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 That blog entry is over a year out of date, but the sock has gone on since then.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.