hypnagogknit

In which i fail to think of a suitably witty title.

2009-07-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

I really can't believe how well the E-Reader is working for me. i mean, i really really really can't! i am death to electronics, and if there is a way to screw something up on a computer? you bet i will find it. mostly just by looking at the thing. My poor computer, Mr. Donuts (yeah, don't ask) (no, really, i won't tell you anyway) is nearly 5 years old, and this year seems to be a challenging one. everything is breaking I tunes ate my library again, then tripled it, so now i have three or sometimes even more copies of most of my songs. Warcraft is nigh on unplayable, Firefox just will not start some days, and running a game on Steam is taxing to the point of total system crashage. But this sony E-reader and it's little slightly dumb library program? no problema. It's so weird that i just can't believe it.

However, unhooked and in the world, i do fear for the thing constantly. the cover is nice and posh looking, and has a small magnetic closure- but it is very weak. it comes open if i look at it funny. and i am pretty funny looking, so there you are. i'm terrified to put it in my backpack, and usually nestle it in with my knitting to somehow cushion it. also? i read a lot at night, as my baby still hasn't learned to sleep. no, it's only been 13 months of 4 hours of sleep a night- why do you ask? (HELP ME PLEASE.) and when she finally does fall a-snooze for an hour, and i can too, i tuck whatever book i am reading under my pillow. The Screamapillar likes to step on my head a lot, and now i am terrified that she will step where the e-reader is and crack! there will go the display just like my pacman digital wristwatch in 7th grade when i forgot to take it off during P.E. Damn that thing was so cool, but not compatible with volleyball.

In other news, i still have a few dollars left on my gift certificate, and am waiting until the first week of august for a particular book set in Caesar's Rome to come out. SQUEEEE.

In which we get tarted up a bit.

2009-07-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

I broke down and bought a cord to charge the RoseReader with an outlet since my USB ports are all dead. $24.99, crap! But i had no other equivalent device to press in to service, sooooo. I figure it balances out since i get $25 of free books. Anyway, other than books, what can i put on this thing? And why would I want to? Because i can. So i did.

first i started off with a picture of the cat, as per Internet regulations, then i added a few pictures of the kids. One or two of the boy at his faerey wedding to his Kindergarten sweetheart, and one of screamapillar doing her thing. The pictures look like total shite; most likely as a result of my less than stellar photo skills, my cheapass camera, and that the RoseReader renders them black and grey. No white. So, um, yeah. i do not think i would ever use such a function if i owned this thing.

next, i grabbed a bunch of random music out of the library and plopped it on to the RoseReader;
The Grinderman album, a few tunes from Cibo Matto and 1000 Homo Djs, a William Shatner and Yoko Kano. The reader has no speakers, so i grab my headphones; the snazzy ones that match my i-pod Clarice and rosereader. these headphones rock socks. The sound quality is ok, but i am not a real connesiere anyway, but nor would i exclaim "is it real or is it Memorex?" while listening. Again, this seems like a feature i would not really ever use. I have an i-pod, who's capacity and sound quality is better.

So after a few hours of playing around with these features, i need to charge ms. rose up! So i plug her in to the outlet and time it. In two hours i come back and she is full of sparkly energy, like a little electrical vampire.

Also, my USB ports, broken as they are, seem to love her. They love her to the point that it seems her miraculous healing powers have allowed them to go on speaking terms with Clarice the i-pod again, and i sync her up for the first time in months. oh, man. that was good. Even The Boy was getting tired of Doctor Horrible. and that is saying something, as he plans to be the good Doctor for Halloween-(white costume, not red and black).

The Next day i set aside for only reading, no extraneous features like crappy pictures or music i have elsewhere. I read the whole of The Invisible Man, and make use of the bookmark feature, which i love so hard i wish i could do something similar in Itunes, so that i don't have to keep track of where i am in audio books with little post its stuck to my monitor. Maybe there is something like this in Itunes, but i'd never know since it doesn't really come with INSTRUCTIONS, does it? Mac bastards. Now i know that i almost never use instructions, but i like them to be there when i get stuck, or want to know about features that might not be obvious. Anyway, back to the reader; even though it spent much of the day on various counters and tables and a few hours in my knitting basket, it was always on. How many bars of battery did i use? NONE! wow. neat.

In which we become assimilated.

2009-07-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

But first, our internet required cat picture. Don't want to get any fines, ya know. Sumi is here depicted snoozing on her knitted happy place bed, which is on the kitty condo that she only uses because i moved it under the mud room window, giving her full view of the back yard and that other black cat with the one eyebrow; her nemesis.

The E-Reader; Rose- well, she is a giving me the problems and oy and vey, i broke down and read the instructions!

First, a few months ago, the USB ports on the computer crapped out. All four. All at once. Weird, huh? Naturally, i assumed it was just Clarice, my I-pod, being awful. I-tunes is a program forged by Feklar himself, and my last I-pod; Edward- was a $400 paperweight and i have never let go of my hatred. But in bringing clariece over to The Husband's computer, i found that it was not so, as she connected straight away. Seeing how Rose needs to connect via USB, and i had not thought of that when i entered the contest, i emailed SB Sarah to drop out. However, she pointed out the SD option and all was good. OR SO I THOUGHT.

I went to the Sony bookstore, very like Itunes, and grabbed a bunch of freebies, just to test things out. I also got a couple of the Google freebies for comparison. Downloading was easy peasy one-two-threesey for both and i saved them to an SD card which i popped into RoseReader, flipped the switch, and saw that there were the books! WIN! OR SO IT SEEMED.

But i could not read the books, neither the google nor the sony. Ok, i figured, it has got to be some sort of authorization issue eiyther concerning the files or the reader. I went back to the 'puter to fix this and found no obvious way to do so. right~clicked every bloody thing i could. nada. zip, zero, zilch. Huh. So i try another file i had, a PDF book a freind bought and sent to me so i could 'enjoy' it with a Ravelry-based book club called Comedy of Errors. (So NSFW your head will spin and pop right off into hyperspace.) It is of course the infamous Knight Moves by Jamaica Layne, which i mentioned last post. This i can read no problem. right from the SD card. In a desperate move i took rosereader and jammed that cable in the USB port, and got my same dumb error message. ah well. OR SO IT APPEARED.

Yet, she was recognized by both calibre and the sony library! Awe Hell Yeah! So i drag and drop the books on to the reader from the Sony library and repeat the previous step. Now i can read the Google books, but not the sony ones! So i drag and drop them to rosereader from calibre, same thing! i can read the googlebooks but not the sonybooks! I post a long ranty email to the readers' test drive group, and consult the help file, and eventually find the bassakwards way that the deauthorization process needs to be taken care of. it seems that in trying to make the library program simple to use, a lot of functionality is nerfed. AND THAT IS THE SO.

Now, the USB ports are still recognizing rosereader, wow! and i think i will take my mad money to the store and use my one~handed reader to get some one~handed reads. ooooooh yeah.

In which the blog is consumed by the Sony E~Reader 505.

