Another Distraction

A Weekend in San Simeon

2009-04-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

It's probably bad blogging form to blog about something a week and change after it happened, but I think we've pretty much determined I'm not exactly an exemplary blogger.

The DBF and I were in San Simeon for a weekend earlier this month. It was incredibly windy, but beautiful.

Naturally, we went to see Hearst Castle. We took the garden tour and the evening tour. Unfortunately, I don't think I can share any of the photos here, given Hearst Castle's photography policy.

One of the first things we saw in the area was a beach full of elephant seals. They're apparently molting right now.

Pretty amazing. We really need to go on more weekend trips...

I'll take "Copyright" for $200, Alex...

2009-04-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I was a writer. Of sorts. I know--hard to believe, given the state of this blog, but it’s true. Not so long ago, I was paid to write. Still am, from time to time.

As a writer, both amateur and professional, and being someone who has done both "work for hire" and work where I retain my copyright, I suppose I have a particular sensitivity to copyright issues.

But even as a child, I learned that it was wrong to take credit--either explicitly or implicitly--for someone else’s work, or to copy without permission. As I got older, it also became clear that using someone else’s work for one’s own financial gain without permission was also Not Cool. Until recently, I thought this was a pretty universal experience. It never really crossed my mind that I’d run into adults who didn’t share this understanding.

But now I have. And apparently, they’re everywhere.

A couple of months ago, I was asked to help out on a project. We just needed to create a few brochures--and the contents had already been created. Turns out, the way the content was created for these brochures was largely by copying and pasting contents from a competitor’s brochure--word for word. I kid you not. There were other issues , too, but that was the biggie. And they lied to me about it when I asked where the content came from, but that’s another rant entirely… The scary thing is that when I put them on the phone with our lawyers to get an understanding of what copyright infringement is, they said, “but it was on the Internet, so it’s public domain--free to use”.

Un-freakin’-believable.

Let’s be clear--that is NOT the way it works. Just because something is on the Internet does NOT mean it’s in the public domain or free to use. A clue might be the copyright statement. I don’t know--I’m not a lawyer--I’m just sayin’… It probably wouldn’t hurt to check.

Mind boggling.

And now the same types of issues seem to be rearing their ugly heads in the knitting community. Wendy blogged about it back in February . Kate has recently blogged about it, and so has Pam.

I’m not going to re-hash their posts. I’ve linked to them, and I encourage you to read the posts for yourself. And then I would ask that if you see folks violating a designer’s copyright (or a writer's copyright, or an artist's copyright--or anyone's copyright, for that matter), that you call them on it. Gently. If it’s an honest mistake, they’ll fix it. If not, you might want to re-think where you do business.

Just my two cents.

Mealtime

2009-04-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Dinner:

Leisurely

2009-03-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, well, I'm certainly taking my time about posting all that great stuff, eh?

Perhaps this cuteness will distract you from my lack of posting.

Back (relatively) soon; hopefully with more to say. For now, wish me luck on finishing up my taxes!

Fish or Cut Bait?

2009-02-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit: OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP), courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce

Wow. I am a terrible blogger. Not a single post in January. And yet I persist in keeping the blog. Why is that?

Actually, I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Knitting, and wanting to be a part of the online knitting community, is really what got me started blogging. Of course, I wanted the freedom to talk about anything that struck my fancy, but knitting was the instigator, and my main topic. But now there’s ravelry, so for someone like me (a rather slow, uninspiring knitter), it’s my answer to participating in the online knitting community.

Remeber Alice? Still not done...

And yet, I keep the blog. There are other things to talk about, right? But, I believe I’ve mentioned before that I’m not so good at the sharing of personal stuff.

I finally thought I had come to the conclusion (again) that it was time to let go of the blog. Except that, all of the sudden, I now have a bunch of stuff that I want to blog. Evil elevators. Caffeine. Pets. Bread. LOTS of bread… Travel. Procrastination. Cool technology. Wonderful people. (And let’s be honest--perhaps a few not-so-wonderful people.) Fear. Hope. My firm belief that the Wizard of Oz can explain about 90% of life. And maybe I’ll even mention knitting on occasion.

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, © 2001, Smithsonian Institution Press

So, for now, I will fish. Which is to say, I will blog. In a leisurely fashion, because I do it solely for recreation--my own personal enjoyment. And perhaps, from time to time, I’ll catch something good. But it’s more about the sport than the prize. I think I’ll be content to just relax and enjoy myself out here. And you’re welcome to come hang out, too.

Photo courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce

Holiday Headlock

2008-12-23T22:37:00.000-08:00

Well, last year's picture was better--definitely more professional--but that pup's just so darned cute, it doesn't matter. He looks perfectly happy in spite of Santa's headlock. And $5 of the photo price went to help homeless animals, so it was worth it.

Happy holidays, whatever you might celebrate, to you and yours, from me and mine. Including the furry little cutie in the picture!

Move over, Johnny Depp...

2008-11-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

Make room for Kitty ScissorTeeth...

That USED TO be an adapter that would let me plug two sets of headphones into my iPod. Handy for traveling with two people and one Pod. At least, it WAS...

[Note to self: remember to put cords--and yarn--somewhere the cat can't get them...]

Pride and Prejudice

2008-11-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

photo from http://www.barackobama.com

Do I have to tell you which is which?

I am thrilled with our country's pick for the next president. And very disappointed that it looks like my state (California) is legislating discrimination.

Have you?*

2008-11-04T15:42:00.001-08:00

*You know, if you're an eligible American voter...

Getting Started

2008-11-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

Naturally, I'm already behind schedule with NaNoWriMo. Big surprise*. I'm not pleased with what I've written thus far (another big surprise*), I can't put my hands on the list of writing ideas I've already started, and I have absolutely no idea what I want to write about, so today I'm starting over with some exercises.

Of course, I can't easily put my hands on the books and decks of writing exercises I already have, so I've turned to the Internet.

In case any of you are interested in doing a few creative writing exercises of your own, I'm listing some of the sites I've found here, although I haven't yet tried any of them, so use them at your own risk:

Writers' Digest, here
CreativeWritingPrompts.com
Writing Fix, here (intended for kids, but has some good, general purpose prompts, too.)
The Creativity Portal's Imagination Prompt Generator
C.M Mayo's site, here
Meridith Sue Willis' site, here
The "Buried Treasures" blog
The 6' Ferret Writers' Group, here
One of Us Creative Writing Web site, here
about.com, here and here

And then, just for fun, there's this one ('cause we really don't want to take all of this too seriously)--warning: it contains foul language and some crass content. Funny, but crass.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/5/4wiencek.html

Anybody else know of any good resources?

*sarcasm

I believe it is now official...

2008-11-01T18:17:00.001-07:00

I've lost my mind.

Scary Story

2008-10-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

And you know what's scarier than that? (No--it's not the fact that I'm finally posting again.) I haven't done much in the way of knitting--a bit here and there--but lured by the quick win offered by crochet, I may have started--and finished--a couple of small projects while my current knitting WIPS languish.

A hotpad (the Crochet Flower Hot Pad), just 'cause the sample I saw at Bobbin's Nest was so dang cool...

(The one at Bobbin's Nest was much prettier.)

...and the pouch bag pattern I got at Full Thread Ahead, although this isn't the Louet Euroflax I bought for it--after reading about others' experiences with the pattern on Ravelry, I wasn't sure one skein would really be enough--or that my crochet skills would be up to the whole "counting" thing (I "wing it" too much with crochet...), so I used some Patons Grace.

Now back to our regularly scheduled knitting...

(Oh--and I did finish--and gift--the kitty pi. Picture with the kitty when I get a chance.)

While I've been away

2008-09-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Another quick update...

For the past four days, in addtion to work and a few social engagements, I've been doing the Peninsula to Pier LYS Shop Hop 2008 (also known as the "P2P"). Much fun! But of course, because I didn't post each day as I went, the post is becoming ginormous, and there's no way I'll finish it tonight, so today I bring you up to date on my knitting progress of late.

The nephew socks:

Yeah. Not much different than the last time...

And the kitty pi.

Soon, there will be a P2P post. Or two. But not tonight...

Almost there...

2008-09-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Crazy! No time to blog. Must post pictures, and Flickr keeps stopping just before they're uploaded. My first, last, and only pair of SOS08 socks are finally DONE!

Details later--must get the pix posted so I can post to Ravelry...

Another Charitable Knitting Opportunity

2008-08-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to pass along another charitable knitting opportunity. Knit (or crochet) a scarf for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Details are on the Coats and Clark Web site.

Must See!

2008-07-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously.

Go watch. Now.

You gotta love Joss Whedon.

(If you're not convinced, check out the trailer, first.)

Little Things

2008-07-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed at the little things I notice and the little things I miss completely. In my work life, part of my job is to make sure all the little details are right, and I'm pretty good at it. But in my real life, I'm forever missing some of the best little details.

Case in point: On a recent walk, the DBF pointed these little guys out. I would have walked right past them.

I was too distracted by this.

Not a bad distraction, to be sure. But definitely far more obvious than the little birds. (And, truth be told, I spent as much time looking at the houses across the street as I did taking in the breathtaking scenery.)

Maybe the difference is that at work, I know what I'm looking for, and in real life, I generally just think about what I'm looking at. Or maybe it's because it's easier to spot what's amiss than what's in harmony. Or perhaps I'm too focused on what's straight ahead to even consider looking around. But I think it's mostly that I'm too busy inside my own head to notice the wonder around me. I need to work on that. In the mean time, I'm very fortunate to have found someone willing to lend me his eyes.

Not literally, of course. That would be gross...

Let me explain. No--wait. There is too much.

2008-06-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Let me sum up.*

Instant Gratification Cardi: done

Jam (olallieberry on the left, and rose petal on the right): done

Summer of Socks kick off project (Fawkes): started

... ? ...

Packing for the trip that requires I leave at 5 a.m. tomorrow: um, packing? hmm...

*Extra points if you know where that's from.

Wrapped in Care

2008-06-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Like to knit shawls, or know someone else who does? Want to help someone who's going through a difficult time? Knit a shawl for someone who must leave the Birth Center or Newborn Intensive Care Unit with empty arms. All the details (including patterns, if you need them) can be found in Susan Rainey's "Wrapped in Care" post on the Rainey Sisters' blog. Please check it out and help spread the word.

Cuteness

2008-06-18T23:55:00.000-07:00

While I'm trying to finish up my Instant Gratification Cardi and prepare for the Summer of Socks, here's a little cuteness to keep you occupied.

The latest additions to my Dad's household.

Winning news and other randomness

2008-05-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Winning news:

This is the inside of my freezer.

