Firsts of the Year

Finished this weekend. First socks of 2008 (admittedly, started in December but I count by finish date):



My Lenores. I can't really call them anything else, the pattern is Lenore by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and the yarn is the Lenore colourway, the club preview of the Raven series Socks That Rock from Blue Moon.

And the first other knit thing, my Thrummed Moebius:



It is very warm and cozy, but I fear it looks like I've gone out and scalped a Muppet. I have since taken the large, poofy, widely-spaced thrums off and broken them into smaller, closer ones. It may be either around-the-house wear or under-a-coat wear (except, it's not cold enough!) but I love it anyway, the Moebius concept is brain-twistingly brilliant.

OTN for now: The perpetual scarf, Titania's Revenge socks for the Jan Sockdown, and RPM socks for the him, also qualified for the December Sockdwon though I might not finish them in time. My goal is to get both socks done by end of month because I'm starting two pair of Cat Bordhi "New Pathways" socks for the Feb Sockdown.

Here it is....

My first lumpy, over-twisted, attempts at yarn. Truthfully, my second, as the first was done in-class Tuesday, and this was my homework.

Is It Yarn Yet?

Well, it seems I am following in the footsteps, or perhaps that should be stumbling vaguely in the same direction as, that finest of yarnies, the Yarn Harlot. You see, it turns out that 'round these here parts, Tuesdays Are For Spinning. At least for tonight and 5 more weeks.

I just started the KW Weavers and Spinners Guild's Spinning 1 class. Oh, and for those of you confused between my crafty and fitness pursuits, this is not Spinning(tm) the Indoor Cycle Workout, I AM talking about producing my own string from the hair of sheep.

Unfortunately, I'll have to edit for photos tomorrow, just because my camera battery is dead again, it drains itself just sitting there and I keep forgetting. However, I should be able to show you half a bobbin of my lumpy string, and perhaps in a few more days, another bobbin of better string - because we have homework. They actually send us home with a Lendrum folding wheel and a baggie of roving, and we have to come back next week with two bobbins. So far, I'm not too promising but perhaps I can spend some time on it this week.

Somewhat more resolved about the New Year

OK, so, having messed up my exercise on New Year's Day and calmed myself by looking at what a good 2007 I had, here's some thoughts and intentions - not "resolutions" with the inherent implication of failure - for 2008.

I have joined another Running Room 10 k walk clinic, and I will do my best to attend every weekly clinic night, at least. If I miss, it will be for reasons of illness or critical issue with work (being 24/7 support and all) and I will then try to make sure I walk the required kms another time in the week.

So far I've got my blood glucose off to a good 2008 start, and I will try to keep it there.

I will learn to spin my own yarn. At least get the basics covered.

I will try to finish the 3 lovely big quilt projects I have half-done, before the year is out. Preferably the fourth one, which is "in queue", as well.

I will continue with an intention I started last year, that at least 1% of my take-home income will be allocated to charitable donations of some sort.

Knitting will continue, but I will try not to stress out about it!!! Additionally:

• I will at least attempt the rest of the Ravelry Sockdowns. Even if I don't like the theme of the month, learning new stuff is good.
  
• I will have no more than 5 projects on needles at once.
  
• No more than three will be socks.... (a pair is one "project")
  
• While I am not yet at the critical mass requiring yarn fasts or stashbusting, I will do my best to knit at least half my items from yarn I already have. That is, I can only buy one "batch" of yarn for two or more projects done. For the purposes of having half a hope at achieving that, yarn from already-subscribed "clubs" which will be delivered throughout the year is counted as "yarn I already have" - since I paid for it.
  
• Just so I don't completely scam out on the above, I will not stock up on anything sweater-sized. I must finish one sweater-sized or blanket-sized project (and one other) to buy enough for another sweater; otherwise, two pair of socks finished lets me buy one sock-sized (hat, mitts, etc) yarn quantity.
  
• Only one non-sock-club Blue Moon purchase permitted. I will choose conscientiously and will NOT order "one of everything".
  
• Gifts don't count as "purchases" - should anyone wish to help me stick to my intentions by supplying me directly.
  

A review to better my resolve.

Just finishing some Gallery rearrangements and tidying up for the New Year.

In 2007, I accomplished (in no particular order):

A heck of alot of work. I earned my keep. Day job, 'nuff said, nothing more exciting.

an A- in a long-overdue programming course. A-, btw, is a score of 85-89 in Athabasca's books. I can deal with that.

Somewhat-regular Yoga, and my first Yoga Show intensive.

I began a fitness-walking program. Taught gym classes, though with decreasing frequency.

Kept my A1C tests below 7 for another year, though they sneak up and down a bit. If you don't know what that means, nevermind, it's not that exciting.

Adam and I travelled through parts of New York State and to Manhattan, NYC, for a few days. nice place to visit

The cool stuff: Knit 24 or 25 pairs of socks (not sure, amongst the 27 in the Gallery right now, if it was 2 or 3 pair that were actually finished in '06. I'm now documenting anually).

more cool stuff: I knit 11 projects that weren't socks, including the geek-coolest Dalek, and my first lace thing, Stormwater.

startitis: though I finished one small quilt actually started in 2006, I started 3 more, as yet unfinished, in '07.

I made my very first attempts at spindle-spinning. More to come.

A Happy, though Irresolute, New Year

2008 has had its ups and downs so far. The first 3 hours were spent in good company and rather surprisingly intellectual discussion (given the hour and the likely inebriation of the participants). The next 6 or so were spent getting home to bed then sleeping. The following 3, unfortunately, sucked dog butt big time, but it's improving a bit again.

I woke up with the half-formed idea in mind of blogging a New Year's greeting today, complete with an overview of my triumphant conquering of a first race-walk event.

Well, THAT didn't exactly happen. What also didn't happen was a coherent explanation of why - 10 pages of blogging that farce have just been deleted. Here's the equation: Snowstorm + holiday, no plowing + event location at the Kitchener YMCA + 3*(missed turns) + poor and obscured signage & direction + no parking lot management + idiots idling cars and blocking traffic in 3 different directions in a parking lot + a race route THROUGH said unplowed, mis-managed parking lot such that cars were struggling in 8 inches of snow to avoid randomly oriented runners and walkers = Johanna 40 minutes late for the race start and getting out of car just as her walking group was finishing.

No one thing would have flipped me out, but by the time I bumped in to my happy and finished gang as they were heading in for hot chocolate I was ready to take a bat to the windshield of the moron who wasted the LAST 10 minutes of my time blocking my way to parking - so I quit.

So Happy flippin' New Year. I am back home where I belong, on the sofa in my PJs, knitting and setting up Obsidian the Mac to play Torchwood. My first resolution is to avoid attendance at any more organized race events.

Frozen Fog and the post-holiday ho-hums.

So that was that. Lots of frantic knitting, a much-appreciated Dalek, goodies for the kids and the folks, and now, back to normality. "Christmas" break is a weird thing at this phase of my life. I've lost all the wound-up excitement there used to be over it, but I spend a couple of days disoriented and feeling like I've forgotten or missed something. Then I'm just tired and want to go back to hibernating until April.

