some sleep.

And this, my friends, is the final chapter in The Making Of The Olympic Hat. It is now finished for real and is the first hat I reach for in the morning when I walk to work.

The whistling winds will just have to find someone else's ears to freeze.

Happy Zombieween!

2006-10-31T00:33:00.000-06:00

Well, because it seems that yesterday's post full of pictures was unpopular, I give you now...

... a post full of pictures.

Whatever. It's my blog and I'll post pictures of zombies if I want to.

Here ZombieSailor is, inexplicably, blow-drying brains. (Everyone knows that juicy brains are best)

I (ZombieDoctor, because it's what I had lying around the house) did my own makeup, while Nick (ZombieShaolinMonk) got his makeup done by our host, who has taken actual classes and has learnt how to correctly apply stage makeup.

Our host.

Some of our host's handiwork (note the matching throwing star wounds, compliments of ZombieNinja, who was also at the party):

We also saw ZombieJesus there, sporting a pair of wicked stigmata...

King of the Jews and the King of Rock'n'Roll in one place. Where else but Zombieween?

Our host and hostess. Zombies in love.

There are more pictures and many video clips which some might find highly offensive, so I'll be sure to post those soon.

I promise a return to knitting content later this week, mostly because my youngest sister called me tonight and asked how her scarf was coming along because it's getting cold out there and she would like to have it before winter, please. No pressure, though.

Worth Maybe Forty-Seven Words

2006-10-29T22:55:00.000-06:00

In a moment of diminished mental capacity and total wordlessness (did I just coin that?), I present to you some of my favorite pictures.

[now with captions!]

Close-up of my wedding boquet. I love this picture.

This squirrel runs back and forth on this wall outside our (downstairs) office windows at work. One day he stopped and looked in the window at us (or his reflection?) for close on five minutes. He was cute.

Some manner of lily, captured at The House On The Rock.

Pansy in the library courtyard, after the first snowfall. I think this one is going in my dye inspiration folder.

Embroidery detail of a favorite black dress.

Epic sky outside a grocery store back in early September. I think.

Experimenting with settings on my camera while at a friend's wedding.

(all taken by me.)

Getting in the "Spirit"

2006-10-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

Ha!

Our neighbors are having a Zombieween party this Saturday, and my plan is to go as a zombie prom queen, but I have yet to find (a) a tiara, (b) dead-looking flowers, and (c) a sash. Do prom queens get sashes? I was too busy dancing like a lunatic and/or making out with my boyfriend at my proms to notice.

Who's got sweet Halloween plans this weekend? (For the purposes of this question, "sweet" covers a lot, so spill it!)

Knitterly Tea Swap Goodness!

2006-10-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

I got my Knitter's Tea Swap package!
From someone who loves Elvis! Who could that be?

When I opened up this adorable envelope...

I found out that it was Sandi of Hunka Hunka Burnin' Yarn! (So you see how the Elvis heads fit in? See? You see.)

I got soft & pretty sock yarn, from a company I haven't heard of (I love trying new yarns!) in soft greys and purplesI got beautiful Uruguayan yarn from Romni Wools (Sandi's from Uruguay originally and Canada now, and it was great to get goodies from both her cultures!)

The flower on the side is a perfect decoration, and she made it from her Clapotis leftovers. It's probably the closest I'm going to get to a Clapotis for a long, long time.

The vegan goodies she sent are great!
I've been seeing these Larabars in the stores but hadn't tried one until last night, and it was full of tasty goodness! I haven't tried the ginger biscuits, but I think they're going to be great. One of the ingredients is "partially inverted syrup" which makes me picture a little bottle of syrup trying to do a handstand but always falling over. It's a very adorable ingredient.

And last but not least by any means, the teaIt's Yerba Mate, also from Uruguay. I am brewing up a cuppa right now (I couldn't wait to post all this).

ETA: I'm an idiot. I forgot to post up the prettiest part of the haul, the bracelet that Sandi made herself:
It's beautiful, and complements quite a lot of my clothes. And it makes little jingley sounds when I move my hand. It makes me smile!

Thank you, SandiPurl, for an amazing haul!

Dear Midwestern Interstate Drivers

2006-10-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while since driver's ed. for some of you. I know that it's hard to remember all the various piddly laws and bylaws and social mores and the common sense that makes driving less of a giant freaking headache for everyone. I know it's especially hard to remember all that and maintain a constant speed when you're busy talking on your cell phone, listening to your favorite song on the radio, navigating an unfamiliar turnpike system, yelling at your obnoxious children, getting road head, or whatever.

All I ask is this:

If you're in the left lane you better be going at least 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, passing someone, or about to take the weird exit on the left. Because if you're just hanging out in the left lane enjoying the pretty scenery, making a point about how no-one really needs to drive that fast, or passing someone with infinite slowness and care, I am going to ride your ass, flash my lights, and honk my horn at you for being such a damned idiot. I may also give you the finger.

Because I am done, people. I am done with Midwesternly holding-my-peace. I am done putting up with damned idiots on the interstate who can't maintain a consistent 70 miles per hour (it's a little slow, but I'll take that over the pride drivers who start out at 65mph but who speed up when I try to pass them. Are they threatened by my Ford Contour's weeny appearance? Do they have to prove that their car is better than mine? The mind boggles.), and who can't seem to understand that THE LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING AND FOR THE SPEEDY.

Gah!

In better news, we spent the weekend in Ypsilanti (god, I love typing that word) Michigan with Mark & Amy. We had a great time and ate astonishingly well (much vegan and vegetarian-friendliness there), and enjoyed seeing our friends and their cats. It was, sadly, a picture-less visit, though not for lack of fodder from the kitty quarter. Knitting content to follow in a later post. I am tired.

Day of the Brain Dead

2006-10-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

It's Tuesday, it's grey and gloomy outside, and I have a headache of unknown origin. I am going to take a big blog cop-out and write a list of discrete items instead of coming up with ways to tie them all together in a big essay. The scientist in me is triumphing over the creative writer in me today, and I'm okay with that.

1. Snowfall, Early
Last Thursday, on October 12th (not even halfway through the month!) we in north central IL experienced our first snowfall of the season.

It wasn't much, but it did stick around for a good 3 hours. Threw everyone off their game, too. People didn't come into the library (battening down the hatches for the Great Blizzard of Aught-Six?), they drove all poorly (more poorly than usual), and wore mis-matched winter gear.
Delightful.

2. Friday Femiknitter
I spent 12 hours on Friday with the Femiknitter, who was in town (and by "town" I mean "my portion of the state") for various reasons. I had a superawesome time (evidence here) hanging out with her. We went to a yarn shop (of course) in ... some nearby town (all the suburbs of Chicago run together and are indistinguishable to me. Except for Evanston, because there's a big ol' university sitting in the middle of it.) called Three Bags Full. I mean, that's the name of the yarn shop, not the town. All the parentheses kind of mucked up my meaning. (I don't care. I'll write longer explanations.) Anyway. Yarn was purchased, fun was had, lunch was eaten, secrets were shared, GPS navigation systems were used,

and bottles of Diet Coke were exploded using Mentos.

A good time was had by all.

3. The Inevitable Malabrigo Purchase
I bought Malabrigo.

It is two skanks of Rojo Vivo and one skank of Glazed Carrot (they are in no way similar to the Malabrigo from which I made my Tempting. Not at all. Nothing to see here. Move along.) (Okay! So I like ORANGE! It's not a crime.). They are destined to be a scarf and hat set for MyVeryOwnSelf. I had thought about doing the My So-Called Scarf, as this yarn is way fluffy and would look faboo in that pattern. But then I realized something...

4. I can't stop ribbing!
I love it. I love the way it's cuddly and hugs whatever it surrounds. I love the vertical stripes. I love the simplicity of it. I cannot get enough of the rib. (No "for her pleasure" jokes, please. I've gone through every single one of them in my head.) I've picked out a sort of pattern, based on the scarf/bonnet in Knit 2 Together. So, the ... orange Malabrigo will find itself in a rib pattern ... where have I seen this before? That's when I realized something else...

5. I'm either a perfectionist or a fraidy cat
Because I seem to be sticking to one basic design element (the rib) on one basic piece (the scarf) (the sweater doesn't count, sort of, because it was just three tubes joined up -- no shaping). I conclude that either I am such a nit-picking perfectionist that I must completely master every aspect of knit/purl rib and scarf construction, or that I am incomprehensibly afraid of trying something new.

To be fair, I have assigned myself three scarves just now (for my bridesmaids (yes, the wedding was in July)), only two of which involve ribbing. I am broadening my knitting horizons with the lace scarf for Laura. Okay. Maybe there's a third conclusion. Maybe I just like ribbing and want to make myself a cuddly scarf, dammit.

Because there's this...

6. A Designer is Born
Or hatched. Or is still incubating. Who knows. But I drew this the other day, when I couldn't find a good bolero / cropped cardigan thing with self ties.

Obviously I have no idea how sleeves are constructed. I hope to learn at some point in the future, before I start making them. The little upside-down Vs are intended to represent the vine lace pattern I envision on this little number. I think I will use some heavier sock yarn (the stuff in blazing, retina-searing pink) for this and make it a summertime wrap / cardigan / bolero / thing.

7. On A Related Note...
(No! This was a list, and now it's got segues! Transitions! I can't be having this!) [Creative Writer stuffs Scientist into a bag and sits on it]

Anyway, I have abandoned the poorly-behaved green yarn + Hourglass Sweater combination. I'm now going with KnitPicks Swish in Copper. At least, I put in my order for it yesterday and intend to use that yarn for that project. (yes, after I said I wasn't going to order any more yarn for a hundred years)

Now, there are two things to consider: (a) I hear that Swish has a tendency to share its dye with the whole world. I am probably going to give this a big ol' vinegar rinse when it comes to my house, because I don't want my needles / couch / clothes getting full of copper-colored dye. (b) If you checked out Femiknitter's blog, you'll have noticed that she's having issues with the neckline of her Hourglass -- it's way too Jennifer Beals for her taste. I've heard a lot of people have had issues with the neckline. I want to bring the neck up tighter, maybe make it into a crewneck. So I will.

9. And In A Still More Related Note...
I ordered Jaquard acid dyes from KnitPicks to finally get to coloring my own yarn. I happen to think that this tutorial by Nicole of All Buttoned Up is pretty darn amazing, and very handy for the handpaint style that I want to use. So I'm going to use it. As soon as the order comes in. (It's "pending" right now. I don't know what that means, other than that my order is not on its way. Grrr.)