2009-07-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

w00t~! I got home from the dentist; grabbed the baby to nurse her, wrangled the boy into clothes, and was saying goodbye to The Husband as he went to catch a train (I pick *early* appointments) when the postman knocked on the door, his arms full o' crap! Packages! Junk mail! Magazines! More junk! A Bill, maybe three! The first of the packages was my Sweet Libertine order, awesome (eleventybillion). The second was Not For Me. The third was the E-Reader; huzzah! I unwrapped it best I could while eating Husbandmade Waffles with blueberries and cream while still nursing the Screamapillar and once I had it free i just turned it on. Instructions? pfffft. What do you know, it had a full battery charge. Also? It's RED...ooooohhh...fancy. Just like my wee I-pod clarice. In fact, almost the very same red. spooky. The other thing i notice right away is how small it is, and how this totally blows for the cozy i had been knitting it that looks like a TARDIS. Ah well, she won't mind. Oh yes, it's female, i know that much right away. Like i knew my oven was male, and named carl. The name will come to me, i thought as i flipped through various files on the reader (Amanda? Like Amanda Palmer?) while still nursing and eating breakfast. O. M. G. Normally it is hardly compatible to nurse and do anything, since feeding Screamapillar is like trying to feed a RAGE infected monkey from 28 Days Later, oh and there go her feet, all in my blueberries....

BUT! Back to the Sony. It has quite a few book excerpts, that if i was in my right mind, i could read and even possibly make sense of. Warren Buffet! Richard Dawkins! A NY Times thingy of some sort! But i am not in my right mind have have not seen hide nor hair of it since the advent of children, so i look for something, erm, less challenging. Marley and Me? Oh, no frakking way. Here we are, George Martin. niiiiiice! About 40 pages from the first song of fire and ice book.

So i flip pages, yeah- one handed, that's right beyotches! that's how i roll! And i am really pleased that i can hold the reader firmly enough that i have no fear of dropping it on the Screamapillar's head, yet i can exert a bit of extra pressure with my thumb to make a difference with the page forward button at the lower left hand corner. BRILLIANT!

Also included along with book samplage are lovely photos of some models and a lamp post, two musical tracks that i realize i need my headphones to listen to, so whatevers, next- the user guide-pffffft, and a whole bunch of other settings and things to poke at. No lighting for the screen is a bit disappointing, but i notice there is a dock at the bottom that i just know my worm light from my game boy will fit in to- bonus!

So far the only negatives are that it's a bit heavier than i expected, and WTF is up with the mini seizure it has when turning a page? ug. really unpleasant to look at.

This is getting to be a bit much now, it's time to make some @lilithsaintcrow Cookies Of Doom and i'll get back to this business in a moment.

July 6, 2009; a Monday!

2009-07-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, crap, there's just so much that's been going on this past year, but really? Nothing at all. The Baby, Screamapillar, turns 1 tomorrow. Gosh it would be awesome if she decided to stop sleeping like a newborn, but i suppose that's just too much to hope for. It is her birthday, after all.

Most everything that is interesting has been talked to death by me on Ravelry or Twitter, and cobwebs are thick on this little corner of the internets. That will be changing somewhat, as i plan to write up a bit about something non-knitting, the Sony E-Reader i will get to play with courtesy of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I entered a contest! i won! holy hell!!

First things first, i need to make that shit a cozy. for realz.

Also, it is WIP wrestling month, and i hope to get at least two critical projects done; Ms. D's sweater that has taken three bobdamn years, and the fair isle socks. Oh, and the Little Big Planet Dude Who's Name Absolutely Escapes Me.

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

2008-11-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

i'm gonna roast the hell out of some chestnuts. tonight, if i can stay awake, and tomorrow morning for sure, cause other wise i won't have them to bring to the motherinlaw's house, along with my cornmeal stuffing in a roasted pumpkin bowl which is my contribution to the eating festival.

Knitting? oh yeah, that. well, i cast on for a turkey viking hat for ms. screamapillar, but her essential nature of screaming and 30 minute naps has been a bit of an obstacle.

NaNoWriMo? utter failure. i cannot stay awake long enough to write at all once the kids are in bed. the dishes and laundry badger me.

And? gonna start offering art lessons for home schooled kids. i need a snappy name with which to title a new blog and put on letterhead. i love stationery.

November 1 2008

2008-11-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

NaNoWriMo!

yup, trying this thing again, why not?

Sunday, September 14th 2008

2008-09-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

I should have gone to the Solano Stroll with The Boy to help support his fencing club, but i was just too damn tired. The Sobrante Stroll is next weekend, and i am committed. i absolutely have to be there, because i have the banner.

babies change so fast, that's what folks always say. huh. well here's what she looks like now:

July 26, 2008; a Saturday!

2008-07-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

here's a new finished object.

May 29th 2008

2008-05-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

why post anything about knitting when my camera is still broken? but today at target i succumbed to the very nice sale price on a new polaroid, and here are some other materialistic acquisitions recently to find their way to my over full house.

here is my new namaste bag, thanks mom!

also thanks to the mom, we went to ecohome and bought hippie paint, and painted up the future ninja's room. here, it is mostly done, but there is a pale lime green yet to add in thin stripes to the molding, and white paisleys to stamp at random points all over the walls.

and this is a very girlyass cardigan from a pattern i found on ravelry, done in a bamboo yarn found on pretty deep discount at K2TOG in Albany, whee! it's almost done, all i have to do is sew up the edges and knit the front panel.

Cinco De Mayo!

2008-05-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

no, i did not go to the maker faire this weekend, and yes, i am a tad bit bitter about it.

here's a sock:

Friday April 25th, 2008

2008-04-25T09:55:00.001-07:00

Bogger is being a punkass, and not letting me upload pictures of my recent 'triumph'; a multicoloured sock that gave me grey hairs as i knitted it. Srsly, holding one strand of yarn in each hand was at times beyond my tiny self. But to switch back and forth with only my left hand was ungodly slow.

here be the socks in question.....http://www.knitwhits.com/online_store/socks4tots/soup.php
and mine are all puckered and tight, cause i knit so damn tight anyway. I was thinking the whole time of my friend L-'s hat that she made, with the lovely soft floats of yarn carried over on the WS, and it's soft stretchableness. these socks will be sure to constrict the extremities of whatever child will be cursed with them. The child in question was to be the ninja-to-be, but the socks are just too big for her for at least a couple of years. I can't frog this mess because of all the little strands i will be left with, and the yarn is really very soft, siiiigh. well, i'll just cast on the next sock, see what happens, and if i have to get another kit some time in the future so i can get (hopefully) a pair of socks that are wearable.

Knit in Public day is coming up, so look busy! Also? it's the same day as the norcal pirate festival, so look drunk, too.

April 22, 2008

2008-04-22T17:20:00.001-07:00

Nostepinne goodness! The husband got a lathe for the annual winter gifting ceremony, and has become quite a fan of turning things. So after asking what he could make, i told him "Nostepinne", and look what i got; two of them! So of course i had to go to the yarn boutique to get some sock yarn, as it does not count as stash increase, no it does not. google that.