"Winning news" doesn't immediately jump to mind when you look at this, does it? This sad photo gives you a pretty accurate glimpse into what a weeknight dinner is for me. It's not that I can't cook, but that I'm usually too tired, too distracted, or too lazy to cook after a long day at work. Especially if I'm just cooking for me, which is about 80% of the time.

Why would I show you this? Because soon--very soon--I should be eating quick, healthy dinners, thanks to Wendy. I won a copy of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper through one of her fabulous blog contests! Perhaps I'll even blog a meal or two once I get the book. Stay tuned.

Other randomness:

* I did, in fact, sign up for the Summer of Socks 2008. I figure it shouldn't be too tough to do better than I did last year. And I will likely enter the "Socks on Vacation" contest. I will not be entering the "Most Socks" contest. Clearly.

* Here's a photo of the slow progress on the Instant Gratification Cardi Jacket. (In my defense, I've been traveling, so I haven't touched it in three days.)

* And a photo of the even slower progress on the fingerless gloves. I have no defense for the lack of progress here, although I will say that on the aforementioned trip, I chose to try and sleep on the plane, rather than read or knit, given it was essentially two cross-country (SFO-JFK-SFO) red-eyes with an all day meeting in the middle.

* Should you ever find yourself at JFK looking for a pleasant meal and a drink, steer clear of the Bacardi Lounge. The service is both slow and surly, and the drinks are overpriced.

* And since you're here... I'm going to take advantage of my increased Web traffic (since Wendy linked to me, and all) to let you know about two great hat-knitting-for-charity opportunities:

- Coveted Yarn's quarterly newborn hat drawing--a great cause and a great prize ($50 gift certificate at Coveted Yarn's online store)
- Kristy's "300 Hat Project", which I first read about on RC's blog. I understand there is also a Ravelry group for this worthy project. The hats are for orphans in the Ukraine, and if that's not enough incentive for you, RC's putting together a contest for the project.

It's shaping up to be a tasty meal-making, happy sock- and hat-knitting summer!

Do I dare?

2008-05-12T22:21:00.001-07:00

Jessica's doing the Summer of Socks (SOS) again this year over at Zarzuela Knits and Crochets. I was perhaps the most pathetic participant last year, finishing a grand total of *almost* ONE sock. So, I wasn't even going to officially play along this year. I figured I should just sit on the sidelines knitting sock(s) while I watch. You know? Prove myself (or redeem myself) before I try again. But now Wendy's writing a new sock pattern that's only available to SOS participants. And it's really, really cute. And I want it.

I do have a few long plane rides planned for the summer, so I should have more sock knitting time this summer...

Do I dare?

A question, a sweater, and a plan

2008-05-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know how (or if) I can stop people from spoofing my e-mail address and/or domain? You know, since they're clearly spamming people and making it look like the e-mail came from me or my domain? Or how I might track them down and prosecute them to the fullest extent of whatever law they may be subject to? Any tips would be greatly appreciated! I'll also accept really great, appropriate curses.

Actually, I read one that really made me laugh the other day. I wish I could remember where, so I could give due credit to the blogger, but memory fails at the moment. Anyway, the curse was something like, "May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits." For now, that's the one I'm using for the spoofers.

In the mean time, I've just started a new cardigan. I need a "quick win", so how could I resist something called the "Instant Gratification Cardi Jacket"? I've not gotten very far with it yet, but I'll post a photo and details soon.

And since a blog post just doesn't seem to be a blog post without some kind of graphic, I give you (courtesy of Dave Walker at We Blog Cartoons) an idea of what I will be doing today:

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

(Note that while I own the copyright on everything on my blog unless supplied by blogger or otherwise stated, Dave owns the copyright on the cartoon up there.)

So, with so many UFOs (and such a large pile of laundry looming), how is it that I've started yet another knitting project? It's true, I have a few projects that just won't seem to finish themselves and a whole slew of new projects I really want to start (odd how that always seems to happen, eh?), so I've made myself a little deal. I've moved all but one of the slower projects into "hibernation" on Ravelry. I will allow myself one new project and one "pre-existing" project at a time. I have a trip to NY coming up soon, so I figure I'll work on the second glove (my current "pre-existing" project) for that trip. It's two red-eyes, with a meeting in between, so I probably won't get a whole lot of knitting time. Maybe enough to finish up that glove, though.

In the mean time, I'll be off hunting down curses. Between loads of laundry.

Progress, such as it is...

2008-04-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Done.

Ugly, but done. (It is soft, but I'm afraid its ugliness will send it on its way to Good Will.)

And one of an only slightly less ugly pair is almost done.

These I will keep (and wear), even if the colorway's not quite doing what I expected. (The striping, yes. The blotching--not so much...)

Details in ravelry.

Maybe I'm weird...

2008-03-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

...but I totally want to make a BristleBot. (<-- That's a link to YouTube. I don't have the patience to sign up, so I can't embed the video here.)

Getting Organized. Maybe.

2008-03-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

More likely, this is just organized procrastination.

In any case, this blog is a mess. (Perhaps not as big a mess as my house, or I'd be putting this off to clean a bit in the real world.) So, in classic procrastinator style, I'm attempting to update/synch the blog with my Ravelry space (where I am known as "calembour", to those who are interested). I even personalized the blank button they offer. See?

Great for procrastinating.

And my list on the right for projects on the needles? On my own, that's almost never updated, 'cause it's a pain. But my projects are almost always updated on Ravelry, 'cause it's so dang easy. So I decided it was about time to figure out how to display my Ravelry progress bars on the blog. Not so tough. Next, I figure out if I can do something similar for my completed projects. (Not so much the progress bar part as the automatic update part.) And then I'll just need to link my blog entries to my Ravelry projects.

But first I need to clean this house!

An Accidental Easter Bonnet

2008-03-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's more of a hat than a bonnet. Still, very spring-y/Easter-y, don't you think? Of course, it still needs to be washed, blocked/dried, and I'm going to put pink ribbon in it instead of the yellow.

Alice is still on a time out, so I'm knitting other (small) things at the moment. This is Ellen's Ruffled Hat, by Ellen Lynch, and this one is an entry for Coveted Yarn's quarterly newborn hat drawing--a great cause and a great prize ($50 gift certificate at Coveted Yarn's online store) which I read about on Bertha's blog, Karma Kitties.

Seems like a good spring project.

Happy spring, everyone!

Experiment

2008-03-20T21:51:00.001-07:00

Friday through Saturday: another wonderful trip to Yosemite. (Photo courtesy of the DBF.)

Monday: Try to catch up on the work I missed Friday.

Tuesday: Fly from West Coast to Washington D.C. (for work--which has nothing to do with government, but everything to do with politics).

Wednesday: Fly from Washington D.C. back to the West Coast

Does the blurred, out-of-focus character of this (really bad) photograph convey a sense of speed?

No? Well, neither does watching me knit these.

Clearly, I am not a fast knitter.

At least I enjoy the scenery.

How Does My Garden Grow?

2008-03-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Too early to tell how it'll grow yet, but hey! I have a garden again!

Here's the left half of it. It had become horrifically overgrown with oxalis--the "pernicious invasive weed" kind, so Sunday was spent weeding, amending soil, planting and watering. I still need to get two more tomato cages, but I'm pretty happy with my little garden so far. Of course, the snails and the slugs haven't gotten a chance to munch it all yet. Anyone know of a good, pet-friendly way to get rid of snails and slugs? (I can't use beer. The dog will drink it...)

I'm pretty excited about this. Perhaps more than I should be. I have four varieties of tomatoes (I LOVE fresh tomatoes!), strawberries, three varieties of mint (which I may dig up and put in pots if it looks like it's getting unruly), chives, roses, and hopefully some yellow/orange calla lillies, just to keep in interesting. I have lavender in a pot on the front steps, which I'm also excited about, and the roses in front are showing a bunch of new growth. It's definitely spring around here!

So, it seems I'm going to try to keep at this blogging thing for a bit longer. We'll see how it goes. And I can't get to my e-mail client at the moment, but I want to give a really big thank you to Hope for her very nice, very supportive comment on my "Blog or Cut Bait" post. Thank you, Hope!

And Hollis, if you stop by, thanks for the offer to trade the Tofutsis w-a-y back, just before things got so quiet around here. I'm so sorry I didn't get right back to you. Part of the fun of yarn clubs is getting things you wouldn't ordinarily buy, so I'll hold onto it. It's one of those things where I know the colors will be perfect for someone, and then I'll knit up a really great gift with it.

Happy spring, everyone!

Uncooperative Alice

2008-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

I seem to have done something terribly wrong, but I can’t figure it out.

Everything was fine, all the way through the colorwork. Then I divided for front and back. Fine. I’m following the instructions for the 43” bust, and when I end the division/armhole shaping I have 93 stitches–precisely the number the instructions say I should have. The very next thing I’m supposed to do is knit 45, place the center stitch on a safety pin, and put the remaining stitches on a holder. So I knit 45, put one on a safety pin and put the remaining 47 on a holder. Huh? if the one on the safety pin is supposed to be the center, there should be 45 on the holder. So maybe I messed up. I recount. Nope. Did I forget to decrease somewhere? Well, let’s see: 45+1+47=93. So… weird. Usually if there’s a mistake in the math, it’s mine. But after playing with the numbers and re-reading the pattern, I have determined the best course of action is to just knit 46, put one on the safety pin, and put the remaining 46 on the holder. Now the real fun begins.

I have followed the instructions, although I now have the extra stitch, which I account for each time the directions give me a stitch count. Yep. I still have one more. No biggie. The kicker is that after finishing the decreases, I’m supposed to “work even until armhole measures 8.5”. But at the end of the decreases, the armhole is m-u-c-h longer than 8.5”. This is going to be a problem. So, I figure now that I’m knitting flat, my gauge is bigger–I should have switched to a smaller needle when knitting flat. So I check my gauge. I’m actually getting BOTH stitch and row gauge. I’m mystified.

Now, I started this so long ago, I don’t remember what my gauge on the unwashed swatch was (I started it pre-ravelry, and I don’t seem to have written it down on the pattern, or anywhere else handy now), but I seem to recall that the swatch blocked out to gauge, which means I should be getting more stitches per inch right now, and that getting gauge in the pre-washed sweater indicates a problem.

So, I guess I’ll have to measure my gauge again on the bottom of the sweater, likely rip out the top part, swatch for the same gauge I got on the bottom, and use whatever size needles that takes to re-do the top.

Crap.

Blog or Cut Bait...

2008-02-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

Okay. Clearly I am not fast enough or dedicated enough to be a knitblogger. That's fine. When I started this blog, I anticipated blogging about other things, too. Knitting just happens to be something I'm more passionate about than most of the other people I spend time with, so it seemed a natural topic for the blog. But obviously, it needs to be one topic of many.

What I didn't really anticipate is what a private person I am, and how tough that makes it to blog. Way to miss the obvious, huh?