I forced myself out of the condo yesterday and Adam and I went for a walk of about 5 km, which was nice - I'd been so inactive for the previous week I think I could feel my heart getting sloppy about its job. Yesterday was beautiful, a weird quirk of the weather led to an early-morning fog freezing into a crystallized mist on all the trees, then it got sunny. It was a very sparkly walk. Did some chore-like stuff around home, and returned to one of my long-lingering quilt projects now that I have neither knitting nor programming deadlines.

This morning I was up at 6 for a 7 am gym class, and actually had 8 of my early-bird regulars out. Today's fog has just turned into gray, slippery, snow, though, not as nice as yesterdays. Now I'm sitting in a near-abandoned workplace noodling away at some tasks. With a sock cuff out beside me so I can knit a few stitches when the computer glitches, yay.

ho-hum.

Holiday Gift Knitting....

Is leaving my hands in knots and has caused a twitch under my eye!

I hope everyone likes their stuff. Spoilers later.

An Evening with The Big Sock

Okay, so I have to read up a bit more on this whole project, but tonight I took a little road trip out to New Hamburg, and visited a new-ish yarn shop called Shall We Knit. This did a small amount of credit card damage, as I found yet another speckled Koigu colourway I couldn't resist, and some Claudia handpainted laceweight, and I couldn't pass of the surprisingly economical peruvian alpaca sock yarn. More on that later when I load the new stash into Ravelry.

The real reason for my trip out there (yes, it wasn't just stash enhancement!) was this:



That apparent heap of yarn tangle is an attempt to break the world record for the World's Largest Sock. That blog entry is over a year out of date, but the sock has gone on since then. The huge mass of yarn is touring North America and growing rapidly as guilds and shops host knit-nights where all comers can work a few stitches on the sock.

It's a whimsical-seeming project and the point is not obvious, but working on it for a few dozen stitches, the sense of interconnectedness comes out - the end result is not really the point. This is a craft/art project uniting the work of hundreds of knitters the world around. At one point I may have been the only person in the store - it was quiet night and the acquaintance I bumped into had to leave - but I was working on a project with hundreds, maybe thousands, of others. Kind of neat.

Ok, well, don't get sick in K-W

While I want to know more about how this study was done, it is not reassuring to know that my nearest hospital is the worst in the country, however the data is sliced up.

I would like to point out that Grand River does not use my company's products....

http://www.thestar.com/article/281338

I'll try to dig up more of the report. Here is a link to how the standardized mortality rate is determined:

http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=AR_1789_E&cw_topic=1789

Addended later: In Grand River's defence, and to my relief, there appears to have been a reporting issue where many of their palliative cases were included when they should not have been. Results were skewed well outside of the 100-point average.

Blog sale (cuz the condo won't let me use the Garage)

Does anyone reading this need:

Non working P4 computer or parts: P4 proc, 512 MB ram, CD-RW/DVD-R, 20 Gb disk, USB 2.0 card, BT dongle, case and (possibly dead) motherboard

Clock-radio with CD player

MEC sling-style pack

Unknown brand of messenger bag - cordura nylon, book-size.

Random heap of Tupperware stuff (ask if interested in details).

I'm just closet cleaning again, and while these are posted on some local buy-sell boards, if friends or family need and would like, they're available for sale, barter, or re-gift in exchange for karma, as you could afford. ;-)

Back from the Beeg Apple, part 2

So, well, a week ago today, Evelyn dropped us at the Peekskill train station and we got on a train to Manhattan. A one hour ride from this small-town burb and we were right in the middle of Grand Central Station.

We popped up into the main terminal only to head for the S-line of the MTA subway system, and shuttle right over to Times Square. It was there we first hit the streets of New York City. By this time, lunch was calling and we had a very expensive, but pretty good, lunch at the Brooklyn Diner, a good example of the Times Square kitsch. From there, we hit the pavement and walked, probably farther than any native would, to B&H photo which was part of Adam's mission. Exchanges and purchases for friends were done, and unfortunately my sweetie didn't really have any shopping of his own on his agenda. We headed from there to his cousin Eli's place, a walk-up studio near the north-west corner of Central Park. Eli was putting us up for our stay in the city, so we had promised that meals would be on us, and she led us to a very interesting Peruvian-Chinese restaurant, of all places! I had a beef stew with coriander, Eli tried their "world famous" roast chicken (every restaurant in the City claims a world famous something, it seems), and I totally forget what Adam had but it was good too.

Our Tuesday night mission was a trip to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue to pick up my new interface to the world. I asked if we could do that earlier rather than later in our stay as then I'd have a day or two to try it out in case something was wrong. Nothing was, and my new MacBook is named Obsidian. Eli has a couple of unsecured WiFi spots near her so I admit, I was pirating a bit of bandwidth to get started.

Wednesday, we headed back down to Columbus Circle, and spent much of our time wandering Central Park. Again, check out Adam's pages for the photos. There's alot of walking to be done in New York City, and I was actually suffering some strain injuries by then, so we were meandering, resting, watching what went by, etc. Mid-afternoon we made a disappointing stop for street meat (not nearly as good as home) and a bit later found a more favourable pizza. We then met up with Eli, and headed towards Madison Square Garden to meet her partner Damian, and grab dinner before our Cirque du Soleil show. A Korean BBQ dinner ensued, and then Damian was back off to study (law student) and Adam, Eli and I headed for the WaMu theatre at the gardens. Wintuk is not exactly a Cirque du Soleil big top production, and while it had many of the trappings of Cirque which I love, it had very trite dialogue and lyrics which made it seem really dumbed-down. I definitely prefer Cirque's classic abstract story told through the performance. That said, the stunts were, as always, amazing, though and it was an enjoyable show. We went for dessert at Junior's, a diner-style restaurant famous for its Cheesecakes, and then we were back home to crash on the pull-out in Eli's studio again.

Thursday, Adam and I were on our own the whole time as our hostess was busy with school and work. It was, unfortunately, a dreary, rainy day, though, so we wandered the town. We had thought to check out the International Center for Photography's museum, but the gallery was featuring war journalism displays which weren't really of interest. We popped back to the Apple store to check out laptop cases, but nothing really suited me (I had hoped Wintuk would have Cirque du Soleil's laptop backpack, but it didn't). We wandered next door to FAO Schwartz, a famous toy store, and admired much but surprisingly, didn't buy - most of what I thought would be cool for nieces and nephew really wasn't that different from what could be purchased here. The really outstanding stuff was, of course, in the 5- or 6-figure price range. The larger-than-life model of Iorek Bjarnarsson was impressive, but set up so that it couldn't be photographed very well.

We got on a bus back to Times Square, which had somehow become the point from which we landmarked, despite the fact that I think I'd seen enough of it after 1 day. The bus stop we got off at was coincidentally right in front of the Social Sciences and Humanities branch of the New York Public Library, one of four large, non-lending research libraries in the system and the one housed in the original NYPL building. The building is actually built on top of the original Croton Dam, the first Croton reservoir having been right in the city. We walked in, and happened to catch the start of a tour led by one of the library Docents (volunteers), so we joined. It was a fascinating introduction, and our guide was a superb speaker armed with all kinds of New York trivia. The building itself is a treasure, and its collections are priceless - from clay tablets to DVDs, all to be perused for free (though possibly very strictly supervised and contained, as in priceless items such as the Gutenberg Bible and other ancient manuscripts).