Tuesday; March 18, 2008

2008-03-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

this is the Kimono baby wrap from Mason~Dixon Knitting, a book i have been wanting to read for a very long time, but its still in hardcover, so hey, what the hell?!?! that's expensive! So i got it out of the library and i am glad i didn't buy it, so i don't care now if it never comes out in softcover. There is just really nothing in it that screams "OMG! Must Make Over and Over!" This baby wrap here is pretty darn cute however, and i may make a couple more after tinkering with the pattern some. I did this one in Heirloom brand baby wool, at a gauge of 7 st per inch, and i think the sleeves came out too narrow at the end, even though they are the recommended 4 inches in diameter, and the wool very stretchy. i just foresee struggle as fat baby fists squirm. it is pretty dang cute though...and the baby wool colours are not all just pastel, or fawn, or peach, or...well...baby colours. in fact, i found three! this fuchsia colour here, and one Very Red, which i have just cast on to be a cardigan based on the one from Stitch and Bitch Nation (not a fan of swallows, though, i'm thinking i will put a BSG logo or the Seal of Rassilon on there). I also knit a Soaker based on the Fan and Faerie freebie pattern, but i think i have made a fatal gauge error, as the thing i have would not even be suitable as a cat's pantie. it's rilly rilly small!

march 8 2008

2008-03-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

It's a girl!

and here are some damn hell girly-ass booties for the Lola-to-be.

These are worked in Pagewood Farm's hand dyed sock yarn, Orange Spice. This has got to be the most expensive yarn i have bought to date, at $31.95, and acquired at the very posh Big Sky store in Lafayette. I recently made a long overdue pilgrimage to Lafayette to check out both that store and The Yarn Boutique. Both are VERY different, but uh, i like yarn boutique way better, it just feels like home, and we are already Ravelry pals, woot! That's not to say i will never go back to big sky, but uh, it's a little out of my league, hee hee. for sure i will take my mom there though, you have got to see the place, it's so very.

The pattern is the amazingly popular Saartjes Bootees, and was so fast and fun to make. I completed the first within an hour, and the second even faster as the pattern is so simple i nearly have it memorized by now- i'm on a third bootee in a different yarn.

And this yarn? this spicey orange expensive yarn? worth every penny, truly. its wonderful to knit with, is lightly springy and soft yet feels more than sturdy enough to stand up to being worn on feetses all day. i might knit a pair of queen of cups socks for myself in this. i made one for a sock-swap once, and i have not stopped thinking about when i am going to make more of them again soon. But really, if it was a tad more red, i would have to make something dune related, it just really does remind me of The Spice, but what doesn't?

stillsuit socks? hrm.....

March 2, 2008

2008-03-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

The docotor who scarf is now taller than me, and resting at the moment beside the couch in the living room. The cat has not yet claimed it as her own personal napping spot, only because we get no sunlight in that room at all. Its a cave! one day we will install some nifty light tubes....yeah, one day.

The baby surprise jacket for the baby that surprised me is done, as is her hat. Yes, her hat. I totally caved and peaked. Due to my 'advanced' age, i had to have a number of tests that i didn't need with the boy. Now, i did skip a lot of them still, no amnio for me, thanks! But blood tests done on me, that's fine, and two scans? ok, as long as it's only two. So i am laying on the table covered with slime and the tech is talking to me about the previous baby (now seven) that i had, and i mentioned that he had not gotten any kind of scan or testing or poking at all. She looked at me with a very surprised face and said "And the baby turned out all right?"

yeah, cause the scan totally prevents defects.

currently in progress is a variation of the Elizabeth Zimmerman/ Mrs. Hoover baby blanket, look at an older issue of knitty.com to find the pattern for the latter. I cast on 108 stitches of Patton's newish SWS yarn which is soft as all get out and totally affordable, on to a 29" circular needle. I used garter stitch for 6 ridges, and then leaving 6 stitches on each side for a border, took those middle ones and K1, M1, the rest of the way across. This doubled the number of stitches in the middle, and makes a two sided blanket, you can put your fingers down between the layers of fabric, its so neat. but the border is in single stitch, and makes a nice deffinition around the edges. So just continue along, slipping every other stitch. The only draw-back is that it is fairly boring, but the yarn is nice to use, and is thick enough to knit up rather quickly.

One day i will get my camera fixed, but until then cell-phone only pictures. bleah.

February 6 2008

2008-02-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

The Doctor Who scarf now reaches my chin, so its very close to being half-way done! I have one and a smidgeon baby booties, two umbilical cord hats, and new cascade 220 for a green/purple baby surprise jacket.

in other news...i knew that one day someone would see the brilliance of combining household chores and D&D style gaming....

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

2008-01-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

Almost three feet into the Doctor Who scarf! This is a version of the classic season 12 scarf first worn by Tom Baker...I was originally planning to do the scarf from season 18, as i like the colours so much more, but! I happened to be at Thrift Town the other day and had a major yarn score; a full clear garbage bag stuffed full of yarn for only $5! When i got it home and rummaged through, i found it was all Red Heart or Carron acrylic, and all in season 12 colours. Surely a sign. So i cast on that very day with 4 ridges of maroon, followed by 26 of off-white, then 5 of yellow...nearly one foot in right there! i am working on US 8 rosewood needles that i adore and have a very bad habit of sitting on and breaking. The scarf is about 8 inches wide, and true to the pattern, in garter stitch with no slipped edges.

I have finished the ninja's Misty Alpaca Umbilical Cord hat, i cast on 96 st onto US 4 Dpns, also rosewood, heh heh. I think i have just enough left over to make another hat for another baby that should pop into the real world here in a few weeks time.

I also finished the PI r square shawl, and am very dissapointed. Bleah. now to find a home for it. i had kind of hoped that it would be for me, but it is so clearly not!

I have no pictures of any of these things, as i am a dumbass and dropped my camera. it will now not retract the lens, and gives me an error message everytime i turn it on. My phone has a camera in it, but i have never found this magical $30 cable that is supposed to take the pictures from the indside of the phone to the inside of the computer. No, not even the folks at the phone store sell it. But they know about it! ah well.

in other exciting news, i finally got the Orange Box, and am having the best time playing Portal.
I love my weighted companion cube!

2008-01-04T20:04:00.001-08:00

ok, so i have been away for a while, bad bad me.

Wait, what the hell do you care? Who are you anyway...the journaling/blogging thing has always confused me on this topic. So i am ignoring it.

School kicked my ass five ways from sunday, and i was only taking three classes. This upcoming semester i will cut it down and take only two; philosophy and psychology, neither of which i am particularly interested in. I wasn't crazy about Sociology or History either, but i made it through ok. perhaps i should set up some kind of video game reward system? no, that would never work, i haven't the willpower.

As to knitting, there has been tremendous resurgence on that front, as i am all kinds of knocked up and the small ninja demands i knit for it. so i do. Yes, there is a ninja on board, and we are all stunned and surprised, believe you me. This one has not only snuck past all the counter-measures, but has then added insult to injury by making me sick. Bleah. I was never sick with The Boy (who is now 7). So this on had damn well better be a girl. Anias Ninja has a nice ring to it. yes?

On the Needles:

Umbilical Cord Hat in Misty Alpaca

Surprise Baby Jacket in Cascade Superwash

Pi R Square Shawl in Turino Silk

real photos of *my* projects will be here soon... i think. don't hold me to this.

Ocotober 23 2007

2007-10-23T14:10:00.001-07:00

holy crap.

