Well, here’s an update on my Celtic Dreams. I just finished the third repeat of the center panel, which means I have one more to go before I get to the lower, “skirt” section.

I did work on my other projects–my Peacock Stole, my socks, but the CD is the one that got the most knitting attention this weekend. Not only are they such pretty cables, but darn, they’re so addictive! Not to mention the fact that, well, it’s just about May and getting warmer every week as we get closer to summer, and I kind of want to get this done before summer sets in. Air conditioning or not, I don’t want to be working on the end of this winter-weight sweater in July, you know? So, it’s moved up just a little ahead of the light, airy lace concoction, just for sheer logistics.

Today was a much quieter day than yesterday, but equally nice. The weather was the same–perfect–and we had a good walk this morning, but a pretty lazy afternoon. Mom’s allergies are acting up, though, so her nose was pretty miserable (sigh). It’s really just not fair that our two favorite seasons–the “transitional” ones–are the ones that make us feel so lousy! It’s just ironic–the extreme seasons of winter and summer, we don’t want to spend massive amounts of time outside because it’s too cold or too hot. But the seasons with the perfect temperatures where we’d love to be out there a lot? Can’t because we’re so busy sneezing and coughing. Way too ironic.

Oh, and Chappy thanks you for the compliments, and is convinced that it was his snazzy hair-do that solicited all those nice comments. No wonder he works so hard on them!

And, today’s post title? We saw a commercial before for Softsoap. “We looked for the softest thing we could find, and this is what we came up with.” Cashmere Extract. Um, excuse me? What on earth?? What kind of extract can you get from cashmere? Lint? (To be fair, that’s Mom’s line.) Don’t you love it when advertising companies make up their own things? Like Carnation Good Start’s “Comfort Proteins”–it’s just something that sounds good. I’m not saying the products aren’t good (and I certainly have no need for baby formula and so won’t be trying it any time soon), but I get frustrated when I see the ads, you know? It’s not they’re lying, exactly–they can certainly claim to be the only product with such a thing, because, well, I honestly think they made it up. And now this? What is cashmere extract? Goat oil? Some form of goat-lanolin? Really, I think Mom came up with the best answer.

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Edited to Add: Okay, forwarded by Risa, forwarded from the NJ Fiber Fanatics Group, forwarded by a member . . . the following answer from Colgate:

“Goats have two layers of hair. The inner layer of their hair is soft and is referred to as cashmere. Cashmere extract consists of proteins
taken from this inner layer of goat hair. The chemical name for this ingredient is hydrolyzed keratin. It is on oil that is extracted from the inner layer of goat hair. The goat hair is collected after shearing. No goats are harmed during this process.”

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Cashmere Extract // 9 Comments »

Warning: Lots of pictures–just in case you’re on dial-up.  Our town’s dog park opened today. See the shiny, new sign?  Of course, for a moment there, it looked rather like an invasion. Although, who would bring the Boy Scouts on an invasion? But since the dog park is located at our “Veteran’s Field,” they felt it was appropriate to invite them along for a nice little ceremony, complete with speeches and all.

There was even a ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Chappy got to meet the Mayor today.) Note how the ribbon was stretched between two dogs, and how I got the “action” shot for the second picture, as the ribbon fluttered to the ground. (Hey, I was proud of myself.)

  There were a whole lot of dogs there (including this celebrity, McGruff, the Crime Dog).

  There were even vendor tables, giving out freebies–personalized food dishes (with feet), bandanas, biscuits . . . not to mention free coffee and lunch for the people. The town really did this event proud.

  But most of all, there was playing. And, see in the background? An Agility section.

  Chappy liked the table setup the best.

  After we left the dogpark, we three went to Starbucks in town for a snack. (I had a latte, Mom had iced coffee, Chappy had water . . . until, um, I accidentally tipped the cup over.) I pulled out my sock to work on (but was having a really bad hair day today), while Chappy sat in the little bit of shade between our table and the building.

  Naturally, after all that playing, and being slobbered on, and running through the dirt, and all that, Chappy needed a bath. (He needed one anyway.) So, as soon as we got home, that’s what we did.

 Chappy took advantage of the time in the sun on the deck to style his topknot. (See? It’s hanging in his face, just like mine has been all day.)

And, since then? Let’s just say that he’s had a very, very good day . . . and is currently doing his best imitation of a rug . . .

* The post title? Because, of course, dogs are always asking to go to the park!

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General • Permalink:Park! Parkparkparkpark! * // 9 Comments »

So–heels. My socks finally have functional, fitting heels. Isn’t that exciting?

Of course, as usual, apologies for the color. This teal is just impossible to photograph (especially by flash at 9:00 at night), but oh, this looks so pretty in person. Sundara does beautiful colors!

Meanwhile, the actual socks? Garter stitch short row heel. A texture stitch on the top of the foot, and now working up the leg. And, naturally, I’ve got both socks on the needle, so both are at exactly the same point . . . you just can’t see the other one. It’s dangling in the shadow, so you can’t see it, but it’s there. Trust me.

I was asked why I didn’t have a Chappy picture yesterday, amongst the sky photos? I’d hate to disappoint his public, so here you go. I did take a couple pictures of him yesterday (of course), like this one. One of the only ones where he wasn’t looking (staring, yearning, obsessing) at the gate to the yard.

He’ll get to run and play tomorrow, though, I hope. Our town is opening a dog park and tomorrow is the grand opening. We’re going to go in the morning, but Mom is nervous–she’s always nervous when dogs are playing with other dogs–so I’m not sure how long we’ll stay. Long enough for him to have fun, though! Hopefully, I’ll have some pictures to show you tomorrow.

And, basically, that’s all I’ve got for you tonight. Have a great weekend!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Sock Picture, Chappy Picture // 4 Comments »

Today was simply beautiful. About 70 degrees, sunny, with some fluffy clouds rolling in this afternoon. Really, just gorgeous.

Dad spent most of the day out on the golf course.

Mom spent the day down the shore* with a friend, seeing her new beach house.

I, of course, was at work. Sure, I got Chappy out for a walk at lunchtime, but still–I spent most of my day sitting at my desk while Mom and Dad gallivanted. And poor Chappy was home all alone for most of the day.

I did tell him that a lot of dogs have to put up with being alone for most of every day. Not just once in a while. I told him he was lucky that he’s got grandparents who are in and out of the house while I’m at work. Somehow, he still felt aggrieved.

But, once I was home from work, we braved the massive amounts of pollen and sat on the deck for a while. It was really lovely, and I decided that, since I don’t have any real, photographically visible progress on my knits, that I would show you some Spring pictures, taken from the backyard.

Bad though it is right now for tree-allergies, it is a beautiful time. Just about all the flowering trees in the neighborhood are in bloom, or just barely past bloom. Even the dogwoods are in bloom, about two weeks earlier than usual.

The other trees are at the stage where they have little, round clumps of baby leaves at the ends of their branches, like they’re covered in fluffy green pompoms. The vista over the hills is starting to gain some color, some texture–it’s not all high, bare branches anymore. It really is such a nice time of year. The two “transitional” seasons–Autumn and Spring–are by far my favorites, even if they are also the most fleeting.

Speaking of allergies, Chappy’s been scratching more than usual since all the Spring stuff started blowing through the air. Most dog allergies show up through the skin, so I’m wondering if there may be something going on there. Either way, he’s getting a nice, thorough oatmeal-shampoo tomorrow. If it is allergies, it will wash the allergens out of his fur, and even if it’s not, it will help soothe the skin.

My own allergies are starting to act up, too. There’s a little bit of a cough, a tiny touch of asthma the other day, some small amount of sniffling. It must nearly be the month of May! I do, though, still have the asthma inhaler from my illness in February. It’s not something I want to use, but it’s kind of nice to know that it’s here in the house if I really need it. But, why dwell on it?

I HAVE been knitting. I’m about halfway through the third pattern repeat of my Celtic Dreams, and have added another inch or so to my Peacock Stole. I did just do the heels on my socks, too, and will show pictures in another day or two. My left hand is sore tonight, though. Trying to control the tighter gauge of the Celtic Dreams is obviously more of a strain than I’m willing to admit. In fact, while working on the socks tonight, I noticed that my gauge got tighter on those at just about the time I started the cables. Coincidence? I think not!

Hey–this last picture. Don’t you think the clouds look rather like Great Britain? Scotland kind of detached, but there, and even a hint of Cornwall off the southwest . . .

* The phrase “down the shore” is a uniquely New Jersey usage. Most normal people say things like “down at the beach.” In fact, I usually do, too, but I figured you’d like some local color….

• Tags: General, Sky • Permalink:Skying // 6 Comments »

  I’ve been seeing this one around the blog-world . . . originally at Cara‘s most recently at Carole‘s and Marnie‘s . . . and finally couldn’t help myself.

The idea is to write out a Pangram (a sentence using all 26 letters of the alphabet), photograph it, and post it. I did not one, but three–because how could I resist the classic? But still . . . wish my handwriting were better. In fact, I’ve always said that if a genie granted me three wishes, I’d use the first two for something practical, but for the third, would ask for quick, efficient, legible, distinctive handwriting.

And, you’ll note what my, um, note is sitting on? Wendy Knits. I got an email today telling me it had been shipped and should arrive on the 27th . . . and then at lunch yesterday, the UPS truck pulled up, and voila! I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, although I flipped through it. It looks very tempting (I’ll be picking it up pretty much as soon as I’m done with the computer) and my only “complaint” on sight is that the pictures are all black and white. I can deal, though. It’s kind of nifty to recognize some of the faces!

Then, there’s the great idea over at Clothesknit. Stash Pride. It’s not (necessarily) about adding to your stash. It’s about being proud of having one–however small, however large.

Yarn is all about love, right? I admit . . . and you may have noticed . . . that my yarn purchases have recently outstripped my knitting speed, but I’m okay with that. It all fits in my allotted yarn-closet space, it’s all beautiful, and I really do have plans to use all of it. You know, eventually. I sort through it occasionally to get rid of odds and ends of extras that I think I’ll use but that I know in my soul, I really won’t–or yarn I’ve lost interest in. (It does happen, to me at least!) So mostly, the stuff in there is all “good” yarn. Stuff whose colors I still like, whose feel still tempts my fingers . . . I just really need to knit faster. Or more. Or something!

