Oh, by the way...

In 2011, it was my goal to post something to my blog once every day for the entire calendar year.  But at some point, I realised that I was posting for the sake of posting.

In 2012, I realised that I wanted my blog to have a direction.  So I pondered.  And pondered.  And pondered.

Wedding blanket finished this summer

In 2013, I decided that I would just blog when the mood struck.  When I had a book review to share, I would.  When I had an exceptional recipe that I was excited about, I would let you know.  When I finished a knitting/cross-stitch project and I wanted to show it off, by all means...

But I wouldn't feel pressured.  I wanted my blog to be something people WANTED to read -- not something that was a chore to read.  And I decided I'd ease back into blog writing.  We're into September, and I figure an average of one post every four months should give you plenty of time to catch up.

Let's catch up on a few things that have happened this year, shall we?

I had hip surgery where the surgeon went in and cut some extra bone off of the joint.  The rehab is going really well.  In fact, the surgeon says I'm MONTHS ahead of schedule!  For the first time in YEARS, I'm walking without either a cane or crutches!

I got reunited with a friend I'd lost touch with several years ago.  She's local, and we just happened to run into each other on the sidewalk outside of work one day when I was walking to lunch and she was walking to a parking garage to pick up her car.

I got accepted to a doctoral program in my field; it was my second time applying.

I quit my job so I can go back to being a full-time student.

I just joined three fantasy football teams, each with a different format (not that I'm excited about football season or anything).

But that's pretty much all I've had going since the last time I wrote.  

Like I said...  I'll just pop in and write when I have something to say.

See you again in another four months!

Holiday Knitting

I am soooo far behind.

I have a wedding gift that was supposed to be done about three weeks ago.  But I got into a funk Rhinebeck weekend, and I stopped knitting for two weeks.  Had I not lost those two weeks, I'd probably be okay.  So I just need to kick things into hyperdrive and stay focused.

One of the gifts I had planned (a scarf) might be shoved to next year, and I might have to think of something else for John.  The other two gifts (a hat and a cowl) are shorter projects, so that would take a lot of pressure off.  A man's scarf is no joke, people!

But I may be able to crank a lot out during Thanksgiving weekend since I'm one of those people who has absolutely no obligations whatsoever (other than, you know, gluttony and couch potato-ing).  And since I don't do the Black Friday thing, I can make use of that time, too.

Blog Contest by Fabulous Designer

As most of my Ravelry/knitting friends know, I moderate a pattern testing group on Rav.  Over the past (nearly) two years that I've held this role (although I've been a member of the group a bit longer), one of the designers I've grown particularly fond of is Corinne.

The great news is that she is currently holding a contest on her blog to celebrate her two year anniversary of designing.  Visit her blog sometime this week and enter to win two of her great patterns (excluding ebooks).  All you need to do is let her know which of her patterns you like most.  If you are new to her designs, just take a peek at her design page on Rav or look at around on her blog -- you'll find them!

Good luck, and happy knitting!

Random Rhinebeck Ramblings

Market baskets should not be allowed.  The fad this year was market baskets.  People bought these huge market baskets that they would then tote their purchases in.  Said baskets were usually carried on the arm of the person, which put at my eye level.  These baskets were hard and had no give.  The fact that I didn't come home with two black eyes is completely unexplainable to me.

There was also a man who was carrying his toddler on his back in a huge-ass back-pack-like contraption.  not one of those small, cosy, things that kept baby close, but a huge contraption that was basically a carry-all, a tote, and a storage bag all in one.  Okay, fine.  But then you might want to mind when you're backing into people, things, displays, etc.

I found out that it simultaneously amuses and annoys me when I pet a sheep and he poops as I pet him.

I will never again hear Peruvian flute music and not automatically want to pee.

I will never know what the other ladies in the bathroom thought when Ria, Rachel, and I went into a stall one-by-one and came out laughing.  But it really worth the trip.  And it was totally hysterical.

I still don't understand when they think they're going to the punkin chunkin.  "We told them they can come any day."  But it's a two-day event!

Some people really just do NOT understand that when they start telling you a story and the first part of the story is "Can I ask you something really inappropriate" and they are a complete stranger, that maybe the rest of the story/question shouldn't be asked/told.

The potato chip/dip man may think the sale to Ria and I wasn't worth it.  But I do!

