Here's the research link.
Here's the place to ping.
Here's a little more background, if you like. (Scroll down to "Unleashing the Knitters".)
26 days, people. IT is coming.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Browbeaten
Okay, three times in two days I have read about this, and Norma has guilted spurred me to participate. It's fun to think about not only messing with the Muggles, but throwing their sociology experiments a loop. Knitters have long been underground in polite society (mostly because we're too busy Knitting To Warm The World or something) so it's time the researchers took a look at the wonderful effects to be had by playing with wool and sticks.
Here's the research link.
Here's the place to ping.
Here's a little more background, if you like. (Scroll down to "Unleashing the Knitters".)
26 days, people. IT is coming.
Here's the research link.
Here's the place to ping.
Here's a little more background, if you like. (Scroll down to "Unleashing the Knitters".)
26 days, people. IT is coming.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Y'all, it's time to panic
Do you see that counter? As of the time I'm writing this, it says 27 days and some hours. That counts down to the midnight boundary of Christmas day, so we actually have about 28 days on the nose. Folks, that is just Not. Enough. Time.
(As an aside, is anyone else sick of that Overuse. Of. Periods. thing? It's just so expressive and easy - a Chandlerism in the written word.)
Anyway, that means there is much knitting to be done. Yesterday was the first day all long weekend I was able to knit. I finished the block for a comfort blanket (my own "design"!) and did almost a full repeat on Tendrils. It felt really good to have the yarn in my hands. My sinus infection still rages on, but the good folks at Alka Seltzer have provided me with a fine product that masks nearly all the symptoms so I can function until I get some antibiotics. Normally I like to ride these out, but this one whupped me right good on Friday and Saturday. That's Alka Seltzer Plus Cold and Cough. Go now. Buy the pills. Buy stock in the company. I have no affiliation, just a deep gratitude and abiding love for my purple happy pills.
In the last post, Judith suggests putting my Christmas tree in a playpen. This would be a perfect idea, except that I do believe the Bug would just view it as a challenge. You know, like if someone put a big fence around Everest. A friend told me about those frosted glass bulbs that are actually plastic but don't look it, so I will be scouting them out at Target later this week. I remember them from last year and loved the colors.
And now for something completely different - the coolest entry on the List of Things That Should Not Be: Smells Like Teen Spirit. I'm looking this up on iTunes.
(As an aside, is anyone else sick of that Overuse. Of. Periods. thing? It's just so expressive and easy - a Chandlerism in the written word.)
Anyway, that means there is much knitting to be done. Yesterday was the first day all long weekend I was able to knit. I finished the block for a comfort blanket (my own "design"!) and did almost a full repeat on Tendrils. It felt really good to have the yarn in my hands. My sinus infection still rages on, but the good folks at Alka Seltzer have provided me with a fine product that masks nearly all the symptoms so I can function until I get some antibiotics. Normally I like to ride these out, but this one whupped me right good on Friday and Saturday. That's Alka Seltzer Plus Cold and Cough. Go now. Buy the pills. Buy stock in the company. I have no affiliation, just a deep gratitude and abiding love for my purple happy pills.
In the last post, Judith suggests putting my Christmas tree in a playpen. This would be a perfect idea, except that I do believe the Bug would just view it as a challenge. You know, like if someone put a big fence around Everest. A friend told me about those frosted glass bulbs that are actually plastic but don't look it, so I will be scouting them out at Target later this week. I remember them from last year and loved the colors.
And now for something completely different - the coolest entry on the List of Things That Should Not Be: Smells Like Teen Spirit. I'm looking this up on iTunes.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
It's been a loooong time
Yes, it's true, I didn't even have the grace to post about what I'm thankful for. I will tell you that one of the many things is this: no matter how they drive me crazy, whenever my family walks in the door for An Event, the first thing anyone says is, "How can I help?" Brilliant family feature, I must tell you.
A new thankfulness item on my list this year is AlkaSeltzer Cold and Sinus tabs. Ahhhh. I awoke the Morning After with sinus pressure so bad my teeth hurt. Blinking was excruciating. DH had to go out and run errands, and the darling man went to the pharmacy of his own accord, asked the pharmacist for a recommendation, and then brought me some with a glass of water. Sterling man, my husband. My body still feels somewhat trashed, but I no longer feel the need to lie around with a warm washcloth over my eyes, and I can actually focus on things. It's been wonderful. I still haven't knit more than a stitch or two in three days, first from stress, then busy-ness, then pain, but there is a light ahead. I hope when I get there I can find either my car keys, my cell phone, or both.