Now, did you know about the Knitter-Blogger Cookbook that Elizabeth put together? Well, now it’s available for download for those of us who didn’t have a recipe in there. Woohoo!

And, does this mean that excessive attention to knitting is considered to be abnormal by some people? What a fascinating entry/article . . . I really find this blog about the way we humans think absolutely fascinating.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Pangrammatical // 9 Comments »

I is for Innocence.

More innocent times, more innocent past-times, more innocent people.

While cleaning that box in my closet yesterday, I came across this sampler, stitched by my grandmother in 1918 when she would have been 12 or 13. Back before she left her home in Germany to come to a new country, all by herself. Back before she met her future husband, an immigrant on a later ship that she only went to greet because her closest friend’s brother was on board. Back before the Depression. Back before she became a mother. Before her husband developed Alzheimer’s (not they knew what that was then) and almost worked herself into her own grave trying to care for him. Back before she became a grandmother, five times, and a great-grandmother (to two girls when she died, but to five more since then). Before all of that, when she was just a young girl, learning the household skills she would need.

It’s not one of those fancy, embroidery samplers, but instead a practical one. Buttonholes around along one edge, buttons and hooks on the other. Tiny, reinforced loops of thread for the hooks. Different types of patches in the center. And a nice, neat hem all the way around the outside. All the thing a woman would need to know to take care of her family’s mending. Isn’t that remarkable? I don’t know that I’ve ever actually seen one before. Yes, of course, I’ve seen this before since it was in my closet and nobody else could have put it there. I don’t remember ever seeing or reading about a practical sewing sampler like this. I have books about old, traditional embroidery
samplers, some of which included a hem and maybe a buttonhole, but which were mostly, well, embroidery. Here, except for her initials, the whole thing is made up of functional sewing skills. Many of which I certainly can’t duplicate.

And then, there’s Fluffy. He’s also from Germany, but he belongs to my Mom. She got him 56 years ago (I won’t tell you how old she was). He’s the one toy that she still has from her childhood. Or, I think there’s a doll stashed away somewhere, but Fluffy has pride of place in Mom and Dad’s bedroom. I absolutely adored him when I was little, too–he looked just like a real dog, and was covered with real (rabbit) fur, so he felt like a real dog. She’d let him sit on the bed when I was sick, and even let me bring him to Show & Tell once. (I’ve never been so afraid of losing something in my life!) He’s an intrinsic part of both Mom’s and my childhood. And he’s unique–they simply don’t make toys like this anymore.

 Unfortunately, he’s lived a little too near the heat vents for the last couple decades, because his skin is dry and cracking, but for a toy dog in his sixth decade, I think he’s doing just fine, don’t you? Of course. Chappy doesn’t know what to make of this little dog that looks like a dog, smells like a musty, old rabbit, and doesn’t move . . .

Of course, this “I” could have stood as much for Inheritance as Innocence, huh? Lessons we owe to those who came before us….

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  Oh, and before I came up with this “I,” I was trying out other things. Like this tall, iron (steel) girder. Or the candlestick that looked like a capital “I.” Nothing was hitting, though. Thanks, Grandma!

• Tags: ABC-Along, Family • Permalink:Innocence // 13 Comments »

Hold on, while I climb onto another bandwagon.

The Green Gable sweater bandwagon. And here are my three skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece to prove it, in “Candy Apple.”

I admit the color isn’t exactly what I though it would be–a little more of an rusty-red than a rosy-red. Actually, it’s remarkably similar to the red in my Union Square Market Pullover. It’s a color I like, of course, but I didn’t really need two sweaters in almost the exact same color . . . I knew I should have gone for the Jungle Green instead!

I’m a little leery about the yarn, too, since it’s 80% cotton, but am willing to give it a try. It’s unusual for me to use the suggested yarn in most sweaters, anyway, and to try cotton? Well! I’ve heard nice things about it, though, and it’s a small sweater and it is summer wear, so . . . worth the shot. But not until my Celtic Dreams are done!

Oh, before I forget . . . for Sandy. Some clearing clouds around lunchtime today.

Now, I needed some more space in my closet (for some reason, I have a lot of bags all of a sudden!), and so after work today, I pulled out a big box I had stashed up at the top of my closet and hadn’t looked at in years. After I was done sneezing . . . (no, really) . . . I found just a couple, old things in this huge, space-stealing box. The catalog from my senior
year at college. (A full year’s tuition incidentally, in 1988-89 was $14K; it’s twice that now, $28K.) My old 45 rpm collection. My old, red piggy bank–still with a few coins in it–am I good at saving my money, or what? (Okay, the answer is “what,” since obviously the trick is to completely hide it from myself. But that’s not the point!)

Anyway, then I found something remarkable. The “In Memorium” book from my grandfather’s funeral in 1967, with the signatures of the attendees,some family information–like a list of his brothers and sisters, some of whom I hadn’t heard of before, a list and the actual cards of those who sent flowers, and laminated obituaries. I never knew he worked at Western Electric for 32 years, and he was 63 when he died. Or that his parents names before–Heinrich and Alma. Kind of nice to
know. The mystery is, how did I end up with this? I was his youngest grandchild–only 10 months old when he
died–and my father was the younger son. I’m sure I got this when we emptied out my grandmother’s house when she died in 1985, but you’d think my uncle would have taken it? Or that my Dad or Mom would have tucked it somewhere. But no, at 18, I adopted it and put it in this box at the top of my closet and then apparently put it completely out of my mind. It’s kind of nice to know that something of “his” has been that close all these years . . .

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky • Permalink:Wagon-Banding // 7 Comments »

Now, just because I haven’t talked much about it these last few days, I have been knitting. In fact, I got quite a bit done this weekend.

My Celtic Dreams, for example, is getting bigger. (I know you can’t really see the cables in this picture–this is what I get for doing my blogging after the sun goes down–flash photography is really the only option. You can get a better look at the cables here, but in fact, this is a pretty accurate representation of the actual yarn color, so I figure it balances out.)

As proof of its now-three-dimensional existance, here’s a look at the armhole (on the left of the photo). Both the back and the front are done from the shoulders down through the armholes. The neckband is done. And the two halves have been joined together as we move down toward the waist. Looking at it, though? I’m kind of worried this isn’t going to fit . . . Hopefully it’s just me being paranoid. (I wonder how much Black Water Abbey yarns block out if I need to stretch it a little bigger?)

Of course, it’s going to feel like progress is going to dramatically slow down, now, since it takes twice as much work to get through one row (grin). And, I really hated knitting in the neckband. Garter stitch on circular needles, first off all, just seems silly, but more importantly, as much trouble as I’ve been having dealing with the size 2 needles with this weight yarn (you know, you’ve heard it all before), doing it on 16″ needles, where the length of the actual needle to hold is shorter, and with a tighter circumference was agonizingly difficult. I really plan that, when I get to the sleeves, I’ll be using either DPNs or the Magic Loop method. That 16″ needle was hard enough with this tension for garter stitch . . . if I have to do cables that way, I think I’d shoot myself. As it is, row #5 of the neckband couldn’t come fast enough!

My Peacock Stole is coming along, too. I’m on chart number 4, row 126. I think I’m going to skip chart 5, though–just laying flat and relaxed (read “crumpled, unblocked lace”), it’s about 13″ long at this point, and since the chart goes up to row 250 . . . I don’t really need those extra fifteen rws, you know? I really want to be able to wear this stole, without tripping over it, like its triangular counterpart. (In fact, if I’d decided this two rows ago, I could have skipped ahead from row number 123, but frogging lace is NOT something I enjoy, and since I don’t have to, well . . . what’s 10 more rows? (grin)

Lastly, in terms of knitting, my socks are just about ready for the heels . . . again. I’ve been concentrating more on the delectable cables than on plain sock knitting. Well that, and cleaning. I dusted and vacuumed my bedroom, which I haven’t really done–at least not thoroughly–in weeks. Did laundry. No big, Spring Cleaning this year, though. Usually I do make a point of cleaning my windows and washing the curtains, opening the windows wide for fresh air, but the ideal time was last month, before the pollen producers started pollinating, but I was sick for the two best weekends for that sort of thing, and now there’s so much “spring” in the air, the idea of standing in front of my windows for the length of time to get them really clean somehow just isn’t that appealing. In did, however, get my checkbook balanced–another thing that slipped last month and which was bugging me. Otherwise, the rest of today was spent on the couch with Chappy, either reading or knitting. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon. No walk, though, because of the wet, rainy weather. (Okay, it cleared up around 3:00 and an after-dinner walk could have been possible, but, well, it didn’t happen.)

We’re also all thinking of my uncle, who’s been gone one year today. How did that go so quickly? Still miss him . . .

In case you missed it, go congratulate Deb on the success of her restaurant! Restaurant of the Year, and it’s only, what 7 months old?? Wow! Wish it were, say, 3000 miles closer.

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Dreaming Big . . . Or, Bigger, anyway // 7 Comments »

Today was a rainy, cold, wet Saturday. (It was so smart of Risa to move up Moving Day. It would have been awful moving today.) The temperature hovered around 42 all day (that’s about 5.5 Celsius), and with the rain? Blech. It seems particularly unfair because we’ve had such beautiful weather all week . . . Anyway, Mom and I did what any self-respecting women would do on a rainy Saturday. We went shopping.

Mom bought a pair of shoes, finally. (Remember last week, when we went shoe shopping together and I got three pairs and she didn’t find anything? Well, she got a pair of Merrell Primo Breeze slides–a wonderful shoe. I have a pair that I’ve been wearing for about 5 years now and they’re not only comfortable and sturdy and all that, they’re almost as cool as sandals in the summer (almost!). Mom’s been thinking about them for ages but didn’t get around to trying on a pair until today. “These are so comfortable!” she said. Um, yeah, Mom, that’s what I’ve been telling you! Love those shoes and wouldn’t mind another pair for myself… I restrainedmyself, though, and sat knitting at my socks while she was making up her mind.)