I think we scared the poor guy who asked if he could help us.  When he said "You could have just said 'no,' that probably was a bad sign.

All in all, I don't think I stopped laughing (well, after I stopped crying when I told Rachel about The Work Incident).

I'm sorry I'll miss Rhinebeck next year.

Rhinebeck, Part III

Sunday morning, before we left for the fairgrounds, I made sure to update my notebook with exactly what I needed.  Whew.  My plan to be more organised was complete.

Now that I knew exactly what I needed, I was set.  We set out, and I was pretty bummed because I hadn't been that excited by what I had seen for the one pattern that I DID know what I needed.  And we only had a few barns left.  Boo.

But we did some pretty serious power shopping, and by the time it was time to go home, I had secured yarn for all three of the patterns I needed yarn for.  The optional patterns didn't get yarn bought for, but my budget had been met, anyway.

We set sail for home, and bid Rhinebeck adieu.

I was particularly sad since I won't be able to make Rhinebeck next year, unless I want to miss the Kansas race for the second year in a row (which I probably won't), so I'm bummed.  BOOOOO.

Rhinebeck, Part II

Friday night, Ria and I went through the patterns that I wanted to get yarn for while at Rhinebeck, and I wrote in my notebook what kinds of yarn each pattern required.  I was trying to be systematic this year since in past years I've gone home with two yarns for the same pattern, but no yarn for a second pattern, or the wrong type of yarn for a certain pattern because I was going by memory.

I also wanted to have a small notebook with me so I could note if I saw certain yarns at a place that I liked but wanted to come back to later in case I didn't find something better later.  Rhinebeck is large enough that it's dangerous to buy things on Saturday or buy the first thing you see unless you ABSOLUTELY fall in love with it and MUST have it (or aren't on a strict budget).

The problem was that for two of the patterns I needed, I only wrote how many skeins of the suggested yarn I needed, which isn't helpful since I hadn't looked up how many yards each skein of the suggested yarn had.  Blech.  So on Saturday we mostly went around looking at pretty things, getting ideas for the one pattern I did know what I needed, and getting possible ideas for the others.

At the end of the day, we made sure to hit the wine and cheese barn so Rachel could have some wine to drink while Ria and I watched the NASCAR Sprint Cup race.  However, because of the stuff that happened at work on Friday, I ended up falling asleep almost as soon as the race started at 7:30.  The connection?  I barely got any sleep Friday night.  Combine that with walking around and shopping all day, and I was a sleepy knitter.

Rhinebeck, Part I

Yesterday (after receiving the suckiest work news of all time -- yes, suckier than being laid off - at least when I was laid off, my character wasn't attacked), my friend Rachel came over, picked me up, and we headed off to pick up our friend Ria in north Jersey.  But first, we had to raid Target for some road trip snacks.

After that, we were off.  We had some great conversation on the way up, although I wish Rachel had mentioned earlier in the trip that she didn't have a GPS so we could have used mine.  Oh well.  We got to Ria's house in 2.5 hours.  It would have been 2 hours, but SOMEONE doesn't know whether to turn right or left off the exit to get to her own house.  (See if I trust HER directions again!)

Once we picked Ria up, we were on our way to Rhinebeck - whee!  Our tradition is to hit this lovely sushi place every Rhinebeck weekend Friday.  I think I need to stop mentioning it, though, because it was pretty crowded this year.  Hmph.

By the time we got there (not that late, really), we were hungry and ready for our sushi.  Rachel and I always talk about the Godzilla roll, which we both ordered, but I was disappointed by it this year.  I don't know if I was just too full by the time I got to it, or if my tastes have changed in the past two years (when I last had it).  But the Mexican roll and the Kamikaze roll were both SOOOOOOO good.  Rachel was going to order the crispy potato roll, so we could share it, but they gave her crazy spider roll instead.  Boo.

Then it was back to the motel room where we could watch the rest of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race and strategise for the weekend.  Whee!

Rhinebeck Prep

I spent tonight getting ready for Rhinebeck.  I'll be out tomorrow after work, so I knew I needed to get things together tonight.  What's left for tomorrow is to get patterns (that I want to shop for yarn for) printed, get food together for the weekend, and last-minute stuff that I can't pack until after I use it in the morning (toiletries and such).