It's been radio silence over here for a wide variety of reasons--both good and bad: Two people I care about are battling big illnesses, I've started my own business (in addition to working my regular corporate job), my oldest cat recently died of a very aggressive cancer, I've had my own recent medical scares, I've been traveling for work (the corporate gig), I've been spending a lot of time with the man that I love, I'm trying to get the house fixed up to put on the market, and I'd like to figure out what I want to be when I grow up before I retire... But this is all life. Other bloggers find the time to blog while their lives go on. How do they do it? And it hits me: they blog the illnesses, the new business, the death of a beloved cat, the medical scares, the business trips, the wonderful man, the house chaos, and the malaise. I just don't know if I want to.

So now, what to do about it?

I read a lot of fabulous blogs, and I just don't know that I have anything new or interesting to offer. Or if I'm willing to expose enough of myself to find out. People talk about the anonymity of the Internet, but I don't think it's so anonymous when you're part of a community, and that's what blogging is about. Being part of an online community.

So I need to decide--Blog, or cut bait...

Starting the New Year Right

2008-01-02T22:44:00.000-08:00

The thrummed mittens are done! My hands will be warm in 2008.

And here's a WIP I neglected to mention--another mistake rib scarf:

I started it in late November, but it's still a WIP... I started it with just over a week to finish it--as soon as I found out the Homeless Garden Project Store was looking for handmade scarves for Christmas sales. However, the timing didn't work out, since I got shipped out of the country a few days later. Still, I figure I'll finish it, and if it doesn't find a home by next Christmas, it'll be my headstart on scarves for the Homeless Garden Project. In the mean time, I did by some great stuff there. I highly recommend the lavender dryer sachets (scroll down)--I think I may start making my own, I love them so much--and I'm dying to try the lavender shortbread cookie mix (again, scroll down). (I bought several as presents, and I bought a couple extras for myself, but I wound up giving them as away...).

In addition to the completion of the thrummed mittens, today also brought an "aha!" moment about my somewhat unorthodox knitting style, but that's a post for another day.

Now... Where Was I?

2007-12-27T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, Yosemite, for one. Happy Eye Candy Friday, a little early (even though I'm not actually part of the Flickr group at this point).

Hmm... Long time, no post. There's been a lot going on, but I have no real excuse for not posting. Actually, to be completely truthful, I spent a big chunk of time not even reading most of my "regular" blogs. I'm still not caught up, and I don't think I will be. And I'm pretty sure I'm okay with that.

No long, drawn-out explanation in this post (and maybe not in the future--not sure it matters), but essentially, there have been a lot of changes--mostly, but not all, for the better--going on over here, and as you know, I'm easily distracted...

Changes for the good include a promotion at work, not long after I started my own home-based business. The two aren't really related, but I was miserable in my old job, and actively seeking to improve my life in that area. Both opportunities presented themselves after I made a conscious decision and took steps towards doing something about it. Hard to explain, but life's funny sometimes.

Not-so-great distractions at the moment include hospital visits to two of the nicest people I know, so if you've got positive thoughts to spare, please send some their way.

So, where was I...? Ah yes, the summer of socks, which has long since past. And the ducks from the last post are only a faded memory now. I've been away, both literally and figuratively. Literally included a trip to Yosemite and a trip to Ireland (the latter, sans camera, if you can believe it... argh!)

All in all, I guess I've just been distracted by life.

I'm rethinking the blog, but haven't come to any definite conclusions just yet.

And in the mean time, I haven't been doing much knitting to blog about. I did finish a lovely Tudora from the latest Knitty, but you'll have to take my word for it. The very nice lady I knit it for landed in the hospital unexpectedly, so it was quickly finished and delivered as a slightly early Christmas gift. It just seemed better than waiting until I got back from my holiday rounds.

I did NOT finish the Buddy Bag for my niece. The knitting was done quite some time ago. As so frequently happens, it was the finishing that did me in. I still haven't sewn the bottom up or done the lining (although, the fabric in the background will *eventually* be used for the lining.

I am almost done with a pair of thrummed mittens, though. Perhaps I should go work on those for a bit. I'm in the mood to finish up languishing projects--and I have quite a few of them...

Catching Up. Maybe...

2007-07-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't think I'll ever be totally caught up on anything, and I certainly won't catch up on the Mystery Stole, but my first SOS07 sock is just about done, and I finished the latest Harry Potter, so it's safe to go back to the Internet. Of course, I cheated. I listened to the CDs, which really helped reduce commute stress: "that's okay, go ahead and cut me off--just gives me more time to listen."

Lots of stuff going on, and lots I want to write about here, but I never seem to have enough time any more.

Anyway, here's some not-so-great eye candy Friday of some surprise visitors I encountered in the grassy area between buildings at work. I only had my camera phone, so they're not the best pix I've ever taken, but they make me smile, and I hope they do the same for you.

Happy Friday!

Still in Progress

2007-07-16T10:03:00.001-07:00

Sock

Mystery Stole, completed chart A.

Nothing To Report

2007-07-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry--no eye candy Friday today, and no progress pix.

The sock is now just over 5" long--about 2 more to go before I start the heel.

I'm on row 32 of the Mystery Stole, now putting lifelines in every 10 rows because, like the sock, there has been much frogging. I may be too slow to even be considered a slow bee, but Bonne Marie Burns made this nice little button for many of us lagging behind. The third clue comes out today and I still haven't finished the first chart on the first clue. Between the Summer of Socks and the Mystery Stole, I may well have overextended myself. Too bad I have to work...

There's too much going on in other parts of my life right now to spend much time knitting or blogging, so things may be a bit quiet here for a bit. I'll try to do better about eye candy Friday, and if I make any progress worth photographing, I'll try to post pix.

Have a great weekend!

Lots of Movement--Not Much Progress

2007-07-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

First, let's start with some eye candy, since it's Friday, shall we?

And now, we'll move on to knitting news. This is where I'd show you a modeled shot of the Boyfriend Socks and tell you all about them, but since I didn't get a modeled shot yesterday, I'll show you a quick "laying there looking like handknit socks" shot to prove that they really are done,

and go on to the Summer of Socks update, such as it is, pitiful little progress and all.

Here's my sock-in-progress.

Not much done in the last two weeks, is there? Yeah. Hmm. Let me explain--no, there is too much. Let me sum up*: Poor planning.

It was perfect, or so I thought. (You knew I was going to explain anyway, right?) I signed up for a sock club during the months of June, July, and August, so somebody else would decide on one pair of socks for me to make each month during the summer of socks. Each kit should arrive on or around the 15th, so it seemed like a shoe-in (so to speak...) for the first pair of SOS socks. What could go wrong? Me. That's what.

Apparently, I've forgotten that I'm not so good at having other people pick things out for me. I got the kit the day before the -along started, and although the yarn is a nice Tofutsies, and the pattern looks interesting, the colorway is really not me. Don't get me wrong--I will knit these socks, and the whole concept of knitting a pattern you might not have chosen in yarn you wouldn't have chosen is part of the appeal of a sock club. They just weren't right for the first pair. And I determined this the day before the -along. With no back-up plan.

So, I had a "brilliant" idea for my first pair of "Summer of Socks" socks. Managed to find the yarn I needed, and started playing with charts. I still want to do those socks, but it was going to take too long to get it all figured out, and I needed to cast on IMMEDIATELY. It just so happens that in procuring the yarn for the more ambitious project, I also bought (ahem, among a couple of other items) some Panda Cotton in the most gorgeous "Misty Greens". This stuff is beautiful, and it's bamboo, cotton, and elastic nylon. It feels very nice--especially knit up, and it just seemed so darned summery that I needed to cast on immediately. Without knowing what I was knitting.

I wasn't sure how much sock I could get out of the 170 yard ball, and one of my goals was to do a toe-up sock. I had just seen Ann Budd's article about toe-up socks in the Summer '07 IK, so I cast on. But it was too loose. So I tried again. And again... Finally leading up to:

Discovery #1: For me, it is best to do the Eastern cast-on on needles about two sizes smaller than the needles I'm knitting with. I'm using 2s for the socks, so a cast-on using 0s worked well for me.

I moved on to the foot. (We're ignoring the whole "toe incident" where I skipped a section of instructions twice, saying to myself "if I were creating this pattern, I'd have decreased every round at first so the toe wasn't so dang pointed, but Ann Budd knows more about knitting than I do, so... oh look--Ann Budd says decrease every round at first. $#@!" ...and I frogged. Again.) So, ignoring toe incident, we move onto the foot. I thought a lacy rib would look nice, so I got out the stitch dictionary, found a stitch I almost liked, modified it and tried it. And hated it. And frogged again, leading to:

Discovery #2: I cannot just "design on the fly"--without swatching. There's actually no proof that I can design "off the fly", with copious swatching, but I digress.

-and-

Discovery #3: The knitting gods aren't crazy about my starting a new sock when I haven't quite finished the last bit from a pair that have been on my needles for almost a year. I had to finish the Boyfriend Socks to appease the knitting gods before moving on to my SOS socks.

As soon as the Boyfriend Socks were done, I picked this baby up again. Since the yarn got more and more unravelled every time I frogged (and, truth be known, so did I), I used my fall-back, tried and true, 2x2 rib.

So, not much progress, but a whole lot of frogging and restarting. Also, I may have been a little distracted by Ravelry. And the whole Mystery Stole 3 thing.

Oh yeah--there's also that pesky little "work" thing.

A note of caution to anyone considering the Panda Cotton. I love this yarn--truly love it--BUT it is very splitty. And it becomes increasingly so with each frogging. (I got to the point where I was just knitting with the plies held together.) Just something to think about.

Have a great weekend!

*Anybody out there get the reference? No prize, but I'm curious to know if I'm the only one who gets me...

They're Done!

2007-07-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

Boyfriend Sock 2 of 2 is done, which means the pair is done! Photos tomorrow. I'm off to celebrate my independence of this project by going to bed!

Still Here...

2007-07-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still around, even though I missed eye candy Friday last week, and haven't posted in a week and a half. I'm hoping to post tomorrow, but I've been saying that for quite a while now, so I figured I better do a quickie now.

Boyfriend sock #2 is *almost* finished. Really. I swear. I'm on the toe decreases (this one's leg-down), to 44 stitches (started with 84). Dang work gets in the way.

And as soon as that's done, I can get back to my very first toe-up sock, which is also my debut in the Summer of Socks. (See link to the right--I'll put links in later. Must post this and go to work. Again--pesky work!) That poor sock has been ripped out multiple times. I finally decided the knitting gods weren't going to let me create a new sock until the boyfriend sock was done, so...

Pics when I get the camera back. (I know--it's been forever...)

And since it's possible I won't get around to posting tomorrow, happy fourth to the American crowd! (Well, happy fourth to everyone. You know what I mean.)