  I did, however, buy a bag. (Okay, technically two.) But this red one? I couldn’t resist. First, it was on sale. (Becoming a four-letter word to my checking account, I might add.) Tignanello leather. A gorgeous shade of red–not too bright, not too winy, orange or brown–just the right color. Beautiful. I had to pick it up and take a look.

But the real selling point?

I opened it.

It closes with a hidden magnetic snap–easy in and out. The handles are just the right length to go on my shoulder or to carry it as a tote bag. But the best part? Three main compartments, all roomy, but with the middle being the biggest. Pockets on the side for things like cell phones. AND the dividers between sections are, in fact, zippered pockets themselves. This bag would be great if I had to carry files and things back and forth to work.

But, you know what the first thing I thought of was, right? “What a great knitting bag! In fact, here it is, modelling with two skeins of Sockotta, the yarn so nice they sent it twice. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the two skeins of yarn are waaaay down at the bottom . . . there’s room for at least three or four more skeins. (More, for sure, if you don’t care about getting the top closed.) How could I resist?

While we were at Short Hills Mall, which has a Restoration Hardware, I bought some of the handcream the ladies over at JenLa were raving about, and gotta say, it’s really quite nice! It was good to sniff them in person, too, because the scent I ended up buying (Sweet Orange) wasn’t either of the two choices I thought I was going to get. Thanks for the recommendation, Jen!

What did I mean above when I said Sockotta was so nice they sent it twice? Well, I needed a 16″ needle for the neck of my Celtic Dreams, which is coming up pretty fast, and I knew I wouldn’t get to a yarn shop to get one before I needed it, so I ordered one from Halcyon Yarn. (Even though I’m knitting the sweater on ebonys, I got an Inox Express for the 16″–half the price of an Addi Turbo, but much more likely to be used in the future than an even-more-expensive Ebony 16″ . . . but I’m digressing.) Anyway, it was silly to just order the needle, so really, I had no choice but to order some yarn, right? (I mean, I had to!) So I ordered some Sockotta–thinking I could make anklets to go with my cool new orange-and-pink sneakers from last week–and some Jaggerspun Maine Line wool, with Mim’s Eleanora Socks in mind.

Well, the package came today . . . twice. Two identical packages. Almost identical. One was a yellow envelope, one was a white one. And . . . a nice bit of irony, I think, the 29″ needle I also ordered was only in one of them. I’d gotten an e-mail the other day saying that needle had been backordered . . . I guess I got the last one, so they couldn’t send it to me in the duplicate order (grin). The only thing I can think of is that they printed the packing slip twice–they’re identical right down to the order number, so it’s not that I hit “send” too many times when placing the order. I sent them an email asking what they’d like me to do. But still, I suppose it’s nicer to get twice the amount of stuff you ordered than not enough, huh?

Another way to cheer the dreary day? I joined the Knitter’s Tea Swap. hosted by Suzie of the PurlyGates. The idea is to swap a box/can/container of your favorite tea, something to snack on to go with it, and one or two skeins of yarn with another tea-drinking knitter. Doesn’t that sound fab? You’ve got a week to sign up, until May 1st.

Oh! And, congratulations to my niece. She’s tap-dancing away in her school play this weekend, The Music Man. My parents went to see it last night and came home extremely impressed–they said some of the musical numbers were better than they’ve seen on Broadway. That sounds kind of generous to me, but since the two leads are seniors going on to theater-colleges, they must really have talent, and it certainly doesn’t mean the show wasn’t great. My niece has been working really hard at this for months, I’m glad it’s paying off!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Not So Dreary Saturday // 9 Comments »

While I am knitting, I don’t have much in the nature of knitting to actually SHOW you. So, we’re going to do some miscellaneous stuff instead.

Like, Booking Through Thursday. Here are the rules for this week’s: “This was suggested by Mary. Connect any six books in your library to each other by any way you want. One book will remind you of another because the author’s name is similar, a fictional character shows up in someone else’s book, another author is talked about by characters in a book, maybe the same friend recommended both books, or whatever. Books from a series count as one entry in your list.”

Ooh, this one sounds FUN!

Let’s see.

1. Starting with one of the books I’m reading, “The Other End of the Leash” by Patricia McConnell, (highly recommended).
2. “The Dog Whisperer” by Cesar Milan is another excellent dog book.
3. Cesar is Mexican, and there are some impressive Mexican natives who make an appearance in Dorothy Dunnett’s “Queen’s Play”, part of her Lymond Chronicles, telling the story of Francis Crawford.
4. The name “Crawford” is one of the ones found on a gravestone in one of the other books I’m reading, “Anne of the Island” by LM Montgomery.
5. This series is mentioned by Jacqueline Kirby in Elizabeth Peter’s “Die for Love.” (A mystery that takes place at a Romance writer’s convention, and she sees someone reading Anne and wonders if it’s a new, R-rated version that has Anne and Gilbert making love in an apple orchard.)
6. Jacqueline is a librarian, and much of the action in A.S Byatt’s “Possession” takes place in various assorted libraries as the protagonists chase down an unknown connection between two Victorian-era writers.
7. There are a lot of superficial similarities between “Possession” and Martin Davie’s “Conjurer’s Bird” about a search for a long-lost specimen of the world’s rarest bird.
8. Davies has also written “Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose,” a mystery with Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper.
9. Another spin-off from Sherlock Holmes is Laurie King’s “The Beekeeper’s Apprentice” about Mary Russell, a brilliant student at Oxford, who becomes his student.
10. “Gaudy Night” by Dorothy Sayers also takes place at Oxford, at roughly the same time period, just after WWI.
11. Speaking of world wars, “Truman” by David MacCullough is the biography of Harry Truman, who was President as WWII ended–a great book.
12. “Once Upon a Town” by Bob Greene, about the North Platte canteen, which served food, drinks, and provided quick recreation for hundreds of US soldiers during WWII as they were transported back and forth across the country.
    Really wonderful book.
13. Speaking of kindness of strangers brings us to “The Day the World Came to Town” by Jim Defede, which tells about the amazing hospitality by this tiny community of Gander, Newfoundland when dozens upon dozens of airliners were
    delayed indefinitely when the US airspace was closed on 9/11.
14. “102 Minutes” by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn tells the story of the fall of the World Trade Center on September 11th.
15. And while we’re talking about Manhattan, we come to one of the other books I’m reading, “The Island at the Center of the World” by Russell Shorto is a history book about the Dutch colony at Manhattan,
16. While we’re on the subject of the beginnings of the American colonies, let’s not forget Benjamin Franklin, known as “The First American” in H.W. Brand’s excellent biography.
17. Did you know that Franklin sent his sister a spinning wheel for a wedding present? Pity she didn’t have a copy of Alden Amos’ “Big Book of Handspinning,” another book I’m currently reading, huh? It sure could have come in handy!

How about that? I got all four of my current books in there! This WAS fun. And it reminded me of another book: “The Pinball Effect: How Renaissance Water Gardens Made Carburetor Possible – and Other Journeys” by James Burke, a bouncing ball of history and invention, and how one thing set off another, which triggered another, and so on, and so on…

---

So, a couple links for you:

• What happens when they test the foam fire-fighting system in an air force hanger? (I laughed out loud at this one.)
• This fellow spent several months having only “polyphasic” sleep . . . that is, every four hours, he’d take a 20 minute nap. That was it. Round the clock. He’s just shifted back to “monophasic,” but, wow . . . I didn’t even realize that was possible! His entries from the experiment are really interesting.
• Did you know it’s possible to roast your own coffee in a popcorn popper?
• How about these helpful tips for people under 30? (Although, some, like how to set up an iPod seem better geared toward those OVER 30, don’t they?)
• And, look, now you, too, can use the wonderful ACME products tested by the incomparable Wile E. Coyote . . . although you might want to see how the lawsuit comes out….

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:(Insert Clever, Witty, Amusing Title Here) // 2 Comments »

So, Kat is having a contest, and wants to know five places other than my home or knitting stores that I’ve knit.

1. Coffee shops. A lot of coffee shops, actually. There’s something very cozy about the atmosphere, the coffee, the knitting . . . although, by “coffee shops,” I mean the bakery/coffee kinds of places like Starbucks, not the hip, funky kinds of coffee-houses. They tend to be smoky . . . (although as of this past weekend, that won’t be a problem here in NJ anymore!)

2. In the car. As a passenger, of course, although I’ll sometimes pull out a sock while waiting at at the gas station or in a bank line.

3. Martha’s Vineyard. On the ferry going over to the island. At the beach. (Well, admittedly, in the car parked AT the beach.) In the hotel. While, yes, at a coffee shop . . . although, I must say, it’s harder to knit when you’ve got a leash looped on your wrist!

4. At a wedding. By the end of the reception, yes, I was getting a little bored, so I pulled out a lacy little scarfy thing that coordinated beautifully with my outfit. Really, where’s the problem?

5. Um, do the houses of friends and family count? And then, there’s the Dentist’s Office….

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Not-So-Extreme Knitting // 5 Comments »

Apparently not true today, though. Turns out I won a prize over at Jennifer‘s March Madness contest. I guess Curious George liked my donation, huh?

I won one of these three sheep, and she asked me to choose . . . but how am I supposed to pick just one? (I mean really!) So I asked her to surprise me . . . they’re all cute, aren’t they? How nice . . . and all for a good cause, too.

And, while I’m giving thanks, Dani was nice enough to take the picture of my nephew and Chappy from Sunday’s post and remove the redeye for me, because she said, “the shot was too cute not to fix it.” Wasn’t that nice of her??

I’d make some comment about the “kindness of strangers,.” but really, my blog-friends are feeling less and less like strangers all the time. Of course, that means I’m starting to feel just a little jealous of those going to MDSW in, what, three weeks? Because, apparently, face-to-face meetings still matter a lot to the way our brains are wired. (And, what an interesting blog that looks to be, even if it’s not, you know, about knitting. All sorts of interesting entries about the way we think and act. Very cool.)