From there, we made a second trip to the Swatch store because I'm a sucker for those goofy wristwatches (we'd been on Tuesday already) and I did the classic tourist thing and bought the "only available here" Times Square swatch, and another dress one, and I'd already bought a sportier one - oops.

At that point, we hit Chevy's Mexican grille and had a made-at-the-table Guacamole and some nice tex-mex entrees, and then, despite Adam's lingering wish to find an improv show, we found we really were too beat for much else and headed "home".

Friday morning we took Eli out for a nice brunch at a french bistro, and while she headed home to work, we were off to the American Museum of Natural History. I need to spend another week in New York just to see more of that. It's an impressive maze-like facility. We paid the "suggested" general admission of $15 a piece and declined the add-on fees for special displays - which was fine as we'd never have had time. We saw the space and cosmos displays, hall of the Northwest Coast native peoples, the Human Origins exhibit, Meteorites (very quick rush through that) and Gemstones and Minerals. That covered about 1/8 of the square footage, maybe, if we don't count the closed areas. Wow.

Having originally intended to head back to Peekskill "mid afternoon" - we didn't finish at the museum until almost 5, and then picked a random restaurant for dinner, an upscale Japanese place that was quite good. Grabbed our bags and took the subway back to Grand Central, bought our Peekskill tickets and got back there around 8:30. Evelyn, funny enough, was in the city for her play and got home around 11.

Saturday was our last day before the haul home, and our first with Ev and Andrew both home, of course. We got taken to a local tourist site, Bear Mountain, a high point in the local range where you could drive right up to the lookout point, so we did. A little bit downhill in the same park is a recreation area, with an ice rink, Inn/restaurant (under renovation) and a carousel, so little Robyn got her first merry-go-round ride. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole business.

A late lunch, coffee stop, and then it was back home for Ev to get ready for her play - and we headed back to Manhattan for one last night and real "off off Broadway" show. The drive in was an adventure itself, and included a quick zip past Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site. We got to the theatre later than curtain call, but with a bit of time to spare. I will admit - I've seen worse theatre and better, but it was really exciting to have a friend in a real show and Ev did great despite the challenge of most of the rest of the cast having been re-cast for this closing week. She was a bit upset that the re-cast lead really couldn't seem to learn his lines, so just made it up as he went and rushed through. The play was, by its nature, depressing, but nonetheless interesting, if challenging, to watch. Our last kick at Manhattan was to head to Canal Street for a late-night Chinatown meal. Mission accomplished, we were home by about 2 am, then up again at 8 for the long haul back home. 9 hours of interstates and some exhausted crabbiness on my part (sorry! I was getting tired!) and we sailed through the border at Niagara falls, having been forewarned by a fortuitous pixel board of delays at Lewiston.

And that was that. There's much more of New York, city and state, that I'd like to see someday, but now I just need to catch up on sleep, and hope I can get back into my routine for tomorrow.

Just Escaped the Big Apple!

So, well, despite buying a new laptop and finding plenty of unsecured wireless, New York was just so big and busy, I totally haven't reported in until now. Now being Friday night, and my present location back at friends' in Peekskill, after a couple of hours of negotiating the impressive regional transit system that blankets downstate New York and New York City.

I'll run a brief chronology, and refer those of you who want the photos over to Adam's place.

Friday the 9th, we left Waterloo and took 4 or 5 hours to wander our way to the Finger Lakes for a couple nights at a B&B as a halfway stop. The B&B was nice, though not luxury. Food was great, rooms were a bit damp, the property was beautiful. Friday night, we took a trip into Ithaca to see what could be seen, stumbled into a yarn store and found a few not-available-in-Waterloo skeins, then lucked into a great dinner and superb dessert at a place called Madeleine's. We earned the dessert by then following the recently set up Sagan Planet Walk from the centre point of the Ithaca commons to the town's Sciencenter. We actually missed a slight turn just past Saturn and detoured accidentally into the Kuiper belt (Ithaca High School area) and probably walked twice the distance of the intended walk just finding our way back to Neptune.

On Saturday, we took a wander from our B&B near Trumansburg over to the next nearest late, Seneca, and found the village of Watkins Glen, known apparently for its international auto racing events but which had come to my attention from Ravelry recommendations for the local yarn store, Finger Lakes Fibers. That scored another couple skeins of Schaefer and Artyarns. Sadly, other than that shop and a nice looking wine clearing house we didn't enter, there didn't seem to be alot of life in the town. We walked out along the marina breakwater, and supposed that the town must be much more lively in the warmer months.

From Watkins Glen, we made the trek to Corning, took a brief run through another somewhat under-populated downtown, but then returned to the Museum of Glass. This impressive facility, or rather set of facilities, houses gallery, museum/historical centre, science centre and workshop, all dedicated to the arts and sciences of glassmaking. We could really have spent a full two days there and probably not taken everything in; I missed alot having not realized how extensive the museum really was, and spending too much time in just the first couple of galleries. We meandered back to Ithaca in the dark, grabbed a few pizza slices from the dingey-looking but superb Pizza Aroma, and headed home to crash.

Sunday got us up and going, and we spent a good three hours exploring Taughannock Falls State Park, first above and then below the gorge formed by Taughannock creek and its waterfall. Lunch at an also dingey-looking but obviously super (packed mid-afternoon) burger stop, Glenwood Pines, was followed by the third, and so far last, yarn store on the trip, Knitting Etc on the other side of the lake, where I scored a bit more Schaefer yarn. Then it was off to Peekskill, and I was very glad Adam took on most of the driving when we reached the last stretch after the interstate, which was an incredible roller-coaster ride down the Catskills, in the dark, on unfamiliar roads. None the worse for wear, but tired, we reached our friends' place around 7, actually beating Ev home from her play, and had a late take-out dinner when she arrived.

Monday was spent wandering the area around Peekskill, visiting the Croton Reservoir which is one of several reservoirs established to provide water for New York City and the surrounding counties and towns. The huge dam that established the reservoir is quite a project, all the more impressive for being around a century old, and at that, being the second Croton Dam. We saw the remains of the first a bit later in the week. A little window shopping in Cold Spring followed, then back home for a homestyle diner dinner and a serious night's sleep. My feet and legs were already killing me, not even halfway into our trip.

Tuesday morning, we got a ride to the local station and headed for Grand Central Station in Manhattan. More adventures to follow.....

Impending Big Apple, in more ways that one?

So, if you didn't hear, we're off on a vacation this Friday, for the next week and a bit. Wandering through New York State for a few days, B&B'ing in the Finger Lakes, visiting friends in Hudson Valley, then a few days in Manhattan with Adam's cousin.