Eye Candy Friday: SOS07 edition

2007-06-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

Sorry for the not-so-great photo. Still haven't picked up my camera from Mom's house, so I had to use the camera on the cell phone.

A lovely lily from the sweetest man on the planet, and the second iteration of my first sock for Summer of Socks (and my first toe-up sock ever). It will be frogged shortly and iteration three will begin, but the color's just so pretty, I had to share. More details (and hopefully more progress) this weekend.

Have a great one!

All Flickr'd Up

2007-06-18T22:12:00.001-07:00

...and drunk with anticipation of the Summer of Socks!

In spite of signing up for a Flickr account in September of last year, I know precious little about how it all works. But, since I've got a deadline at work and I excel at procrastination, I played around a bit with the Flickr account this evening. I think I'll be able to post as required (suggested?) to the Summer of Socks '07 Flickr group.

To test this theory, (I'm hoping) I've posted a photo of a scarf I made my mother for Christmas last year (yes--I did finish it. On time. Barely.) that I posted to Flickr last September. (I may have also posted it here. I can't remember. It's not important for our purposes.)

Here's to hoping we all see a scarf in progress on this blog entry...

And now I best get back to work, so as to avoid one of those nasty hangovers in the morning--you know--from too much Flickr the night before...

How Could I Forget?

2007-06-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

Taken out the passenger side window of a moving vehicle in our recent roadtrip. Somewhere on 395?

Have a great weekend!

Looking For a Cure...

2007-06-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

...For the Monday blues. (Or, Monday Socks!)

Sigh. It's Monday. Again. Seems like Monday happens more frequently than any other day of the week. I know that can't be the case, but sometimes it feels that way.

So, I'm working on making today different. In the absence of any photos (having left the camera at my Mom's when the nephew and niece were visiting this weekend), here's a list of knitterly things I'm happy about today:

- I got an invitation to Ravelry! (I'm embarrassed to admit I had all but forgotten that I had signed up a while back, but am glad I did.) I'm making my way through it very slowly, so I doubt I'll report anything 'til next week at the earliest, but I'm sure you're already aware of their online tour, yes?

- Summer Knitty should be up very soon. I'm hoping for today, based on the e-mail updates and Amy's blog--but she doesn't say specifically when. (No pressure. Really!)

- The Summer of Socks starts in ten days, and I know I'll already have three sock projects lined up, thanks to the "Full Toes Ahead" sock club (the first installment of which may well arrive this week! I hope!--Again, no pressure, Hollis! I'm just excited.)

- I just discovered that I have an inch and a half less to complete than I thought on the second of the Boyfriend Socks.

- Even if I don't finish the Boyfriend Socks by June 21st, they are socks, so I figure they're fair game for the Summer of Socks. (Although I'd really like to have them finished by then, so I can start fresh. And it would be nice to have them done in time for his birthday.)

And, since this post is so sock-heavy, let's start a list of the socks I'd like to make during the Summer of Socks (knowing full well that it'll take me longer than three months to get through all of them, because--well, I'm slow.) I'll put them on the side bar, too, and add to them as I come up with more, but for now, let's start with:

- Embossed Leaves (you have to scroll down to see them)

- Widdershins

- Aran sandal socks (thanks to the lovely pair Jo recently showed off on her blog) from Socks, Socks, Socks

- Bazaar Socks (and mine won't match!) - Of course, these alone will take me more than three months each!

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Happy Monday. Well--as happy as you can make it!

Pretty Flowers

2007-06-07T22:59:00.001-07:00

I don't know what these flowers are called, but they were so pretty, I had to take a picture. Can anyone tell me what they are?

The picture was taken on our recent road trip. This was up in the mountains just outside of Bishop, CA.

Happy Friday!

What I've Been Up To

2007-06-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

As it relates to knitting and such.

A post of (not so great) pictures. Mostly. (Both to expedite the posting of this entry, and to distract you from the lack of project progress.)

I knit a dishrag. Or two.

I worked on The Second Sock. (First Sock shown so you don't think I'm just recycling the old pics.)

I joined "Summer of Socks". Yes, it was a while ago. Yes, I'm only now getting around to posting about it. I'll put the button in the side bar--you know--when I get around to organizing this place...

I joined Full Thread Ahead's "Full Toes Ahead" Sock Club.

I did a bit of spinning on my drop spindles. There are sections that almost look like yarn. Almost.

Back in Action

2007-06-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Okay--maybe just slow motion, but I thought I should let you know that, although the computer is still flaky, it's been backed up. And then I went on vacation. Which explains, to some extent, why things have been so quiet over here.

More on vacation, socks, and dishrags in my next post. Which should be reasonably soon. There will probably even be pictures in that one!

BSOD and Sock Progress

2007-05-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

BSOD
Okay, so you haven't heard from me since Friday (which is more normal than I like to admit), but this time it's due in large part to having received the "Blue Screen of Death" while working on the computer last weekend. And while I've seen plenty of blue screens in my life, this was unlike any other I've ever seen before. It simply said something in plain English about a hardware failure. That can't be good.

This particular post comes to you from the work computer (technically a no-no--shhh... don't tell), just so I could let you know what's going on (the mad backing up of files and trying to make the computer work for a little longer, 'cause I don't really want to be spending the bucks on a new computer right now).

So, anyone who's sent me e-mail in the last week or so, please accept my apologies for not yet responding. I'm hoping to have something close to normal access restored this weekend, if Mother's Day doesn't take over. (Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.) And Susan, I'm sorry I haven't been able to send you a thank you note, but if you're reading, thanks for the shout out on your blog.

I'll try to post eye candy tomorrow, but no guarantees, since it will have to be another stealth operation...

Sock progress
So, the second sock looks something like this:

Yes, this is a photo of the first sock, taken from a post in November, but given my current technical difficulties--and the fact that the second sock looks remarkably like the first, I'm posting this one again. Yes, I've been working on these socks forever.

I'm hoping to have both new content and the technical tools to do a more interesting post next week--hopefully, a bit more fun than my standard-issue post, but you'll have to be the judge. Cross your fingers that the computer cooperates!

You'll Never Guess...

2007-05-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

Again with the Mendocino pictures, 'cause:

1. It's so dang pretty, and

2. I'm running late.

Taken in the Botanical Gardens.

Happy Friday!

Almost There

2007-05-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hey! Look what's blocking! In the time it takes most knitters to knit an entire sweater (or two), I am finally blocking my lace tam.

Sometimes life just isn't conducive to knitting. Or blocking. It's not always a bad thing, mind you; for instance, I had a fabulous, but jam-packed weekend. But that's for another post--perhaps eye-candy Friday.

The tam was a fun and relaxing knit (when I was paying attention). Ordinarily, I would imagine a reasonable knitter* could finish this in a weekend. The pattern, by Susan Rainey of The Rainey Sisters, was clearly written and easy to follow. I highly recommend it. (The blog is great, too.)

More pictures when it's off the plate, but for now, here are a couple more shots.

*reasonable knitter = knitter who is not me**

**me = quite possibly the slowest and/or most absent-minded knitter on the planet

More Mendocino

2007-04-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

What Conference Calls Are Good For

2007-04-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

I had a conference call at 6:30 this morning. Ugh. Fortunately, I got to call in from home (which means I'm now running late...), so unlike many conference calls, I actually got something accomplished on this one. I finished knitting my lace tam.

I still need to weave in the ends and block it, but I'm done with the knitting. Woohoo!

Moody

2007-04-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Tink, Tink

2007-04-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Sigh.

Just a quick note to let you know there hasn't been much knitting here lately (although there is some unknitting going on...), but I expect to remedy that, at least a bit, over the weekend.

Basically, I've been distracted by other frustrations in life. Other frustrations that have distracted me to the point of making stupid mistakes in my knitting, which has resulted in my need to tink back three rows on the tam. I can't believe I've made another bonehead mistake on this wonderful tam. It really is an easy--and fun--pattern to follow. Just pay a little attention to what you're doing. However, I don't recommend knitting it while ticked off. (The Harlot Poncho, on the other hand, was great for that!)

At least some good may be coming of all the frustration. I finally reached my tipping point, and am actively working to find an alternative to the situation. I am now a woman on a mission! Everything, including the tam, will be sorted out in short order.

Tulip in the Sunshine

2007-04-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Eye Candy Friday!

Progress

2007-04-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Susan Rainey's Lace Tam--sans twist this time!

Boyfriend sock number two--slowly but surely.

Boyfriend sock number one fits!

Boyfriend Sock, One of Two

2007-04-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Done! Finally!

(Sorry--the recipient and foot model was not available for a photo shoot, and I was too excited to wait to post.) In order to avoid (or at least reduce) the effects of Second Sock Syndrome, it's important to cast on the second sock right away, right?

I decided I wanted to use the magic loop method, but I couldn't find a 2.25mm 32-40" circular anywhere, so, I tried this:

The two circ method does seem to go a bit faster than using DPNs, but I don't much care for it. Very "fiddly". And it may be the cheap needles (which Cat Bordhi warns against), but I really don't like all of the pulling the join of the needle through the knitting. Still, I'd have carried on, except that it seems my gauge using this technique on these needles is noticeably larger than it is on the DPNs. So, the second sock currently looks like this:

No new technique to keep me motivated, but I do have the one completed sock, staring at me and looking lonely. That'll have to do.

Another motivational tactic would be not to start anything else until I finish this. But that's just not me. Besides, I just got this in the mail:

It's the yarn (and the pattern--not pictured) for Susan Rainey's Lace Tam that I won in the Rainey Sisters' bloggiversary drawing. (The pattern also includes a matching lace scarf.) This yarn feels SO nice--I had to start the tam.

See that twist? The instructions specifically state, "join without twisting". Darned knitting karma. Yeah, yeah--I'm going back to the sock. For now.

Predictable Me

2007-03-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

I know I use a lot of pictures of the ocean for eye candy Friday, but it never ceases to impress me. We went to Mendocino last weekend, when I took this. I got a few pictures I like (not all of them of the ocean), so I have a few weeks worth of eye candy.

Sock update:

In a foot-to-sock comparison, I have determined that I am ready to start the toe decreases. HOORAY! (Actually, hard as it is to believe, it's possible that I actually went a bit too long, but I'm going to ignore that for now. I'm sure it'll bite me in the tush later, but it's easier for me to rip back and make a sock shorter than it is to make it longer.) I'm hoping for a modeled shot of a completed sock this weekend. Cross your fingers.

Now, to avoid the whole "second sock syndrome", I've mentioned that I want to try the second one on one or two circulars. Help me out: which of the two techniques do you like best? I'm leaning toward the magic loop, largely because that way I only need to buy one circular needle. It just seems to be wasteful to buy two circular needles that are the exact same size. Thoughts? Opinions?