In tonight’s knitting, well, I worked on my Celtic Dreams (the end of the first skein is coming up fast). I worked on my Peacock stole, which is coming along slowly, but is still moving.

But, I’m afraid, the teal socks are still in the doghouse (where, I have to admit, they color-coordinate just beautifully). I just haven’t forgiven them yet for their collusion in the heel fiasco. I fully accept what responsibility was mine, but am disappointed in their lack of communication–they knew they weren’t ready for the heels, but they didn’t say anything, so . . . they’re just going to have to wait for another day or so.

Oh, and my car-stereo adapter for my new MP3 player came today. Of course, there was only ONE radio station available, but it does work. (Why, I wonder, do these things come with a limited number of preset radio stations? Why don’t they have dials like the radios themselves?) I also bought these cute little speakers for it. Tiny, light, doesn’t need batteries, and–best part? They were EASY to take out of the clam-shell packaging. It just opened to a good pull. No scissors. No sharp edges. No frustration. It’s a miracle! The reason for the speakers? Primarily because I plan on bringing the Harry Potter 6 audio book along for Mom’s an my vacation next month, and this way, we can play it in the room when we’re too tired (or more interested in knitting or sewing) to read ourselves.

And, oh yeah, I ordered new headphones, too. I did mention how I hate the earbuds, right? And while I was trying them the other night and struggling to get them in place, it occurred to me–when I was at the doctor last month trying to get my ear canal flushed for half an hour, they told me the opening in my ear is tiny. Maybe that’s part of the problem? But anyway, for the rare, rare times I’ll want to listen via headphones, well, these will have to do. Gosh, joining the 21st century does get pricey . . . but just imagine how much more it would have cost if I’d gotten an iPod!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:But, I Never Win Anything! // 6 Comments »

From this morning‘s Stone Soup cartoon:

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Stone Soup // 6 Comments »

Annie asked in yesterday’s comments for a progress shot for my Celtic Dreams. (Understandable, really. After I’ve finished a project I’m always that much more interested in other people’s versions, and lord knows Annie’s C.D. was beautiful!)

So, here you go, though it doesn’t really look much like a sweater at the moment. (And it’s not a perfect photo, of course–side-lit to show the cables, but a flash was necessary too, but I turned the flash intensity down, so . . . it’s really a shame I never think to do these pictures during daylight hours . . . it is better if you click on it, though.)

For those of you unfamiliar with the pattern–the bottom part (curved because of the circular needle the stitches are waiting on) is the upper back–knitted downward from the shoulders for 8.5″ and then put on hold. The panel at the very top is the front, which will be worked to the same length, at which point the front and back–with additional stitches for the sides–will be put on one circular needle and then the body will be worked downward. The hole in the middle, of course, will be the the neck. And the stitches on holders on the sides? That will be the top of the shoulders, once I get that far.

So far, all of this has been done using the same skein of yarn (Black Water Abbey yarn in “Autumn). I was worried about not having enough yarn . . . I basically always worry about having enough yarn . . . but I don’t think that will be a problem. It’s lovely stuff. A little “scratchier” than I usually use, but I’m told their yarn will soften when washed (and the swatch did, a bit), and it’s clearly going to wear well, which makes this a long-lasting sweater, which is clearly a good thing. I just hope it fits when it’s done!

I haven’t worked on my socks since I ripped them back yesterday. Hey, they’ve been naughty, they have to sit in the corner for a day or so . . . I mean, I know that I was at least partially at fault, but really, my Peacock stole hasn’t been worked on since Saturday either, and it’s done nothing wrong.

It’s those cables, I’m telling you. They’re addictive.

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Dreaming // 8 Comments »

This was Chappy this morning, waiting for my sister and her family to arrive.

We had a really lovely day. The weather was perfect, everyone was in a good mood. The food was good, and it was just . . . nice.

Patty-and-family got here around 12:30 . . . just in time, really, since Chappy’s patience was running out. He knew they were coming. (Or at least, he knew that somebody was coming–Mom, Dad and I were way too dressed up for a normal Sunday morning–not to mention the fact that Dad wasn’t golfing.)

He was much happier once everbody was here!

(He wasn’t the only one. Pity about the red-eye, huh?)

In between cooking (london broil, new potatoes, asparagus, and corn for dinner; sponge cake with berry sauce and fresh whipped cream for dessert) and socializing and all of that, I did still get some knitting done.

Well, Eva tried, but she made her comment just a little too late. I’d already finished the garter stitch heels in my socks, tried them on, and discovered that, unlike the stockinette-stitch heels, they were too small. (Yes, the pattern for the heels mentioned that possibility, it’s my fault.) So tonight, I riiiiiiipped the heels out and will start them over again in a night or so.

My Celtic Dreams sweater? I finished the upper back last night and started the upper front this morning. Right now, it looks like one, odd rectangle with a hole in the middle . . . but the cables look fabulous! And I’m actually getting gauge . . . so that’s something, huh?

Speaking of gauge, Janet mentioned in a comment in Margene‘s blog the other day that, “Since I was a crocheter before a knitter I hold the yarn in my left hand, tensioning with the index finger very far away. I think that used to be my problem with knitting loosely.”

Now, this made me think. Because I technically did learn to crochet from my grandmother before I learned to knit, and when I taught myself to knit Continental style in college, I just automatically carried the yarn in my left hand in the same way. And I think we’ve established that I’m a loose-gauge knitter, huh? (Aran weight yarn on size 2 needles for my Celtic Dreams; the Union Square Market Pullover not only on smaller needles, but with 2/3 the number of stitches, and so on.) I wonder if this makes a difference? Or not . . . my gauge wasn’t nearly this loose, say, two years ago. I really have no idea what’s happened. I feel like I knit the same way, with the same tension in my fingers, but these gauge issues are getting kind of ridiculous. I wonder if it’s possible to re-teach myself yarn tensioning, or something?

But, my cables are looking fabulous, and isn’t that what really matters?

(And, of course, can’t forget the proud grandparents!)

• Tags: Family, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Easter (with Knitting) // 10 Comments »

Here’s a look at my Peacock Feathers Stole. I just finished row 117/chart 3 this afternoon.

As usual, the photo comes with the caveat that it doesn’t look its best, it’s scrunched because it’s unblocked lace, blah blah blah. You’ve heard it before. The color is pretty accurate, though, maybe a hair on the light side because of the flash, but not enough to really matter. It’s just a really nice shade of blue.

Actually, looking at the photo, I’m wondering if that next to last row is a stitch or so too far to the left? It’s probably fine, and it’s just the picture. I pinned the knitting out a little to give you as good a shot as I could, and it probably looks off center because of the pulling I did to get the pattern to show. And if not, who but me would ever notice? (grin)

If you’ve forgotten what I’m doing with this, the plan is to knit two rectangular panels, using the Fiddlesticks Knitting Peacock Feathers shawl for the lace. This is my first half. The lower edge in the picture is the cast-on edge. When I knit the second half (eventually, someday, when I get that far!), this is where I’ll be joining the two halves. Most likely, I will knit both pieces independently and then graft them together . . . trying to pick up all those stitches in lace and then knitting in the other direction sounds kind of scary to me.

And then, the impossible-to-photo-but-oh-so-beautiful socks in my Sundara Yarns “Black Lagoon.” I’m loving this yarn, and the color is absolutely wonderful in person. The one good thing about this picture is it does give you an idea of the amount of variations in the color, and you can see the texture clearly, and yet . . . the whole thing should be more teal. (The rug, for example, that they’re lying on is grass-green, not the anemic yellow-green it photographed, and yet, when I try to Photoshop-tweak the colors . . . darn, teal is hard!)

I’m loving the subtle texture stitch, though–small enough, and “all-over” enough that it compliments the variegated yarn rather than taking away from it (or so I think, anyway, but then I’m biased). I’ve got about half an inch or so more to go before the heel. I’ll be using Lucy Neatby’s Garter Stitch Short-Row heel for these–a heel I haven’t tried yet, but which sounds great–wrapping, but no picking up the wraps; and they’re supposed to wear better than stockinette stitch, which is a plus. (And, while I’m at it, check out this page-ful of really helpful sock toes and heels, collected by Lauri B.) I’m loving these socks, though. They may be my favorite of all of them so far.

For those celebrating, well, anything this weekend–have a great holiday! I did some baking this afternoon for Easter dinner tomorrow, after having taken Chappy to the park this morning. (He’s been tired ever since, which is wonderful–you know the old rule, don’t you? “A Tired Puppy is a Good Puppy.” Well, Chappy may be almost five, but it still applies . . . or better, the variation, “A Tired Dog is a Happy Dog.”

Ooh–I got this from MSNBC’s “Clicked” page– a “template” for a blog page . . . which doesn’t really make sense until you start reading all the “comments.” Funny!

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:And In Other Knits…. // 9 Comments »

  It’s not just reading I’ve been doing. I have been working on my Celtic Dreams, too.

See?

I’m about a quarter of the way through the second full repeat of the cable chart, and the back is about 5″ from the saddle.

So, I’m definitely making progress. Not only that, I’m just about making gauge, which at least is something. I’m really trying not to complain too much or too often about the whole aran-weight yarn on number 2 needles thing. (No, really, I’m trying not to whine too much about that!) But even if I am, I’ve got to admit, it’s hard to argue with results.

The other nifty thing? Let me introduce you to my newest knitting toy. The Mini Kacha-Kacha row counter. You may be familiar with its big brother, which has been around for a while. I have one, but almost never use it–it slides off the arm of my chair, and is usually inconvenient. This new one, the Mini, has a hole you can thread a length of yarn or cord. It suggests hanging it around your neck but I figured it was at least worth a try to actually attach it to my work. So, I took a little bit of sock yarn, tied it to a stitch marker, and threaded it on my needle, three stitches in from the end.