10. In An Entirely Unrelated Note...
Everyone go say hello to Heather. She had a rough day yesterday and could use a cheery comment, a virtual visit, a supportive smile (I'm sorry, the alliteration just took hold of me and wouldn't let go).

This Week's Best Headline

2006-10-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

Troops Battle 10-Foot Marijuana Plants

Sounds like a sweet battle.

Fo Shizzle My Nizzle

2006-10-12T11:24:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Femiknitter, I found this link that gave me this translation and spent a good 10 minutes laughing my damn ass off. Go forth and be amused.

Of seashores and high altitude matrimony

2006-10-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

My trip to California, pictified.

I flew in to LAX, met by Christine (the bride-to-be), Sarah G. (her sister [we have another friend named Sarah, so we always call this one Sarah G.]), and Pam (Christine's supergood friend). Oh, and Pam's new baby, Joie (pronounced "Joey") -- she's a girl.

Our first stop (after being lost and turned around eight ways from Sunday) was the Santa Monica Pier. It was amazingly beautiful and sunny and fun. They said the day was remarkably clear, so I feel pretty lucky to have these great pictures.

I splashed around in the ocean despite the cold, so that I could say I have been in TWO oceans.

I had forgotten my sunglasses at home (naturally, as I was traveling to the Sunshine State) so I bought some on the pier, and they are crazy and green (!) and have rhinestones. Heehee!

We stayed in Bakersfield (where Christine & Matt live) the first night, and as I was running on Chicago time I crashed pretty much right after dinner.

The next day we headed up the mountain, where Christine & Matt were going to be married (in Sequoia National Forest, where they have all the nature). Bakersfield is about 200 feet above sea level. The wedding location is between 5500 and 6000 feet above sea level. The distance between the two points is given as 40 miles. There was much eye-closing on this drive.

We drove through the Kern River valley, where part of the road was missing due to rain washing it out and/or an avalanche. (This is weird to me on many levels -- (a) because in the Midwest we don't have to worry about the weather moving large parts of our land around, just the houses; (b) we were still driving on the road.) Click on the picture of the sign and see how many people have died in the river in the last 30-odd years. Fun!

On Saturday, we saw Christine get married. She looked beautiful, she smiled a lot (an anomaly for this week -- she was pretty tense), and she didn't know about the tablecloths that arrived in Orange when they were supposed to be silver, until after the reception (with appropriate linens) was underway.

It was amazing to see my oldest friend get married. I was one of two matrons of honor (matron!?), a fact I didn't find out until after I got to California. Sneaky.

On Sunday, SarahG and I headed back down the mountain on the early side (8:30am) and got some amazing pictures of the mountains dressed in fog. The glittery thing in the middle is Lake Isabella. It was beautiful, and pretty darn awesome for my first ever mountain experience.

And then I came home. Not much knitting to report, except a wee bit of the waiting-in-airport variety, on the Mistake Rib scarf so I didn't have to pay attention.

It's nice to be home.

Stock, Taking

2006-10-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

It's a new month, and because I'm so disorganized calendar-wise I didn't remember all the important stuff that is happening this month (because as long as my calendar reads "September" I don't need to pay attention to what comes after September), I'm organizing my knitting.

(We all have our little procrastination faults. Let me have mine.)

I have finished the back of the Wee Baby Maggie Cardigan ("Cotton Cardigan" on the sidebar) ...
And have cast on for one of the fronts. It's all very exciting, all this garter stitch (5 rows) leading into miles of scintillating stockinette. Thrilled beyond belief, I am. But seeing Wee Baby Maggie (Nick's cousin's daughter) over this past weekend kind of perked me up on the baby knitting. Fortunately this doesn't have to be done anytime soon (I'm making the 18-month old size), and her (one year) birthday present is already done (the Fluffy Baby Sweater). I'm ahead of the game on this one. And because I just typed that the yarn gods will smite me, and they smite hard.

I'm also exactly this far on the twisted rib socks. Remember how I said I didn't care about the pooling? Yeah, I think I might be starting to care.It's reminding me too much of a candy cane. But do I want to rip it all now? Meh. I don't know -- they're just not going very fast (perhaps they would if I actually knit on them), and the twisted rib stitch is the likely culprit (not my lack-of-knitting, of course). I'm putting these on the Banished list, and I'll think about it later.

In other sock news, I have turned a heel.It looks like a jack-in-the-pulpit, don't you think? Do you know what a jack-in-the-pulpit is? Because my sock looks like one. This is another source of meh -- it's sport weight self-striping yarn on size 4 dpns. I'm not really excited about it. I mean, it's good practice and I'm definitely into a solid "green" phase right now, but ... meh. Sport weight. Size 4s. I have some sweet Koigu and Socks That Rock beckoning to me. Banishment?

In New Project news, I have begun almost all the Bridesmaids GiftsLaura gets the Penobscot Scarf, my first attempt at small and non-threatening lace. It's Socks That Rock mediumweight, possibly the Azure Malachite colorway. I'm really enjoying the lace bits (they make me feel competent!), the yarn has a perfect springyness (can't wait to work up some socks in this stuff), and I love seeing the colors work up so prettily. These colors are very Laura, and I'm excited about working on it.

Maribeth gets the following:A 3x3 rib scarf in Catalina bulky alpaca, color "natural" or "cream" or something. It's so soft, but it tends to bloom a bit and the errant hairs inevitably go up my nose and I have to contort my upper body so as not to sneeze all over the pretty gift and leave an unexpected embellishment buried in the ribs.

And Miss Margaret gets this:

Mistake rib scarf in KnitPicks Andean Treasure (baby alpaca) in the Moss colorway. Oh my god, this stuff is amazing to work with. Soft, silky, and it doesn't bloom like the other alpaca. Brilliant! I am working with it doubled because Margaret wants a scarf to wear when she returns to the Midwest from Florida, and she doesn't want a wimpy scarf. No wimpy scarves here!

So why am I getting all organized? I'm deciding what to bring on the plane. What plane? The plane to California for Christine's wedding this weekend. (Christine, the only bridesmaid whose project is not yet begun, because I am a bastard.) This is the Big Thing in October Which I Forgot, Kind Of. I did buy my ticket and everything, but that was a while ago.

Airplane knitting. I'm thinking the Margaret scarf, because it's on bamboo needles and those are less likely to be interpreted as an open threat. Maybe the lace, too? I'm not bringing the Hourglass Sweater because it's currently occupying the "glorified swatch" position in my workbag and I'm not sure if I'll keep going on it in its present incarnation. More on that later, after California.

Behold! For I Am A Grammar Snob!

2006-10-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

So, I picked up this book from work (the local library -- find yours and support it!) the other day with high hopes. I've been on a big ol' non-fiction kick lately because I love learning about stuff I never learned in school (stupid "college track" high school education meant that World History wasn't on the course list). I knew that Charlemagne existed and was pretty cool and unified ... um, places that were disparate (?) and was a Holy Roman Emperor. That is all I knew.

I started reading the book and the first thing I saw was a selected genealogy of Charlemagne's family. Nothing I like better than a good genealogy (seriously, it's my other hobby), so the book was looking good. The next thing I saw was a time line of the rise and fall of the Carolingian (Charlemagne's) Empire, with a column for what was going on in France, the Byzantine Empire, Western Christendom, and the Islamic World. Very awesome--I really like knowing what was going on elsewhere outside of the main story. This is something else that was never really covered in school -- the fact that history is a bunch of interrelated stories and that the Western world did not exist in isolation.

Then, on page 1 of the Introduction, catastrophe befell my reading. The author wrote "They and myriads of other Europeans..." Myriads of other. No. No, my friend, this is not correct. The word myriad is like the word many, in that it doesn't get pluralized. It also doesn't get a preposition tacked on the end of it. It should have read "They and myriad other Europeans..."

And now, I don't know if I can finish the book. I read that sentence and became disgusted with the author (about whom [look! proper grammer used pompously to show that I know how to use it!] I know little, except that he has written many [not manys!] historical biographies and books about, well, stuff we didn't learn in school) and haven't read any further.

Which is a shame, because it looks like the book could be quite good. Perhaps I should abandon my high moral grammar horse and just enjoy the book? Does anyone else have issues like this when they read? Am I the only over-principled reader?

Yarn Behaving Badly

2006-09-27T06:20:00.000-05:00

(Pardon any raging incoherence. I awoke at 4:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So I decided to inflict myself upon the internet. Because sharing is caring!!)

So, Hourglass Sweater.

Despite this project not being anywhere on the Official Project Sidebar, I've been swatching and thinking about this one a lot lately. Because it's a long-sleeved sweater, and because it's for me, and because I am a selfish ho.

My swatch reveals that this beautiful green yarn -- Araucania's Nature Wool (a purchase from the Webs booth at Stitches, and a lovely price, too) -- is knitting up at 6 stitches to the inch on size 8 (5.0mm) needles. (I would like to take this moment to say that while I love this wool and this color [number 23], the ball band is a big fat liar. It says the yarn is worsted weight. To this I say "Ha! You liar!" There is no way this stuff is worsted, unless the knitting world is playing a big joke on me. Which is possible, I guess.)

Anyway, where was I? Gauge. The pattern suggests Noro's Cash Iroha (a yarn also claiming the "worsted" weight), which they say works up to 4.75 sts to the inch on size 7 (4.5mm) needles. You see my flabbergastedness at the vast range of "worsted" weight? See? Yes, you see. (Oh, sleep, I miss you!) Okay, so the pattern also calls for 900 yards of Noro for the 37" size. I have skinnier yarn, but more of it (1560 yards) so I think I'm all set to cast on, except for the math (The Math), which I will get to.

Monday night being Stitch-n-Bitch night, we all trooped over to Heather's and she generously wound our yarn into lovely little yarny cakes of goodness.

Five skanks of yarn decided to play nicely. Unfortunately, the sixth pitched a fit unmatched except by teenage girls who want to go to the dance and wear that cute dress and it does not make me look like a floozy and that's such an old-fashioned word and my god you don't even understand me and I'm going to fling myself across my bed and cry and turn up the music real loud and pout all night long, and that'll show you.

This is what we had last night. I came close to weeping, and also to throwing it across the room. The thought of cutting the tangled part, undoing the massive snarl, and spit-splicing the ends back together did occur to me, but it was scary and I refrained.

This is what I have now. A wee half-ball of yarn, with massive snarl. I tried to work with the other end to untangle it that way, but only got a little ways in (see the mini-mash above the wee half-ball in the picture). I hope I can get the sweater out of the well-behaved five balls and not have to deal with this mess.