So, that is that. No knitting, only whining. Next weekend I have to throw a baby shower (why on earth did I sign up for that?!) and then it will be smooth sailing until next spring. Christmas will not be too involved this year, although with The Bug's newfound love of climbing, I may just have to decorate the tree and then lay it on the ground.
A new thankfulness item on my list this year is AlkaSeltzer Cold and Sinus tabs. Ahhhh. I awoke the Morning After with sinus pressure so bad my teeth hurt. Blinking was excruciating. DH had to go out and run errands, and the darling man went to the pharmacy of his own accord, asked the pharmacist for a recommendation, and then brought me some with a glass of water. Sterling man, my husband. My body still feels somewhat trashed, but I no longer feel the need to lie around with a warm washcloth over my eyes, and I can actually focus on things. It's been wonderful. I still haven't knit more than a stitch or two in three days, first from stress, then busy-ness, then pain, but there is a light ahead. I hope when I get there I can find either my car keys, my cell phone, or both.
So, that is that. No knitting, only whining. Next weekend I have to throw a baby shower (why on earth did I sign up for that?!) and then it will be smooth sailing until next spring. Christmas will not be too involved this year, although with The Bug's newfound love of climbing, I may just have to decorate the tree and then lay it on the ground.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Saturday, at last
So, the last five days have nearly killed me. First, we moved to a new building with cubes instead of offices. This is actually mostly okay with me, since I sit at the end of a row of cubes and have only one cube neighbor, and I used to be fairly isolated in my old office. The not okay part is the fact that the woman in the next cube thinks that cubes are created to foster togetherness rahter than inhibit slacking, and thinks nothing of joining in any conversation within earshot. She'll stand up and lean over the wall if someone stops by to chat briefly with me, and twice I've heard her question people as they're walking by conversing about something. She is THE nosiest woman I've encountered in a long while, and has no concept of appropriate boundaries. (This is exacerbated by the fact that I have an overinflated sense of boundaries and get really tense and annoyed if someone gets in my space.) I'd hope she'd read this and get a clue, but a) I don't tell real-life people about this blog, and b) she wouldn't get it anyway.
Second, I started a new schedule at work, so I arrive at 6:30 and leave at 3pm. This is cool, because the afternoon just FLIES, but that morning has gotten long enough as to be soul-crushing.
Third, the bike riding is working out well so far. I have only been making the round-trip once instead of twice. I'd thought I would ride home for lunch, but at this point in my riding and my new schedule the lunch ride isn't feasible. My commute is 2.5 miles round trip, which is a nice short trip that still gets me a little exercise. The ride home is nicer than the ride there, since I ride a different way to avoid traffic. It's such a pleasure to get on my little bike and cruise on home through the neighborhood, past the park, down the little hill and into the driveway. Plus, the mornings are cool enough that I think I need to knit myself some mittens. Heh. (I know that 2.5 miles is piddly, but I suffer from two of those luxuries few outside the first world know: overabundance of food and complete sloth. I gotta work up to it.)
Anyway, all of this adds up to some serious exhaustion and not so much on the knitting. Yesterday I managed four rows on Tendrils and thought I was doing feats of Herculean strength. Today I hope for some napping, some house cleaning, and a little knitting. (The house cleaning is necessary - the cleaning lady is on vacation until the week after Thanksgiving, and I couldn't find anyone else to cover for her, so the house looks like the set of Lord of the Flies.)
Second, I started a new schedule at work, so I arrive at 6:30 and leave at 3pm. This is cool, because the afternoon just FLIES, but that morning has gotten long enough as to be soul-crushing.
Third, the bike riding is working out well so far. I have only been making the round-trip once instead of twice. I'd thought I would ride home for lunch, but at this point in my riding and my new schedule the lunch ride isn't feasible. My commute is 2.5 miles round trip, which is a nice short trip that still gets me a little exercise. The ride home is nicer than the ride there, since I ride a different way to avoid traffic. It's such a pleasure to get on my little bike and cruise on home through the neighborhood, past the park, down the little hill and into the driveway. Plus, the mornings are cool enough that I think I need to knit myself some mittens. Heh. (I know that 2.5 miles is piddly, but I suffer from two of those luxuries few outside the first world know: overabundance of food and complete sloth. I gotta work up to it.)