It is a little heavier than a barrel counter (with which I do the same thing), but not horribly so. I would think twice before I’d attach this to, say, something fragile that I wouldn’t want to risk being pulled out of shape, but this yarn has enough heft to it that I figured it was worth trying. It doesn’t add any noticeable weight as I knit, either, which is important. And, oh yes, it’s got a little “lock” feature so I don’t have to worry about advancing the count by accident when it’s in my bag. Yep, that’s my new favorite knitting toy.

I took the day off from work today–a floating holiday–and ran errands this morning. The post office, to mail back my blue Cascade 220. The grocery store for stuff for Sunday’s family dinner. A quick stop (no, really) at the bookstore. Starbucks for some coffee and knitting.

And, oh yes, a stop at the DSW shoe store for Mom.

Don’t you hate it when this happens? You go into a store with someone else because they want to, and you’re the one the shopping gods smile upon instead of them? Because, Mom ended up not buying anything, but I got not one, but three pairs because the Clearance section was so very nice.

From left to right, that’s a pair of Cole Haan slingbacks with a rounded toe, green contrast stitching, and the strap is patent leather, for just a hint of light-catching shine. I’m not sure how often I’ll wear them, but they were beautiful and half price. Half price off the already discounted DSW price. How could I resist? The next pair of shoes are brown Nine West mules–a style I almost never even try on. I like shoes that feel secure on my feet, like they’re not going to fall off, and as a general rules, mules don’t inspire me with confidence. These though–also a great price–behaved quite nicely as I walked around in the back of the store, so . . . they had to come home, too. And the third pair? Well, I really needed a pair of sneakers–my feet are sensitive about too-high-in-the-back shoes, and so this is a sensitive issue for me–and these were really quite comfortable. Diesel brand, 70% off. And, um, so cheerful! I can’t believe I bought myself a pair of orange-and-pink shoes . . .

Oh, and my jeans really aren’t this short–I pulled them upward for the pictures so you could see the shoes. I’m really not this backward as regards fashion. I mean, I’m no trend-setter or anything, and I’m sure Stacy and Clinton could find plenty of things to say about my wardrobe, but I’m not that bad! Although, I wonder what they would say about handknit socks?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Cabley Goodness // 7 Comments »

Peace, Love, and a Sense of Fun.

Not a bad motto for life, huh?

I’m a nostalgia kick in my reading right now, and just finished The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards–who you may know better by her maiden name, Julie Andrews (as in, yes, Mary Poppins). As I recall, she lost a bet with her daughter about quitting smoking, and as penance agreed to write a book–her first, Mandy (about an orphan who finds an abandoned cottage in the woods and adopts it, without telling the matron at her orphanage), which my sister got for her birthday the year it came out.

This, her second book, is my oldest book–even older than my copy of the Bible I got when I started 3rd grade. (Although, wait, there’s a book of “1-minute bedtime stories” which is older.) But still, this is the oldest chapter book I own. I got it for my 8th birthday–a hardcover first edition, thank you very much–and I read it so many times . . . I’d read it at least 10 times by my 9th birthday and have long since lost count. It’s actually in great shape, considering. A little battered about the corners since the paper cover is long gone, and there are about five different versions of my signature on the flyleaf, since I kept “updating” it as my penmanship got better (you know, back before it reversed directions and started getting worse again), but still! It’s in great shape for the number of times I’ve read it.

Anyway, I’ve loved this book forever, and every now and again, it’s fun to revisit it. It’s a children’s fantasy (and, quite possibly, the book that got me hooked on the genre–well, that and fairy tales). An adventure between three children and a professor, with a goal of using their imaginations to get into Whangdoodleland–to where all the old, magical creatures evacuated when humans began not believing in them. Led by the incredible Whangdoodle, the king of their country, who can change colors at will, grows his own bedroom slippers, has antlers, a sweet tooth (with a daisy on it), and a deep distrust of humans. There’s the high-behind splintercat, so named because of his extraordinarily long back legs–which makes it very easy for him to climb mountains. The whifflebird, a multi-colored ball of feathers who feeds on compliments and can shout out (obscure) warnings when there’s danger.

But my favorite part, by far, were some of the “life lessons” in there–about being polite in the face of rudeness. Of the importance of using your imagination, instead of letting your brain get stuck in ruts of the “familiar.” Of being aware of details, textures and wonders in everyday life. It’s not a preachy book like, say, Louisa May Alcott often was. It’s not a “practical” book by any means (since I’ve grown to be skeptical that Whangdoodleland actually exists). But it’s fun and sweet and colorful. And I enjoyed it just as much today as I did thirty years ago.

Although, interestingly, I still picture all of the rooms, scenes, landscapes the same way I did 30 years ago. Isn’t that curious? The Whangdoodle’s palace, for example, is described as sparkling high atop a distant mountain. My elementary school at the time was at the top of a hill–there was a driveway that circled around to the left, a path with stairs on the right for the students to climb. They leveled off first at a playground, and then there was another flight of stairs up to the school. Well, when I read the book at eight, I kind of overlapped the bright, colorful descriptions in the book over the world I knew, and hence, have always kind of pictured the castle as a really fancy kind of version of the school, and the efforts the professor and the kids go through to make the climb mimicked my daily walk to school. It makes perfect sense–an eight year old only has so many life references to picture this kind of thing.

But what I find absolutely fascinating is that I picture all of it–the appearance of the people, the way the old barn they picnic in looked and smelled, the images and colors of Whangdoodleland . . . all of it . . . exactly the same way as I did then. Even with 30 years’ more experience in life, images, colors, and so on. Even carefully reading what the author writes . . . I still picture the swamp gaboons in an oddly figured playground. I mean, there are trees and all, as described in the book, but darn it, if you look hard enough, you can see the old stairs with the metal railing in the image in my head, back behind the foliage. The professor’s laboratory “looks” exactly the same to me now as it did then, even though I’m pretty sure he’d have internet access by now . . . Talk about mental ruts! But really, it’s an intriguing one, don’t you think?

Anyway, looking back, my favorite books from childhood are ones which encouraged the use of imagination, the broadening of your world, and the life lessons of controlling your temper in the face of rudeness. (Always one of my biggest problems). A Little Princess. A Wrinkle in Time. The Whangdoodle book. Anne of Green Gables, when I was a little older. I loved all of them, and all of them inspired me to be a better, brighter, more imaginative person.

Oh–How much did I really like this book, you want to know? So much, that it inspired me to write a book of my own. Except my magical, mythical creature was a Mallomar. (Yes, I got the name off a package of cookies.) We (Mom helped) typed it on her old, manual typewriter, and my Dad made Xerox copies of it at work, which I folded and stapled together to make my Very Own Book. (Hey, so it was a rip-off, I was eight. But the important part is that I was inspired.)

“There aren’t many people in this world who really know how to look. Usually one glance is enough to register that grass is green and the sky is blue and so on. They can tell you if the sun is shining or if it looks like rain, but that’s about all. It’s such a pity, for there is texture to everything we see, and everything we do and hear. That’s what I want today’s lesson to be about. I want you to start noticing things. Once you get used to doing it you’ll never be able to stop. It’s the best game in the world.”

. . . He pointed to the ground. “Ben, look closely here. See the earth between the blades? See how rough and hard it is after the frost? Think of being as small as an ant down there. Look at it as if you were indeed a beetle or a worm. Wouldn’t the earth be different to you then? Wouldn’t it be a whole new countryside? The lumps of clay would be mountains and the new blades of grass would be a forest.”

Ben stared at the ground and to his amazement he saw what the professor meant. “I never thought to look at it that way before,” he said. He was completely fascinated.

The professor slapped his knee. “Well, that’s just my point. Nobody things to look.”

Umbledumbledum.

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Pax Amor et Lepos in Iocando // 4 Comments »

  Now this looks more like magenta! (Well, okay, the photo-with-flash actually looks more like pink, but you’ll have to trust me. It really is magenta in person.)

Because, that’s the important part–I can tell you what it looks like in person. Because my shipment from Webs came today.

As I said yesterday–it’s only fair that since I complained about them, that I tell you that their customer service department came through. (Because, doesn’t it frustrate you when somebody complains loudly about something and then doesn’t bother to tell you the outcome? Did it work out? Were they helpful? Were they obnoxious? I figure the internet is a powerful medium, even if I’m only using one little corner of it, so it’s only right to use it justly. And so, yes, I’m satisfied with the service I got. It took a while! But they “did good.” (And, how nice to have the color I actually wanted.)

Here’s a little Easter chocolate humor you might not have seen. (Hey, you don’t have to celebrate Easter to appreciate chocolate bunnies, right?)

My sister-and-family are coming on Sunday (since we do celebrate Easter), which means I’ve got some baking to do on Saturday–which is fine with me. I love a chance to make desserts. I’m taking the day off tomorrow, so I can get a headstart, but also then be able to enjoy the beautiful weather we’re supposed to get on Saturday.

Incidentally, if you haven’t been over to Lizzy B‘s, you must check out the picture of her and Chappy–it’s absolutely adorable. (And, yes, yes, I know. I always think Chappy is adorable, but really. You’ve got to believe me! Although I’m pretty sure the credit for the shot goes to Shelley, not me . . . )

• Tags: General • Permalink:Magenta Magic // 5 Comments »

Well, I joined the 21st century as regards music listening today.

Yep. Here it is. My very own MP3 player. Exciting isn’t it?

No, it’s not an iPod. I considered them–they’ve got that cool factor, and the cutting-edge, name-brand thing. But, see, I’m not yet really sure how much I’m going to get out of this player. I almost solely listen to music in the car. When I’m in the house, Mom’s got the radio playing, or the television, and when I’m in my bedroom, I kind of appreciate the silence. At work, I listen to classical radio over the internet–anything with lyrics throws off my concentration. And, oh yes, I really hate listening to music through headphones. (Really, really dislike that, always have, and particularly dislike earbuds, which always seem to fall out on the rare occasions I use them. Not to mention the fact that I’m rather attached to my hearing.)

So, basically, I’d mostly be using this in the car, but of course, I don’t have one of those handy stereos that I can just plug in an MP3 player and go–I’ll need an adapter. So why, you’re asking yourself, did I bother?