In spite of the looming course deadline, I'm looking forward to this. I had a plan - cram the 2nd last assignment in tonight and tomorrow before we go, take my book along to noodle out rough notes for the last assignment, and crunch when I got back.

Well, Murphy's Law, section 81 article 426, has come into play and my PC, while not completely dead, is lapsing in and out of a coma the last few days, has bedsores and pneumonia and probably impending multiple organ failure. It doesn't seem to be anything that can be addressed by fidgeting with anyone component, and I'm guessing that it's the mainboard flaking out.

So a new goal was added to the New York destination: Apple Store, Fifth Avenue.

Late-night Work Blog

Ravelry has eaten up my online time lately - I can't believe what a phenomenal system that is, all dreamed up by a wonderful young couple who have turned the online fibre world on its ear.

That said, I've run out of things to do with my online stash, project list, and groups tonight. I'm sitting at work running a migration, which involves alot of frantically trying to get a script to run, taking mad guesses in the dark about why it's not running, trying 15 variations, copying files up or down one level in the directory tree, drinking more coffee..... then it suddenly runs and I wait two hours for it complete so I can run the next one.

The second sock of the spouse's anniversary present is at its heel, so I'm on track there. Don't know if I'll get to the other 3 WIPs I have with me, as all in all, actually, the migration's going faster than the estimate scripts said it would.

I may get a bit of sleep tonight.

Short updates....

No matter how much I feel I've accomplished, there's too much more.

92% on assignment #5. Assignment #6.1 now functioning. 6.2 is frameworked out, and 6.3 has been read. I have those and 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 due before my exam, which will probably be Nov 28. I would LIKE to have them done before we go on vacation on Nov 9th, but that's seeming unlikely with a parent having surgery, an all-nighter for a big work project, and an all-day weekend for a big work project all looming in the next 7 days.

Knitting goes on between the real work, (and blogging between the knitting).

Adam's anniversary surprise has been un-surprised and he is at the moment a victim of Single Sock Syndrome, but the second will be started soon. I have to finish 1 sock toe, two baby sweater sleeves, a button band and a toque before our arrival in Peekskill November 11th.

It's probably a symptom of my increasingly middle-aged perspective that the knitting is just as important as the academic grades nowadays.

Other than the above - cats are holding their own, I need sleep - bye!

Raven Spoilers!

For those who want!
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...just in case you're here by accident. Don't scroll if you don't want to know!

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The first of the Ravens has landed!

The Yarn:



Yes, the spiders came with it.

The pattern name - and note the designer! Whee!



Sorry about the glare.

The pattern pic:



Gotta zoom - walk club night.

Another pointless blog post....

I've just written, and then deleted, 3 attempts at expressing what I think of the results of our most recent election.

Unfortunately, my opinions have been sucked down the drain of the massive outpouring of complete apathy that Ontario has demonstrated with its pathetic voter turnout and yet another "majority" government endorsed by only 40% of the voters. Note, that works out to only 20% of the citizenship of the province given the 51% voter turnout.

Citizens of Ontario: You suck. Completely stuck in the mud of the status quo. Half you of didn't even show up, and I'm disgusted. You'd expect that in the US.

Yeesh.

Gratuitous cat of the day (because all I've got left to do is knit and appreciate the cats before massive climate change eliminates both humans and domestic pets from the planet):



I took this snap, not Adam, so it's not really anything good, but it illustrates something funny I've noticed about Maui - he's taken to posing for cameras. He's found, I guess, that getting his picture taken is the level of attention he wants. When he sees someone taking snaps (I was photographing yarn stash and knitting), he hops up to exactly that corner of the sofa and watches intently. Looks right at the camera without alot of prompting. He's done it to Adam & friends when they're having a photo night, too. What a goof. I'm guessing, since he's normally skittish about being touched/petted/grabbed, but wants to be social to some degree, that humans with their hands full are less threatening as they won't grab him, and he can hang out and be interested in all that activity.

Or, maybe he's just mugging it up.

It's probably a good thing....

... that I have some rudimentary sense of taste, and am generally annoyed at alot of stupid things that people post online. Because if not for that vague sense of decorum holding me back, I'd so be blogging a picture of my left butt cheek otherwise.

You guys should SEE this bruise! I slipped at the top of the stairs yesterday morning and bounced down to the landing, on my backside. Fortunately the pudgy parts took the impact, so I am bruised but not broken. I slipped a bit off-centre which saved my tailbone. The bruise is about the size and colour of a very ripe avocado and feels like I'm sitting on a rolled-up sock in my back pocket. The front of my left leg and hip are achey as I've been sitting funny for 36 hours trying to NOT sit on the bump.

It's the second-worst, but possibly "deepest" (as in deep in the muscle) bruise I've ever had. The worst, in terms of area covered in bruise, was when I took a soccerball in the thigh, after it had been kicked full-force by a former pro player turned grad student at close range. Though I don't think I had a palpable lump that time.

I suppose it's about time we do something about the slanted floor board at the top of the stairs. A colleague of mine just explained how it is the result of either stupidity or laziness on behalf of whoever installed our flooring. The question is, can it be fixed without re-installing the whole floor. Ugh.

So many needles, so little time....

Okay, so, when the Yarn Harlot got on Ravelry, she succumbed immediately to a severe infection of malignant startitis.

Ooops. Me too. I think there are 7 WIPs, now, and I don't mean tossed-in-the-back-of-the-stash-closet UFOs, I mean things I'm picking up at random intervals and knitting on all over the place.

I blame Knit Picks for the latest. After being only moderately satisfied with my Boye Needlemaster interchangeable set, I decided to spring for the infinitely cheaper (and better even with the exchange!) new Harmony set of wooden interchangeables. I'd heard raves (mostly on Ravelry)! I'd heard of bugs, too (no quality control is flawless) but that Knit Picks took care of things. I love wooden needles. I love circular needles. I think interchangeable needles are a brilliant invention. Wooden interchangeable needles in beautiful coloured hardwood to boot? And only about 70% of the price of the Needlemaster.

So this came in the mail today:



I immediately tried out all the tips on all the cords - and did indeed find one broken tip (wood not anchored into base right). Well, a 5 minute call to the KP 800-number and they're expressing a replacement, so no worries there!

Meanwhile, the stash watched closely while I tried all my new needles. I thought I'd find some scrap and make a little swatch. Maybe transfer the little Ladybug outfit from the Boyes to the Harmony... but noooooo.... something had OTHER plans.

I hardly turned my back when 3 skeins of Fleece Artist Ottawa leaped from the stash and threw themselves onto the size 8 tips (fortunately, it was a 9 that was out of commission). So, my 7th WIP at the moment:



A Jane has totally jumped the holiday gift queue is on the stitch (different colour, but that sweater).

PS: I have 6 sets of wood or bamboo straights that are now for sale.

Referendum - Get it?

Learn all you can. This vital question has been made very complex, possibly unnecessarily so, but please try to understand what we are voting for.

A Little Meezer News...

Maui continues to confound the vet.



He was back for a weigh-in, and while he hasn't significantly lost weight, he hasn't gained, and he otherwise seems fine. His coat, where he hasn't groomed it off, is in good shape. He's bright-eyed and alert and shows no signs of discomfort other than his extreme skittishness.