Anyway, all of this adds up to some serious exhaustion and not so much on the knitting. Yesterday I managed four rows on Tendrils and thought I was doing feats of Herculean strength. Today I hope for some napping, some house cleaning, and a little knitting. (The house cleaning is necessary - the cleaning lady is on vacation until the week after Thanksgiving, and I couldn't find anyone else to cover for her, so the house looks like the set of Lord of the Flies.)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
On shapes
I would like to state that I am in terrible shape. Well, my shape is mostly spherical, which is not a bad shape as shapes go, but I would prefer something a little more svelte. Anyway, toward this end, I recently started riding my bike to work. Recently meaning yesterday. It's a short ride - today it took 7 minutes - but I arrive huffing and puffing and generally in a disgraceful state. I can see the bloody building from my front yard (the 7 minutes is due to the presence of a gated community between me and the building) and I arrive sweaty and breathless. Oy. The only reason this is going to work for me is that it is ONLY seven minutes. I can do that. I can do that no problem. Then if I want a little more later, I can go around the back way, or go up the street further and cut back, or what have you. When I get REALLY good, my intention is to ride the additional 2.5 miles round trip with a little kiddie trailer, and pick the Bug up from his daycare. We shall see. In the meantime, seven minutes, four times a day.
And can I just tell you something? Even though it's only seven little minutes, my sit bones feel like I rode a marathon. With as much padding as I have on my butt, you'd THINK that I wouldn't feel it as much.
No knitting content to show. Tendrils and Clapotis proceed. They look like slightly longer versions of the last photos you saw. Switching buildings, working hours (now I work from 6:30 - 3) and modes of transportation have served to tucker me out right good, so I hope that sooner rather than later I will have the energy to stay awake at night and knit. (Last night was SnB, and I only had energy to watch my friends knit. It was sad. Apparently I looked so tired that one woman was concerned that I wouldn't be able to drive the two miles home without falling asleep.)
And can I just tell you something? Even though it's only seven little minutes, my sit bones feel like I rode a marathon. With as much padding as I have on my butt, you'd THINK that I wouldn't feel it as much.
No knitting content to show. Tendrils and Clapotis proceed. They look like slightly longer versions of the last photos you saw. Switching buildings, working hours (now I work from 6:30 - 3) and modes of transportation have served to tucker me out right good, so I hope that sooner rather than later I will have the energy to stay awake at night and knit. (Last night was SnB, and I only had energy to watch my friends knit. It was sad. Apparently I looked so tired that one woman was concerned that I wouldn't be able to drive the two miles home without falling asleep.)
Sunday, November 12, 2006
I would like to direct your attention
Please note the counter in the sidebar. 42 days, people. Six weeks, plus a few hours. That is not nearly enough, I promise. Six freaking weeks.
I cut the Bug's hair yesterday. I think it's pretty cute. Suddenly he's a redhead. I'm not sure why, but he looks so much more like a little boy and less like a baby to me now. Anyway, a few photos.
Small boy with yarn.
Ten years off my life.
Please note in that second picture - he's not just standing there, he's walking from end to end.
Clapotis proceeds apace. I have about four rows before I start the straight rows and get the entertainment of occasionally dropping stitches. I am easily entertained. No doubt that if I were Wannietta or The Harlot, I would have been done days ago, but I am a slooooooow knitter.
I am also considering throwing away the Heinous Purple Thing. I have plenty of that purple yarn, and I really think there's a project that would be less heinous. If I don't rip it, I'll never finish it, and then MIL won't have a knitted Christmas present.
I cut the Bug's hair yesterday. I think it's pretty cute. Suddenly he's a redhead. I'm not sure why, but he looks so much more like a little boy and less like a baby to me now. Anyway, a few photos.
Small boy with yarn.
Ten years off my life.
Please note in that second picture - he's not just standing there, he's walking from end to end.
Clapotis proceeds apace. I have about four rows before I start the straight rows and get the entertainment of occasionally dropping stitches. I am easily entertained. No doubt that if I were Wannietta or The Harlot, I would have been done days ago, but I am a slooooooow knitter.
I am also considering throwing away the Heinous Purple Thing. I have plenty of that purple yarn, and I really think there's a project that would be less heinous. If I don't rip it, I'll never finish it, and then MIL won't have a knitted Christmas present.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Eye Candy
But not in the usual sense.