Have a great weekend!

Size Matters

2007-03-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Okay. Remember that sock that is taking me FOREVER to knit? Well, I decided to renew my interest in this by learning how to knit a sock on one or two circulars. I may not be able to start on the sock in progress, for fear of totally messing up the gauge, but I figured I'll at least be motivated to cast on the second sock.

I have the books. I have the yarn. I have the pattern. (More or less.) So what's stopping me? I don't have the needles. Even after ordering (what I thought were) the needles. (My LYS doesn't normally carry circular needles that small--just DPNs.)

The current sock is being knit on U.S. size 1 bamboo Takumi DPNs from Clover. The new needles are U.S. size 1 nickel-plated circulars from Knit Picks. So far, so good, yes? Not so much. The DPNs are 2.25mm, while the new circulars are 2.5mm. Can someone please explain to me WHY the U.S. sizing doesn't seem to be consistent? In the mean time, I'll be checking the yarn stores near me for 2.25mm circulars.

Happy (Eye Candy) Friday!

2007-03-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend!

Done, Done, Starting, Won!

2007-03-20T22:25:00.001-07:00

<- Done!

Done! ->

The Malabrigo mistake rib scarf is done! It's about 80 inches, but I haven't washed it yet, so the final number isn't in yet. I love it!

And as an added bonus, I started--and finished--this dishrag ("Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth") on Saturday. I cannot tell you why--I don't understand it myself--but although I have never made a dishcloth in my life (and have never really been interested, to tell you the truth), I suddenly felt a compelling need to make one IMMEDIATELY. Of course, I had no cotton in the house, so I fell off the "Knit from your stash" wagon, and bought some cotton.

I'm re-evaluating the "knit from your stash" thing. I'll let you know what I decide.

So, now what? I'll give you a hint: it's been on this blog before (although, not in this yarn), but got frogged. Want another hint? How about this:

It's just a swatch--a big swatch, but a swatch. The plan is a "compare and contrast" type of thing. More on that when I have another swatch to show you.

And the coolest thing of the day? The Rainey Sisters had a "bloggiversary" contest, and I won Susan Rainey's lace tam and scarf pattern, AND two skeins of Rowan Silk Wool (enough to make the tam). Looks like it'll be a lot of horseshoe lace around here for a while! I'm so excited!

So, how's that for knitting content, eh? When it rains, it pours.

Losing more than time

2007-03-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

The dbf and I went to San Francisco last Saturday to visit the botanical gardens and the zoo. Both were wonderful, and both confirmed for us our need for a better digital camera. Anyway, today's eye candy is from the gardens.

We had also wanted to go to the Presidio to see "Remembered Light", but we ran out of time, so we'll have to try again soon, while the exhibit is still there.

We stopped at the Moss Beach Distillery for a light dinner on the patio on our way home, and I'm kicking myself because I didn't take any pictures. Bad blogger!

We didn't see the ghost, but we came for the view, the crab quesadilla (for the dbf), and the steamers (for me)--and we weren't disappointed! Very tasty! (The beer was good, too.)

And lest you think I've abandonned knitting completely, here's what I was working on while we were in the car:

Yep. The Malabrigo scarf. I'm hoping that I'll finish it this weekend. And that I'll get a better picture of it. Of course, that was my hope last weekend, too. I know my progress on this (and my other two WIPs) is painfully slow (and I have a theory about that--perhaps in my next post), but I really do love this simple scarf. The colors make me happy, the stitch pattern is basic but pleasant, and it is indescribably soft. Actually, it's plenty long enough to be a scarf now, but I love it so much, I feel like it deserves to be extra long. Is that strange?

And now, changing the topic entirely...

My last blog entry talked about lost time (and lost money). This week, I thought I'd mention lost weight. I joined Weight Watchers last Tuesday (one year to the day since last time...). I want to lose twenty pounds, and am off to a good start - 4.1 pounds! I know that's just because it's my first week, and that my weight loss will slow down considerably, but that's okay. This seems to me to be the safest, sanest way to lose weight. And, with any luck (and committment on my part, which has proven to be the tougher part in the past), it can become a healthy and thinner life style. That's the theory. I'll let you know how it goes.

Lost Time

2007-03-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

I hate this. I know that by as early as this evening, I will appreciate the longer daylight hours, but right now I'm tired and a little cranky with the federal government for taking almost half of my bonus AND an hour of my weekend in the last four days. Here's to hoping they don't waste any of it. (Yeah. Right.)

Spring is Springing

2007-03-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

The new Knitty is up, with some great spring patterns I'd like to knit; the spring/summer VK preview is up ; and even Knit Simple has a pattern or two I'm considering (very unusual--I haven't been very impressed with this magazine so far.) Of course, the spring IK has been out for a while.

It may not be official yet, but in the knitting world, spring is springing, so happy spring and happy Eye Candy Friday!

The Mysterious Hat

2007-03-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Today I'll go into a bit more detail on the mysterious hat that seemed to appear out of nowhere. I do this in part because I said I would a while ago and never got around to it, and in part because I've misplaced the camera cable and can't download any new images right now. I apologize right now for the incredibly crappy pictures. (Consider yourself warned.)

But first, a quick thanks to Pam, a very nice lady with a very cute dog, judging by her blog, who left a comment on my last post (I love comments! And this is not exactly a popular blog, so I'm thrilled whenever I get them. Except maybe for the real estate spam a while back, but I digress...). Pam asked how my Malabrigo scarf is coming along. When I find my camera cord, I'll show you, but I love it. Now, it's just the mistake rib scarf--I still haven't gone back to "my so-called scarf"--but it's so soft, and the colors seem to fall in a very pleasing, random manner--no big pools or flashes. Of course, now that I've typed that, it'll probably be nothing but pooling and flashing from here on out. I'm not sure how long it'll be when I'm done, but I'm over halfway there, since I've joined the second skein (and I only have two).

I had hoped to finish this before I went to NY, but I was concerned about bringing the aluminum needles on the plane, and we were so busy on vacation that every time I sat down to knit, I'd fall asleep. It was a great vacation!

Okay. On to the hat. You may remember this:

I never actually intended to knit this hat. Having pretty much finished the scarf for my dbf, I wanted to make a hat for him. I decided it would be much easier if I could do it top down, but wasn't really sure how to start. After doing a little Web surfing, I found Susan Pierce Lawrence's site, where she has instructions for her top-down "Live Dangerously, Don't Swatch" hat (if you're following the link, scroll down to November 21, and then follow the instructions up. It turns out you can also buy a nice PDF of the instructions on http://knittingasfastasican.com/category/hats--again, scroll down.).

I grabbed a skein of a wool/hemp blend I had laying around to try out the cast on. I was worried that it was going to leave a hole in the top, so I needed to do enough knitting to see if I could pull the starting point closed tightly.

I struggled a bit, but a little more Web surfing yielded great instructions for the slip knot crochet cast on in the Jennifer Tallapaneni's Topi pattern on knitty.com (which I'm also going to make one of these days).

Once I got enough knitting going to confirm that I could pull the slip knot closed tightly, it seemed a shame to just rip it out, so I kept going. It got a little boring, so I borrowed the chart from another of Susan's hats, Amber, which was published on MagKnits. Since I was knitting in the round, I attempted Meg Swanson's "jogless jog". I don't remember if it was in Interweave Knits or Knitter's Magazine. I'll try to find it again if you're interested. This looks like a reasonable basic tutorial, though.

Not perfect, but not bad. I thought I had a picture... I'll have to take another one later. Anyway, I do think it's better than it would have been without the technique, but I don't really like that it moves your starting point over with each color change. I'll get over it.

And then, since I like a brim, I did basic ribbing until I couldn't stand it anymore. And managed to mess it up. (It's just under my thumb.)

And fix it.

Done.

Long Time No Post

2007-03-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Greetings, all.

If anyone was actually here looking for new content recently, I apologize. I was on vacation, immediately followed by a business trip, immediately followed by the worst cold I can ever remember having.

To make it up to you, I'm sharing this lovely tiger from my vacation at Disneyworld's Animal Kingdom Park for eye candy Friday.

Recognize This?

2007-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yep. I cast on for "my so-called scarf". I'm going to New York in a week, and when I checked out the temperatures, I realized I need some REAL cold-weather gear.

The yarn is Malabrigo and the colorway is Roanoke. I LOVE this yarn. Which has become part of my dilemma.

I also LOVE this stitch pattern. From the front. From the back? Not so much...

I'm a firm believer that a scarf should be reversible. It doesn't have to look the same on both sides, but it bugs me if both sides aren't interesting to look at.

Still, the colors are so gorgeous, I decided that I'm willing to overlook the "purliness" of the wrong side of the scarf.

However, I can't overlook this:

<-- Here's one edge of the scarf, and

Here's the other -->

Am I the only one who's had this problem?

Both pictures were taken from the right side of the scarf. This just bugs me. To the point I can't see past it.

So, I frogged it.

I need to think this one through, and it's not going to be a quick solution. Maybe I'll do a chain edge, like Elellanyar did. Or maybe I'll do something different. But one thing's for sure. It won't be quick. So... I grabbed my other Malabrigo (I think the colorway is Col. China, but I'm too lazy to get up and check right now), and started a mistake rib scarf. That should be a quick knit, right?

Friday - You Know the Drill

2007-02-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

The Latest Distraction

2007-02-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

New toys.

New roving

Eleven yards of something that only slightly resembles yarn.

Anybody have any project ideas for eleven yards of extremely inconsistent yarn?

And Now for Something Completely Different

2007-01-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

A departure from my typical Eye Candy Friday.

Enjoy the weekend!

Let's Do the Time Warp Again

2007-01-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

With apologies to Rocky Horror Picture Show fans. (It cracks me up that Wikipedia's entry for "Time Warp" is about the Rocky Horror Picture Show. They tell you straight off, that if you're looking "For the concept of traveling to different points in time, see Time travel.")

Anyway, I've been a bit distracted by my own time warp here.

Time Warp, Exhibit One, Alice:
This is my progress on Alice.

Glacially slow? Yes. But not quite the time warp I'm talking about.

This is my row counter.

I am supposed to decrease on every eighth row. My row counter says I'm there, but I know that the row counter was just on "3". I could maybe believe "4". There's no way it should be on 8. But when I count the rows from the last decrease, sure enough--8. And this is the second time this has happened on this sweater. I seem to be missing bits of time... If it happens again, I'm going to have to consider the possibility that I'm a victim of alien abduction. (Not shocking, considering the number of UFOs around here...) Hey, at least they let me bring my knitting.