And because the advil just kicked in, I'm going to try to get back to sleep (yes, I know. Empty gesture. But you really don't want to see what I've been typing). I will discuss The Math later. When I have a fully functioning brain.

Teevee rots your brains

2006-09-22T20:12:00.000-05:00

But I watch it anway.

Or at least, I get DVDs of the best shows and watch them without commercials. A year later. Because I'm cheap and don't want to pay for cable.

(But broadcast TV is free! you might say. Usually, you would be right, except DeKalb is in the middle of a vast sea of corn and is nowhere near any broadcast television station. We must purchase cable to get the free stations. This explains why DVD rentals are through the roof at the library, and why VHS is still popular. Anyway, I hate commercials and I hate most of what's on, so we don't have cable TV. So there.)

We have the Netflix, and we love it for its vast array of TV shows with which to occupy our time (or to provide us with knitting time), such as the following:

The Golden Girls
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Lost
Deadwood
Battlestar Galactica
Penn & Teller's Bullshit
Rome

(Buffy & Angel aren't up there, because we own them. All of them. Yes.)

And here's our attempt at the create-your-own TV, courtesy of YouTube and House on the Rock. It's a wee bit lame, but it's our first attempt at the video function on our digital camera. Thanks to Nick for (... filming? digitizing?) this beauteous display of magic.

In which I wax rhapsodic

2006-09-19T09:50:00.000-05:00

The weather is turning. Yesterday it only got as high as 67 F, and today is grey and breezy and chilly. The first fallen leaves are blowing around on the sidewalks, and some of the more forward trees in the neighborhood are putting on their flashy fall colors.

I love it*. I love autumn the most of all the seasons (unless Christmas can be counted as its own season), because it means baking doesn't involve heatstroke; there is tasty apple cider, which can be mulled and en-liquored; apple orchard!; tea!**; socks become more vital to survival (perhaps I should finish a pair?); and sweaters begin to consider leaping out of storage to wrap you in their cozy goodness.

Having finished the Tempting (to which I am done forever with linking, I'm sorry), I'm all ready to cast on for another something for me, in the form of the Hourglass Sweater (Last Minute Knitted Gifts). With one lace project, one ribbing project, one cabled project, and one project that is nothing AT ALL but moss stitch, I think a little boring-ass stockinette is perfect. And it's for me! Hooray!

* Of course, I don't love the chill so much when my freaking windows won't close all the way.

** I have joined the Knitter's Tea Swap 2, and I'm pretty excited about it. The only other swap I was in was the Scarf Swap (Julie spoiled me with a beautiful Here-and-There Cables scarf), and then I went and planned a wedding. I was way too busy to do anything but flip out about ridiculous stuff, and was getting a little jealous of my friends who were always finding new KAL or swaps or secret pal stuff to do. Now that my time is my own (ha!), I'm looking forward to getting my KTS pal assignment and putting together a package for her/him. And to drinking all the tasty tea in salute to KTS. Mmm.... tea.

Who says I never finish anything?

2006-09-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

Everybody does. And usually, they are right.

But not today.

(photo by Nick, who doesn't often photograph handknits, and who was running out the door this morning for work)

pattern: Tempting by Jenna Adorno, in Knitty winter 2004 - I made the 36" size
yarn: Malabrigo Merino worsted (215 yds/skank), 3 skanks in Tiger Lily (with not very much left over)
needles: US 8 circular & dpn

modifications: Just the yarn. When I went to Wool & Co. and asked for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, I was told they don't carry Debbie Bliss. So I hunted around the store for pretty, soft, worsted-to-heavy-worsted yarn. Fortunately, I found the last three skanks of the Tiger Lily in the store and clutched them to my bosom, snarling at those who coveted my spoils. I was also very lucky that day, as my Fairy Godmother was with me at the store and insisted on paying for the yarn. (My Fairy Godmother is a friend of the family who has taken it upon herself to spoil my sisters and me, and only recently did I learn that she is a knitter.)

time spent: I'm not even sure. I think I started in March, and ended on September 10th. So, seven months. Oh my god. That is shameful. Pretend you didn't read that.

inspiration to just finish it already oh my god: Hanging out with the Femiknitter (she has a new blog -- stop in and say hello!) and hearing of her knitting triumphs and FOs made me want to join the club and actually have a wearable FO of my very own. So I knit like a fiend and finished it and here we are.

things I learned from this sweater: I taught myself how to knit continental (picking) because I couldn't deal with the 2x2 rib in English. It was taking for. ever. With continental, I just zoomed right through, until I put the sweater down and forgot about it, or got married, or something (full props to Maggie Righetti's Knitting in Plain English for instructions on how to purl in the continental style). I also learned how to make eyelets with yo, k2tog, which was pretty awsome; how to join sleeves that were knit on dpns to the body on a circular needle; that using a metal circular makes the knitting slide along *much* easier than does a bamboo needle; and how to perform a three-needle bind off.

unofficial slogan: Ribbing sucks way less when you pick!

verdict: This is a great first sweater, in my opinion. Everything is in the round, there is no shaping, and it turns out pretty darn flattering, too. Just after I made the eyelets (about 1 inch from being done), I thought "What am I doing, making an off-the-shoulder sweater? I don't wear off-the-shoulder things. I don't wear bows. How am I going to wear a bra with this?" Well, the design is more flattering on me than I thought it would be, and I'm so *ahem* un-endowed in the boobal region that I don't really need a bra (which is good, because I only have the one straplss bra, and there are very few occasions left in my life that would compel me to wear that again). I don't think I would make this for myself again, one off-the-shoulder sweater being enough for me, but I think it's a good one.

Read all about my trials, triumphs, more triumphs, and more trials with my first-ever knitted garment. Or, to be more accurate, a chronicle of my profound laziness.

Warning: Yarn Pr[0]n Ahead

2006-09-12T07:40:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling better. I fixed our home internet connection, the car is better (sort of) and we're looking for a new one, and I'm okay with the cost of our upcoming trip. I'm still weirded out by the ex-boyfriend asshattedness, but I'm going to ignore him.

And I have all of the bounty you see before you here:

Red laceweight, about 900 yards. The ball band is in Japanese except for the yardage. It could be called "Happy Puffy Parakeet Yarny Yarn!!!!!" for all I know.

Sock yarn. Fleece Artist Basic Merino Socks in Marine; KPPPPPPPPPPPM in P822 (it's handwritten on there under "dye code", so I'm guessing that's the colorway number? maybe?). I choose to think of it as lemongrass (there's a bit more yellow in there than is visible in the picture).

Noro Daria, in color #1. Likely destination, Corded by Grumperina. I've been wanting to play with this stuff ever since I first saw it. Mmmm... shiny.

Louisa Harding Grace - Silk & Wool in Silver. It was pretty. It still is pretty. I am in love.

The mystical and coveted Orange Chibi.

And that's my haul from Wool & Co. back on Friday, September 1st. Enormous thanks to Anna, Heather & Sandi who gave me a big fat gift certificate (of which I used every bit). You ladies rule.

(Yes, all the yarn is for me. Yes, I did intend to purchase yarn for Nick's sweater. Yes, I'm a selfish, horrible woman. I don't care. I have pretty yarn for me.)

So. Annoyed.

2006-09-08T15:22:00.000-05:00

For the following in-no-particular-order reasons:

1. Our intardnet connection at home decided to seize up, so we are paying Comcast about $2.00 per day for nothing at all. It could be the modem, it could be ... not the modem. Nobody knows. But it would cost us $75 for some dude to come out and tell us one way or the other, and then probably $60 or more for a new modem. Effing machines!

1a. Because of the intardnet non-connection, I can't show you pictures of happy new yarn, or my oh-so-close-to-being-done Tempting sweater, or the crazy huge granny square I crocheted on accident, or the strange new way Nick is using my giant knitting needles. (Get your mind out of the gutter--I heard that!) All those pictures are on my home computer, and not here. Effing machines!

1b. I am blogging at work, because this internet connection is working properly. I keep having to hide the blog Create Post page behind the circulation module or something.

2. Work level this week: much higher than usual. Stress level: much higher than usual. So I guess I don't feel too badly that I'm blogging while at work on a Friday afternoon.

3. Nick's car decided to part ways with its radiator hose on Wednesday night. This is costing us an amount which, while not extreme, is still uncomfortable. The car is on its last legs (rims?) and we're starting to think about a new-to-us car. Ack.

4. We're planning a trip to The House On The Rock with our neighbor friends, and I just checked out the admission prices. $26.50 per person. (And here is where I start to sound like an old curmudgeon...) When Nick and I went there last, and granted it was 8 years ago or something, the prices were a much more reasonable $17-ish per person. Now it's fifty-three dollars just to get two of us into the place which is very awesome and totally stunning, but fifty-three dollars people? Come on! Plus the gas to get up there, plus we might be renting a car (what with all the car death going on), plus food.

So yes, I am annoyed. But it's Friday afternoon, the sun is out, and this little guy just stopped by again:

...
... or not. Blogger, you asshat.

Effing machines!

ETA (at 1:15am): #5. Apparently an ex-boyfriend (from HIGH SCHOOL, no less!) has located my other email address (not the one I have up on this blog) and has sent me a truly strange email in which he assumes he is "#1 in [my] heart" and professes to "love [me] always." Oh, and he also included his high school football jersey number. I really really want this to be spam, but all signs point to genuine ex-boyfriend-asshattedness.

If, by this point, you have assumed that things ended weirdly or that he was the emotional troll named Brian mentioned here (scroll down to the paragraph in parentheses), you would be correct. Of course, he may not be a complete fuckwit these days, but one must make assessments based on one's own experience, no?

Dear Anonymous-Of-The-Vegan-Fiber Question

2006-09-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

Dear Anonymous,

You asked (very politely, I thank you) about the perhaps discrepancy between my vegan values and my use of animal fibers. Here's the short-ish version:

While I dislike animal cruelty, and don't personally (or in general, really) see a need to continue eating meat or consuming other animal products, I'm a big fan of renewable resources (acrylic & other fibers made from petroleum products clearly are not), that don't introduce crazy amounts of pollution into the environment (like cotton, though I do use cotton, and I have tossed and turned on this one too), and that keep my toesies warm in the winter (bamboo, rayon, modal, etc, all have great drape and shine but don't have the insulating properties that animal fibers have). (My, what big sentences I have!)