So school? I really kind of suck at it. I mean, I remember this being the way of things when last i attempted it, but seriously, i really really really suck at it. I am only taking three clasees, rather than the night program's recommended four. English, Sociology, and History. You wouldn't think it would be that bad, but oh man, mah stoopids; let me show you them! i haven't read anything that wasn't school related since August when i finished up Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, which rocked my tiny world. I have only knit on my harvest sock swap pal's sock, and thank goodness for me she is in the midst of moving house so that i have a moment or two longer to get her package to her.

/cry

i'm not even playing warcraft that much, or hanging out on Ravelry nearly as much as i would like.

i hear you now, 'boo, hoo, cry me a river, you poor baby.' but really, i have no idea how to learn. i mean, how do you do that? i read over and over and then it all falls out of my head moments later. Finals? there is no way i have cumulative knowledge on any of this stuff! I can barely keep it all in my mind until the day of the test. pah! it pisses me off especially because i feel like i am wasting money and time. the house is a wreck, i am barley cooking anything other than soups and pastas, and i'm almost never at home anymore. how to learn? who teaches that course? and would i learn anything?

/sigh.

Friday, August tenth, 2007

2007-08-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

A fafner cable knit sweater for the boy's school uniform...

Some Vog-on socks for the moms...

A baby surprise jacket for my neighbor who is due in Septemeber:

What's next?

July 24, 2007. A tuesday

2007-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

the Golden Compass and it's two companions, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass have been on my favourties list since i got them for pre-Xmas 1999. It was intended that I read them durring my 'maternity leave', but i finished them before jr. arrived, hahahaha! There was no way I could wait, even though Mr. Baby sure took his sweet time, punk!

So now that he is approaching his seventh birthday, i am thinking on bringing him to see the Golden Compass movie with me, but i'm not sure. He may poo twinkies. Best we stick to the book, most likely....

Anyway, we went and got our deamons, and the first one i got was Mrs. Coulter's golden monkey! Little boy freaked right the frak out, and told me to re-take the test. So i backed off a bit, yeah? Not so aggro! and i got this:

I'm so flippin' goth. ugh.

2007 July (the ninth) Sunday

2007-07-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

My scanner still hates me and gives me sass. I took the this picture of the Seal of Rassilon chart with the camera, and it came out rather crappily. But, the chart is done and ready for a test drive. Anyone need a washcloth that gives the owner of it regenerations? Of course, we all know that with Gallifrey gone, those artifacts probably don't work. Yes, we ALL know. Because we are ALL sci-fi nerds. Yes, yes we are.

The Fidgert Sock Puppet is nearly done. Instead of just making an over-sized sock, i have thought that it might be an interesting thing to knit a puppet mouth for it in the foot of the sock. Much like the dragon mittens featured in Stich-n-Bitch. I had a pair of mittens very similar when i was a kid, knit by the moms.

The Clementine Shawl is complete! It will be gifted to the Sister-in-Law on her bridal shower, i think. If i can possibly wait that long. I do not think i can.

Now to go watch more Farscape dvds and cry about the total lack of Dr. Who untill Christmas, and the same for Battlestar Galactica.

..../cry.

2007 July (the third) Tuesday

2007-07-03T23:15:00.005-07:00

So everyone seems to have one, and of course I want one as well. Here is my little corner's rating:

Mingle² - Online Dating

Apparently i need to stop discussing my love of a certain book.

2007, June 29 Friday

2007-06-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

The most exciting news I can think of off the top of my head? The domain name "metabolic toad" is not taken. I know I want it, but what to do with it? Why? Nevermind.

Knitting news:

Currently on the needles are a Clementine shawl that was featured in the Interweave Knits magazine, maybe two issues ago? I have xeroxed the pattern out to carry it around with me, and I am sure I put the magazine itsself someplace...'special'....which means I will see it again when we move house. So never, basically.

This one is done in Knit Pick's wool, DK wieght I am pretty sure. Lost the label to the 'special' place, I'm sure.

Also: Fidgert is nearly done, on his Alpha test. I think I am going to run out of yarn, but we'll see. It's only a first knitting, and I completely failed to take notes on what I was doing. So naturally I will kick ass on the second run.

Also: My first attempt at charting...(no that Brak head sweater does not count, as I had no idea what I was doing. I was dead at the time! i was on the moon, with Steve....) Turns out that it is a lot more than just tracing the shape onto graph paper. Now I did know that I would have to make custom paper based on the aspect ratio of my gauge. In this case my 4 inch swatch gave me 30 rows and 19 stitches. Divide 30 by 19 and get 1.5, ta-da! The chart I am attempting? The Seal of Rassilon, of course.

Also: Ms. D's sweater of infinite ripping is turning out too small yet again. Cables...I love cables, but I knit too tightly and I can't seem to figure out a way to predict how much the cables will pucker the fabric, and how much smaller the finished item is once that happens. Hello math people! Tell me!!!

Also: Charmed Knits looks pretty cute, and even though I have sworn off pattern books, preferring to try and make my own, I am tempted.

Reading: As summer is now fully on, I have started over in the library at A. Finished up the Foundation Series, and am nearly done with Watership Down.

Otherness: Next month I will have been a driver for a whole YEAR! I have not deployed an airbag yet. I think I may celebrate. I am sure that everyone who is on the road with me feels similarly surprised.

Angry Penguin Army

2007-01-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

And i am sure they are furhter angered by my innability to spell 'penguin'. At least, i think i have miss-spelled it. But I have a spell checker, yes? Yes, I think I do. Somehow it just doesn't feel right to use it in this setting. I never used a dictionary when writing in a 'real' journal.

Mostly i suppose it's laziness.

yeah, i know it is!

So the winter break is over, school has started, and the little boy has a new sweater vest in uniform colours but with no zipper. It could be avoided, but the vest needs finishing. It looks too rough and slapdash, i can't put it on him. I used the basic layout from 'knitters book of patterns' and then did a basketweave stitch.

Ms. D's sweater is looking gorgeous, I wish i could make one for myself, but i have reserved this reciepe for her, and it just wouldn't seem right to have a copy of it elsewhere in the world. All that is lacking is a left front pannel, button bands, and buttons. The thing is unbelievabley soft and warm feeling. Gotta love the knitpicks wool and silk blend.

The Cunning Hats have expanded their ranks, and now i've more hats to knit. It's great, I have the hat pattern commited to memory now, and can make a full one in perhaps 4 hours? It's hard to judge how long it takes, as everything is done a bit here and a bit there. Maybe i should start keeping a log so that i can see just how much time they take. I have visited webpages where folks are selling them for $25 or so, but while that seems like a lot to pay for a hat, it's a fairly low rate of pay and then maaterials as well. Cunning Hats are for the love of the hat! The little boy wants one as well. Hat jr. I made two over the break and then casted on for a third.