Because there's been no backslide since discontinuing the Leukeran, we've not gone back to chemo. Since it's also getting to be a bigger fight to pill him all the time, I had myself tapered back his prednisone to 3-4 a week as I just didn't want to wrestle with him, and he also did not deteriorate. So Dr. Bonnie decided we'll stop the Pred and switched him to an injection. Essentially same stuff, to control the gut inflammation that made him sick in the first place, but a monthly shot instead of the daily trauma of pill-time. She's also theorizing that pilling him probably isn't helping with his eating issues either. I wonder if his jaw problem was caused by all the pills.

Finally, I've been given a carton of Rebound, which is essentially super-juiced-up Catmilk, but I haven't tried him on it yet as we're finishing an open carton of Catmilk. If he likes it, though, we'll go back for a case.

Headfirst into the black hole of wasted time....

Oh my.

There's a new Knitty issue out today....

.. AND I got my Ravelry invite!

See y'all sometime next spring.

LOOT!

Sorry it's been a while again, been too busy to download.

So, last Saturday, I took a mini-vacation and had a "me" day. I started off with a Yoga class, that, totally by accident, turned into a private, 1.5 hour class with a superb teacher. I have a drop-in pass at Atlas Yoga which allows me to pay ahead for a bit of a discount, but show up when I can over the course of a year. Just coincidentally, a) no one else showed on Saturday and b) the studio director/master teacher herself was filling in for the class. Yay!

After getting all relaxed and stretchy that way, I then trucked myself off to the annual Knitters' Fair put on by the K-W Knitters Guild. Oh my holy cats, what a dangerous event to be at with a credit card. Now, to be sure - I didn't get in quite as much trouble as the Yarn Harlot (I spotted Stephanie and friend, by the way, but didn't think I was well enough acquainted to charge across the hall and say hi), but there was some yarn-induced damage.

At one point, while goggling the mountains of Fleece Artist at so many booths, there was a bumping incident that happened, and a bundle of Jane sweater kit leaped off a shelf and landed in my arms. "Oh, look, it LIKES me!" I exclaimed, without even thinking, and boy, did that get a laugh. I'm sure a wave of disappointment hit the booth manager right afterward as I reluctantly put the kit back where it had jumped from, explaining that it was a great price but I already had TWO of that same kit waiting for me at home, and couldn't justify another when there was Seasilk and Somoko and Casbah on the loose. The Fleece Artist, ultimately, did get a good chunk of this month's disposable income.

So, here's my haul:



Lets see if I can still identify all that. Across the top, from the left, we have sock yarns from Brooklyn Handspun in "Chillin", All Things Heather in Juniper, Fleece Artist Seawool in one of their often-unnamed colourways (which it turns out I must like, for I arrived home to discover I have the same colourway in Somoko, too), a pair of Shelridge Farms fingering weight, undyed, and Handmaiden Seasilk in a yummy new, also unnamed colourway. It's almost like the one I made the Stormwater Shawl from, but has purple in it along with the copper and pewter colours. The book is Cat Bordhi's Second Treasury of Magical Knitting, which is her second book of Moebius patterns. I got this instead of the first one for the cat beds, as she repeats the basic Moebius tricks in both books, but the first one is mainly variations on the scarves.

The yarn in the bag in the corner is the yarn to go with a Sweaterkits kit, a childrens' Ladybug cardigan and toque set that the vendor actually sold out of, but she sold me the yarn and put the pattern and buttons in the mail for no extra charge.

In the front row, 3 assorted colours of Shelridge Farms DK weight as they had sold out of two of the 3 kits I wanted, the smaller skeins are the yarn from the kit they did have, and at the end are the patterns - funky winter hats for kids. I figure I have two nieces and a nephew, so I'll try for one hat each by Christmas, and if they hate the hats, a bazillion friends now have toddlers too, so I can regift.

The little wooden thingies sitting on the patterns are from a kit vendor who was also selling hand-turned wooden buttons and shawl pins. He sold the pins mix'n'match, so you could buy just the brooch for $23, just the pin for $23, or a set, pick your own pair, for $35. I did the set, in two of my favourite exotic woods - the brooch is Purpleheart and the pin is Tuilipwood. They look beautiful on my Stormwater (and well, anything else I can pin them on, too).

I AM still frantically knitting, and really, compared to some of the hauls - someone actually took their loot out in TWO WAGON TRIPS, I saw her! - I was restrained. Though I will admit, it is probably a good thing that the timing of my vacation travels was such that I won't make it to the Rhinebeck New York Sheep and Wool Festival, too. I will have to plan that for a future year and plan to NOT go to the KW Knitters Fair if I do.

And now - the RMF is on the way in about 36 hours, and I still have to hem 12 of these blasted mylar "chain maile" costume pieces. Ugh!

I did not knit this sweater...

... but at a $16.99 consignment store price, I couldn't resist! And get this, the tag says "Knit in The Rockies". Made in Canada, in fact, by the Kootenay Knitting Co. Not a bad score and of course you know, you can't buy the yarn for that price. It had the tiniest little snag in one stitch on the front. But I'm a knitter, I have a pointy stick, I can fix that - good as new!

There is some knitting in progress, and recently finished:




I'm still not certain if these are mine or a gift. This is the June Rockin' Sock Club selection, Solstice Slip knit up in STR Lightweight, Firebird Colourway. I love 'em but they're a touch long.

And, some work in progress, one of two, from the It's A Wonder! quilting workshop I took a couple weeks back:



The name for this quilt at the moment just popped into my head as being the "Blue Demon Spin" quilt. The base fabric, made unrecognizable here, is a blue fabric with brown, red, white and gold tribal-type masks printed all over it. Some of the masks have horns, teeth, big boogley eyes, and it's nothing I would have picked except I needed a "doofer" in a hurry for this workshop. And since I knew the one-block wonder format left prints completely unrecognizeable, it seemed like a safe idea. I like it and I don't. Masks kinda freak me out, probably BECAUSE they represent such powerful things, spirits and demons and altered identities. I don't think they are to be taken lightly. But I love the effect of the quilt, and the kaleidoscope result. Hence, Blue Demon Spin.

Here's a closeup.



It won't be done for a bit yet, and I'm not certain I'll assemble it this way without any intervening blocks, but it was at the worst, a very interesting experiment and alot of learning. There was a second fabric I cut and started to sew in this same workshop, but as yet I only have a few of the 103 blocks of that one done. It'll get posted someday.

And now - off to a nap. Due to some very valuable work and learning that needed to happen, Tuesday turned into a 40 hour day, as I stayed up all night then had to be at the office all day Wednesday too for some prior commitments. So today is my Tuesday night's sleep and it hasn't happened yet, but is about to.

Hey, it's that day again....

August 22. My "Not Dead" day this year nearly got by unmarked, as I forgot until I was writing a cheque and had to note the date.