My stupid self used to be the kind of vegan who judged and thought less of people who didn't recognize vegetarianism/veganism for the amazing panacea that it obviously (note mild sarcasm) was. Now, I don't really care what you eat/wear/knit with, but I will talk about the factory farms and the massive evil that is our food supply if it's appropriate to the conversation. Veganism is, to me, about educating oneself and others (gently! not obnoxiously!) about what it is we consume. It's also about doing what you can to make the world a little more healthy and a little less cruel. My personal feeling on that at the moment falls under the thinking that a happy & healthy world is a world that uses its renewable resources responsibly.

Plus I like the way wool feels.

It's not a perfect philosophy, I guess, but it works for me and I'm open to learning more about all aspects of it.

And I appreciate you asking in a totally positive and non-judgmental way. Thank you!

Are there any other vegan knitters out there who use animal fibers (I'm probably the only one, with my weak moral fiber [ha!] and all), or vegans who use synthetics only? Or non-vegans who want to weigh in (nicely)? I'd love to hear more opinions on this topic.

Perfectest Day

2006-09-02T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today has been just the peak of lovely.

The weather has been beautiful--mid to upper 70s, sunny, breezy...

Just now I was listening to Cast On while knitting on Tempting, while Nick experiments in the kitchen with a dolmades recipe (I love when he tries new recipes), and with the sunset and the pretty light and a tasty glass of red wine...

And today a dear friend who has moved to the East Coast, and with whom I had lost touch, dropped in to see me at work. Completely took me by surprise, as we haven't seen each other in ... two years? Three years? I don't remember (plus the wine!). Anyway. She is in the area visiting her family over the long weekend and dropped in to see me.

I can't even express how happy I am to reconnect with her. We met on a school-sponsored summer trip to Oxford in 2001 ... actually met while sitting up all night at Heathrow (my plane got in much later than expected). Those six hours of non-stop talking (because we're both good at the talking) made it pretty clear that we were of like mind ("You voted for Al Gore in the last election? So did I!!" "You like the Indigo Girls? So do I!!").

We talked at the library for a while, and then we had lunch together at the Thai place in town and it was just like old times, but better. It turns out she's a knitter ("You're a knitter? So am I!!") and has been surreptitiously reading my blog for a while now and knows what I've been knitting (and oh my god, she knows what kind of sentence structure I have [she was an English major] and I'll have to fling myself from a bridge into the raging waters of the mighty Kishwaukee river as a sacrifice to the grammar gods). It was great to catch up on old stuff, new stuff, and knitterly stuff ("You made wrist warmers? So did I!!" "You made Clapotis? ... That's great!") (She's been knitting longer than I have. My excuse.).

I am so happy she stopped in, and so happy to have her in my life again. What a delight. This is way better than yarn shopping stories (but I'll tell you all about that later, I promise).

And because I know she'll get a big kick out of this...

This is the 3rd Quad of Oriel College. We spent an entire weekend inside this quad once. We made it our goal to not leave 3rd Quad for any reason. I think we sent kind gentlemen out for pizza in order to keep up our strength. (I lived up a staircase just out of frame on the right)

This is the Radcliffe Camera. It smells of old books, and is quite possibly the earthly representation of paradise. We walked past it a lot. I never got inside, and I don't remember if she did.

The gate into Oriel College.

And that is my perfectest day that makes me smile. Hooray!

Happy Birthday, Heather!

2006-08-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful day, for a beautiful lady.

Heather has a birthday today, people! Head over there and give her some birthday comment love. Hooray!

And tomorrow, yarn shopping! Because we don't have enough going on in our yarn lives!

Pow! Bif! Zowie!

2006-08-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

I was just downloading new ringtones onto my phone, and I came across the theme song for the old Batman TV series and I wondered:

What does Adam West have on his cell phone? Because I really want it to be the Batman theme song. It would just complete the image I have of Adam West, which is based mostly on his character on "Family Guy" and, recently, his website. If anyone knows what Adam West has for his cell phone ringer, please tell me.

(And what do you have on your cell phone ring tone? I have "Float On" by Modest Mouse, and the Inspector Gadget theme -- the TV show, not the movie.)

Next year, I'll just leave town

2006-08-27T18:03:00.000-05:00

CornFest is still going strong. And by strong I mean obnoxious. And by obnoxious I mean the shitty cover-band stage is half a block from my apartment.

This afternoon the downtown area of DeKalb was subjected to a medly of --and I use the term loosely-- song including "Baba O'Reilly" (Teenage Wasteland) by The Who, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, and "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and The Waves. In one big cacaphonous blob.

Ugh.

Yesterday we had plans to celebrate birthdays with my family at 5:30pm, and we would have been at my parents' house at like noon if Nick hadn't had to work until 2:30. All morning I cleaned and did crazy amounts of chores just to keep my mind off the hell that was the "music" coming from CornFest. I couldn't even knit, because the awful noise just sinks into my bones when I sit still. Closing the windows doesn't help, either.

To counteract the deep and abiding hatred I have for CornFest (they moved the craft market far far away from downtown this year, and are charging a $1 admission to even enter! Bastards! The one thing that sort of kind of has a wee bit of redeeming value!), I am posting knitting progress pictures.

I have started the back for the Wee Baby Maggie cardigan (link to pattern in sidebar). I'm making a few changes, particularly in the area of color. The 5-row garter stitch border/hem is in Jelly Belly and the body is in Grape Berry (colors here). I'm not a fan of one-color baby clothes, and I'll do all the borders/hems and button bands in the multi. I was thinking of adding a 4-row stripe, but I think I'll put in a purl stitch heart or something on the back between the shoulders and on the front somewhere. We'll see. I am definitely loving the boring stockinette, as I can work on it while hanging out with friends or while drinking the beer...

It's the only thing keeping me from attacking the music stage with a pickaxe right now. My absolute favorite beer is in the center, Fiddler's Elbow from the Wychwood Brewery, and it is amazing. Go try it.

I've also been working on the Twisted Sock (see sidebar for pattern). I was working the whole thing on US 1 dpns, but then it was too small. I ripped it, and started working the whole thing on US 2 dpns, but then it was too big. Ripping #2. Then I worked the 2x2 rib cuff in US 1 and the body (the twists) in US 2, and then it was juuuuust right.

Although it's pooling something shocking.

I don't care. I'm enjoying this half-mindless, half-challenging project, and I'm certainly not ripping it out at this point. I wonder how the second one is going to turn out.

A close-up of the wee cables:

This one is the most accurate, color-wise, of the three pictures. On my monitor, at least. I am in love with these colors, and am desolate that KnitPicks discontinued them. Luckily, I got enough yarn for 2 pairs of socks before that happened. [smug grin]

In other news, I've changed my mind about the scarf for Laura, and the shawl for Margaret. Laura will now be getting the Penobscot Silk Scarf from the Sweet Somethings (.pdf!) article in Summer 06 Interweave Knits, because I think that pattern will suit the medium-weight Socks That Rock better than Branching Out would. And Margaret will be getting a warm alpaca scarf, design yet to be determined, and possibly a matching hat.

Oh good lord, Survivor is at CornFest. And they're playing Eye of the Tiger.

Send liquor.

Time for a Seven and Seven

2006-08-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

The rule of sevens. Invoked when I can't think of anything better to do.

Seven Things That Sucked About Today
1-4. Work
5. CornFest moving into town (last year's observations here)
6. College kids moving into town
7. Heartburn (caused by the medication for the Rash of Doom, which has subsided so I stopped taking the medication yesterday. And yet.)

Seven Things That Brightened Up Today
1. Yarn arrivals (see below)
2. Wee lads visiting (and mom Heather, too)
3. Calling Beloved at work and, when asked who is calling, saying "this is his wife"
4. Waking up early enough to have breakfast
5. My brother-in-law has a new blog
6. The weather is pleasant and conducive to knitting
7. I taught a co-worker how to knit while on our breaks

Sock yarn from Fearless Fibers (550 yds of sock yarn. For $14.50, people. And I suspect she has a catapult for use in shipping, because the yarn got here faster than a greased pig, as my granny would say. I would say, "faster than the post office at its usual glacial pace") in the Kildare colorway. I will knit it into happy socks (cables?) in the drears of February.

Recycled rayon from The Wool Peddler. The tricksy part is, it looks just like silk, but it's cheaper! And often the yardage is better! (Give me a break, I have to celebrate the vegan aspects of my life where I can.)

This will be throw pillows for the couch. The Beloved isn't crazy about the color 'splosion, but I am, and I'm the knitter. So therefore I get to have them and he must deal with it. I stick my tongue out to anyone who disagrees.

My latest KnitPicks haul. Two skanks of the Bare sockweight superwash/nylon -- for to begin my dyeing project soon. (I have a specific colorway in mind, but have no idea how to carry it out. I must consult the oracles.) ... two skanks of Essential in Burgundy for (possibly) the Baudelaire socks, because they call to me so ... assorted sock-size KnitPicks dpns, in all their pointy glory.

And now it's time for a cold one. Tragically, we have neither "Seven" necessary for tonight's theme drink. I'll have to make do with silver rum and pineapple juice. Darnit.

Quick blog-reader survey: what is your favorite summer drinky drink? Post answers in comments, s'il vous plait. Merci!

On the bright side, the carpet is cleaner

2006-08-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

Friday ~~afternoon~~ no, not even. It was still the morning. Friday morning I was struck with the urge to do laundry (the Rash of Doom kept me home from work for a few days, and apparently introduced a housework ethic which was certainly not there before). We were, of course, out of laundry detergent so I went to the local Jewel and purchased one (1) brand-new jug of laundry detergent.

Not 15 minutes after the new jug of laundry detergent was in my house, I was trying to get the dryer balls (which I absolutely love, by the way, for towels & sheets) from the topmost shelf in the tee tiny laundry supply/paper towel storage/linen closet/medicine cabinet/vacuum cleaner storage area. (Pay close attention to that last one) Like an idiot, I sort of only kind of balanced the new jug of laundry detergent on a seemingly stable stack of towels while I groped on the top shelf for the aforementioned dryer balls (sometimes 5-foot-6 seems like enough, and sometimes it falls woefully short).

As often happens when I act like an idiot, the universe caught on to me and made good use of its time in teaching me a small lesson about gravity. About how gravity always, always wins out over a seemingly stable stack of towels.

The jug of detergent (full, mind you, and just minutes old) toppled off its perch and fell directly onto the vacuum cleaner whose crevice attachment was STICKING POINTY-PART UP, and was immediately punctured. It proceeded to follow the laws that govern such things and glugged thick, viscous laundry detergent all over the carpet.