And, of course, I'm packing some knitting to take with me.

I'm exciting since I had to miss Rhinebeck last year.  And I'll get to see Ria.  Yay!

General Update

Last night, I had a wicked nightmare.  My therapist and I discussed things today, and we decided to try Ativan for awhile.

I've been working on knitting more.  The project I'm working on now is on a deadline, which helps.

My acid reflux is worse than usual.  I've gone through half a bottle of Mylanta in the past few days.

I have a headache that won't quit.

I'm loving the fall television season.  There are several new shows I like, but (as per usual) two of them are already getting low ratings and EW is predicting they won't be on the air much longer.

Felix has taken to trying to sleep on my head at night.  No, not on my pillow or by my head, but actually ON. MY. HEAD.  There have been a few nights I've nearly locked him out of the bedroom.  Fighting with a cat so I can sleep probably isn't conducive to that whole "general malaise and fatigue" thing I've got going on.

Work - it's work.  I'd probably be enjoying it more if it wasn't for everything else going on in my life.

Let's Go, October!

The bad news: For the first fall in many years, I'm missing the race in Kansas.  I could have gone (I told work from the beginning that I needed this weekend off), but I decided (well, Grandma decided for me) to save my days for Christmas/New Year instead.  Race weekend is also my Grandma's 90th birthday, so we'd have to leave the Saturday race mid-way to go to Grandma's birthday supper.  And it didn't seem worth missing two days of work and flying halfway across the country to see a 1.5 races.  And Grandma would rather see me for longer at Christmas, instead of just for a short meal for her birthday.

The good news: I had to miss Rhinebeck (NY Sheep & Wool Festival) last year since I was unemployed, but I get to go this year, with my usual crew of Rachel and Ria.  I'm super excited, and I'm already planning my shopping (mostly based around Christmas knitting).

My new physiotherapist is pretty good.  She's no Sandra, but I do like her so far.  She does seem better than the first guy I worked with.

The maybe news: A friend of mine is awaiting the results of a job interview.  I really want her to get this job.  It would super awesome, for myriad reasons.  I told her the other day that I needed one thing to go right this month (she interviewed in September), and I was picking that.  So it's potential good news.

I also scheduled the consultation with the sleep centre at Jefferson Hospital.  So I've got that going.

My Latest FO

For the past week, I've been knitting a lovie, which I had never heard of before.  For those of you who are in that same boat with me, it's basically a burp cloth-sized blanket.  It's called a lovie because it's meant to be something the baby can love and can be a comfort item for the wee babe.

My property manager and his wife are having a baby, and I was in search of something quick to knit up for him.  I got some really great ideas, and I was going to do a Blanket Buddy (which I may still do), but then one of the designers on my FPT group suggested doing a lovie and a stroller blanket, which would still be less work and yarn than a full-sized baby blanket.  AND then she generously gave me one of her really lovely blanket designs.  She only designs baby blankets (and REALLY gorgeous blankets, at that), so I was extremely chuffed.

She had already given me one of her designs that I had fawned over last year, but when I was discussing this problem with her, I was saying that one she had given me was too intricate and pretty (read: labour-intensive) for this guy.  For a much-beloved friend - no problem!  But a property manager who I like but have no relationship other than that?  Sorry, dude.  So Aimee gave me her Mountain Chickadee pattern, which is pretty while being easy to understand and super-easy to memorise.

My property manager had given me a few colour ideas to work with and had spotted a yarn in my stash that would be perfect, so I took it to my LYS to shop.  (Well, honestly, I didn't, because I had purchased that ball at said LYS, so I just grabbed another ball like it while I was there and walked around the store holding it up to other things.)  I finally settled on Berocco Vintage since it has great yardage for the price and got a nice red-purple colour.

Here's the result (no, the colour is really that bright; it's a much darker, less garish colour):

As you can see, it has a garter stitch border.  Between the border is a simple repeat.  Once the first row of the pattern repeat is established, the rest of the rows are extremely intuitive.

 

Here's a close-up of the pattern repeat.  I really love it.  I'm currently working on the stroller blanket, and while it's obviously bigger, it (amazingly) goes just as quickly!

New Yarn!