Mr. Huband Socks: I broke down and got some metal needles, size two US. Bright blue, Debbie Gibson Blue! I have bent them nearly into pretzels at this point, so i am trying hard to see the benefit in using them. Sure, they don't break like the bamboo and my best loved and too expensive by far ebony set, but, dang. The wool is some from the trip the Mom and i made to Saratoga Kniting Arts, which was sadly cut short becasue i realized we had driven off with the carseat in our car, leaving the boys at home, stranded. I must say, when mr. Husband has done this to me, i pitch a fit. But he, being far more polite and gentleman-like, simply said "ah! look at that. tch." It's a soft grey, and i am getting maybe 9 or 10 stitches to the inch. It's slow going, but looks very nice. Sadly, i'll be needing to make another one.

two feet, y'know?

Other knitting delights include a new Barbara Walker treasury, and this curious little device, which i have seen in various forms in other books. It's the best thing ever, and i plan to make some more for myself and friends. And i so did not pay that much for it. (technically i paid *nothing* for it since the Mom bought it for me, but you know what i mean.)

Books:

Moby Dick: Again! it's the best book ever! EVER!

Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns: Obviously, as I mentioned before.

Possession: Beautifully written story of two graduate students tracking down letters of corosponding victorian english poets. Really, it's not as lame as it sounds, really! It's an amazing book full of invented works of historical litterature, and so beleivable. You know how authors like Dan Brown and others try to make fictionalized historical genuises, but since they themselves are not what i'd say was MENSA quality, the book falls flat flat flatter than a pancake in Kansas? well A.S. Byatt is SMART. She pwns Mensa. Each character is absolutely distinct, and their works are all included. Epic Poems written by fictional characters. Amazing book.

Women's Rituals, Barbara Walker: I had no idea that this barbara walker was the same knitting lore master, never in her other books are these mentioned! And she has written so many. I am only just getting started on this, so i can't give a good account yet. but it's fairly interesting so far.

The Portable Dorothy Parker: It's a good thing Moby Dick is so manly, because this list is frighteningly girly in it's selection. I can't explain it, not one Sc-Fi or Horror title to be found. Anyway, this book is hardly portable, it's a brick! The outside and inside flaps are covered in drawings by Seth, which is what drew me to it. I had been meaning to pick up a copy for a while, and have recently re-watched Mrs. Parker and the Viscious Circle, which is a fine feature film.

It's freaking cold here! It's 22 degrees! I don't pay high taxes to live in California and be this freaking cold! Al Gore has unleashed his global warming penguin army on us. I'm going to go knit more clothes.

Virtual Knitting

2006-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

Say hello to the Cunning Hats of Hyjal server, if you see us. We're not hard to miss.

Moby Knit!

2006-12-05T00:41:00.000-08:00

So I have finally read Moby Dick. It was becoming a thing, y'know, like hating James Joyce.

No, i have never read Moby Dick.

But now i can't say that, because folks i have read it, and i love it. In fact, I am going to re-read it on my upcoming plance ride to NY to visit with The Moms. (and of course the rest of the familiy, but The Moms knits, and taught me to knit, so she gets top billing. Along with the whole life-giving thing, but really...:)

However, back to the Moby. I am going to knit a whole bunch of Cunning Hats for my WoW guild of the same name, and then it's time to knit in a literary inspired fashion. Sailor's caps, mostly, i'm sure.

Our recent family adventure on the Lady Washington (where i Knit upon the high(ish) seas) left the little boy most desirous for 17th century sailors' slops. This means i will have to dust off the sewing machine and take a stab at it.

Maybe i can get good at sewing, as i've always wanted to but never spent the time and effort furthering on. Maybe i'll just be entirely consumed by the PTA and the Little Boy's school, as seems to be the trend.

The Husband made a Rusty Nail for tonight's sip, and it was a potent concoction, i feel fair near to falling off this chair as i type.

The current knit list stands thusly:

The Hat of the Future Cousin: I found out that little boy's future cousin (on husband's side) is going to be a girl child, so an umbilical cord style hat has been cast on. I know this hat by heart now, it's lovely and mechanical, i can knit it anywhere. i've gotten 2 inches in,

The Super Mouse Hat: Cast on and finished within a week, an earflaps style hat done in grey with rounded mouse ears sewn on top. This was a birthday present for the little boy's current BFF in his kindergarten class.

Ms D's sweater: Blocked the sleves, nearly done with the bakc pannel. I should take a picture, casue it's taken me long enough, sheesh! i'm sure she hates me by now. i hang my head in shame.

Doctor Who Scarf of Improbable Length: It's rilly rilly rilly rilly long. I can't take it on the plane....or can i?

holy cats

2006-11-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

it's been a crazy long time since i posted anything here. The little boy is in school now, and i was looking forward to all this time, this golrious glorious block of time 5 days a week when i could knit, iron whilst watching buffy the vampire slayer, mop without shooing dirty feet out of my way, plan nice dinners, get the grocery shopping done and all other errands that would take time away from hanging out with the little boy and helping him with school.

WELL.

i now spend more time at the the school than he does! I found out that there was no art program at his school for upper grades, the 4th 5th and 6th, so i thought, hey, i have all of the time now, i can host an art class and that would be easy and fun. It is fun, but it's not very easy, and it takes up so much more time than just the hour the class actually happens in. The fourth graders i get to work with directly in their classroom, all 33 of them. The fith and sixth graders come afterschool in a smaller group, since it's optional, haha. And it's all girls, go figure!

Then my duties as PTA board member, and signing up for every damn committee that comes my way, uh, well, we are eating more readymade food than ever. it's terrible. i can't manage my time for shit! (sorry mom) The knitting is gathering dust, and so is every surface in my house. I'm living the mom's taxi cliche that i swore ages ago that anyone seeing me buy into this crap could shoot me on sight. Netflix is making such money on me, i can rarely get a movie watched in under two weeks. Fitzcaraldo has been lost and re-found twice! Library books are being returned unread, and Warcraft characters unleveled.

It's getting to the point where i understand why people want vacations, and that's just not right.

Enough of the pity party, i've got the boys home today, the big one is in his shop, the little one obsessing over the connect four game i got him. (he's got a major fondness for making patterns) so really i should be better using this time to fold
some laundry and dust.

Oh, the dust.

Recent books:

The Thirteenth Tale: well, if you like V.C. Andrews but wish it was better written, this is the book for you. A crazy inbred family collapses in on its self like a flan in a cupboard. The twist is that it is set in the English countryside rather thatn the American south. Shocker!

Movies:

Edward Scisorhands: A tenth aniversary re-issue which is pretty weak. Glad i only paind ten bucks for it at the grocery store. Sure it's widescreen and has an easter egg in the menus, but the extras are superweak. Paft, i say. PAFT!

Knitting:

Mousehat: The little boy's favourite kid is having a birthday in a week, the same day as two others, and well, everyone is getting a hat. this one is a mouse hat, as they play that they are super mice who save other mice from mousey doom of one kind or another. gripping!

Ms. D's sweater: having been ripped four times, i am finally making good progress on it. Two sleeves and most of the back done. whew!

Lazy summer days are over.