I'm such a good sport.
Remember Ed Grimley?
If only ALL the little gargoyles were this cute.
I'm such a good sport.
Remember Ed Grimley?
If only ALL the little gargoyles were this cute.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
In the land of the living.
So, that barfing flu was actually probably food poisoning. I was feeling much better the next day (DH swears it was because it was SnB day) but he and The Bug got some cold/flu thing that still has them feeling ucky. Good thoughts for me that I don't get it, cuz UGH.
Tomorrow, our company is moving my department to a brand new, shiny happy people facility. We go from offices to cubes, but I don't care, because the new place is blocks from my house. Hooray, riding the bike to work! YAY! Anyway, since all of my office things will be in transit, I get to work from home for the day. This means I will get to catch up on the laundry while working. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to being caught up on the laundry.
Last night during the second daily viewing of Cars (DH does love him some Pixar) and Criminal Minds, I cast on for Clapotis. The yarn is even lovelier knitted up than in the skein, if possible. I lurve it.
Softly shimmering little triangle of yarny goodness.
Jessie wasn't kidding when she said it stank, though. Anyone know how to make silk smell better after dyeing, because OMG, it's pretty rank.
Oooh, and I forgot that I read The Conjurer's Bird, by Martin Davies. Excellent book! I loved it. Good mystery, good adventure. Loved it. Buy it, read it.
Tomorrow, our company is moving my department to a brand new, shiny happy people facility. We go from offices to cubes, but I don't care, because the new place is blocks from my house. Hooray, riding the bike to work! YAY! Anyway, since all of my office things will be in transit, I get to work from home for the day. This means I will get to catch up on the laundry while working. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to being caught up on the laundry.
Last night during the second daily viewing of Cars (DH does love him some Pixar) and Criminal Minds, I cast on for Clapotis. The yarn is even lovelier knitted up than in the skein, if possible. I lurve it.
Softly shimmering little triangle of yarny goodness.
Jessie wasn't kidding when she said it stank, though. Anyone know how to make silk smell better after dyeing, because OMG, it's pretty rank.
Oooh, and I forgot that I read The Conjurer's Bird, by Martin Davies. Excellent book! I loved it. Good mystery, good adventure. Loved it. Buy it, read it.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Chaotic Rants Of A Card Carrying Dreamer
I have the barfing flu today, so I am home trying to not think about barfing. Bug made it extra hard this morning while he ate his banana slices. Bananas make me gag on a good day, but when I'm already feeling gross AND the bananas are in the hands of a toddler... oy.
I am feeling a tad better, though (woohoo, drank a whole glass of water without barfing) so at some point I imagine I will have time for fiberly pursuits.
This last weekend, we went to a little wool festival in Tucson. It was on one woman's farm, and there were all of about ten vendors. It was fun, though, and Bug liked the animals. DH even got him to pet a freshly shorn lamb, but sadly, no pictures were had.
I only bought this:
Scratchy fluffy Shetland.
The spindle is an Ashford that Bug got me for my birthday a while ago. (Such a big boy - his 13 month old self got online and ordered it all the way from Montana.)
Anyway, I have yet to spin anything on it, since the only fiber I had before this weekend was silk, and I'd been warned that I should probably know what I'm doing before I tried to spin it.
Oh yeah, and Deb is doing that November calendar thing. I apologize for the glare on this picture - there was no way to position it that didn't cause some, and this is the best.
I do love me some moosies.
The picture was from a calendar of all moose. A Year of Moose or some such. Given to me by the friend who gave me the moosey sweater for Bug. Mooses. Rock.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go recline on the couch with the back of one hand on my forehead. That water doesn't seem to want to stay where it is.
I am feeling a tad better, though (woohoo, drank a whole glass of water without barfing) so at some point I imagine I will have time for fiberly pursuits.
This last weekend, we went to a little wool festival in Tucson. It was on one woman's farm, and there were all of about ten vendors. It was fun, though, and Bug liked the animals. DH even got him to pet a freshly shorn lamb, but sadly, no pictures were had.
I only bought this:
Scratchy fluffy Shetland.
The spindle is an Ashford that Bug got me for my birthday a while ago. (Such a big boy - his 13 month old self got online and ordered it all the way from Montana.)
Anyway, I have yet to spin anything on it, since the only fiber I had before this weekend was silk, and I'd been warned that I should probably know what I'm doing before I tried to spin it.