For my birthday, my friends Anju and Naomi gave me a gift certificate to Loop, my favourite LYS.  I'd been there once on a scouting trip, but I finally went there last week determined to buy something.  The thought that I might leave town before having a chance to spend it was too much to bear!  (Fellow crafters will understand this feeling, I'm sure.)

The scouting trip was a little disappointing because I really wanted to use my gift certificate on something I wouldn't ordinarily buy - something new, something different, something I haven't bought before.  But the two workers who were there on my scouting trip (who I love dearly, btw) both have the same taste in yarn that I do.  Not helpful for my mission.

When I went this week, however, I got a different worker (one I also love but rarely see because she's not there on days I'm usually there) and I was able to see with new eyes, so to speak.  I got a yarn that has fibres I still love, but it's a yarn that I've never had before, I've not worked with these fibres in this combination, and I'm excited to get started!

I bought a yarn called Road to China Light (they also have a worsted, but I bought the sport weight).  It's 65% alpaca, 15% silk, 10% cashmere, and 10% camel.  What's not to love about that combination?  It's soft, soft, soft, and then soft some more.  I just could NOT stop touching it.

So then the next question was figuring out which colour I wanted.  Which begged the question: What did it want to be when it grew up.  Not too long ago, one of the designers on the Free Pattern Testers board I moderate on Ravelry had posted a pattern for this Half Patent Checkerboard Scarf (or Silk Scarf Narrative, whichever one you want to call it; it's a free Ravelry download) that I really loved.  The pattern isn't difficult, and I love that motif.  But I didn't have the right yarn for it.  Technically, it calls for DK, and Road to China Light is a sport, but it's a scarf, so who cares.

I figured out who I wanted to give the scarf to, and then I chose the colour.  It's a really rich blue.  Yum.

I believe she'll be happy.

Thanks, Anju and Naomi!

Bonus - I still have a wee bit left on the gift certificate - sweet!

Knitting: Minotaur Cowl

As some of you know, I moderate a group on Ravelry for designers called "Free Pattern Testers."  The concept of the group is that designers can get their patterns tested by knitters and crocheters without having to pay professional testers.  Crafters can also get free patterns with the understanding that the patterns may have errors and knowing that, in exchange for the free patterns, they must give the designer some feedback on the pattern.

Every once I awhile, a pattern comes along that I'll want to test.  A couple of weeks ago, one of "my" designers, Rachel, posted a test for the Minotaur Cowl.  Well, the name of it immediately caught my attention because of my love for Greek mythology.  Plus, I've seen how this designer has conducted herself in other tests, and I had been impressed with her professionalism (not to mention her other designs!).

My intent was to start it one night and then finish it the next morning since we had some hot weather rolling in those few days and I wasn't in the mood to work with bulky wool yarn in 90º heat index-type weather in my un-air conditioned living room.  (I have an air conditioner, but I don't turn it on for weather like that.)
But this cowl was so quick and easy that once I started, I got on a roll and finished really quickly! The cowl is great for a quick present.  It probably only took me about three hours total.  I used Araucania Nature Wool Chunky yarn, and I probably used about 3/4ths of a skein.  I used US11 needles, but I'm a bit of a tight knitter.

The construction of this pattern was easy to understand, and the pattern comes with both a chart and in written form.  The chart is super-easy to memorise, so no problems there!  And, best of all - it's a free Ravelry download!

Sorry it's lumpy.  Felix was "helping" me, and I didn't have time to straighten it out.

And for those who want another knitting blog to follow, you can find Rachel here.

I haven't yet decided who's getting this (green is NOT my colour, being a yellow Asian and all.  Ria - a fellow Asian - and I had a discussion about how green makes Asians look a weird orangey colour).  I may offer it to Rachel (not the designer, the one I went to school with) since she's been helping me out with some stuff lately.

Is Yarnbombing Vandalism?

Last week, a thread on Ravelry turned in a heated discussion on whether yarnbombing (the practice of knitters or crocheters covering something with something they've made) is vandalism.  I posted my opinion on Twitter, which -- with its 140 character limit -- wasn't really enough space to adequately convey my thoughts on the subject.

I meant to return to the subject on my blog much sooner, but I had other things to say or get to first.  So, on to the topic at hand.