Time Warp, Exhibit Two, The Never-Ending Sock:
It seems that no matter how much knitting time I devote to this sock for the DBF,

It never gets done. (I swear, it's like a Winchester Mystery sock. Let's hope I don't wind up knitting a stairway to nowhere...) Started in August (pre-blog), introduced on the blog in September, updated on the blog in November, and I still haven't finished the first one! Well, I suppose that's one way to avoid "Second Sock Syndrome"...

Time Warp, Exhibit Three, Hey, Where'd This Hat Come From?:
And then there's this. The strangest of them all. In the midst of all this S-L-O-W knitting (including the slow knitting that I apparently do unconsciously, but still very slowly), this appears:

Yep. It's a hat. I was just about done with the DBF's scarf

(not really this red in real life...)

(this is closer, but it's not really this purple, either.)

so I figured I'd start on a hat for him. I found a top-down pattern, but wanted to play around with the pattern a bit before I started on his hat. I grabbed a wool/hemp blend out of the stash, and the next thing I knew, I had a hat. Me. The world's slowest knitter. Time warp, I'm telling you.

Next post will be more scarf and hat details. I'm headed to bed now. This Time Warp thing is a bit more than I can take.

("Say--Do any of you guys know how to Madison?")

Tranquil

2007-01-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

For Eye Candy Friday, I present Fallen Leaf Lake in South Lake Tahoe.

Have a wonderful weekend!

What Can You Do...

2007-01-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

...between San Francisco and New York?

If you're me, you can do this:

I'm a slow knitter, so if you're not me, you could probably do matching wristwarmers or something. And you'd probably even get it right... I had a hard time twisting before joining the round the first few times (only because I was specifically instructed to do so, I'm sure), but it looks like I more than made up for it by twisting twice (? I think...) on the final product.

Still, I'm happy with it. It's the "Enchanted Evening Ear Covering" from the Winter 2005 Interweave Knits (part of the "Cover Your Ears" staff project). It doesn't really suit me as an ear covering, but I like it as a mobius-like scarf. And it was very cool to start it in San Francisco, and wear it off the plane in New York! (Of course, I didn't have scissors or a needle, so I had to break the yarn and tuck the ends in the back, but it was still pretty fun.

Now, to find a project for the flight home...

Snapping Out of It

2007-01-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Another Mendocino picture for eye candy Friday.

I'll be traveling next week, so I'll try to get you something a little different for next Friday. (But really, who gets tired of seeing the ocean?)

And if I really get my butt in gear, you'll see photos of two FOs. I finished the scarf for the DBF and a hat for me. (The hat's a little small, but it works.)

I don't do resolutions, but my plan is more (and hopefully better) photography for 2007, so whatever this blog becomes (or doesn't become), my goal is more and better photos.

I'm seriously considering "joining" (or snapping along with) Stephanie's "Snap a Dozen Days". We shall see. For now, I leave you with yet another shot of the Mendocino coast.

Melancholy

2007-01-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

In spite of a wonderful start to 2007, I'm in a rather melancholy mood. And I have no real reason to be.

Beginnings and Endings

It is the end of my vacation (I couldn't get the week between Christmas and New Year's off, so I took the week after New Year's), which is part of it. I really don't want to go back to work. And in the four work days I was off, our general manager announced his resignation and left. I have concerns about his replacement.

But this is all to be expected, since the company is being acquired. This week should be full of changes to herald the new year as a new company--and even more changes. Thus, I'm looking for a new job.

I must remind myself that endings make room for new beginnings, and not all endings are sad. (And not all beginnings are happy.) If I lose this job, I will miss the income, but that's about it. However, I will miss it sorely, and would far prefer to replace the job with another, so as not to disturb the income. (Of course, there's no guarantee that I'll lose this one--just a "been there, done that" knee-jerk reaction to working for a high-tech company that's being acquired. You know somebody's going to go, and I haven't even been here a year.)

So, as is tradition for this time of the year, I feel forced to reflect on my life and determine what I want to do/can do/should do now.

I am grateful that this is just my job. For the first time in a very long time, I'm happy about my personal life. And perhaps that is just a bit of this melancholy, too. 2006 was a very good year for me, personally. 2007 is off to a fabulous start on a personal level (although not so much on a professional level). But the future, though full of promise, is uncertain, and I'm not much of a gambler. Still, there is much out there to be won. But do I dare ask for more happiness? There is a very large part of me that sees that as being ungrateful for what I have, and that is most assuredly not the case. And yet, one nurtures the wonderful things in one's life, hoping to see them grow...

And then there's the blog. I have been woefully neglectful over the past few weeks. I have been to a change of command ceremony, a wedding, and a quiet New Year's celebration. (Again, endings and beginnings...) I have shared Christmas traditions, and started new ones. I have finished two scarves and have started and almost finished a hat. Which is too small. And which I will finish anyway. I have no pictures. I made no blog entries. But I'm not sure anyone else reads this thing anyway. I am beginning to question my need to blog, and specifically, my need to blog about knitting. I love to read the other blogs out there, but I don't know that I have anything unique to offer to the world of knitters. So over the next few months, there may be a bit of a metamorphosis here. Or I'll get over this black bile and go back to posting pictures of partial knits and knitting-related thoughts. But I suspect I'll transform this space (or another) into more of a travel blog. More endings. More beginnings...

All this just to say, "Sorry I haven't been posting--I have a lot on my mind right now."

Stay tuned, if you're so inclined.

Save Some Cash--Use Your Stash!

2006-12-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

I am embarrassed about the amount of yarn I seem to have accumulated over the years. So much, in fact, that I have seriously slowed my yarn purchases over the last several months. This is not to say I haven't bought yarn in the last few months--just significantly smaller amounts. (Pay no attention to that super soft, I-had-to-have-it Malabrigo sitting on the chair--it's only four skeins--it hardly even counts, right?).

This is partially a money thing and partially a guilt thing. I suspect the two are related. But I haven't been willing to give up yarn-buying for any specified amount of time, because I know as soon as I do, The Perfect Yarn will show up and do me in.

Knit From Your Stash 2007
Enter, Wendy's Knit From Your Stash 2007. It's like Weight Watchers(TM) for your stash!

I have adapted the rules to better fit my issues:

The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

I will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2a. I may purchase yarn at Stitiches West in February.
2b. I may purchase this kit, even if it's not available at Stitches West.
2c. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that I really and truly do not have the yarn for, I may buy yarn to knit that gift.
2d. If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
2e. I may purchase baby yarn (superwash wool--not acrylic) for specific baby gift projects, and the yarn for my mother's Christmas 2007 gift.
2f. I may purchase yarn as a gift for someone else.
2g. I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

If I receive a gift certificate to a yarn store, I may use it to purchase yarn.

Books and patterns are exempt.

If I start spinning this year (which I'm not allowing myself to do until my home office is clean and orderly--and that will require some de-stashing), spinning stuff is exempt.

So I'll start by finishing what's already on the needles:

scarf for DBF
socks for DBF
Alice
Aran Weight Lace Cropped Cardigan

After that will be Mariah and the sweater for my mom, and then I'll need your help (if there's any 2007 left after all that). There is yarn in my stash that was either bought for a pattern that I've since decided I don't want to knit, or bought with no specific project in mind. I'll be posting some of the yarn specifics and asking for suggestions.

The other scary thing is that a lot of the stash is from very early on, when I just didn't know any better and bought... acrylic and acrylic blends. Some of them will be just fine for projects destined for me, but a little bit of it is so acrylic it hurts. Not quite sure what to do with that... Any ideas?

Festive Flowers

2006-12-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

To distract you from the lack of knitting progress here of late (as well as the lack of posting), here's a little eye candy from my recent trip to San Diego. It's part of the pointsettia display at Balboa Park. Very pretty, even if we got there five minutes before closing, and had to rush through--just barely remembering to snap some quick pictures on the way out.

I hope to have a FO to show you this weekend. Nothing major--don't get too excited.

Have a great weekend, and for those who celebrate it, Happy Hanukah!

Knotty or Nice?

2006-12-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

Like it or not, it's getting to be that time of year again.

And this year, I suspect hanging this little guy on my front door is as festive as I'm going to get. Don't hold your breath for a tree.

Like a lot of other people, I have too much going on this time of year. Shopping (although, any shopping that hasn't been done yet will be done online--it's just safer for everyone involved), knitting (I'm revising holiday knitting expectations daily as I fall further and further behind), visiting, property taxes, year-end projects at work that have to be finished by December 31st or risk losing budget next year--all on top of the chaos my normal life has come to be.

Don't get me wrong--it's not all bad (I enjoy much of it, in fact. But not so much the property taxes or the work projects parts of it)--it's just a little... well, crazy.

While not technically for the holidays (it was supposed to be done quite a while ago), one of the things I'm enjoying right now is this scarf for my DBF (I'm still open to any suggestions about a better blog name for him, but I digress...). He specifically chose the burgundy yarn; he requsted I pair it with black yarn, nixing the first one (a lace weight) I used as too thin, but agreeing on this one; and he chose the stitch pattern out of a fair number of swatches I made.

It's funny, because it wouldn't have occurred to me to pair the black yarn with this pretty burgundy, and when he said he wanted the black to be as thick as the burgundy, I really wasn't sure I was going to like it. And I wasn't crazy about it in some of the swatches, but I really do like it in this pattern (for those of you who are wondering, it's the Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf, which we each chose independently as our favorite swatch).

At least I used to like it. I may still like it, but my faith has been shaken. The scarf I still love, but I am now wary of this black yarn. It's a nice, soft, warm alpaca, and the first skein went happily along. However, after knitting about three inches of scarf with the new skein, I encounted this:

You may not be able to tell from the crappy picture, but that is a knot. I am not pleased. It is too big to just knit in and hope for the best. (We won't discuss the fact that, faced with the prospect of weaving in two more ends if I did the right thing and cut the knot out, I instead, went the "easy" route and actually did try to knit it in and hope for the best--before ultimately ripping back and cutting the dang knot out anyway).

Now, as much as I enjoy knitting, I don't much care for weaving in ends. You know--in much the same way most people don't much care for lengthy oral surgery without benefit of anesthesia, performed by a guy named Guido, without benefit of dentistry schooling. This being the case, I'm sure you can understand that I try to avoid extra ends in my knitting whenever possible. I was already questioning this black alpaca yarn to start with, because it comes in a tiny 110-yard skein , as opposed to the lovely handpainted burgundy yarn which comes 250 yards to a skein--but it was in the stash, and some stash-busting is seriously in order here, so I'm using it. And now we have knots. Okay--technically, just the one knot. So far. But that's after only three inches of knitting. What if there are more? Ugh! I don't want to think about it.

Why is this okay? Why can manufacturers get away with this? I can't be the only one irritated by this, can I? I would understand if it was a skein of handspun, but it's widely distributed, commercially manufactured yarn. And I've had it happen with other widely distributed, commercailly manufactured yarn, so it's not that rare. In fact, it's happened frequently enough in the past that I can only assume that I am, in fact, the only one irritated by it. It means less yarn and more work for me. The least they could do is label it.