Well, one, I’d really like a way to listen to some of the podcasts out there without being tied to the computer. And then, I get tired of changing CDs in the car. (No, I don’t have a cd-changer–one cd at a time.) Also, Mom and I are heading to Martha’s Vineyard in four and a half weeks and we’re bringing the 6th Harry Potter book along as our “trip” book . . . but considering the length of the book, I thought it would be nice if someone other than us could take over the out-loud reading once a while and so bought the audio cds . . . but again, wouldn’t it be handier if I could just rip them all onto one handy little device rather than juggling twenty-something CDs?

And besides, well, it’s a new toy, and who doesn’t love a new toy? First of all, it was a great price. A SanDisk Sansa e140, which has a built-in 1GB of memory, and is tiny and light. It got decent reviews on CNet (better user reviews than the “official” one) and on Amazon. But, better, was that (1) it was on sale for $77–a perfectly decent price for a 1GB player, and (2) this is the best part, it’s got a Sandisk expansion slot, and the 2GB cards were on sale for $60 . . . and even if I decide I don’t need it for the player, it will fit in my camera, so it won’t go to waste. I can always decide to “upgrade” later if I need to, but this seemed like a good place to start, don’t you think?

Now, about my Webs order. I’m happy to be able to tell you that I got a nice e-mail today apologizing for the mix-up. They got more of the magenta Cascade 220 in today, and put some of it in a box and shipped it out to me this afternoon. I’m sending back the blue, which they’ll credit when they get it. They even offered to add some of the Silky Wool back into my order, since they just got a shipment and have been disappointed by distribution issues with that yarn, but I don’t know . . . dare I risk it? (grin). It was a very helpful e-mail, and I appreciate it. And so, of course, for the sake of fair reporting, naturally, I had to pass it on!

And . . . that’s about it for tonight! I’m going to go back to reading my new book. (See, Shelley, I bought my own copy!)

Or . . . since my new player came with a coupon for three free downloads from audible.com, I could always go there . . . any suggestions for really good, well-read audible books?

• Tags: General • Permalink:Modern Music // 12 Comments »

  What color would you say this is? Blue, right?

Does it look anything like this?

No, of course not. And you’re now asking yourself, “Has Deb gone color-blind?”

The answer is no, I have not, but apparently the people at Webs have.

I’ve posted over the last week or so about my order trials and tribulations, trying to get Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool from their sale, and how I finally just gave up on that altogether, and decided to settle for the Cascade 220. The magenta Cascade 220.

Well, the box came today, and . . . I’m pretty sure that that color is blue. Now, to be fair the color number was somehow incorrect on the original order, and they sent me the color that was stated on the packing slip . . . it’s HOW that number got on the packing slip that I’m wondering about, and, still–the last email I sent them, when I gave up on the Silky Wool, I specified that I would just get the magenta Cascade . . . You’d think after all the emails going back and forth, and the fact that I told them how unhappy I was, they would have noticed that when they were in the system adjusting the order.

And even if not, still, at the moment, I’m an unhappy customer. Not angry, just disappointed and tired. Any time any order from anywhere requires more than one or two extra e-mails to clarify matters, it just makes me sad . . . especially when what I end up with is wrong any way. Sigh.

On the plus side, look! One very full bobbin of my own singles. That’s just under 8 oz of fiber. (I couldn’t quite get the whole length of roving on there, though I tried!) Purplish in the direct sun, but otherwise grayish, this is just a beautiful color, and so soft! 50/50 Merino/Silk from the SheepShed.

I mean, it only took me 5 months to fill it. (I know, you’d think the spinning would be finer, huh?) I got the roving at Rhinebeck, but “saved” it to be a birthday present for myself, and didn’t start spinning it until I got my Woolee Winder.

I’m not the speediest spinner . . . although this certainly would have gone faster if I spun every day or so instead of about half an hour a week. But see, the one problem I have is that, since I can only spin with the short-draw method (so far), my left hand–the one in front–gets tired pinching off the twist. And after half an hour or so, my fingers start to cramp. (Especially–and this is the only negative to the Woolee Winder–since I don’t have to constantly stop to adjust the feed onto the bobbin. Who knew that that tiny break might actually be helpful? Still, I’d rather have the WW than not, so . . . )

Hey, who knew that so many people had photographed their knitting bags lately? Judging by yesterday’s comments, it’s apparently been all the rage these last couple months . . . and here I just thought it was an interesting way to fill in some time between interesting “progress” shots!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:I Used to be Color-Blind, Til’ I Met You . . . // 8 Comments »

Since none of my WIPs look particularly different than they did the last time I showed them, here’s a look inside my knitting bag. That’s the Celtic Dreams at the top left (4 rows completed tonight). Top right is my Sundara socks (2 rows). Bottom right is my Peacock stole (2 rows–it would have been more, but it was misbehaving and should count itself lucky). Bottom left is my accessory bag.

Of course, it is really a cosmetic bag, but it’s very handy. Two layers.

The top layer (designed for makeup brushes) is where I keep my cable needles, sewing needles, scissors, crochet hook, and measuring tape.

The bottom layer is deeper, and lined with handy pockets all around the inside. This is where the stitch markers, row counters, calculator, pen, moisturizer and so forth goes.

Really, I kind of love this bag. I’ve only had it a couple of weeks, and I just love how very organized it is. I love being neat and organized and knowing exactly where things are, and I was tired of constantly rummaging for the measuring tape or the scissors in the last umpteen bags I’ve tried in the past. So far, I like this much better. I even like the nice corners and its structured rectangular shape. It wouldn’t work very well in a small knitting bag, or one that’s more of the soft and “smushy” variety, but it works wonderfully in this one. (What? You don’t get excited over bags and luggage and organizational tools? It’s just me, then? Humph. Imagine that!)

What’s the inside of your knitting bag look like? Consider it a meme, if you like! And let me know if you participate. Maybe, just maybe there’ll be a prize . . . you know, if you make it worth my while and keep me sufficiently entertained!

The new Knitty‘s up, did you know? There are a couple really nice patterns there–I like Convertible and Tendrils (well, lace, you know . . . what’s not to love?). There are some that are nice, but that I’ll probably never make. But then, well, there are a couple that, well . . . you know that old saw about how if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all? I think I’ll just leave it at that.

I also just made a donation on Mildred‘s behalf for the Tulsa Breast Cancer Walkathon. It seemed the least I could do. My own grandmother had breast cancer, too, and I think she would have liked that, don’t you? I’m so glad I started browsing through the RAOK webring–it’s been ages since I circled the ring, and I would have missed that.

Here’s the biggest problem with webrings. It’s not the time it takes to go through the 250 or so blogs, it’s the aggravation from broken links and “hidden” webring code so that you either can’t get onto a page and therefore through the ring, or you can’t get off a page once you get on. Is it any wonder I’ve been neglecting the webring and just sticking to my Newsgator settings? But I suppose there was a reason I decided to go webring trawling today . . . clearly, I need to do this more often.

And, did you see Ann’s latest joke?

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Knitting Bags // 7 Comments »

Well, it’s not particularly fancy, but here’s my pink square for Warming Grace. Just a simple garter stitch, with YO increases along the diagonal, for a little lacy detail. (Very little, of course, but hey.) I’ll get it into the mail to Cynthia just as soon as I get a postcard to include in the package . . . and, of course, after it’s dry! I mean, really, who could resist those beautiful eyes of hers? (Grace’s, that is, though I’m sure Cynthia’s are lovely, too.)

Anyway, this only took me a few minutes this afternoon. I spent most of my knitting time today getting my Celtic Dreams started. I worked diligently to pick up the stitches along the saddles, and in however many hours I put into it today, I got all the way to row 8 of the back. It doesn’t sound very impressive, does it?

Yet, let me tell you, it actually is pretty impressive. Because knitting a cabled aran sweater in Aran-weight yarn in SIZE 2 NEEDLES is not easy. In fact, may I just say, “Ouch.” My left wrist in particular is sore tonight. Part of that may be from the sheer quantity of knitting this weekend–it was that fun, social thing–but some of it is is from struggling with this (relatively) big yarn on (relatively) small needles. I mean, really! 3 mm needles for this yarn is just absurd, and something of a struggle. Just getting through the first row was a struggle.

I don’t know about you, but while it’s not my favorite thing, I don’t mind casting on THAT much. I usually use the knitted-on cast on and find that’s pretty easy since it is, after all, almost the same thing as knitting. But what I do detest is knitting that first row. It’s always the tightest row of any project–that’s just the nature of cast-on rows–but in general, getting the stitches on the needle and the first row done is always my first big hurdle. Which, well, fine. That’s the nature of knitting.

But this pattern? It’s got increases in the first row. It’s part of the effort of avoid what the designer calls Cable Splay. Quote: “Special attention has been given to the technique of casting on fewer stitches than are required and increasing in the first row worked to compensate for the take-in of cables. This creates a smooth edge while avoiding ‘cable splay’ (the spreading out of the base of the cables).”

An admirable goal, and from a design standpoint, I applaud it. From a knitter’s standpoint–a knitter who loathes the first row to begin with . . . well, not only were there Purl-in-front-and-back increases, which were bad enough, but trying to do M1 increases off the cast-on row, while working in tiny needles with Aran-weight yarn . . . oh lord! Let’s just say it took far too long to get to Row 2.

I am absolutely dreading the start of the front . . . you know, when I eventually get there. At this rate, it may be a while. But still. The cables do look pretty, and my gauge isn’t too far off (grin). My saddles actually matched the gauge, but when I measured the width of the back (which according to the schematic should be 14″ wide), it was 16″. Obviously, that’s 2″ too wide, but darn it, I’ll take it. God knows I am NOT dropping down to size 1s. As it is, I’m using wood instead of Addi Turbos because the metal (for the first time ever) was too hard on my hands because of the extra effort of manipulating the Aran-thick stitches. Anything smaller is simply not an option.