I guess that's not entirely a bad thing. Shows how pretty much on-track, normal, and manageable life really is. My health continues to be an ongoing project, the most recent event of which was refusing a prescription for Lipitor and opting to just add niacin to the recommended low-dose aspirin and my daily vitamin. My cholesterol is really fine and the prescription was preventative, so I've decided to start with something that does not involve side effects ranging from grapefruit interaction to skeletal muscle disintegration and renal failure.

Back to my normal, everyday workday.

More Laundry rant, and I Won Yarn!

Well, since my Made in China capris are already IN my wardrobe, and I have a sewing machine, and just by coincidence a tiny bit of thread that almost matches the goofy "decorative" random zig-zag stitching that was already on them - I will repair them.

Today's clothing inventory includes a Reitmans top, Made in CANADA for a rare change, but that I bought second hand at a consignment store! I'm guessing it came from an era before Reitmans current sourcing arrangements, because last time I was there I could not find ONE SINGLE LABEL other than "Made in China". Denim skirt from a slightly more upscale store than Reitmans, unfortunately ALSO made in China though that particular store is one that often has first-world manufacturing tags. And my Crocs Mary Janes, which, very disappointingly, I found to have a Made in China stamp even though all of LAST year's Crocs were Made in Canada or the US. Go figure.

Not gonna check right now what country my underwear originated in, as that would involve removing more clothing than is appropriate in the cube farm.

One step I can make in more conscious consumer progress is with sweaters, I guess. Since re-discovering knitting, I will no longer need to buy sweaters. Helping me boost that little intent, my fave Online shop, Pick Up Sticks, just awarded me a yarn prize! I get to check out a skein of Dream In Colour Classy. Connie had a guess-how-much-I-ordered contest on her blog and I guessed right! She's let us pick our own colour so I'm trying out Black Parade, which looks to be a midnight-sky blue-black-purple-black sort of tone. It's Merino, but much heavier than the sock yarns which are most of my stash, so I'll have to ponder what to do with it. I'd have to buy 4 or 5 more at least for a sweater, but one might make a hat or mitts.

But, alas, the Dragons still loom. I did start another sock after saying I wouldn't, but it might be a frogging experiment, as I'm not sure I have enough yarn to complete the 4-stitch Reticulated pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks that I've picked. The yarn and the effect are amazing, but I'm trying it out of one of Connie's Mix-and-Match combos which is 1 sk Louet Gems and one Claudia Handpained, and the Claudia was only 45 grams. Normally my socks take ~70 grams, so the two should do even if short of the usualy 100gm per pair allowance, but the reticulated pattern has you carrying the non working yarn around all the time, so you have a stitched layer and a string layer eating up yarn on every round.

We shall see. It is currently the bedtime-with-audiobook knitting project. A scarf is in my purse for the carry-around project, because I can take neither dragon sewing nor Java homework out to stand in line with me. The Dragons, however, are the at-home project between now and when they're done. I am still procrastinating badly.

*sigh*

My Pants Have Just Come Apart....

Okay, that was TOTALLY not going to be the title of my post but as I was logging in, I realized I have another weird rip in these stupid made-in-China Reitmans capri pants.

I am, since updating much of my wardrobe LAST year at Reitmans, making more of an effort to not buy cheap imported crap. Unfortunately, it is damn near impossibly to FIND things not made in China. My clothes are literally disintegrating on me. I'm not talking about the wore-out-the-knees or that rub-through at the inner thighs us round girls get. Like, these pants just ripped down the front of the tummy below the waistband. While I was sitting.

Argh.

So what I was going to update today was just that the knitting progress has, of necessity, slowed a bit. You see, it's RMF volunteerism season, and despite my assertion a few years ago that I would show up on-site on Faire day and work at whatever, I've been landed into craft sewing for the merch booth the last 3 years. And oh, I'm so not motivated. Dragon hand puppets (cute when completed, but a fiddly project) and these "chain maile" hoods from a horrid mylar that fills my machine with metallic flakes. I've had the stuff for weeks and have just been watching it warily crouched in the corner of my room, I'm sure it is planning to destroy my sewing machine outright when I'm not looking.

But it must get done. So, this week I am doing a quilt workshop. Last night and tomorrow night, classroom time in Guelph, and tonight, finishing last night's cutting-up part at home so I can be ready to stitch. At which point, 2 more unfinished projects will join the quilting heap, and no more quilting OR knitting is to start until the dragons are done.

Hopefully the promise of more socks will motivate me through the drag.

There are actually two more pair of finished socks. Adam got his new Widdershins in Blue Moon's Fire On The Mountain colourway. Photo soon. The other pair - well, I'm pondering whether they will be a gift or not, so I'm not giving anything away just yet.

Wish me luck, the textile drudgery to come is already giving me a backache.

Finish-up-itis

Knitters are commonly afflicted with a condition known as start-itis, and I am no exception, and it applies to other things in my life (like computer science courses). However, this holiday weekend, though it was truncated a little by funeral attendance requirements, seems to have allowed enough time to actually wrap a few things up.

Java project #4 was mailed off to my tutor. Despite going over it with a fine tooth comb, I'm sure I've neglected some nuance or detail and will lose a mark, but I had to get it DONE and it is, and it compiles and runs and that's all you need for a pass, and it actually outputs the specified output, so that's a decent pass.

So, accomplishment #2, is actually from a week or so back:



The neverending Grasshopper knee socks. Check the Gallery for detailed pics.

And:



Stormwater. Crumply and bumpy, I bound off yesterday, and tried the magic incantation that is blocking for the first time. Well, actually the first two times as I pinned one zig-zaggy edge backwards, it was zag-ziggy instead, and didn't notice until it dried.

So, now for no good reason I can think of, I have a beautiful Seasilk lace shawl. I shall wear it with jeans and my neon-sherbet-coloured Solstice Slip socks when I meet the Queen, of course.

And since accomplishments never mean there's nothing left to do - off to Assignment #5, the Solstice Slip socks, a pair of Widdershins basics for Adam, and a scarf I am now inventing as I go out of the remaining Wild Tide yarn (same stuff as in the Grasshoppers).

The Further Adventures of Chemo Cat, oh dear.

Well, Maui had another little visit to Dr. Bonnie's Reform School for Obnoxious Siamese again.

The poor tyke was losing weight again, after being up a bit a month ago at his checkup. He seemed to have nearly stopped eating again - all we got into him over the weekend was a few grams of banana, his favourite treat.

So back we went to see the Cat Whisperer (that would be Dr. Bonnie). He's lost half a pound. He's kinda pinkish, but it's hard to tell if that's inflammation or just the fact that he's got naked spots still. Dr. Bonnie says it could be he's developing a reaction to the Leukeran.

She recommended doing bloodwork, for which he would be mildly sedated, with a valium-type drug also known to stimulate appetite. So I said OK and off they went to the back room.

For the next 20 minutes I could hear Siamese shrieking like his legs were being pulled off. Despite the care taken since he had a bug-out reaction to dental anaesthesia a year or so back, he hyper-reacted to the sedation, as well, and got completely wound up, to the point where the Dr. and tech were worried that he'd hurt himself. He flipped out screaming every time they touched him. So, we had to go with "knock him out" and some heavier drugs. I had to leave him there, again, poor guy. Dr. Bonnie offered to deliver him home later last night, after-hours, but called later to say she didn't want to send him back to us if he might still go flippy, so she was keeping him.