Vandalism: willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property 
(from the Merriam-Webster dictionary)

The latest example (at least in Philadelphia) is that a knitter took it upon herself to knit a giant pink sweater and put it on the Rocky statue that stands in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  To be clear, this knitter was NOT the sculptor the Rocky statue.  She does not OWN the Rocky statue.  She decided that it was fine to change the statue's appearance because she wanted to.


Never mind the fact that if the yarn she used was made of wool, it would attract bugs.  Or if the yarn she used was acrylic, it would contain oils that would get on the statue and could potentially damage it.


And yarnbombers have taken to doing this to trees, public transit seats, pretty much anything they want to.


Which bring me to my next point...  the sheer sense of entitlement.


What the hell gives them the right?  "Oh hey, I'm a knitter/crocheter, and I feel like this pole, subway seat, bike rack, parking meter pole, NEEDS a cosy.  So here it is!"  Um, no.  JUST NO.


When people with cans of spray-paint do the exact same thing, it's called vandalism, it's a crime, and it's punishable by jail time.  Because these people have yarn and needles instead, some people in the crafting community think it's cute, creative, and should be encouraged?  The only time we DON'T call the spray-paint artists "vandals" is when they do a mural in a place that was specially selected for that purpose.  And guess what - knitters and crocheters have a place and time for practising their art.  And it ISN'T on other people's private property (or public property, in which case my tax money is paying to cut this "yarnbombing" down, and that really pisses me off).


In the words of one of my friends, as we were discussing this, the other day, "If I was into macaroni art, and I decided to do a macaroni art picture on the front of your house without your permission, would that be okay?"

Knitting Again

After experiencing some major knitting fail lately, I think I'm back in the groove again.

I finished the test knit today.  I actually got gauge the other day (that was a major ordeal that I don't care to ever discuss again).  I cast on today, I finished it today, and I even took the pics and gave the designer my feedback!  Whee!

It's a sock for iTouch, which will be my mom's birthday present (her birthday is 02 April).  As is our tradition, she knows that I made it for her - mostly because I wanted to make sure that she actually wanted it and would use it.

Here's a pic of it, but it's on my BlackBerry, so it looks a little funky.  The BlackBerry is about the same width and height, but it's much thicker (especially with the holder that I keep mine in and didn't think to take it out of for this pic), so it throws off the look just a tad.  But I wanted a modelled pic for the designer (and for my Ravelry project page):

Knitting Fail

I've been having the worst knitting luck lately.

In February, I started the Endpaper Mitts as part of a KAL.  Halfway through the month, I had only done 13 rows.  When I got back to the mitts, determined to finish at least one of them by the end of the month, I discovered that I had done those 13 rows wrong.

Earlier this week, I signed up for a test knit.  This test required sock yarn.  I picked out some sock yarn.  The label on the yarn actually says "luxury sock yarn."  However, I went up to size US6 needles and STILL wasn't getting gauge, and I decided that it was going to be ridiculous to go to 7s to get gauge.  Plus, I was already wary of how the fabric was turning out with the 6s.  AND this was tension square number FIVE.

Nevertheless, I decided to start the project.

I did the ribbing and did one pattern repeat.  It was okay, but not great.  By the end of tonight, I had decided to just finish the project (it's a small project) and then do a second one later with tweaks, but at least I'll have completed the test.  (I'm the moderator of the test forum; I have to set a good example!).

And then I realised that I had done the pattern completely wrong anyway.

*headdesk*

My Day Today

Last night, I slept about nine hours.  Then I got up, and I watched "The Price is Right."

For those of you who have actual jobs, this is an hour-long show.  It's a game show on TV.  Watching it is like watching any other tv show.  You sit on the couch and watch.  It's not a particularly athletic endeavour.

However, I apparently found it so exhausting that I dosed throughout the show, and then when it ended, I went back to bed and slept for two more hours.

I mod a really active board on Ravelry, so I tended to that when I woke up.  By the time those duties were done, I ate breakfast (at 3:00 p.m.).  By that time, it was time to get dressed to take my friend Ella to school.

She had foot surgery on her right foot about two weeks ago and can't drive herself around.  So I'm helping her out.  In my half-awake state, I tried to leave the house without a shirt on.  Oops.

Since her class is only a few hours, it makes more sense for me to stay on campus than to drive her up, drop her off, drive back home, then go and pick her up again.  So I got some work done on campus while she got all smart.  After, we grabbed a bite together.  And we learned how men act when they're drunk.  Wowza.