2006-08-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

School starts next Monday! It can hardly be happening, but the little boy will be attending Kindergarten for 2 1/2 hours everyday. Super exciting. And while it is super tempting to spend all this new time playing WoW, or watching Buffy re-runs, I am going to attempt to not do either of these things. The school has a knitting club that meets during the lunch period, so maybe I will help out with that. I've also volunteered to teach an afterschool art program, so we'll see how that goes. Now, here's the knitting:

Ms. D's cardi: this has been very hard, but the best knitting I've done. I have two nice swatches, and most of one sleeve. Not very much, eh? No, not really. The cable that I'm putting on the Sweater has made my gauge really small in places, and I just don't know how to do the math needed. The cable varies in size greatly, from the beginning three strand braid to a large, wide, candle-flame like form that ends in a point. It's wicked cool, I may make one for myself. If I ever make this one correctly.

Silent auction shawl: Also my own recipe. A basically triangular shawl with a panel of lace running thru the center. I'd say it was 80 percent done. The Silent Auction it's going towards is in the spring, so i'm in no hurry.

Chain Mail 2.0: For some reason, as easy as this is to do, i've screwed it up two times, and the renaissance Faire is this weekend. I have basically one day to finish it. Again. For the third time. yikes!

Strawberry hat: For a little girl i babysit for, since it's wool, i can confidently pause halfway thru on it, since she won't be wearing it until at least November, if then. It's California, after all.

Super Secret Project X: hopefully this will be in the mail. Like, soon. I'm going to have to overnight it to get it there.

Pictures later, as I have let my camera battery run down completely.

Summertime knitting

2006-06-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

It's hot here. You wouldn't think that a move of three miles would make such a difference, but man does it ever. So the Knitting has shrunk. Now that my full time job has gone part time, and school doesn't start for two months, I may squeeze in more knitting time. We'll have to see, World of Warcraft has a fierce pull on me! Let's see what's on the needles:

This is the May Flowers shawl for the book "Knitter's Stash" I wanted my first shawl to be easy and encouraging, and this was both! It went quite quickly, in fact, with a supereasy repeat pattern that made for perfect movie knitting. It did not expand the 30% that was claimed, but i did use a different wool, so there you are. I think that i may add a sawtooth border onto it, and then mail it off to me mum.

Next up is a cardigan for Ms. D-. Now this project has been nearly a year in the planning, and she just put into my care her *favourite* cardigan so that i can get a good sense of what she likes and what fits her best. I am ordering the yarn today from knitpicks and I'm pretty psyched, since I will be adding cables and sort of 'designing' it myself. Could be fantastic, could be a nightmare in the making. We shall see.

Driving update: I haven't deployed the airbags yet. Things are going well. In fact, yesterday i drove BY MYSELF to the Laundromat and I had Alice Donut cranked up, and it felt kinda good! Who knew?

QUAKE IN FEAR YOU TINY FOOLS.

2006-06-22T19:57:00.001-07:00

i have a driver's license. The end of a 17 year program has come to fruition. Be afeered, very very afeeeered!

off the rails.

2006-05-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

my mother's day presents, started soooo long ago, are languishing, half-done. All three MOMS are in town for this year's hallmarking up of an otherwise nice day. I am going to have a luncheon hosted here at the Isle of Evil, and perhaps i am crazy for trying it, but let's see how it goes! I want to make the waffle cake again, it's rilly yummy and simple to make. maybe a fancy fruit cocktail? Pannini?

what yarn do you knit at a luncheon? I don't think that i myself have ever attended such a thing. I'm not the luncheon type. i'm more the grubbin' type. hence the aforementioned WWF cookbook that resides next to my stove.

the frickin' rock, dude!

so this lack of knitting has let up a bit more room for reading, and since the Knit One Read Two website seems out of commission, i'll list the past month's reads:

The Ninth Life of Luis Drax: Not for folks who get freaked out about violence done to or done by children. That said, it's just short of being a fantastic book. I can't exactly lay my finger on why it's not fantastic, but it just isn't. Maybe it's too short? I was through it in two days which is fast even for me. Louis Drax is a pretty believable child, not written to high above his given age, but not so of his age he's just not interesting. He's an astonishingly accident prone boy who lives in france with his stay at home mother and airplane pilot father. For the bulk of the book he his the narrator, but it also cuts in with a medical doctor who oversees louis after one of his 'accidents' and the two become very close, although not in any way you might expect, and ew, no, not in *that* way. The mystery surrounding his condition is all at once completely obvious, yet a bit unexpected since it is so obvious. Maybe that's my beef with it. And it's too short.

I'd like to knit a scarf hat and mitten set with hamsters on them, but the hamsters are all named "muhammed" and we all know where that leads to.....

The Perfect Storm: Finally got around to it, as the husband bought it when it came out, and i even ignored the movie when it came out. why? why? i cannot say. I just caught the movie on late night tv the other week, then went directly to the bookshelf, grabbed it, and started reading that night. Holy @#$@#$#&^%!!!!!! and really, let me say again, HOLY #$%#$R%!@#!!!!!
the movie was faithful to the book in that many incedents related in the book were portrayed in the movie, only who they happened to and when was changed around quite a bit. Did it make any difference? no, not really, as no one knows what happened onboard the ship Andrea Gail, no transcripts, ships don't have blck boxes, and they never radioed in. But man! HOLY #$#@%!#@$%!!!!!!!

i intend to knit a nautical theemed shawl in fogbank grey, and name it Andrea Gail.

Money, a Memoir: A non-fiction book written like a companion the Perfect Madness, Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. Very short, full of personal stories of women from many walks of life (but most of them walking in fairly nice shoes) and their relationship with money. It reall made me think a lot about how i never think about money, and how i really need to. I'd reccomend it to anyone.

maybe i should felt a wallet? or perhaps, just not spend so much on yarn. NAH!!!

The Tattoo Artist: A depression era surrealist artist is shipwrecked on an island where the natives tattoo themselves constantly and completely. I could not put this down. The writing is graceful and so barely noticeable it feels as though the characters are simply in your head and before your eyes, you are seeing it all unfold right then and there. Another short read, take it on a plane ride, your seatmate won't hear a peep out of you the enitre time, however.

i wonder if size 0000 steels would pierce skin? it's time to try intarsia again. a norwegian style
modern primitive sweater? hmmm.....

50 cups of coffee and you know it's on!

2006-04-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not 50. tho it might go well with the 50 eggs i ate at easter. dude, so many eggs. And only i like them, so there are always a lot leftover. I use the receipe out of the WWF cookbook, but i put a pinch of wasabi in, and sea salt, and the seasoned rice wine vinnegar. but i do so love that cookbook! It really is great for just basic non-fooodie-ized chow. basic grub. yum.

this past weekend we watched Camelot, and the little boy's favourite line was when Authur was bringing Lancelot to meet the peeps at the May Day party. Lancelot questions to propreity of using knights to gather flowers and do other frivilous things, then Arthur says "Well, someone's got to do it!" The little boy just cracked up! We played it over and over this week.

After Camelot, the Husband and i watched SAW and SAW II. eh. whatevah. i was expecting a horror film, but it was an o.k. thriller dealy. better than Se7en, anyway. But the really good thing was the making and almost finishing of this, my first lace sock:

by the time i got to the park to sneak in a little bit of knitting whilst the little boy was playing with a new found pal, young master C., and the baby was sleeping, i had only the toe remaining. shweeeeet! but, sadly, not my size. i have to find some Cinderella for these fog lace socks. that and invent a decrease system that makes the lace look not too shabby. it's just a fan and feather variant of my own akward ignoring of the pattern design accident. ah well.

any takers? i think it's a size 9/10.... but will i ever make the second? it's such an obstacle!