So I get him back today, hopefully with the drugs worn off and bloodwork results telling us what to do next.

Defective cat. *sigh*

Neverending Socks done!

Picture soon. Finished the April Rockin' Socks socks, finally! My own fault for wanting knee-highs. I've already got the first foot of the June kit done now.

Order of the Socks.. er,.. Phoenix

Fawkes Socks done!

"Hey, what's these?"


"Wow, nice socks!"


"MMMMmmmmm, sooooocks..."




These actually got completed in the car. While I was driving. Or, rather, while I was sitting for 45 minutes halfway down the Niagara Escarpment at Clappison's Corners , occasionally lifting my foot off the brake for a few seconds to roll 10 feet forward with the car in neutral. I heard later the holdup was that a cement truck tried to flatten a car - succeeded really, as far as the car was concerned - and the occupants had to be cut free. They were, miraculously, only slightly scratched up and I'm sure very shaken. So, I cannot really complain about being stuck in traffic for a bit. And it just shows how knitting cultivates both patience and resourcefulness!

I'm hoping to have the neverending knee socks from the April Rockin' Sock Club done this weekend, my long stretch of fold-over ribbing is almost done. And I've already cast on the Firebird colour yarn from the June RSC, so those'll be on the go next. And then there's the July Pick Up Sticks club - I get to try Sheldridge Farm! In Green!

Better pictures of the socks are over in the Gallery, sans cat.

Last one on the Bandwagon's a loser...

I should never have looked....

There are 6300 people ahead of me on the Ravelry wait list.

Oh well. I have enough to do lately, anyway. Assignment 4 part 1 of my Java course is done... need to get part 2, and preferably (but not likely) assignment 5 out the door this month.

Fawkes did NOT get done yesterday because I worked from home, hence, no 45 minute hike while knitting and it seemed more prudent to spend breaks on the at-home-only project. So the Silkie Wild Tide Grasshoppers got a bit more ribbing.

And, the reason I stayed home, I FINALLY got a new screen on the patio door. A very pricey but bloody-well-better-be-good Phantom retractable screen, because our old patio retractable screen self-destructed in April. The 4-week installation turnaround took 10, due to clerical screw ups. The installers, however, once I got to the guys who do the work, were great, and even vacuumed the patio when they were done.

So we have airflow in the condo again.

Not quitting my day job.

So, in another fit of procrastination on Saturday, I decided to try out the drop spindle I got in a Louet kit from Pick Up Sticks. $40 for the spindle, half a pound of fibre, and a sample of Soak wash - not too bad a price for what I'm sure will be numerous hours of entertainment.

So, for you, my few and mostly familial readers: My Very First Spinning Attempt



Yeah, that's what I thought too. Looks like smurf poop.

But, for my first 20 minutes with a drop spindle, the fact that I got something vaguely string like can't be all bad, right?

Back to some hobbies that don't make me want to burn the stash closet.

The neverending Silkie socks are up to the ribbing!!!!



And the Fawkes socks in Bird of Paradise are the boot commute project.



I can knit one full repeat of the 12-round pattern on the way to work, and another on the way home. This sock should be done tomorrow if I can keep that up.

Back to staring senselessly at the Java editor.

Two weeks on a Beach (I wish!)

So, in record time (the second one took a full week), I have my next socks:



Beach part b) was grafted up last night, and they were worn today. Next?

Well, Grasshoppers are ongoing, but have slowed even more because:



a) being knee socks they're getting long, and heavy, and I can no longer really walk'n'knit them
b) doing two at once on a long circ, they're heavier, I can no longer walk'n'knit them
c) even switching from a p2tog to k2tog, the stitches are a bit tight and fiddly to do, and they're hurting my hands.

Oh well. I'm halfway through the 6th of 7 increase chart repetitions, then we'll see if I need more length. But they now need to be at-home socks so I can work with the weight of them on my lap or table.

So, what's the new portable project?



This is the Bird of Paradise yarn from the Pick Up Sticks club June package. The pattern will be Fawkes from Sockotpia, however. I discovered Socktopia today after a Rockin' Sock Clubber pointed out the Fawkes pattern suggesting the RSC Firebird yarn would go nicely (and it would!) but all in the theme of flaming birds, I thought Bird of Paradise would too, and my conscience is clearer in doing so.

You see, when I joined TWO sock clubs to feed my obsession, I promised myself I would make up the kits to the club specifications - club yarn, club pattern (alterations for fit and fidget notwithstanding). So, using Firebird for Fawkes - not quite right. But I got an inadvertent out with Bird of Paradise. Due to completely reasonable personal circumstances, the Pick Up Sticks exclusive "club" pattern didn't get produced for June. Connie was super and to make up for it sent us TWO alternate patterns along with the June yarn. But since neither was a special "club" pattern anyway, I'm OK doing this one in Fawkes. Flaming Birds of Summer it is! (Firebird will be done next in the Solstice Slip).

And, Today's Gratuitous Cat:



This is the view from my bathtub. Maui is the Bath Monitor. While the tub is filling, he runs back and forth from bathroom to the nearest person with progress reports. While someone (me, nearly always) is bathing, he regularly checks to make sure no one has drowned, and reports to other people (Adam, pretty much) that the Stupid Human is Still In The Big Water Bowl.

Perhaps he was a lifeguard, or a Newfoundland dog, in a past life. Or perhaps he is aspiring to be one in his next life.

Or perhaps he really is the evil little beast we sometimes think he is, and is yelling: "Is it done yet? Is my soup done? Turn up the heat and throw in some pepper, dammit, that big lobster-like thing is still moving around in there!"

Another slow day in the cube farm.

Ridiculous consumerism...

Though I'm far from perfect, and as susceptible as the next educated skeptic to a good ad campaign, I saw something today that really tipped off the stupid-o-meter. I sincerely hope none of the few, but smart and lovely people who check out this blog, would ever make a purchase based on this.

Secret Deodorant "40th Anniversary Special Limited Edition".

Ummm... .huh? Procter and Gamble thinks they're bleepin' Disney now? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ANTIPERSPIRANT PEOPLE!!!! How dumb do they think consumers are? Actually, what frightens me more is how dumb could consumers be that something like that is a viable product hook? It's a noxious chemical you smear on your stinky pits to avoid offending co-workers. But do we explain product info? List contents? Even give inflated but possibly viable information on why this product is the better one? NO. We release "40th Anniversary Special Limited Edition" stinky armpit treatment. Are we supposed to save this one to sell on EBay when the value increases exponentially? Is it a series? Do we collect the whole set?

For the record, I don't use antiperspirant, I use deodorant and since the very few of them still on the market are becoming fewer all the time, well, P&G isn't in danger of getting my business anyway. But - gah. I hate the consumer market sometimes.

Fastest sock to date!

Wow. 1 Beach is done in less than a week.


Pattern: Beach by Meghan Jackson
Yarn: Seacoast Panda (merino/bamboo/nylon) in "Seaside" colour custom dyed for Pick Up Sticks' Sock Club.