I picked it up (still glugging) and put it in the bathroom sink (thankfully mere steps away, though of course plenty still managed to find its way to the carpet). After I regained my wits, I placed the jug (no longer full, but still only minutes old) with the puncture hole at the top so no more would glug out into the sink and waste more of my money.

(Practical Household Hint: if this ever happens to you, immediately pour yourself an adult beverage of your choice, and drink it straight away. This will help quell any hysteria and keep you focused on the task at hand. I didn't do this initially, and lost valuable calm-thinking time to abject-flipping-out time. Not pretty.)

By the time I figured out what to do (it took a long time because of the non-drinkng and because my Mom wasn't answering her work phone), the damn gooey stuff had sunk into the carpet and colonized my hallway like it was some gelatinous empire. My first attempt--soaking the detergent up with a sponge & bucket of water--was short-lived and involved a lot of swearing. Inquiries at the neighbors' revealed that the local hardware store rents carpet shampooers for a mere $20.00. Of course, by the time I got to the hardware store, they were renting out their last one just as I walked in the door.

I rented a cleaner on Saturday (no, thank you young hardware store dude, but I don't need the upholstry shampoo for this particular job), cleaned the hell out of my hallway carpet, and proceeded to do laundry all afternoon, spilling nary a drop more (though the cursing was profuse).

(Practical Household Hint: if you happen to drop a whack of laundry detergent on your floor and clean it up with handtowels--or whatever's handy in the linen closet--you can just toss those handtowels or whatever into the wash. No need to add soap! Convenient for those times when all your soap is coagulating in a puddle in your hallway!)

Acting Rashly

2006-08-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

Start-itis n. Med. Condition suffered by handcrafters in which many new projects are begun, but older projects are left to languish unfinished, sometimes indefinitely. Common among knitters, crocheters, and spinners. Cure: no known cure, but startitis can diminish after being allowed to run its course.

Yes, I've got me some of that. I really really really wanted to finish my Tempting this week (or even Monday, but that was really reaching far). Because I have this voice in my head that tells me I should just complete the sweater, that I must complete the sweater before I do anything else, that if I do not, my moral character will be called into question and I'll never finish anything for the rest of my life. (Mom, is that you in my head?)

Of course, I am choosing not to listen to that voice (it's hard, because it keeps yelling) and last night I cast on for what I thought was going to be a Jaywalker sock, but turned out to be a Twisted sock (free pattern from KnitPicks) in now-discontinued Sock Garden (Star Gazer Lily colorway).

It's a really nice pattern, top down, with this tee tiny cable in the k2 p2 ribbing - you just ktbl the second stitch, don't drop it, then k regularly the first stitch, then drop both off. Do that on R1, then R2 is just k2 p2. It's easy enough that I feel confident I can make this sock, and it has this new skill so I feel like a SuperKnitter when I make a tee tiny cable. I'm knitting this on bamboo dpns, US sz 1/2.25mm, 5" long (ChiaoGoo / Westing Bridge, LLC). I think I'm going to switch to the KnitPicks metal sz 1 dpns when I get them (after the rush--everyone in the knitting world wants these babies), because I feel like I'm going to snap the bamboo ones every time I go to make a cable (tee tiny).

I've also gotten my knitty little hands on the Sizzle pattern, and wanted to start on that right away. Of course I don't have the yarn for it in my stash or in my budget (yes, $15.00 for 127 yards when I need 750 yards = $90.00? We'll file that away for when-I-win-the-Lottery knitting), so I started swatching with KnitPicks Shine, which was going to be for my Picovoli (which never really happened... ah, the start-itis).
So yes, I began swatching. But I cast on while watching ... some Nova program? Or Arrested Development? I don't know. It was completely engrossing, whatever it was, because I cast on for a freaking 10-inch swatch. Nobody needs a 10-inch swatch. Good lord. And of course I got bored with it before I got a good 5" length to measure my gauge (I'm pretty sure I have to go up from US 7 to US 8 to get gauge, though). And next time, I'm going to cast on slightly less than 10 inches for my swatch.

And all this start-itis leads to guilt about my bridesmaids' gifts. I promised all of them I would knit them something as a thank-you for putting up with my wedding. At the time it was very lovely in my head -- a lace scarf for Laura! A cabled scarf and hat for Maribeth! I'll design a shawl for Margaret to keep her warm in the menacing AC of Florida! A teacher bag for Christine! There may have been sparkles floating around the room when I decided all this. I've promised my girls these gifts, and I'm casting on for things for me? Foolish Kathy. I'll keep going on the socks, but I'll put Sizzle away for another time. Maybe after I finish two gifts I'll start something for myself. (Shut up, I am not martyring.)

Dermatitis n. Med. Inflammation of the derma, or true skin. Contact dermatitis n. Med. Doctor-speak for "Huh. Well. Heck if I know, really. But it's not contagious!"
On Tuesday I noticed a rash on the back of my neck. Weird. Went home, took a benadryl and immediately fell asleep (my usual reaction to any kind of anti-histamine). Woke up at 10:00pm (lovely!) and the rash seemed like it was sort of better, though it was in more places than I realized at first. Went to work yesterday, itchy and worse, then to the "convenient care clinic" 4 blocks down the street from my apartment (living in town totally rules lots of times). Waited in the waiting room. Waited in the exam room. Had no knitting, but did have a new book about knitting from the Library (Nancy Bush's Folk Socks), so wasn't too bothered. I was bothered when the nurse came in to do the intake and had her back to me the whole time, while typing into a little wireless laptop. Um, hello? If it's wireless and on a moveable table, don't you think you could ACT LIKE A NURSE and make eye contact with me while you're asking me about my last menstrual cycle, you insensitive clod?!!

Of course, being a Midwesterner, I didn't say that. But I was closer to saying it than I ever have been before. That encounter (if you could call it that) set up my mood for the rest of the visit, which included waiting some more in the exam room, while Little Johnny two rooms down constantly wondered aloud about where the doctor was, diagnosed himself aloud ("I think it's probably due to my asthma."), expressed his boredom aloud, and opened the curtain between his room and the next and enumerated (aloud) the equipment therein. Incorrectly, I might add. Little Johnny's Mother was the pleading/bargaining type ("please don't open the curtain again" "How about a fruit snack [i.e. more sugar]?"), and the whole thing was repeated (ALOUD) throughout my visit with the doctor. I had to ask him to speak up twice (admittedly, my hearing is not the greatest, but still) and I felt like saying, in a deep authoritative voice, "Little Johnny, it's time to be quiet now, or else I will smite you down as I would smite an irritating mosquito dancing in my ear!"

But of course, being a Midwesterner, I didn't say it.

Where the wild yarns are

2006-08-14T23:01:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Stitches pretty much kicked my new-knitter ass.
But in a good way.

I rode in with Sandi, and we got there about 9:40am (we made pretty darn good time, I think. Nice driving, girlfriend).

Of course, Heather and her friend Shanelle (visiting from Indianapolis just for Stitches. Wouldn't you?) got there before we did and were second in line, waiting to go up the stairs to say hello to the waiting yarn.

(When the door guarders finally allowed us up the stairs, Heather charged up the stairs trying to outpace a very charming but highly competitive grandmother. I was laughing too hard to snap a good picture.)

At one point we saw some yarn that we know our LYS carries and Heather, being Organization Queen of The Day, panicked--what does the Yarn Exchange charge for this yarn? And dammit, we can't call them from here!

Oh yes we can, said I, exhibiting my geekitude by announcing that I had our LYS on speed dial.

I made my first purchase at Blue Moon Fiber Arts, getting some delightful colorways (Sherbet, Azurite, Ruby Slippers).

After that, my "budget" kind of got taken hostage by beautiful and seductive yarn. What can I say? It was my first huge yarn event. I'll know better next year, and start saving in March like some people.

Somewhere along the line someone (probably me, but we'll pretend it wasn't) freaked out because the ball band on some fabulous yarn gave only meters and we, being the anti-metric heads that we are, couldn't figure out yardage (why thank you, American educational system!). And this was when I fell in love with my new phone.

It has a unit converter. You darling, darling little thing. Thank you.

At lunch, we took a much-needed break and put yarn on our heads. It was with this stroke of genius (Heather's) that we met Heather's Knittyboard people.

And this lady, who let us share her lunch table and who probably thought we were off our rockers. But she played along and looked like a princess in her yarn tiara.

My dear, I didn't get your name. If you are reading, let me know who you are!

We met up with Anna, who mysteriously bought nothing but drove all the way to Rosemont to do it, and by 2:30pm Sandi and I were experiencing massive yarn overload--it got hard to distinguish between fibers and there was nowhere to look that wasn't covered in yarn. It was amazing, but we had to go. I could have been given Red Heart and told it was beautiful and I might have bought it (...maybe).

Heather and Shanelle, on the other hand, were going strong. This is where we parted ways:

They still had their sense of touch. (and look at them... don't they look blissful? I love this picture)

Sandi and I packed up and went home, tired but happy.
This is what came home with me:

The red/pink is Hot Foot superwash merino from The Village Spinning & Weaving Shop. It's going to be the Hourglass sweater, I think. Or I'll just pet it a lot.
The grey on the cone is alpaca/silk laceweight from Valley Yarns (Webs' house brand) in the light grey colorway. It will be a masterful lace shawl. As soon as I learn how to knit lace. Right.
The blue/purple is microfiber ribbon from Tess Yarns (feels like silk, drapes like a cat on linoleum in July, and the color is stunning), and it wants to be a sexy tank for glamorous parties where people will compliment me on my top and then fall down in disbelief when I tell them I knit it myself. Because I plan to go to so many of those kinds of parties.
The green is Nature Wool from Araucania Yarns (caveat: animated home page, may take some time to load), purchased from Webs. I think this yarn wants to be a cabled sweater for me.
And the sock yarn is Socks That Rock and I added the Fred Flinstone colorway just before I left stitches, because I still had a twenty dollar bill and for some reason I needed to spend it. And I needed autumnal socks, too. She rationalized.

I loved every minute of my shopping at Stitches (no classes, just shopping). It was great to feel all these amazing yarns that we don't normally get to touch, and it was awesome to be with my girlfriends who understand the whole yarn addiction. I would have been even more lost without Heather, who plotted her path along the aisles like she was stalking big game. Thank you, my dear, for your enthusiasm.

And yes, I will start saving up my pennies early on for next year's Stitches.