Oh yeah, and Deb is doing that November calendar thing. I apologize for the glare on this picture - there was no way to position it that didn't cause some, and this is the best.
I do love me some moosies.
The picture was from a calendar of all moose. A Year of Moose or some such. Given to me by the friend who gave me the moosey sweater for Bug. Mooses. Rock.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go recline on the couch with the back of one hand on my forehead. That water doesn't seem to want to stay where it is.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Oh. My. Gawd. Y'all.
Jessie is a color genius. This is three skeins of Henry's Attic Andromeda (50/50 wool and silk) she dyed for me when I couldn't find the color of Lion and Lamb I wanted for my aunt's Christmas Clapotis. I haven't taken the picture below yet (it's dark, I'll add the picture tomorrow before I post) but I can guarantee that no piddly amount of camera skills I have will do this yarn justice. I can't freaking wait to knit it.
Sorry for the lack of artistic posing - the Bug was headed for the yarn.
Below, 6 skeins of elann.com Peruvian Highland wool, in rainbow colors. For a Dulaan hat pattern that has been swirling around in my head. Yeah, someone has probably knit it before, but I haven't seen it, so in my reality, I thunk it up all by myself.
Not pictured: the skeins of Knitpicks yarn I ordered on 10/24, that shipped on 10/25. La's opinion notwithstanding, I like Knitpicks yarns. But seriously, do they pick "extra slow" at the post office or what? It shipped on 10/25 according to the website, and it's not here. The Elann.com yarn and A Piece of Vermont (Jessie) yarn both shipped on 10/30, a full FIVE days later, and BOTH of the later packages arrived first. Really, it's my only complaint about knitpicks thus far.
(Okay, after I wrote this post I wound five balls of Andean Silk into center pull balls and strung two with beads. Out of the 10 balls I ordered, three had knots. I think that's a little excessive. Even for cheap yarn.)
After all the new and wonderful yarns, it seems almost anticlimactic to show you Frill.
No, I don't know how to wear a stole gracefully. Why do you ask?
Sorry for the lack of artistic posing - the Bug was headed for the yarn.
Below, 6 skeins of elann.com Peruvian Highland wool, in rainbow colors. For a Dulaan hat pattern that has been swirling around in my head. Yeah, someone has probably knit it before, but I haven't seen it, so in my reality, I thunk it up all by myself.
Not pictured: the skeins of Knitpicks yarn I ordered on 10/24, that shipped on 10/25. La's opinion notwithstanding, I like Knitpicks yarns. But seriously, do they pick "extra slow" at the post office or what? It shipped on 10/25 according to the website, and it's not here. The Elann.com yarn and A Piece of Vermont (Jessie) yarn both shipped on 10/30, a full FIVE days later, and BOTH of the later packages arrived first. Really, it's my only complaint about knitpicks thus far.
(Okay, after I wrote this post I wound five balls of Andean Silk into center pull balls and strung two with beads. Out of the 10 balls I ordered, three had knots. I think that's a little excessive. Even for cheap yarn.)
After all the new and wonderful yarns, it seems almost anticlimactic to show you Frill.
No, I don't know how to wear a stole gracefully. Why do you ask?
Bug-a-BOO!
The Bug's second Halloween has passed. He was a little more alert this year.
Then:
Bug as Wombat
Now:
The Flash!
We had fun carving pumpkins last night, and of all of them, the Bug and Boo ones were the biggest hits with the kids. (Mommy! That one says Boo! Look, it does! And that one says BUG!)
Punkins!
We went to four neighbors' houses, and then got in the car to go visit friends with a boy Bug's age. We didn't get two blocks before he conked out in his seat, so we turned around and went home to dole out more candy. All in all, a fun evening.
(Well, except for when I started to pin out Frill and found a hole with two live stitches right in the middle, but we won't talk about that.)
Then:
Bug as Wombat
Now:
The Flash!
We had fun carving pumpkins last night, and of all of them, the Bug and Boo ones were the biggest hits with the kids. (Mommy! That one says Boo! Look, it does! And that one says BUG!)
Punkins!
We went to four neighbors' houses, and then got in the car to go visit friends with a boy Bug's age. We didn't get two blocks before he conked out in his seat, so we turned around and went home to dole out more candy. All in all, a fun evening.
(Well, except for when I started to pin out Frill and found a hole with two live stitches right in the middle, but we won't talk about that.)
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