Check out the seashell cuff.


I'm impressed with myself on this one. Cast on Thursday night, kitchenered up the toe Tuesday night. Probably one of the more complicated sock patterns I've made, and I didn't mess up - no frogging, not more than a stitch or two of going backwards, no major messes. I think the fastest single sock before this took a whole week, and that was a plain sock. Beach is a tiny bit snug, but that just means the pattern is stretched out when it's on, it still fits. Though if I make 'em again I might use a slightly larger needle, or a yarn with a touch more give in it. It's a nice yarn, but the bamboo gives it a hint more stiffness than pure wool. But I like 'em! I give credit to Meghan's excellent pattern for them being much easier than they looked. Well written.

In other news, today's gratuitous cat photo is again, da Sprout!



Andrea and Angela commented after last week's similar pose on her sleeping position. I should clarify, she doesn't sleep like this - this is a pose she learned from her late, great mentor, Panda-ov-Toes, in order to solicit tummy rubbings with all the cuteness she can muster. She lies on the bed and frantically flips herself back and forth, side to side, then pauses, tummy-up. Rubbing gets you purrs and snuggly licks, until she's had enough - we have ALMOST got her trained out of the "I've-had-enough-now-you-will-die-rubbing-hand-*CHOMP*-grrrrr" response. She mostly licks frantically then rolls away.

She's a bit dumb but really takes a good picture. Check out my gallery link on the right, or the Cats section under Adam's for more.

and again, Happy Canada Day.

Something occurred to me this evening, standing on the roof of my building watching displays of fireworks 360 degrees around. This is a day for contemplating all that is wonderful about Canada and being Canadian. Not the least of which is that we live in a country where huge explosive devices going off barely above the rooftops of our homes means only that we are celebrating. Be proud of your country, and spare a moment too to think of those for whom the situation may be different. Happy 140th, Canada.

Laws of Sock Physics...

So anyone who has read Yarn Harlot knows about the knitting "Black hole", where you knit and knit and knit and your knitting does not get bigger. I have wondered if this is a phenomenon related to the socks disappearing in the laundry and somehow via a wormhole in the space-time continuum turning into wire hangers in the closet, or pens in the junk drawer. I think I have accumulated some more evidence of this.

Observe, after 48 short hours:



Beach has made astounding progress, for being a very complicated, lacey pattern involving two large charts. Here it is with my arm (not leg) in it, to illustrate the pattern:



And check out the seashell motif - it repeats 3 times around the cuff, but Megan also worked it into the heel!



Now, I have spent about the same amount of time on the Grasshopper socks as on Beach. And if you want to see how far they've come, well - look at the post a couple days back. The appear to be no closer to my knees despite more hours of knitting.

SO - I am coming to the conclusion that the phenomenon of missing socks in the dryer recurring as tangled hangers and pens has a corollary in that those yarnovers and K2togs on the Grasshoppers are in fact transitting the same wormhole and adding to the YOs and K2togs on the Beach. It's the only way I could have produced that much sock that fast, ALL my knitting time went to only one sock. That's gotta be it.

Happy Canada Day, anyway, everyone. I'm going to head up to my roof tonight to see if I can see the fireworks from 3 km north at Columbia Lake.

WIPs

"Works in Progress" or WIPs, or I guess correctly WsIP but that's awkward, are distinguished from UFOs or UnFinished Objects by being, nominally, still being worked on as opposed to buried in the stash and blocked from sight and mind out of frustration.

Lemme tell you, the Grasshopper socks were getting close to the UFO transition. However, I finally got my groove on, and we're continuing.



While I am normally a "process" knitter - one who knits for the act of knitting - I think for this particular project I'm leaning towards becoming a "product" knitter - one who knits for the end result. Simply because, with all the frogging and fiddling already, these socks have gone on too long, and now that I've FINALLY got a reasonable gauge going - they're getting boring because they're going to go on a lot longer because I'm determined after all that, I want the knee-high model, dagnabbit.

It's a good thing I love everything about this pair, assembly aside. I love the STR Silkie yarn. I love the colours, and I love the way it was knitting up with kindof an impressionist-watercolour look to it. I like the lacey stitch, now that I've got the trick of it. I just want to get 'em done now, though!

To take the edge off, I started something completely different:


and was pleasantly surprised. This is the first 10 rows of Megan Jackson's Beach pattern from the May PickUpSticks Sock Club. I was intimidated by the pattern, which includes two very complex looking charts, but it's written out row by row and I got through the first 10 rows of the first chart without a mistake. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, and it was the perfect foil to the two-stitch Grasshopper, and strangely, easier to manipulate.

And finally, faithfully providing my couple-of-rows-before-bed distraction:



The Seasilk Stormwater is slowly growing. The trick to making this piece livable is threading in a pre-emptive "lifeline" EVERY repeat of the pattern, or actually I'm doing it every half repeat. The pattern is the perfect mix of a variety of stitches but with a short enough repeat interval that it's now been committed to memory and is manageable. But if I drop one stitch - it's gone, and it's being ripped. So, I just run a length of cotton yarn through every 8th row and the most I'll lose is 8. So progress is steady.



So those, along with my still-neglected homework, are my weekend plans. Happy Canada Day!

Gratuitous cat photo.

Absolutely nothing else I feel like blogging. Off to be mad at all my crafty projects and fumble around with my new point'n'shooty camera I don't know how to use.

Next!

For a brief hour this evening, there were no socks in progress. Since the universe abhors a vacuum, I've corrected that, and Grasshoppers attempt #4 are now both cast on to a magic loop to try my next take on how to make them not so floppy.

In the meantime, here's what's been finished:



Parrot Puree (cat not included) will be on their way to their new feet shortly.

Here's a close-up:



I guess I didn't update the blog after I threatened to rip them out, but as you can see they survived. Their new feet said they would like them very much. So they are done.

And, for a wee little peanut who I will be meeting for the first time this weekend:



Teeny Trellises! This is a slightly reworked version of the Trellis pattern from the April Pick Up Sticks Sock club. When I first got this first kit of the series, I was a mite disappointed. Not that is wasn't nice and all, but it was baby-coloured pastels which are the farthest thing from "my thing", and a fussy, lacey pattern - ditto, or so I thought. But then when I kinda clued in that I have two neices, my friend's little girlie, and now a coworker who has just had a baby girl - WELL -this is going to go to very good use. This pair took up about 10% of the yarn from the kit, so there will be at least a couple more!

More Bike for your Buck - Thank You!

Well, we did it. Spousal euphemism and I managed to ride about 45 km (Rode to the Bike and Hike event, rode the 25 km route, rode home), cold, with no real training up so far this season.

I raised $705, thanks to all who contributed. Each of your dollars is worth two for hospital, as my employer doubles all the team funds. I don't have final numbers yet, but as of this morning, with counting still going on, the hospital had over $185,000, so likely once all funds are in we will have again beat $200,000 raised for Cardiac Care in Waterloo region.

I am now off to soak my screaming quadriceps in the whirlpool tub.