TARDIS cozy

2006-04-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

this crazyness is a gift of merino, wool, and 20% acrylic from the devine Ms. R, who on her return from Guatamala showed up on my doorstep with this, a rainbow mouse backpack for the boy, a black and white checked scarf for the husband, and a killer pleated apron with fab black rickrack trim for moi! two presents in one day! hoooooray! it's a nutso kind of pink that ocassionally looks purple. i find it confusing and compelling. but what to make with it? I am thinking on making Doctor Steve's Sock-shaped Assistant, Fidgert!

TARDIS cozy????

well, not really, but it is difficult to keep thinking up headings every time i post something here. a vexation! a bother! but here is the progress on Doctor Scarf:

After 27 years.....

2006-04-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

The doctor who scarf is on! Casted on! yeah, baby!

First, I bought some nice burgandy, sage, and orange. the orange is a bit too orange for my tastes, but i am trying to move beyond my usual 'bruise pallate' of colours. It's a start. I went to the fabulous doctor who scarf website, printed a pic. of my favourite scarf, and am using it loosely for reference.

Then i wound the skeins into balls using the classic two chairs method. No, my child is useless for these things. sad, really.

And then i sat down, watched the 'Dalek' episode, and got only so very little of the way in. I am making a very narrow version, only 23 stitches wide. just about 4 inches. I fifgure that was my great failing when i was six. Trying to make a 17 foot long, 8 inch wide ba-heeeemooth! now i am going for long skinny. i hope to get to ten feet, but i am not going to torture myself with it. Also, i don't have time for these shennanigans. My knitting time is at an absolute premium. It's down to chosing between that or sleep. Food is off the table, litteraly. I'm back to eating straight out of the fridge when i get a moment. bad bad bad.

I am also deviating from pattern in doing slipped edges, because raw edges offend me deeply.
sorry. They just do. A pox on the non-selvedged edge. nyah.

Time thyme

2006-04-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Not much time for the knitting lately, or for cooking. The new job is really absorbing any thoughts of sideprojects. But i did get a few stolen rows in on the little boy's new pair of socks

waaa-lah:

Done in Regia 4 fach haltbar! it's got great Waschmaschinenfest, and besonders strapazierfahig! Ja, ist gut.

What we talk about when we talk about knitting.

2006-04-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

It's schools! Surprise! I got to be a fly on the wall at a knitting group for parents of a private school in Berkeley. My kid and the hostesses' kid were having a playdate at the same time the knitters were gathering downstairs. I met my Evil Twin there, or I should say, she met me. I am her Evil Twin. We had the same coat, were knitting the same project, and both had the same name with the manly spelling, not the girly spelling. And just to complete the evilness, I was wearing my "I Am The Evil Twin" shirt.

So very evil.

I've never been to a knitting group before, usually I hang with my pal R, or M. In fact, the only reason M. knits is because R and I (but mostly R) converted her. Now she's a fiend! UN-stoppable! More dog sweaters than a dog has any right to. There was very little talk about knitting, but it was rather facinating to hear 'behind the scenes' as it were, of this particular school. Not that I have anything to do with the shool. Or even knew of it or the plethora of others even existed before then. It's a whole new world.

I got an excellent cappuchino made for my by the hostesses' husband, and a jammy muffin of some kind. The boys played fantastically together, and I knitted a fair piece of the Clapotis.
then I went home and watched Doom on the pay-per-view, sinking comfortably back down to a lower social status. YEAH! THE FRICKIN' ROCK, DUDE!

It's sad, really...

2006-03-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

So I had a dream that an ex-boyfriend was trying to take over the universe, y'know, like they do. And I was the only one who could stop him. Perfectly reasonable. But then I got distracted by this giant pile of yarn! Oh, it was so pretty! Big rainbow coloured skiens of silk, Luminous green cones of satiny soft merrino, giant balls of cashmere with delicate halos of fluff barely glowing. Did I save the universe? uh, no. No I did not.

BATTLE ME!

2006-03-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

U-G-L-Y, it ain't got no alibi.

2006-03-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Just found a Sunset knitting book at the used bookstore, and oh-weee golly! Just look at the gems which abound therein! How's that for a happy ides of march to ya? Maybe i'll go knit a dagger now, to kill those amazingly hideous socks.

THE HILLS HAVE AFGHANS...uh...THE AFGHANS HAVE EYES...uh...

2006-03-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

So, I love horror films, and I love to knit. It only seems right that I should combine the two. I also love Japanese art. This puts the frosting on the peanut butter cup. Uh. Or something. SO, to this uncertain end I am knitting an eyeball covered afghan. Here's a test circle. I thought about crocheting circles, as those always seem to look so much more circular, but I remembered that I stink at crochet. With some small adjustments I think I can tweak this circle tighter. Then to add a black border, and big goofy Anime style irises and such. Then have many eyeballs of differing sizes connected by a web of Debbie Newesque scribble lace or other such contrivance to make a rectangular afghan. I am thinking a light tan for the body. Also, I think all of the eyes should be staring of in different directions. No matter where you are, this afghan will look at you. Unless you stuff it in the back of a closet. And then it will simply think about you. All. Night. Long.

Clapotis

2006-03-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

everyone is making one. I'm making one. You should make one too. C'mon, you want to be cool, don't you?

ARRR! I do be obsessed with Moby Dick

2006-03-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

I bet I could knit a white whale. I know I can! I will! ARRRRR!

My pirate name is

Iron Anne Flint

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr

Get your own pirate name from fidius.
and i'm totally gripped by stupid internet quizzes. now i have another:

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional.
You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org

Techietechie

2006-03-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

I've got to figure out how to do one of those superneat-o bar charts on the side of the page to indicate the percentage of doneness each project has. The Commander Cody Cardigan is done up to the back piece's arm shaping, neckband still remains. Little Boy Socks are 1 + 1/4 done.....
The Clapotis is coming along quite nicely! I've finished the increase rows, and have done several repeats of the Straight rows. Four lines of sts have been dropped, creating that diagonal stripe of ladders. I am now a total fan of knitting on the bias.

The Sister-in-Law Shrug still needs to be sewn up and a bit of neckband applied...

Tonight we should receive thru a small fluke of netfilxing TWO Battlestar Galactica discs, so I am seeing a long night of knitting ahead!

A part of the stash.

I have not yet started on any of the Knitpicks yarns that just arrived, but I have been petting them everytime I pass the box they are living in at the moment. They feel lovely and soft, and I can't wait to start another project. But I suppose I must finish what I've got going on right now first.

So happy I could plotz.

2006-03-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

I got a big box o' sock yarn today from knit picks, and I ask myself, why, why, why did I never order before? Oh, it's wonderful soft stuff. I got black, cream, grey, and chocolate. Yummy. Oh, and some purple. Gotta stay within my bruise palette.

Also, I finally, finally have Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting. I am telling you, this is my new favourite knitting book. It is simply incredible, and everyone must have a copy, even non-knitters. It's fantastic! It's art! Capital A Art.

But it will still go with your sofa, so don't freak out.