A schooner IS a sailboat

2006-08-09T20:15:00.000-05:00

Ah, Mallrats.

I'm not sure if it's that I'm newly back to knitting after the Great Interruption Called "Wedding," or if it's the weather, or if I'm merely bored with all my current projects-in-progress (It could be that... and I'm sure I could kick my boredom with new yarn! or needles! or notions!Thank something I'm headed to Stitches this Friday), but I am not in the knitterly mindset. I look at my projects and just sigh and grab another bottle of wine. Jen of JenLa called it knennui, and I think I am well within its grasp.

As a result, you get a fun and tasty random post today! Huzzah!

FOs (Found Objects, not Finished ones)
In my daily search for knit- and crochet- and yarn-related stuff on the internet (also known in some circles as "work time") I came across this delightful site. It's where patterns go when no one else wants them. Be sure to check out the essay "How to Felt with Acrylic."

I also found--and it just warms my midwestern heart to say it--corn yarn at Kollage Yarns. Yes, corn-based yarn. I have to buy some just to be able to say "I'm knitting with corn!" and maybe knit with corn yarn in a cornfield (of which we have many here, and by "many" I mean "they cover the land and you cannot see the end of them.") You can buy it here if you like, and the site says that The Yarn Exchange carries it, but I haven't seen it there yet.

And if you haven't heard, the internet is endangered. You think I'm kidding. Wait till your internet content is being chosen by AT&T. Do what you can to tell lawmakers that this is a dumb idea, and the internet will love you forever.

Another Found Object
Remember when I said I was missing a dpn? Well, my fantastic and fastidious husband (I still find this to be the most fun thing to say out loud) found it for me while cleaning out the car. Hooray! Not that I was knitting while driving or anything. Right. (the search for the corset continues)

In which my tendency to favor thickly forested areas and leave unexplained trails is, um, explained
It turns out that I may have to change my name to Kathy Sasquatch. In looking for sock patterns like this one and this one and this one and this one(which I totally love), I began to (a) notice the patterns are written for different sizes, and (b) wonder what size my foot might be. My foot is 8.75 inches around at the ball, which means I have to make the bigger sizes in all of those. Bigfoot feet! This totally weirds me out, because my feet don't seem to be all that big. I mean, I'm 5 foot 6 inches tall so size 8 feet don't seem that out of line. Plus, PLUS I had a whole bunch of foot surgery 3 years ago or something, in which they took off the bunion that was making my foot be superwide. And yet, I still have big feet. For some reason, this hurts my pride a little.

Less a Stitch-n-Bitch and more like a Drink-n-Bitch, but still
On Monday, Heather and Sandi and I had dinner at the Thai place in town (Sandi had never been) before (and this was the plan) meeting Anna back at my house for the stitchy part of the night. Well, the Thai place is BYOWhatever-the-heck-kind-of-liquor-you-want and we brought a bottle of wine. Went right through it, and spent so much time that Anna came looking for us. Sorry, Anna! Then we came back to my house and had cosmopolitans which were tasty and good, and some pie that Sandi made, which was tasty and rich (and I cut the pieces way too big, so we all got a little comatose after a bit), and we watched the Elizabeth Zimmerman Knitting Glossary.

Not that we really learned a lot (or stitched a lot), due to the drinking and all. But we had a rocking good time (Nick had to close the office door when we were making too much noise) and started planning our assault on Stitches on Friday. Heather wants to be there at the ass-crack of dawn with her little nose smoodged on the glass. I'm not feeling quite so earlybirdish, but I can sleep in the car. It'll be a riot, though hopefully not the literal kind.

If anyone is going to Stitches Midwest on Friday, give a holler and maybe we could meet up and hug and dance around. Or just say hi and compliment one another on our yarn purchases from a civilized distance. I could go either way. SheCrochets? Are you coming?

Is "Monday Brain" a treatable condition?

2006-08-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

Things I Would Rather Be Doing

napping
knitting something beautiful, and knitting it well
travelling the world
drinking an adult beverage on the side of a pool somewhere while wearing a big floppy hat
seeing my friends
seeing the sun
seeing any bit of the outdoors
running
swimming
drinking an adult beverage, location and manner of dress unimportant

Things I Would Rather Not Be Doing

wondering about the nature of the string that's coming out of the paper towel dispenser
sitting under flourescent lights
listening to other people's non-work-related phone conversations (for the seventh time today!!!)
feeling awkward family guilt
seeing a job done incompetently when I know I could do it better, and not being able to do that job because of charming petty power struggles
bumping my elbow on the stove every time I try to get into the tea/coffee cupboard at home
dealing with people who either give no damn at all, or give way too much damn
scratching weird bug bites of unknown provenance on my hands, feet, and lower legs

It's been a long day, and we all deserve a little Hawaiian love:

Courtesy of my friend Tony of The Navy, who was in Hawaii last year (last year?) for an extra eight days because he missed his submarine (honestly, it has an air of originality...). Apparently you and I paid for it, and I asked him to send me pictures of Hawaiian flowers to make it up to me. And he did. (Ladies, he's single at the moment!)

Smack!

2006-08-03T01:01:00.000-05:00

In the swirling madness that was my wedding preparation, I forgot that Sunday the 23rd of July was my blogiversary.

*

Way to go, little blog!

*

I started this bloggyblog in the hopes that it would take the place of the monthly newsletter I was sending out to all my past crochet students who expressed interest in getting updates & new info between class sessions. It didn't really work out that way. Very few people cared enough to check in with a website--a quality that astonished me, as I had just discovered crocheting and knitting blogs and loved that everyone was sharing their progress (struggles and all), and couldn't wait to read what everyone was going to say next. I also started wanted to write more for myself and less as a font of information for a group of stitchers who were not nearly as rabid as I was about the idea of staying up-to-the-minute current on the latest stitch-type news, or learning every possible technique all at once (or at least were not as vocal about it as I was). I also wanted to write better (after 3 years of writing mosly APA-style lab papers, my skills were honed to a sponge-like dullness).

And thus was born the blog you see today.

*

When I named it "get your hook on", of course, I was a crocheter with absolutely no knitting aspriations. Now that I have a foot planted firmly in either camp (but with a definite leaning toward knitting), I'm considering a name change but have no real plans for that. I don't know how it would go over or what I would change it to.

(Yes, I just ended a sentence--nay, a paragraph!--with a preposition. Having just read The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson, I learned that the injunction against ending sentences with a preposition began with some dude's opinion that it doesn't look nice, and got put into some Great English Rulebook and is now official and stuff. While I'm usually a stickler for grammar and rules, it makes me chuckle to know that the rules sprouted from some random guy's mildly expressed opinion, and that they have led to sentence constructions such as "That is something up with which we will not put!" [a true story... one of Nick's law school professors said it. Jokingly, one presumes] There's probably some rule against massive and constant use of parentheticals, but you can see how well I adhere to that one.)

*

Anyway. So yes, blogiversary number one has come and gone, and I am done with wedding planning for the rest of my life (so help me, if I have a daughter I will run away to Azerbaijan if she wants a big wedding and just show up the day of. So very supportive.), and I hope to make some changes around here in the housekeeping department. You know, keep up with my projects on the sidebar, join a swap or two, start a weekly something that makes me think (as you can see, any sort of kick in the pants in that direction will be welcome). We'll see what happens.

*(All the pictures? They're projects that I started over the past year and have not yet finished. I hope to better myself this year.)

Home Again Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2006-08-01T11:15:00.000-05:00

A numerical look at the past two weeks...

68 - number of new emails waiting for me when I got home

64 - number of new emails that were spam

5 - number of days we spent in the Northwoods

3 - bottles of wine (the 1.5 liter kind) we drank (what? they were leftover from the reception. like I'm going to waste good wine?)

2 - number of days we didn't leave the cabin (*wink!*)

1.5 - bottles of Champagne we drank (the .5 is due to a little mini-bottle I got at my bachelorette party)

1 - new husband (wooohoooo!)

So, I'm married now. You can't see it, but I'm dancing around my apartment with glee. Glee!

And it feels great to be back home and to have nothing to do with flowers, caterers, dress fittings, bakers, communications breakdowns, guests saying "2" on the response card and bringing "4" (those bastards!), or anything else related to a wedding. I can put my brain back on (it fell off about a month ago) and do normal things. I may even knit.

But today I'm going to post a few pictures about the wedding (because even though I'm glad it's over, I had a really fun time on the day). They're from my camera, and I think I gave it to my sister-in-law (Hi Wanda! You're my big sister now! I'm so excited!) and I forgot to turn on the flash so some of the pictures came out a wee bit blurry. Just look at them from afar.

Getting dressed in my Grandma's bedroom (she lives across the lake from the lodge where we had the wedding & recpetion). My friend Christine is zipping up the top. I've known Christine since kindergarten, which just amazes me, and she is the best get-it-done kind of person ever.

Nick and I standing at the ... well, it's a fireplace, not an altar. We had a pretty much non-traditional approach to the whole thing. I cried a few times during the ceremony (we asked our parents to write some sort of blessing--very emotional--and both of us wrote something about our relationship--hugely emotional) and lost it twice while trying to repeat my vows.

Our first dance, to The Sundays' version of "Wild Horses." If you squint, you can see the shell-shock wearing off.

We found this field full of sunflowers on the way to my parents' house from the hotel on the day after the wedding. Seriously, FULL of sunflowers. Do you see the trees way in the background? That is where the sunflowers end. Beautiful. It made us all giddy and stuff. (sorry for the squinty eyes and bad lighting... it was about 12noon when we took this picture.)

Thank you to Heather for guest blogging, to Anna for showing up at the wedding when she wasn't sure she could, and to Sandi for being simultaneously insanely fun and very calm at the wedding (as well as for a very popular shower gift!). You ladies kick ass.

Thanks to everyone who commented for your lovely good wishes. I am getting back into the swing of things, as they say, and plan to get back to blog-reading and -commenting as soon as possible.

Mawiage

2006-07-23T12:53:00.000-05:00

"Mawiage is what bwings us togevver, today!"

It's official!! Kathy is fully hitched to her love of nine years (!!), Nick. They're a freaking adorable couple, I'll have you know. Oh, and Hi! I'm the guest blogger, and not Kathy, lest you think she's suddenly gone all third person on you. Kathy is unable to be here herself right now because the lucky girl is up in the northern wilds, probably sitting on the front porch of her cabin, alternately knitting & snorgling with her sweetie. Honeymoons are great.