One thing I didn’t mention in my account of Liz and Shelley’s visit (and Risa and the twins)? The awful weather we had yesterday. Cold rain, mixed with sleet, and even snow. Really miserable–which makes Risa’s bringing the twins Saturday morning that much more admirable, since she didn’t opt at the last minute to stay home in bed. And Liz and Shelley resolutely left at noon as they intended, despite the weather, so they could get home when they needed to. And after they had all left? I admit it. I took a nap with Chappy on the couch. It was just that kind of day.

But, the reward for the truly miserable weather?

The truly glorious sunset last night.

(Okay, I admit I tweaked this a little in Photoshop to make the colors a little more saturated, but really, even without digital enhancement, this was a gorgeous display.)

Today, of course, naturally, ironically, the weather was perfect. Mid-fifties, bright sun, just a lovely early Spring day. I ran down to Dunkin Donuts this morning for some coffee (the coffee maker was still tired from yesterday). I brought Chappy along. He really doesn’t much like the car, but the bonus about the 2-mile trip to Dunkin Donuts? He gets a bite or two of corn muffin. For some reason, Chappy adores the Dunkin Donuts corn muffins. He doesn’t like mine this much–I wonder if it’s the fun of going to get them himself, or if he likes the taste of those extra preservatives or whatever they bake into theirs that my from-scratch muffins don’t have? Either way, I would never consider taking a quick run to DD without bringing him with me.

He also got a nice, long walk this morning. And then a sample of tuna at lunch. (He loves fish–I never make tuna salad without offering him a taste of the plain tuna. He loves the Laske Kronch salmon treats from SitStay.com, and he is always thrilled if I add sardines into a batch of his food.) All in all, he’s had a good, good weekend. Guests. Extra treats. Playtime. A long walk. Lots of time with Mom (me). Is it any wonder he’s this tired? He might actually be glad to see the usually-dreaded Monday Morning . . . a chance to get some sleep!

Oh, and Liz? Chappy says hi, and that he misses you!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky • Permalink:Weekend Update // 8 Comments »

H is for Houseful. And Hospitality. For a couple hours today, our house was very full. Not only was there, well, us (me, Mom, Dad–poor guy, it was raining and he couldn’t golf–and Chappy), but there was also Risa with Kat and Alex, Shelley, and Liz. (The oddest thing about this picture? At 5’3″, I’m the tallest person here–I don’t know that that’s ever happened to me before!)

Shelley and Liz (aka Lizzy B) came up yesterday afternoon–fighting traffic most of the way. Liz and Chappy hit it off immediately. She was down on the ground playing almost as soon as she saw him, even before we were in the house! He may have gotten a little (ahem) over-excited, but they definitely had a good time.

Of course, Max and Marley weren’t forgotten–there were lots of stories flying around about all the dogs, present or not. (And their cats, too, though of course, I didn’t have any cat stories.)

The three of us stayed up until after midnight, knitting, talking, and laughing. (And apparently, after we all went to bed, Liz and Shelley stayed up until 3:00 talking even more!) I got to see Liz’s Brambleberry sweater in person. As great as it looked on the blog, it looked even better in person. (Oh, and the scarf in Synchronicity yarn? Yum!) Shelley’s Norwegian hat is beautiful, too–don’t think it’s not just because I didn’t gush. (Oh, and ladies, I know this isn’t the most flattering photo, but–I tried!)

Then this morning, Risa came with the twins, and chaos erupted. Chappy barked (and barked and barked) hello, which spooked the twins. And once they’d gotten over that and started feeling comfortable, well . . . let’s just say that gates that block doorways but which can be slid aside aren’t as effective with twins as they are with puppies. In other words, they kept escaping the kitchen and running into rooms they weren’t allowed in. And, of course, not listening to their Mom, because where’s the fun in that? So poor Risa didn’t get to knit with the three of us–her lap and her hands were full (literally and figuratively).

Unfortunately, Shelley and Liz had to leave at noon. (I did wave good-bye, but I’m not sure if you saw me. The departure process got kind of rowdy–more barking, more escaping, more chaos.) The twins settled down again, and had some lunch. (Alex wanted a sandwich like my Dad was having–he sat right next to him at the table, and “chewed” along with each bite . . . the boy was hungry!)

I did mention the knitting, right? Liz and I both cast on for the Celtic Dreams sweater, although she got rather further than I did. (She claims I knit faster, but I don’t know about that!) In this case, though, she got further because her gauge was just fine. Mine on the other hand . . . apparently the stockinette stitch swatch wasn’t accurate after all, because when I started my first shoulder saddle last night, well . . . it was closer to 5″ wide than the 2.5″ in the schematic. So this morning, I dropped down to size 3 needles (3.25 mm). Um . . . still, not quite there. (Sheesh.) So . . .size 2 (3 mm) Ebony needles? Definitely closer, but even there . . . the swatch is closer to 3″ than 2.5″. Should I try size 1s? Lord, that just seems pathetic for Aran weight yarn…. especially compared to the size 7 (4.5mm) the pattern calls for. (Oh, and yes, I know there’s an error in the cable. If I stick with this saddle at this gauge, though, it’s staying there–who’s going to look that closely at my shoulders anyway?

Let’s not forget, though, that H is also for Hostess Gifts. Liz and Shelley both brought me gifts!

From Liz–a skein of Opal sock yarn–a brand which I haven’t gotten to try yet. A bar of soap that coordinates really nicely with my bathroom and smells lovely. A bar of goat milk soap in the silver box which smells even nicer. A bumblebee tape measure. And two skeins of Koigu in just gorgeous colors . . . (Um, which hat was it again that you had in mind for that yarn, Liz? Interweave Knits Winter issue had more than one hat pattern….)

From Shelley, a very nice Vanilla-Grapefruit candle. Some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in “Indian” which is just a gorgeous combinations of reds and cinnamons and autumn-y colors. And, oh, a skein of Alchemy Synchronicity all my very own in a beautiful shade of teal. Now I know what Liz was gushing about when Shelley gave her a skein in February. It’s just amazing!

Thank you both so much!

And, meanwhile, here’s what Chappy’s doing right this minute. All this entertaining the guests, being cute and charming (and loud and excited) is just exhausting. It did not take him long to fall asleep at all!

Oh, H is also for Helping. If you haven’t heard of the Warming Grace project, do go check out entry from April 5th. I found some pink Calmer in my stash, so I’m ready to go!

And, lastly–an editorial by Zoe Williams about unleashed dogs in parks, from the Guardian. Shelley, Mom and I were talking about dog-friendly public places this morning, and how some people just don’t “get” what dog owners want and need (is it really too much to ask that your dog–as long as it is well-behaved–should be allowed out in public with you, when bratty kids can go anywhere?). So, this article was well-timed for me. A quote: “The fact is that fat, self-important parents use them for four days
in the summer; dog owners use them all year round. …This sort of
thing happens all the time: people with no notion of dog ownership,
with no idea about what’s a problem and what’s a play, who aren’t even
anywhere near you, will just come up and start berating you.”

• Tags: ABC-Along, Chappy, Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:H is for Houseful // 12 Comments »

Here’s a look at my Sundara yarn Black Lagoon socks. I decided to do a certain amount of texture, for a change. This is a first for me–except for the Jaywalker socks, every pair of socks I’ve made has been plain stockinette stitch. (And let’s face it, even the Jaywalkers are mostly SS, they just . . . zigzag.) Sundara actually blogged about this the other day, about how for variegated yarns, she thinks too much patterning can take away from the colors of the yarn. That’s the way I feel, too. It CAN work (and often does), but sometimes, really, you just want to let the pretty colors shine on their own, no visual distractions. (Maybe not in as extreme a way with socks as with lace, but . . . same idea.)

Which, of course, makes it ironic that I’d pick her yarn for the first pair of textured socks I’m making (grin). I like the look, though, and think that the yarn colors are looking just fine! (You may recognize the stitch? Maybe from something bigger and greener?)

Apparently, I’m just not meant to try the Silky Wool from Webs–sale or no sale. I mentioned the other day that my first color choice (#19–a pretty purplish-gray) had been discontinued and was no longer available. That was disappointing, but it happens. Fine. So I asked for choice number two, #8, the mossy green. Another e-mail. Sorry, it’s been backordered, but we have four colors in stock that have the 10 skeins you’re looking for. So, back to the website to take a look at the colors, and I say I’ll try #35–the ocean blue.

Guess what I just got in my inbox? Yep. Another e-mail. “Sorry, it’s been backordered.” Now, I understand that they may have made some sales while I was looking at the colors and all, but for heaven’s sake–they TOLD me they had it in stock! You wouldn’t think buying 10 skeins would be so difficult!

So . . . I just told them to cancel the order. Sigh. Well, the Silky Wool, not the Cascade 220 . . . although if I get an e-mail about that, I’m going to give up altogether!

Chappy’s been busy primping since I got home. Well, first, we went out into the (muddy) backyard to play–he was going to get a bath today no matter what, but at least this way he’d really need one, really have earned it, you know? Made it worth while? So, he chased his (muddy) tennis ball, laid down in the mud to chew on the tennis ball, and generally just had a good time. Then we came upstairs and he hopped into the bathtub and got a good, by then much-needed, thorough bath.

And then, he ran around the house, “blow-drying” and ended up with quite a hairdo.

  You can’t quite see it? Well, how about with these pictures?

He works very hard at getting his hair just right.

Because, well, a boy needs to look his best. Especially when he’s expecting not one but two house guests for an overnight visit from Friday to Saturday. And then a visit from three more friends on Saturday morning? It’s a shame they can’t stay longer, but Chappy’s planning on making the most of it . . . and so am I!

---

Booking Through ThursdayThis week’s questions were suggested by Kim.