Do I deserve it?

2006-03-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

Possibly not. Most likely not. Am i going to post it like I earned it? Hells, yes.

Olympic wrap-up

2006-02-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, so here are the results of my missguided frenzy:

One pair of Husband Socks.
One pair of Little Boy Socks.
One hat for Little Boy I Babysit for on Tuesdays.
One Little Boy sock to the gusset.
Two t-shirts decorated in olympic logos for beijing
One knitted uterus, pocket size.
One Sister Scarf.
One Bird's Eye Shawl Swatch.

Of course, the saddest thing aobut this very sad output? the fact that I had SIX balls of

TORINO SILK

and had forgotten that they were at the bottom of the stash. Yes, lovely 100% silk that i picked up for pennies at a bargin bin. Yes it does very closely resemble infant feeces. Very closely indeed. This should not have stopped me, rather, it should have spurred me on to overcome my BodeMiller like over hyping and knit a very chic scarf or clapotis to gift upon some person. Gift with guilt. Can you just imagine the conversation?

"oh, uh.....how lovely.....You knit this for me?" Giftee holds object at some distance from self. Apperance of diaper contents unmisstakable.
"Yes! Just for you especially. It is 100% silk from Torino Italy. Very precious." Knitter nods emphatically with wide eyes and heavy sigh.
"oh-uh...oh." Giftee thinks of where in closet this thing may be hidden.

This photo does not do justice to the depth and richness of the babypoo qualities possesed by this yarn. Only meeting it in person can truly convey the, 'oh my, who's dirty nappy has spilled onto your needles!?!" effect that it has.

the boys are in socks

2006-02-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

The little one can't keep his feet still. He must be five or something. The big one does just fine.

Bode and I, joined in olympic dissapointment

2006-02-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

it's a good thing that i didn't register anywhere with my olympic project(s), as i am woefully behind. It seemed such a good idea to do one mini-project or job of finishing a day, and it still seems good. It's just i am DQ-ing it left and right. Tomorrow I will post a picture of the little socks on the little boy. Tonight I am Sleeeeeeeeeeeepy.

Best. Site. Ever

2006-02-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

i am so late to the party, but I have to post this anyway....

http://youknitwhat.blogspot.com/

Avatars

2006-02-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

That avatar over in the right hand top corner. It looks nothing like me. But it is my secret fantasy of myself, to be sure. And the hair is not far off. Just add about 150 pounds and then you'll have me. But dag, that avatar looks good. So do little's boys socks! I swear i will never work in cotton so fine again, it is very drying on the hands. And the bamboo needles are not fast enough for it. I may break down and get metal ones. Even though the metal makes my hands cold. Haven't tried the teensy plastic ones from Bryspun, but i have been looking at them lustfuly....

silver medal socks

2006-02-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

The little boy has little feet, so here is a little sock done on US 1 little needles.

aaaaawwwwweeeee.....he's so little!

mm......

2006-02-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Knitting! You are quite a lonely person, and you prefer to do a solitary hobby such as knitting or other crafts.

English Genius
You scored 100% Beginner, 92% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 93% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 52% on Beginner
You scored higher than 10% on Intermediate
You scored higher than 70% on Advanced
You scored higher than 83% on Expert

now to find a knitter's quiz...

2006-02-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little

anti-social, and may want to start gaining

new social skills by making prank phone

calls.

What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

Olympic project for today!

2006-02-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

This is a hat for a boy I babysit, who is very elfin and cute. He asked me to make him a blue hat, unless I made him a green hat. It should be all blue, of course, unless it was green. Then it would be all green. And a pompom, please.

The Agony of Defeat!

2006-02-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

AH! I failed to medal in socks last night, as the husband socks pictured here (which were supposed to be done on tuesday the 7th) are shy about 6 rounds and a kitchener stitch. Sadness, day four! Curse you, day four! There was so much that I was actually watching, the speedskating, the snowboarding, the downhill alpine crashing! Sigh. Today will be different, today i will finish the socks and my chosen project!

button-a-polooza

2006-02-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

I made the team california, the rest i am just collecting.

Gallery One

2006-02-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

A Medusa tea cozy, not yet done.

From a Debbie Bliss book I loaned out and forgot to ever collect back! Hey, if you have it, could you return it please? I want to move on to entrelac!

A hat for ms. N, a year in the making. I rip a lot. I can be very type A in my knitting sometimes.

The hero of Canton, the hat they call 'Jayne's'!

A Christmas stocking from my grandmother's recipe.

A poncho for ms. V, because she needed one.

A shawl for the realtor who found me my awesome new house.

A worm inspired by Dune, formed with short rows on each mouth petal.

A scarf for my sister-in-law which she wore snowboarding.

Olympic Knitting

2006-02-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

My Olympic theme project is one completed item every day. I had thought of doing a bird's eye shawl, but since the swatch was so consuming I decided that if I wanted to watch any events while knitting I'd need to tone it down a bit. And since I love to start but so seldom finish, a project *completed* each day seemed an attainable goal. The projects are not just knit items, but what I do knit will be posted here. The first knit project (but project three overall) came off the needles yesterday. It's a wee little womb, like the one featured at www.knitty.com
I decided to do mine differently, going for a tweedy effect and having the ovaries as bobbles on the ends of the fallopian tubes. It's not exactly how I saw it in my head, but that's what you get from not following a pattern!

The Twisted Stitch, knitting lessons.

2006-01-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

If you are living in, or traveling through the San Francisco Bay Area and find that you absolutely gotta have a knitting lesson, one-on-one, in a cozy chair, with tea and possibly biscuits, contact me! I live in El Sobrante and am often available with a few days' notice. Did you make a mistake and just can't face ripping? I can help you there too. Just want a quick refresher? Or are you starting out for the first time and don't even yet know if you are a picker or thrower? Drop me a line. Rates as of January 2006:

One hour deluxe lesson:

A one-on-one instruction perfect for first time knitters
How to make your own needles
A ball of yarn
Cast-on, Knit, Purl & Yarn Over, Bind-off
A pattern for a first project
A quick reference booklet

kids are welcome to hang out during your lesson, but if they would like to learn, they must have their own lesson.

$25

Refresher

Great for those who knit, or once did and are looking to re-awaken those skills!

45 minutes one-on-one instruction
subject matter arranged ahead to focus on your specific requests
bring a project that's been languishing in the back of the closet!

$15

Do you have a group of freinds who'd like to learn together?A present for a friend? Perhaps your parent's group would like a lesson? Group rates are available for as little as $5 a person. Inquire as to specifics.

lee.gorton@gmail.com

We all start somewhere

2006-01-18T20:21:00.000-08:00

When I was six, I was knitting with this most hideous of red, white, and blue yarn. I am sure I loved it, I had a poncho in the same stuff. Then, I decided I needed a Dr. Who scarf. Perhaps a 17 foot long project is a bit much for a kindergartener, even if it is only garter stitch. I left the knitting alone for a long while, but have since returned to it with a renewed sense of a deficit of Dr. Who scarf in my life. Hopefully, I will rectify this situation before I die. In the meantime, I twist along tying knots in strings with the aid of pointy sticks. Perhaps you'd like to as well?