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous--held at a lovely lodge right on the edge of a lake that I'd never heard of, in the middle of some really beautiful rolling hills on the border of Wisconsin. I've never actually been up that way, and it's just lovely up there! Kathy grew up in that area, from what I hear, and she's a lucky little critter for it. The weather was wonderful too--big, puffy storm clouds that looked stunning on the horizon, made for really good lighting (y'know, the whole dark sky background + sun = everything's beautiful effect), and only sprinkled for a minute or two. My husband has a thing about taking a picture of the sky on important days...I've got photos of the weather/sky from each boy's birth, and honestly, it's pretty sweet. Kathy's wedding sky is beautiful... There would be a picture here of a pretty sky over the lake, but unfortunately, Blogger has pms again, and won't let me post any. I will try again in a while, but oy! I have this problem on my own blog a lot, and it drives me batshit.

Anyway, it really was a great evening. Kathy & Nick both got all verklempt up at the altar, which was really very sweet. The ceremony was beautiful, as was Kathy...and I'd post pictures to show y'all that, but no, the blog gods curse me daily. My sons also had a wonderful time...Eldest Boy is apparently a dancing fool, and kept the bride occupied for a good long time. I was really touched by that...Kathy took a big part of her time at her own wedding reception to make sure a seven year old boy was happy, and oh my, was he ever thrilled!! Thank you, Kathy, for making my little guy feel so very special.

Speaking of little guys, my herd has awoken & is requesting food, so I must be off for now...but I'll try to come back later & make those pictures post!

Oh yeah, and

CONGRATULATIONS, KATHY & NICK!!! Y'all make a lovely couple. :)

I'll Be His Missus

2006-07-21T08:37:00.000-05:00

The Random
Tomorrow I get married.

I'm getting nervous about walking in and having people look at me and having to walk up an aisle.

Ack! Married! I can't believe it!

Have I packed everything? I have no idea. I think so. Should I pack my yoga mat, or will I not use it? Maybe tomorrow morning? I'll put it in the pile of stuff to go.

Married! Married!! Wow.

The Business
Okay, so I won't be posting until August, probably. The Lovely Heather is going to post a few things while I'm gone on my honeymoon (!!!! I get a honeymoon!), so say hello and give a wave when you see things up here.

Have a great week, y'all!
(Because Southern is also a mindset)

The Nature Photo

Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

2006-07-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

Our wedding reception playlist is looking like a middle-school dance. We have a lot of Billy Joel, some Def Leppard, Don Henly, Roxette, Lita Ford, Nelson ("I can't live without yooour love and affection!"), Kenny Loggins, Motley Crue, The Bangles, and ABBA. And of course, Lou Gramm (you've probably never heard of him... the one-hit-wonder syndrome and all, but his one song "Midnight Blue" is amazing and I lurve it).

Right now I'm going back and adding a bunch of songs to our playlist that Nick took out because "you can't dance to these" or "this is just too ridiculous, Kathy." Songs like MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" and Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" (the original non-Korn version) because these are songs that shaped, well, my middle school dance experience and therefore my first experience of anything even remotely resembling dating and romance. Of course it was all awkward and the girls were all taller than the boys, and the boys wouldn't ask us to dance because they were nervous and we had a completely nerdy teacher who walked around and made sure we weren't dancing too closely (which didn't even cross our minds in sixth grade because we were concentrating on not stepping on each others' feet and not looking directly at each other), and it was just so nerve-wracking that I'm sure the hormones bubbled up to the surface just from the stress of it all. But it was dancing and I love dancing, and now I have a deep-seated affection for all things late 80's and early 90's, and he can't take away my "Angel is a Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band, dammit! Not on my wedding day, because I have now mastered the art of dancing with a boy, and talking to a boy, and looking like I'm having a good time. And I want to enjoy the middle-school music while dancing, which will be a first.

I am also procrastinating.

I have to write some parts of the ceremony still, then email it to the pastor. I also have to pack for the honeymoon (I like to start early, so I can change my mind a billion times), which includes the knitting bag. What to bring to knit? Something mindless. Like the beginning of a sock. Except, not a sock based on this swatch:

It's sock yarn on size 0 needles. My gague is 11.5 sts = 1 inch. Yes, eleven-and-a-half stitches to one inch. It's complete madness. I would have to cast on like 120 stitches to fit it around my leg.

(with a US 4 for reference)

Think I'm maybe a little bit stressed?

Oh, and we found out who sent the mysterious response card. It's a close relative's half-brother, his insane wife, her brother, two daughters & a grandchild. The invitation was for two.

Today's Nature Picture...

Ah heck, have three...

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2006-07-18T11:50:00.000-05:00

I don't have any new pictures of my Mom, so here are some lovely ferns I saw on my regular walking/running loop. My Mom likes ferns. My Mom also likes organization, tiger lilies, raspberries, punctuality, pretty dresses, and smooching my Dad.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Secret

2006-07-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

My post-wedding knitting is all set up.

But I can't tell you what these are all about, because it's a secret.

Let's see... we've got alpaca, merino, and Cascade 220. This will be the best wedding-recovery ever.

In other secret news, the bachelorette party was Saturday. Some pictures may make it to the blog, most won't. What happens amongst the party stays amongst the party.

Amongst. What a great word.

In other not-so-secret news, I get married in 5 days. This is the week where--I have been told--I only do things that contribute to relaxation and beauty. Ha!

(Pardon my complete incoherence this week, along with my total lack of social graces--I owe lots of you emails and/or blog comments. I'm sorry for the incommunicado-ness, and can only chalk it up to wedding-type insanity. I hope to regain my wits after the honeymoon.)

And now, to distract you from my brainless mumblings, a nature photo.

Happy Birthday, Husband-to-be!

2006-07-15T09:50:00.000-05:00

Today, my Beloved turns twenty-eight. Twenty-eight! Hooray!

He kept forgetting that today is his birthday (mostly because today is the bachelor/bachelorette party day). Plus that whole wedding thing.

He doesn't mind that I totally blanked on the physical card, and I'm tickled that I get to post about him, with pictures of him, on his birthday (instead of a card).

He sometimes wears a beard. I like it.
He also likes the outdoors, and is camping this weekend with his guys (yes, this horrible, humid, heat-index-of-100+ weekend).

I like to make him laugh with my silliness.

Happy birthday, Nick. I'm going to marry you in a week!

All the love in the whole world,
Kathy

Unexpected

2006-07-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

My brain has gone numb these last few days. Consequently, posts are going to be in list form from now until August (most likely). This is a list of things that made me go "Hmmm." Like the song. Which I now have stuck in my head. Damn.

1. I am missing one 7" size 4 (US) pink aluminum dpn and a black satin corset. Both objects were placed in fairly secure locations, either in closets or in the knitting box; they weren't running about willy-nilly. Where the heck are they? Are they together? Is someone macgyvering some weird sexy knitting device?

2. My Beloved said to me tonight: "Speaking of wisdom, I was reading "Redbook" today..." Words that I never in life expected to hear from any man.

3. The thought that my wedding approaches on swift ninja feet is starting to really flip me out. It's in 10 days, and I keep saying things like "Oh, we'll take care of that the week before the wedding" and that's next week. Good lord.

4. I talked to (or rather emailed) my good friend in the Navy, who says that hailing a ship is a lot like trying to pick up someone in a bar. "What's your name? What's your sign? Where have you been? Where are you going? What kind of junk do you have in your trunk?" Despite these scintillating near-hook-ups, he's kind of bored. Sadly, The Navy won't let him come home for my wedding. Even if we ask nicely.

5. It may be a sign of my newfound maturity (let us all contemplate that statement with a collective "Ha!") that I have stopped biting my fingernails.

This shocks everyone I know, including myself. I've always been a nail biter, then a few weeks ago I just decided to have pretty nails for the wedding, and I stopped. Wow. Simple. Now the long nails get in the way of everything and I can't wait to chew off bits of my hands after the wedding.

6. Oddly, the thought of getting married is more serious and almost scary lately. Weird, because we've been together for 9 years and have lived together for one year. I don't know.

7. I have to figure out how to put on eyeshadow in the next 10 days. Does anyone have advice as to where to put the colors? I have this vague notion that the lighter shades should be right under your eyebrow, but that could be a whacked-out tip from an eight-year-old Seventeen magazine and I don't want to look crazy on my wedding day. Really, anyone with ideas?

The obligatory nature picture, which will distract you from the awful lack-of-content in today's post. I hope.

Happy Birthday, Maribeth!

2006-07-10T21:23:00.000-05:00

This is Maribeth, my youngest sister. Today is her birthday and she is TWENTY years old.

Maribeth is the happiest girl I know. She has been ridiculously happy since babyhood (which seems not very long ago at all), and she brightens up the lives of everyone around her.

Maribeth is a nursing student and CNA, which is an excellent occupation for a bubbly smiling person.

Maribeth is "just nice" according to my almost-mother-in-law, who likes her very much.

Maribeth is beautiful, cheerful, loving, and a joy to behold. She makes my day when she calls me, and I love her tons and tons.

Happy birthday, and welcome to non-teenager-hood.

Love,
Eldest Sister

Dear Miss Manners

2006-07-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

How should one decipher the following card, sent in response to a wedding invitation?

Do we assume that ...
(a) we sent this invitaiton to math geeks, and this is their way of telling us that no one is coming (0 x 6 = 0)?
(b) the recipients are too shy to include their names?
(c) names on response cards are just not done any longer, that we were terribly gauche in asking for names in the first place, and that the fault lies with us?

Please advise, Miss Manners. My wedding is in two weeks and I am up to my ears in planning, in making lists, and in panic attacks. And if the proper way to handle name-less response cards is to assume that the fault is mine, I need time to properly word the suicide note.

Numbers, Camping, and Sock Progress

2006-07-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

I went camping over the long weekend (Sunday to Tuesday is a weird weekend, but it works for me) and came home to insane blog stats:

(clicky-clicky for big)
Behold the power of the Harlot, who mentioned me on Monday. One thousand seven hundred seventeen page loads for my wee little blog. I about fell out of my chair onto my mosquito bites from the shock.

So, let me extend the hand of welcome to everyone who is new. Hello! I hope you have enjoyed browsing the pattern post and I hope you enjoy making fruit hats for babies, if that is your aim. My blog is normally a little more organized, but my mind is in ten different directions just now and I've let the housework go a little. Just move those wedding books aside if you'd like to sit down. In about a month or so everything will be cleaned right up, so bear with me in the interim, if you would. Thank you.