Until that happens, I'll just have to make a list, and with every project, check it twice. That way I'll know which yarn is knotty and which is nice.

Happy Holidays, whichever you may choose to celebrate.

Friday Again

2006-12-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

Friday eye candy.

If it weren't for eye candy Friday, I'd have significantly fewer posts...

I do have some knitting progress to report (scarf-related--not the sock), but no photos at the moment--I'll try to get some at lunch.

I'll be migrating to the Blogger Beta this weekend, so prepare for technical difficulties and other fun that so often results from an "upgrade".

One nice thing about the way the upgrade is supposed to work (as I understand it, anyway) is that I will be able to organize posts by topic. My hope is that I'll be able to organize the blog into several categories that interest me, and post to those "folders". This blog started out as mostly a knitting blog, but I'd really like to write about other things, too. This should allow me to do that, while still making it easy for those of you who are just interested in things knitterly to find new knitting content.

Cross your fingers, and have a great weekend!

The World's Slowest Sock

2006-11-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

I don't even want to think about how long I've been working on this sock. It's embarrassing. Of course, I suspect it would help if I worked on it every day for a reasonable amount of time...

I did take it to Disneyland with me, and I got a little more done than is shown here, but the lines weren't nearly as long as I thought they'd be. (Of course, we were really only in the parks on Thursday and Friday...)

Sadly, although it traveled with me, I didn't pick it up once over Thanksgiving weekend. Bad knit-blogger.

I know I should just work on it until I finish the pair before I start any new projects, but I have a couple of things I need to get done for Christmas. Sigh.

Anybody have any tips on speeding yourself through projects you seem to be stuck on?

Another Friday

2006-11-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

First, the eye candy photo I tried to upload last Friday... If I get no other photos up on this entry, at least the eye candy will be here. Only seems fair, since technical issues kept me from posting it last week, and I probably won't post next week--but we'll see.

In knitting news, I have FINALLY been making noticeable progress on the sock for the boyfriend. It has a heel now, and the decreases on the gusset are almost done, so it's starting to look like a sock! Woohoo! A picture as soon as I can snap one(hopefully, today at lunch, but don't hold your breath). I was hoping to have gotten a little further last night, but it turns out I can't pay attention to decreases and watch Blade Trinity at the same time. Should have brought out the non-project I told you about in the last post. Oh well.

Happy Friday!

This is NOT a new project...

2006-11-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

Why does it seem like there's never enough time? Not enough time to knit. Not enough time to blog. I could go on, but you know the drill.

Anyway, no time for a substantial entry today, but here's a bit of knitting content for you:

Swatched in the round, and amazingly enough, I got gauge! That never happens. Of course, I actually need to figure out what gauge I want to get so I can adjust the sweater size a bit, but I'll deal with that later. The important thing is, this is NOT a project. This is a constructive distraction. It will be "Alice" from MagKnits, and in spite of the fact that I will eventually have a sweater, this is NOT a project. As I said, it's a constructive distraction.

I love this sweater, and would love to have it in time for the holidays, but I couldn't really cast it on as another project and start working on it ahead of other stuff currently on the needles. (Never mind that I already had all the appropriate yarn for it, purchased and waiting to start.)

Here's the thing. You've seen what happens when I try to knit while my brain is otherwise engaged. Not pretty. And about once a week, I go to Dad's house for dinner and TV. We have been known to have a glass or two. Now, knitting in front of the TV is already a bit of a challenge for me, and with Dad there's the extra pressure of knowing he'll hit pause if he thinks I've stopped paying attention to count stitches or figure out what I've just done. Add to that a glass of wine, and all but the most basic project is doomed to be ripped back further than I knit on it for the evening. This is why I had to cast on for Alice. It's mostly just mindless stockinette--in the round--nothing but knit stitches. It doesn't get more basic than that! So, for the evenings that I go to Dad's house, in order to protect my other knitting, this is the knitting that's coming with me. Not so I can get the sweater done, but so that I can get my other projects done.

And, since it's Friday again, here's where my eye candy will go when Blogger decides to let me upload pictures again. More Mendocino--the back yard of the B&B we stayed at.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

2006-10-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

Five things that make me happy today:

My new knitting bag—even better because it was a gift from my wonderful boyfriend. (Yes, I know. I still need a better way to refer to my wonderful boyfriend on the blog.)
The fact that I will have an extra hour to spend with my new knitting bag, its contents, and my wonderful boyfriend this weekend, thanks to daylight savings time. (Please do not try to point out to me that I don’t really get an extra hour this weekend, since I’m really just getting back the hour that was stolen from me in the spring. I haven’t seen that hour in six months, so it will be a new and glorious gift when I get it on Sunday. This may have something to do with the fact that, when I was small and my room was a mess, my mother used to gather up the toys I had laying around and put them in a box in the closet for some period of time. When she’d break them out again, it was like getting new toys that I already loved all over again. I know. I’m strange. Humor me.)
I survived yesterday.
It is sunny and gorgeous, and if the weather forecast is to be believed, it will remain so throughout the weekend.
This picture:

A cute and fuzzy reminder of an incredible weekend getaway in June. Perhaps more meaningful for me than you, but still, it is today’s eye candy, what with it being Friday and all.

Travel, a Quest, and Superstition

2006-10-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

First, about last Friday's eye candy: It's one of the clocks on the Musee D'Orsay. Too bad about the scaffolding behind it...

Vacation was WONDERFUL! I don't even feel badly about not going to Rhinebeck. Of course, that may be a bit easier for me than others because:

I just got back from Paris
I'm going to Disneyland in a few weeks
I'm reasonably new to knitting (at least as an obsession. This is perhaps material for another post)
I'm really new to the whole "knitting community" thing, and a bit shy
I've never been to Rhinebeck
I'm really afraid I'd come back with a spinning wheel--and I don't spin (yet)
I have no money (see numbers one and two, above)

Upon my return from vacation, I found this in my stack o' mail:

Although very excited at first, I was pretty disappointed after leafing through it. The only projects that even mildly interest me are the "Think Pink" sweater (though I doubt I'd do it in pink), the Seeds of Change jacket (WITHOUT the ruffles!), and Sophia & Scotty (although I don't know about making kids' clothes that can't be tossed in the washer and dryer. If I make it for my niece, I may try Knitpick's Swish superwash wool and a coordinating fabric for the appliques). The Cabled Duffle Coat is kind of cute, but I just don't see myself knitting that.

So, in a very lame attempt to get that knitting mag fix, even though I don't need any more projects, currently having enough to last me the rest of my natural life, I bought this:

I had been thinking long and hard about this one (seriously--I've been contemplating whether or not I should get it for MONTHS--you could pre-order it on the Interweave Knits Website). Here is my dilemma: Although there are a number of patterns I love in this magazine, I already own many of them.

The "Backyard Leaves" and "Misty Garden" scarves are both in "Scarf Style". The "Heart Sachet" is in an earlier issue of Interweave Knits. All of the stockings from "The Season's Stockings" are from "Christmas Stockings/18 Holiday Treasures to Knit". I can't put my finger on it, but the "Lacy Kerchief Scarf" looks really familiar... (If you want to see what I'm talking about, check out all the projects in this issue.) I understand re-purposing some amount of content, but this seems extreme!

But the lame part is my motivation for actually buying the magazine. Two patterns. "Best Friend Bears" and "Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan". I am nuts.

The bears are really cute, but I already have the patterns for Blue Sky Alpacas' "Bobbi Bear" and "Baby Bobbi Bear" (I've had the patterns for over two years and still haven't made them...) I wanted to make these for my nephew and niece. We'll see which I wind up going with. (If it turns out that I actually make these soon, and they're fairly easy, I might also make one for a friend's baby. Again, we'll see. I'm a pretty slow knitter.)

However, the really bonehead part is the attraction to the Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan. I thought it would look nice on my dbf. (Okay, as an aside, I don't think I like this whole "dbf" thing. While he truly is my "dear boyfriend", it just seems so... I don't know... high school? to put it that way. And I've been out of high school a LONG time. I want to preserve his privacy--although, he may be the only person who reads this blog, so I may be worried about nothing--so I don't want to use his name, but I'm definitely going to talk about him, 'cause he's an important part of my knitting and non-knitting life. I like Lee Ann's idea--she calls her husband "Spiff" after Spaceman Spiff in Calvin and Hobbes. (As an aside to this aside, her blog is hilarious! A definite "must read.") Perhaps I should consult my dbf and see if he has any ideas. There's a novel thought...)

Anyway, it's not that the Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan wouldn't look nice on him--I'm confident it would. The issues with even considering making him a cardigan (or sweater of any sort) are numerous. Let's think about this.

Have you seen how slow my progress on his sock has been? Dismal.
After the sock, and before it gets cold (so, I've got about a week...) I need to not only finish swatching for his scarf, but actually make it.
He can be a little picky, and I don't even know if he likes the sweater.
And here's the biggie: The Curse. I love him more than I can express, and I don't want some stupid Curse to mess that up. Not that I necessarily think it will, but I don't like to tempt fate, and this is too important. Now, we've survived wrist warmers and a hat, and obviously I'm working on socks and a scarf, and I think we'll be fine. A sweater's just tempting fate, though. It's a big old sign saying "come and get me if you can--I dare you! Neener, neener, neener!" I try not to taunt higher powers. They can be vengeful. (Okay--I'm a little superstitious. Sue me.)

So, in my quest for knitting pattern satisfaction, I bought something VERY COOL. I'll have to blog about it later, because Blogger doesn't seem to want me to post any more pictures right now. Plus, I need to get ready for work... Grrr.

In the mean time, everyone should leaf through the latest Vogue Knitting. I just got mine on Saturday!

Eye Candy Friday

2006-10-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Okay--Blogger's being a bit uncooperative today, so let's just see if we can get some eye candy up.

I'll have an update tomorrow. Blogger-willing.

I'm Back!

2006-10-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from a fabulous vacation (more about that later), and just have time for a quick entry.

Remember the cardigan I was working on? The one I messed up by cleverly knitting one "row" in the round in a completely absent-minded moment? The one that looked like this?

Well, off the needles, it looked like this...

And now it looks like this:

Difficult to frog that much over one stupid mistake? Yep. Fortunately, I had help.

Friday Afternoon Eye Candy

2006-10-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry--crazy busy, so probably no posts for another week or so, but here's some Friday Eye Candy.

The lovely Mendocino coast from a wonderful trip in early June (where I finished a big sock that I may post at some point...).

Changing Charitable Horses

2006-09-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Okay--I know I was going to write more about the Caps to the Capital project this weekend, but aside from this weekend flying by, I have to say I was a bit conflicted about this particular charity project, and I just wasn't sure what to write.