My day, ladies and gentlemen.

Finish or Frog

One of the things I got accomplished last weekend (with the help of Naomi and Ria) was going through some of my WIPs (works in progress) and some of my more languishing hibernating projects.  Each one was assigned to be either finished or frogged.  If I decided to frog it, it got frogged on the spot.

I was feeling particularly pleased when I got through my entire box of WIPs.

When we had made as much progress as we could for the time we had allotted (Naomi and I were simultaneously matching yarn in my stash with projects in my Ravelry queue and projects I had previously printed and saved for various reasons), and we had to start reorganising my stash, I found a whole other bag of WIPs.

But now I know I'm down to only bag of WIPs.

WIPs... be warned.  I'm coming for you.

February Fingerless Mitts

The mitts I'm doing for the February fingerless mitts KAL aren't going very well.  The theme that was chosen (we voted) was "colourwork," and then we could each choose our own colourwork pattern.  I chose to do the Endpaper Mitts.  In a swap several years ago, my friend Rebecca gave me this pattern along with appropriate yarn for completing the project because I had mentioned in my swap questionnaire that I was interested in learning how to do colourwork.

Since then, I've done exactly colourwork project, but I wasn't thrilled with how it turned out.  The floats were just a tad too tight.  They weren't so tight as to render the project unwearable, but they were tight enough that I was dissatisfied, and I was scared to try another project lest I have the same result or a worse one.  What if I spent all that time (and yarn!) on a project only to have an unwearable project?

So, now, here am I, years later, finally casting on that colourwork project.  I dutifully started on the first day of February.  Now, a week later, how far have I gotten?

Thirteen rows of 1x1 ribbing.  And each row has only 56 stitches.  This bronchitis is kicking my ass but good.

Fire & Ice Fingerless Mitts

Quick health update: I officially have "post-nasal nastiness," which may or may not have caused a bronchitis, which is to say that she (the nurse practitioner that I saw) isn't as convinced as I am that I have bronchitis, although she admitted it's a possibility, and she further admitted that the post-nasal nastiness irritates the bronchials and causes the coughing.  How this isn't a bronchitis, I'm unsure, but whatev.

Anyway, she gave me a magic cough medication that she assured me will knock me out (YES! I get to sleep!  FINALLY!), and told me to only take it at bedtime.  I told her I'm unemployed and I intend to take it all day so I can sleep.  She then questioned me thoroughly about whether I have children, dogs that need walking, etc., which I thought was funny.  I assured her I have only a cat and we can both sleep the day away together.  I promised the health update would be quick, so that's all for now.  More tomorrow.

So - the fingerless mitts.  The pattern (as I said earlier) is called Fire & Ice, and it's a free Ravelry download.  I was struck by all the cables.  I liked how there was one cabling pattern on the backside of the hand and another cabling pattern on the palm and forearm.  I also liked that the pattern came with both a charted version and written instructions, as I love charts.

Of course, this proved to be one exception where I ended up following the written instructions.  One thing that was nice about this pattern was that you could choose to do the "short" version or the "long" version.  The short version is purported to be 8" long and the long version is supposed to be 13-14" long.  Then, of course, you can choose to do a small, medium, or large, depending on your hand size.  It's kind of like a "choose your own adventure" of knitting.

Overall, I liked this pattern.  It was well-written, and (like I said) I ended up following the written directions rather than the chart.  The chart didn't use conventional notations, and thus it ended up being a little confusing.  Also, because of the "choose your own adventure" nature of the pattern, you ended up jumping around in the pattern, which is not noted in the chart (which is also understandable because it would clutter up the chart quite a bit).  So it just ended up being easier to follow the written instructions.

I did find it annoying a couple of times when it told me to "Repeat Row 15" when the directions for row 15 were two pages ago.  Would it have killed the designer to have copied and pasted the directions?  I'm busying cabling!

The yarn I used was a wonderful cashmere, baby alpaca, merino blend.  It's called Lana Vida, and this is the Hannah line, which is a worsted weight yarn.  It's the charcoal colourway, which is a wonderful dark grey.  It's soft and smooshy, and for you Philly locals, Loop has lots of it in several other colours.