Camping is way fun when it's camping that takes you away from wedding planning. We went to Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin with some friends, and the drive up was blissfully un-traffic-y and included such vistas as:

Windmills! These lovely things are set up along the very rural highway and turn wind into power, which is a beautiful sight. There are some along I-39 in Illinois as well (some folks think they're ugly and don't want them around. What's uglier--windmills or a poisoned planet unfit to support life? That's what I thought.)

The first night of camping was full of celebratory drinks and interpretive dance around the fire, as our good friends Jeremy & Beth got engaged the day before we got there. The second day began slowly, but turned into a 10-mile hike for some of us. That was amazing and difficult and bug-filled and fun.

The puppy on Margaret's lap is Cash, and he belongs to Jeremy. He hiked at least 18 miles, what with all the running ahead to scout out the terrain and running back to do a head count of his people every 20 minutes. He was great fun to have around, and extremely calm when we had to dig a tick out of his groin area. Good dog.

I also brought the sock camping, and it enjoyed itself. Even when the huge raging 10-minute storm came up (which took us by surprise. We thought it was 20-50 miles away it was in reality a mere 5 minutes from torrential downpour. In our defense, it was a very fast-moving storm.) the sock took everything in stride and remained calm. I have begun the heel flap.

Progress continues to be made, and confidence continues to expand. I may start on that lovely Koigu over the honeymoon. Or not.

A parting shot of a charming little fern encountered on the epic hike, for my Mom, who loves ferns.

Carmen Miranda-izing the Babies of California

2006-06-29T20:15:00.000-05:00

We have been challenged!

Stephanie mentioned an effort by a lovely woman named Jeanne in California, all about bringing breastfeeding education and support to low-income families in her area. Part of her plan includes handing out adorable knitted fruit and/or vegetable hats to the wee ones in the hopes of instilling smart nutritional values for life. (My own personal take-away lesson: always put your food on your head, because Mom's face is just so much more fun when you do.)

Jeanne's plan seems to be a pretty large one, and she could use the help of cheerful knitters to send some hats to simultaneously warm the noggins of babies and make them look like Carmen Miranda's littlest fanclub. I totally dig breastfeeding (been on the receiveing end, but not yet on the dispensing end), and I think Jeanne's effort is amazing. All the more so because who doesn't love babies wearing fruit-shaped hats? It's bound to succeed.

Because I'm so all over this, I've made a list of links to free patterns of baby hats that look like fruits and veggies for you to peruse and use. (I know you have the ability to head over to Knitting Pattern Central and check it out yourself--I don't think you're dumb in any way--I just like to be helpful and to pretend that I'm organized) (Hello 23 days until my wedding!)

And even though I found the bunny, squid, egg & kitty hats to be adorable, I'm vegan/vegetarian and don't want kids to think that it's okay to eat the squid, so I didn't include them in this list.

Warning: the pictures with actual babies in them may cause you to flip out from cute.

Apple Hat (I must make one of these)

Tart Hat (it wants to be a raspberry, though! Can you see it?)

Pineapple Hat

Pumpkin Hat

Tomato (or perhaps Strawberry) Beanie (so very cute!)

Watermelon Hat Pseudo-Pattern (by none other than Harlot Herself)

At press-time (ha! I find myself endlessly amusing!), Stephanie said folks could email her to find out where to send the knitted adorableness. So go do it. And leave me a comment if you're joining in the foodie fun. Hooray!

This is How My Brain Works

2006-06-27T21:16:00.000-05:00

Or doesn't, as the case may be.

Our supergoodfriends Mark and Amy got married this weekend; Nick was best man and I was a bridesmaid (this is the third time in my life I've been a bridesmaid... is it possible I shall never marry? The rate this planning is going I'm sure my mother thinks I won't) and we were busy busy people all weekend long. Some of us were busy getting our drink on and flashing our pretty blue underwear at all our friends. I won't say who, though.

So, you could read "busy" there as "hungover." Or, if you're my Mom, you could just read it as "busy" and completely ignore the underwear comment.

I learned some things this weekend, though, and now you can too:

1. My wedding day is the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene, that nice woman who everyone thinks is a whore. Or the wife of Christ. Either way, think of the parties that woman has thrown.

2. My wedding day is also Pi Approximation Day (one of many). I'm more a word person than a numbers person, but Pi is just so cute and wiley and infinite.

3. Wedding shawls are impossible to make and why did I even start oh my god.

4. The Misfits' "Skulls" + a bottle of Wild Turkey + a wedding-type dance floor full of punk rock nerds = mayhem. But really sweet mayhem.

5. I cannot stop watching soccer/football/futbol videos on the internet. I love them so. I think I have a crush on soccer and am accomplishing nothing because I am entranced by Ronaldinho's magic skills. We don't have teevee (DeKalb doesn't get any broadcast channels and I refuse to purchase cable), so we do the Netflix thing and now internet videos which have pulled me in with their seductive awesomeness.

Hey, It's a Picture! And It's Made Me Forget That There's No Real Content in Today's Post! Sweet!

I went walking last Tuesday around 8am and damn if the light isn't just stunning at that hour. I took a bunch of pictures because I was surprised to find out that my town is occasionally pretty. I plan to use them to distract you from the lameness of my blog for the next LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS until my wedding.

Excuse me while I go freak out about something.

Perhaps you stopped by for the knitting?

2006-06-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

I know. You don't want to hear any more about the wedding. You've tolerated my whining and ranting because you just want me to get back to the fiber arts, for the love of pete. I know this because I don't want to hear any more about my wedding. I'm wedding-ed out. And more friends are getting married this weekend! And Nick and I are in the wedding! And today our own wedding is one month away! Panic!

*smack*

Okay. I'm fine. Where was I? Oh yes, yarn and lovely things made from yarn. What a pretty concept. I like yarn.

The wedding shawl (I just can't get away, can I? Good lord, I'll be so happy on the 23rd) is coming along nicely.

Here is the latest round, at one of the points. The points are getting bigger and may eventually take over the whole thing, like The Blob or a really sparkly fungus. This is the one thing that I want to be really elaborate (or as elaborate as I can make it in the next month. One Month! Oh My Freaking God!), because I'm making it myself and boy howdy do I want my on-display handcraft to pop.

As I mentioned before, I had run out of the Patons Brilliant I was using. I went to my lovely LYS (The Yarn Exchange, visit them because they are lovely people and if you're ever in DeKalb let me know and I'll meet you there because it smells like cozy wool and it's delightful and I love it) to purchase some but they were also out of the color I needed. Not wanting a two-tone shawl (though the Ruby color would have looked stunning, not so appropriate for my blue/pink/yellow wedding), I asked for more and they of course ordered more and it was very nice. I went in after a week to check on my order and the owner said that she told Patons it was for a wedding shawl and they put a rush on the shipment (!!) and and that Patons wants a picture of my wedding shawl when it's all done.

Holy crap, Patons wants a picture of something I made. I'm falling over every time I think of it.

Remember that yarn I had rambling everywhere willy-nilly on my green post?

It is now a sock. Or, more accurately, the beginning of a sock. It's a tube, people, and it's a pretty one. I love it, and I love the ChiaGoo 5" dpns (size 4 for this sportweight yarn, good for a first sock which will become winter boot socks). I can't find a website for them, and Google thinks I mean "Chicago double pointed," which opens up a whole new realm of possibilities, so you'll have to take my word for it that they are pretty darn good. And pointy enough that I can stab the living daylights out of this yarn and split it quite effectively.

It may be because I've completely lost my ability to focus due to the wedding and its never-ending torrent of details that must be attended to this very instant! or all will come crashing down and don't you want everything to match exactly, you heathen?, but I've been casting on for a bunch of projects lately.

My latest obsession: Picovoli, because I am a sheep. But a sheep who knows what looks amazing. The yarn is KnitPicks (to whom I cannot link because--and I kid you not--"There has been an overflow or underflow of GC memory pressure.") Shine sport in Orchid, and it looks stunning on Ziggy, I think. Hopefully it'll look nice on me too. Considering I have no idea what my gauge is (I used to kind of know what it was when I was a thrower, but now that I pick ... ? Who knows. Maybe I'll measure my gauge today. Hmm.)

I also swatched for the Baby Maggie sweater (the yarn for which was purchased a hundred years ago, or maybe just back in February),

and got confused. The pattern calls for Size 6 (4.0mm) needles. My size 6's (from Clover) are 4.25mm. What the damn hell is going on?

If you clicky-clicky you can see that the needles clearly say 6 4.25 mm. Clearly something is very wrong, because all the charts I have seen comparing needles sizes (that would be a total of one, in Stephanie's latest book) say that US 6 = 4.0mm and US 7 = 4.5mm. Where does this mysterious 4.25mm needle come into play? I couldn't figure it out, so I went with my US 5's, which are aluminum and so very annoying when paired with 100% cotton. I'll probably use my mutant 4.25mm bamboo needles for this sweater anyway... I'm making the 18-month-old size and if it's too big, the child can grow into it. As children do.

And I haven't cast on with this stuff yet, but I did buy KnitPicks Shadows laceweight (3 skanks) and plan to turn two of them (maybe?) into lacey scarf-type gifts. After the wedding is over and everything is back to normal.

Heather turned one skank into a ball for me. Man, I want my own ball winder.

And finally, there is a new e-zine out there built (does one build an e-zine?) by Yvonne of Cogknition, called Faces of Yve. It's all about web design in the smaller scale, how to tweak your blog template, how to make buttons (I asked her a question and she used it in her button column--way cool!), etc. It's a good resource, and she writes in a totally approachable style so you don't feel like a heel for not knowing what an HTML tag is, exactly.

And finally finally, I leave you with a picture of my new notions bag, advertising our honeymoon destination and the kind of people we hope to meet on the way.

Damn, Blast, and Other Expletives As Well

2006-06-20T00:28:00.000-05:00

The universe conspires against me.

I've been watching the Yarn Harlot's tour page, anxiously awaiting a date for her Chicago stop. There are a few awesome things happening this summer-- one of them is Stephanie's book tour (another being a little thing I like to call my wedding) and I really really want to see her again. However, the day she comes to Chicago (July 24th) is the very day I leave for my honeymoon, and no amount of wheedling, cajoling or promise of crazy hot sex will induce my husband-to-be (holy crap! I'm going to have a husband!) to drive anywhere that is not our honeymoon destination.

Not that I blame him. After all this insane planning of details and compromising of ideas and assumption of stress and guilt, we're going to be so very ready to leave Illinois.

I hope some of my friends go and have a yarntastic time for me, though.