I've come to the conclusion that, noble as their cause may be (and I do believe it is), Caps to the Capital just isn't my kind of charity knit, and at the risk of alienating folks (oops--too late), I'll explain why.

The research that Save the Children (the folks who bring you Caps to the Capital) has done says that "Four million newborns die each year within the first month of life — half within the first 24 hours of life," and that "simple, low-cost practices that could save newborn lives — like warming their heads with a knit or crochet cap." This is the premise for the program. Of course, other low-cost practices like training for skilled birth attendants and access to antibiotics are also important, and something that Save the Children is lobbying the White House to provide. In fact, the caps will be sent to the President in January, along with the letters that Save the Children urges those knitting caps to provide. The hope is that President Bush will get the message--just as budget time rolls around--and increase funding for this type of relief all over the world.

Here's my dilemma: If we know that keeping a baby's head warm with a cap will improve his or her chances for survival, and we know that in many parts of the world it gets pretty darned cold in October, November, and December, then why in the world are we holding on to the caps until January??? I understand the political statement, but is it worth even just one tiny life to make that statement? I won't even get started on whether or not I believe this administration will listen, or what I think the most important thing for this administration to hear right now is. The bottom line for me is, if we can help a baby now, why don't we.

Conclusion? Since I used their pattern for the cap I made, I'll send it to them. I may even make more for them at the end of December. But in the mean time, a little Web surfing has led me to a charity that, for me, is a better fit: Newborns in Need. They provide essential items, such as clothing, to premature and full-term babies in need all over the United States--year 'round. So, the next charity project will be for them.

And I'll also be participating in the Red Scarf Project (it's getting late, so more about that in another post). And I'd like to find a good project to support our troops (thought I saw something about socks and hoods, but I'll have to do a bit more surfing on that) , and one for animals in need. Let me know if you've heard of anything.

Of course, with Christmas rapidly approaching (I'm a slow knitter), I also have stuff on the needles and in the queue for friends and family (...and me...).

Stuff like Mom's scarf (almost done!) :

The DBF's socks (not much progress since you last saw them, and not technically for Christmas):

And waiting in the wings, I have a scarf (for the DBF), Christmas stockings, beaded purses, a sweater that I'd like to wear during the holidays, a sweater for Mom (Christmas 2007--there's no way I can get it done this year!)... the list goes on.

But first, I have to fix this:

I'm not pointing at anything in the picture--I'm just keeping the fabric down so you can see the way I cleverly began knitting in the round, even though this particular sweater is supposed to be knit (and was, until not so long ago) back and forth on circular needles. And naturally, I didn't notice this until I had almost finished the row (round?). Sigh.

On that note, I think I'll head to bed.

Okay--The Party's Over...

2006-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

...The Pity Party, that is.

Now, on to better stuff.

I finished this:

My first cap for "Caps to the Capital". More about that this weekend.

And I took this:

My first picture for "Eye Candy Friday".

Have a great weekend!

Twenty-three Things...

2006-09-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

...To Do When You Learn The Company You Just Started Working For Has Been Acquired

Panic
Have a glass of wine
Eat chocolate
Cuddle with your cat/dog/knitting
Curl up in the fetal position
Scoff under your breath every time management says "They're not going to make any changes to our organization."
Secretly want to slap your cube neighbor upside the head when he announces that he's going to make a killing on his stock options; that, at a minimum, they'll need him for the transition; and that "associates" at his level automatically get six months severance in the event of a layoff
Kick yourself for not having negotiated stock options
Rent "Office Space" and watch it with a glass of wine, a box of chocolate, your dog at your feet, your knitting at your side, and your cat curled up on top of you as you lay in the fetal position, mumbling about condescending management and obnoxious co-workers
Start knitting a baby cap for "Caps to the Capital". (Patterns for the caps using DPNs are at the Warm Up America site.) The thought of helping to save a baby's life with a simple knit cap is good for perspective.
Hit the job boards and repost your resume (hey--at least there's not much to update...)
Order this. And this.
Re-evaluate your monthly spending. Cancel Weight Watchers membership, gym membership. Consider reducing yarn budget, but opt to cancel telephone service instead.
Find things around the house to sell on eBay ("Hmm... won't be needing that fancy cordless telephone anymore...). Avoid selling knitting-related items--knitting's going to be the cheapest therapy you get.
Worry about how this might affect every facet of your future, both professionally and personally.
Make appointments with all your doctors while you still have health insurance.
Consider refinancing the house, taking cash out, while you're still employed, and curse the lousy timing of the real estate "downturn"
Consider selling the house and moving to a less expensive state. Curse the lousy timing of the real estate "downturn"
Consider actually using the real estate sales license you got the last time this happened as a way to make a living, and curse the lousy timing of the real estate "downturn"
Ignore the dirty dishes, the laundry, and the messages on the answering machine
Go to bed when you get home from work -OR- stay up until the wee hours surfing the Web, knitting, and staring into space
Hit "snooze" 42 times before you get up for work in the morning, and then worry that you'll be late for the layoff
Post a list of "twenty-three things to do when you learn the company you just started working for has been acquired" to your blog

Like Watching Wool Dry...

2006-09-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

(...or, in this case, a wool/hemp blend...)
This is a really bad picture of my recently finished "Very Harlot Poncho". I finished knitting it on Monday. I wove in the loose ends and washed it on Tuesday, and it's STILL damp. Now, I know I live near the water, so it always seems to be a bit damp in the air as compared to, say, Arizona, but this is crazy. I keep turning it over to make sure the air circulates around it, and I open the window next to it during the day. It does seem to be making S-L-O-W progress, and it doesn't smell like mildew. Yet. But it really doesn't seem like it should take this long to dry.

So, being fairly new to large projects in natural materials that can't be put in the washer and dryer, I'm wondering if this is normal. Any thoughts? I'm seriously considering tossing it in the dryer on "air dry" before something sprouts.

Of course, in the mean time, I have started a new project (even though I still have several on the needles...):

Socks for the dbf. I think he's as excited about them as I am (which is one of the many reasons I love him). He's been waiting patiently for them since early August. I've lost count of how many times they've been cast on and ripped back. But at least for me, there's been activity. I understand why the yarn hasn't been turned into a pair of socks yet. First, I thought I'd try toe-up socks, but I needed to adjust the pattern for his feet. Then I got frustrated with the toe-up pattern and found a new one. Which needed to be adjusted. And then I read that toe-up socks wear out faster, so I decided to go back to my standard sock construction and save the experiments for my own socks.

And all the while, my dbf has been waiting quitely. Patiently. But I know he has to be wondering what on earth is taking me so long. My lace socks didn't take this long, and although he doesn't know a lot about knitting, he senses that lace socks should take longer than his socks.

So, I'm waiting for my poncho to dry, and he's waiting for me to finish his socks.

Maybe when they're done, we'll go out and watch grass grow.

The Harlot Was Here

2006-09-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Okay--I realize it's taken me forever to get this post up. The Yarn Harlot was here on Saturday, and I'm finally posting about it on Wednesday. Sorry. (I'd tell you I got distracted, but that pretty much goes without saying.)

Technically, she wasn't here--she was at Full Thread Ahead in Los Altos. Close enough. I got to hear her speak (I love her books, but she's REALLY funny in person) and have her sign one of my books. (Well, my copy of one of her books. You know what I mean. Don't get nitpicky.)

Here she is with my shoulder. (It's a terrible picture of me, and while I try not to be a vain person, I really don't want the first picture of me on this blog to be quite that terrible. You don't either. Trust me.)

I must say, as excited as I was, I really wasn't at my best. In retrospect, it was rather embarrassing. Aside from looking like hell (which I didn't realize at the time), I got very tongue-tied (which was impossible for me NOT to notice). When she was signing my book, Stephanie asked me a question. A simple question. Now, I write for a living (marketing materials--nothing exciting), so you'd think I'd be capable of stringing two words together to form a simple sentence, yes? Apparently not. And I don't seem to have the sense to just shut my mouth and smile. No. I babble. Mostly incoherently. And this is why I don't go out in public much...

I did meet a very nice lady in line while we were waiting to have our books signed. She can confirm that I am, in fact, capable of normal conversation. Her name is Julia, she was knitting a sock "magic loop"-style, and she had another WIP with her--a very cool entrelac sock. Did I get a picture of it? No. Of course not. I am not a very good blogger. Again, apologies. I will get better. However, I did get a picture of Julia (with The Harlot), and I'll post it if she (Julia) tells me it's okay (I may not be a very good blogger, but I try to be a polite one).

All in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon and evening. Generally speaking, I knit alone, so it was both fun and interesting to knit with other folks, even if I managed to mess up the cardigan I was working on. (I switched to socks.) At first, I was a bit apprehensive about knitting in front of other knitters. Since I taught myself to knit, I had an irrational fear that someone would look at me and say "you're doing it wrong". Nobody did. You gotta love knitters!

Greetings, World!

2006-09-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to my little corner of cyberspace. I've been meaning to get this blog up for quite some time, but have been...well...distracted. It happens frequently.

With any luck at all, I'll make that work to my advantage by posting about whatever's currently distracting me. (If I'm not too distracted...) I suspect I'll mostly talk about knitting, traveling, the occasional soap-making adventure, and a random rant or two, but just about anything is fair game. (But really, at this point, I'm thinking it's mostly going to be a knitting blog.)

So, why start blogging now--today? Good question. There are three answers:

I'm going to see The Yarn Harlot tomorrow, so I KNOW I'll have something really fun to post about tomorrow.
I'm seriously considering entering Cookie's contest (what I won't do for a stash enhancement...), but the deadline is Sunday and the entry has to be a blog post. (So, if you come by and see a rather odd post, it's probably just me trying to win some of Cookie's yarn.)
The guilt is really getting to me. I was a terrible flake to my awesome postcard pal, and I want to make a formal and public apology to her. (And send her something good to make up for it--more on that later.)

So, if this is a knitting blog (mostly), where's the knitting? Hmm... I'll have to get you all caught up on past projects in another post. I seem to be having a bit of trouble uploading photos, and since I've misplaced my digital camera, I'd only have sad little camera phone photos to show you right now, anyway.

In the mean time, here are a couple of links to recent/current projects:

I've recenlty finished Karen Baumer's Simply Lovely Lace Socks from the Spring 2006 Interweave Knits.

Projects currently on the needles include The Yarn Harlot's A Very Harlot Poncho (just a few more rounds to go...) and Elann's Aran Weight Lace Cropped Cardigan by Ann Cannon-Brown and Michelle Ciccariello.

Alright, then. Now that I've introduced myself, please feel free to leave me a comment and do the same.

As for me, I'm off to find the blasted camera. I'll definitely need it for tomorrow. Yarn Harlot, here I come!