1. Do you have a favorite character(s)?
   This is another hard one, because there are so many to choose from! Mr. Darcy. Gabriel from Sharon Shinn’s Archangel. Francis Crawford from Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. Anne Shirley from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. (Gilbert, too.) Robinton from Anne McCaffrey’s Pern . . .
2. What book/author is he/she/it from?
   . . . But I suppose if I had to pick one, it would be Ramses from Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody mysteries–primarily the young Ramses. He’s the son of Victorian era Egyptogists and has quite a way with the mysteries his parents inevitably get involved in.
3. Why do you like this person–what is it about the way he/she was written that drew you to them?
   He is SUCH a unique character. As a child, he transcends “precocious.” He is appallingly loquacious, speaking in the most complex strings of clauses he can fit into basic sentence structure–and with a vocabulary to match. He’s devious about getting out to do what he wants–all while following the letter of the law as laid down by his mother. (Like his argument when he helped rescue his parents from a pyramid: “You told me not to go into a pyramid unless you or Papa were there, but since you were already inside . . .”) He speaks colloquial Arabic fluently as a child, has a penchant for disguise, has a soft-spot for animals (like the lion cub he steals and brings home) . . . He’s just a riot.
4. Is there something more you would like the author to tell you about them?
   I’d love more stories from the young-Ramses timeline. Where the series stands now, he’s a full adult, married, with twins of his own. He’s grown into a fine young man, but he no longer has the precociousness of his younger self, and I miss that. (The series in general isn’t as good as it used to be, mind you, but the earlier ones are gems.)

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Onward // 8 Comments »

I’m not an official member of Lolly’s Project Spectrum, but I do like taking pictures, so . . . here are some yellows and oranges from around the house.

These are (1) My bed, with its orange comforter cover, and the yellow walls (which are more gold than the somewhat beige they photographed. (2) My calendar for the month of April, on my yellow wall. (3) My goldish-suede tote bag, which seems to have decided to live on this bench by my spinning wheel, rather than in the closet.

These are (1) Mom’s sunshine pillow in the living room. (2) My favorite picture of me and Katy–my yellow shirt matched her amber eyes, the frame is the perfect orange-gold . . . (3) Our yellow family room furniture, whcih really IS yellow, though it photographed kind of beige, too.

These are: (1) Chappy’s toy basket, which seems to be overflowing with bright, sunny colors, (2) a yellow pitcher I painted and which sits on top of the refrigerator, and (3) well, bananas and oranges–can’t get more yellow/orange than that!

Speaking of tops of refrigerators, Kate wanted to see what was in that cabinet? Well, nothing! We emptied it out last May when we had the cabinets refaced, and never bothered to put anything back in!

Now, I’m on color option #3 for my Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. My first choice was discontinued, my second choice, it turns out, was backordered, and so I went with choice number three . . . picked out of one of only 4 shades that they actually had in sufficient quantity–color #35, “Ocean.” Now, this one I haven’t seen in person, so . . . fingers crossed!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Yellows and Oranges // 8 Comments »

Here’s the sky from my morning’s drive to work. Clearing sky after last night’s rain. I liked the long, horizontal lines. I liked the brightness right along the horizon, but also in that long, slashing diagonal at the top. It was so pretty, I had to pull the car over to take the picture. (See how handy it is that I keep a camera in my purse?

Now, on to more important things. Like, yarn purchases.

I said I was going to cut back on buying yarn for a while–and it’s been a few weeks. But, um, did you know that Webs is having a sale? And one of the items on sale is Elsebeth Lavold’s Silky Wool, a yarn I’ve wanted to try for a while. (Risa will vouch for this, judging by the length of time I spent admiring it in Montclair last month.) So . . . I placed an order last night.

The catch was, I got an email today saying that the color I picked was no longer available. Sigh. So I asked if my second choice was available, and am waiting to hear. Disappointing, though, huh?

I made another swatch on smaller needles, too–size 5 needles (dropped down from the 6 I swatched in yesterday, and from the 7 called for in the pattern). My 18 stitches measured about 4.5″–a lot closer than the other swatch was, even if not quite what it should be, but still . . . since the swatch is a flat stockinette stitch, and the sweater is cabled and knitted in the round, who really knows how close (or far) I might be? I don’t think I’ll know until I actually start the real thing!

And now, sunset. This picture was taken from the deck in the backyard. I was sitting in the family room after my shower, stretched out in my favorite chair, and, well, when I saw this through the window, how could I help myself? I had to get up, get my camera, and step outside to take the picture. Low clouds again, near the horizon, much like the ones in the other direction this morning, but the weather today? Mostly sunny. Not a bad way to go!

At least that’s one thing about Daylight Savings Time . . . I get a really good view of the sunsets while I’m just, you know, sitting there.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky • Permalink:Sunrise to Sunset // 7 Comments »

So, I thought you’d like to see what I’m actually working on NOW. You know, since I finished my sweater and my pair of socks this weekend.

First, my Peacock Stole (adapted from the famous Fiddlesticks Knitting Peacock Feathers shawl). I’m on row 83 of the pattern, although I skipped about 30 rows of the beginning lace pattern, so it’s more like the 53rd row . . . give or take. But that doesn’t really matter. I reset my row counter to match the actual pattern, and this is where I am.

Doesn’t really look like much at the moment, does it? It doesn’t help that it’s just laid out on my ottoman, in its crumpled-lace-knitting state. And naturally, I needed one hand to hold the camera, so I couldn’t stretch it into some sort of shape for you. So, you’ll just have to take it on faith that I (kind of) know what I’m doing, and at least be happy that you’re seeing some progress.

Now, this cute little picture is of the beginnings of my next pair of socks. Sundara sock yarn in the Black Lagoon colorway–a shade which I adore. It’s like dark teal, and really beautiful. And lord, this yarn is so soft!

I’m pretty proud of the picture, too, because the color is pretty accurate. I had a really hard time taking its picture when it arrived a month or so ago. I took this one, though, with it surrounded by white in a quasi light box, a white, collapsable storage cube from the Container Store. It’s a nice, white mesh, folds flat for easy storage, and, well, these bins are just wonderful for storing yarn. (You would have seen some of the colored ones when I flashed my stash on Saturday.) Love these things.

Oh, and the swatch I showed you yesterday? It now looks like this.

I measured my gauge and . . . you know what’s coming, don’t you? . . . at stockinette stitch, on US size 6 needles, I should have had 18 stitches over 4″/10 cm. Well, I knitted my swatch on the smaller US size 5 needles and came up with 13 stitches over four inches. Sigh.

So, being thrifty where swatch-yarn is concerned, I frogged the swatch and am knitting a new one on the one and only pair of Ebony wood needles I own–which happen to be US size 6 needles. I’m hoping the curlicue nature of the unravelled yarn won’t affect the gauge. And I’m even more fervently hoping that this one works because, as I said, this is the only needle I have in Ebony. The bamboo needles I have (whose joins I hate) are too close in color to the yarn and would visually drive me crazy, even without having to fight with the joins. Dropping another size on the Addis probably still wouldn’t get me close enough to gauge, and since I’d already be knitting the smallest size of the sweater, I can’t even fudge my way through the gauge issues by simply knitting the next smaller size. (At last, I think I’d be making the smallest size–I need to check the pattern to see if it’s giving sizes by actual sweater size or by the size chest it fits. But, anyway, considering my gauge issues, smallest is the way to go.) Sigh. There’s almost no way I could get a size 5 Ebony needle here by Saturday–cast-on day.

Here’s an interesting little tidbit, courtesy of Mom: “On Wednesday at two minutes and 3 seconds after 1 a.m. the time and date will be 01.02.03 04/05/06. (Assuming you write your dates in the American fashion). That will never happen again….. at least until 3006… but we won’t see that.” Nifty, huh?

And, did you know it’s Buy a Friend a Book Week?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Works in Progress // 4 Comments »

Well, here I have a completed pair of socks. Isn’t that exciting?

Basic, toe-up socks, in Sunshine Yarn‘s “Slytherin” colorway. Nice yarn, nice colors, interesting pooling. They fit well, I’m happy with them. They’re socks. What else is there to say? (grin)

I didn’t love making the heel, and probably won’t ever use that method again, but it was good to try a new one, and I’m content enough with the result. So, s’all good.

  I did knit up a swatch last night for my next project–Celtic Dreams, in Black Water Abbey‘s “Autumn” colorway. Isn’t it nice to know that I can stick by a plan when I want to? I said in February that I was going to finish that not-so-shrunken cardigan first, before moving on to CD, and so I have.

I haven’t actually measured the swatch yet. I knitted it last night, washed it this morning, and took this picture as it was drying on the counter. So, I have absolutely no idea if I’m going to be anywhere near gauge. I mean, it would be a small miracle if I were, wouldn’t it? (grin) It was a nice yarn to work with for the swatch, though. Fuzzier than I expected it would be, and it is a somewhat scratchier yarn than I usually use, but it’s a gorgeous color and is obviously going to wear really, really well. I hope mine looks as good as the one on Annie‘s blog. Or Melanie‘s. Or Mary Beth‘s.And Cassie‘s is looking beautiful.

(Hey, but Lizzy B? Yes, I’m waiting to cast on until next weekend!)

What else did I do today? Well, you wouldn’t know it to look at his fluffiness, but I gave Chappy a haircut. Seriously. A whole dustpan full of fur–you know, the bits of fur he didn’t walk in and track all over the kitchen when we were finished. He was definitely looking too scruffy, and that will never do! I regularly trim him “around the edges”–the ears (especially under the ears), the paws, the “feathers” on his legs and under his belly. Never anything as extreme as using a clipper to shave off those gorgeous curls of his.

(Hmm, he almost looks chunky in this picture, but I assure you, it was the angle of the photo. His hips don’t really look that wide in person.)

I also did a modicum of cleaning today, including two huge loads of laundry–things neglected last week. The thing I did NOT do today was take a nap. Miraculously, I’ve been awake since I got out of bed this morning. The first time in about a week and a half that that’s happened. Almost two weeks, come to think of it. Obviously a sign that I’m feeling better. Woo hoo!

Dad’s happy, because his golf club opened for the season this weekend. You can’t keep a golfer away from his clubs for too long! And except for a passing shower yesterday, they had a gorgeous opening weekend, too.

And, Cara posted this link–look at the April Fool’s Day meal Amy Lu made for her family. Brilliant!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Sunday (Yep, that’s the best title I can think of) // 15 Comments »

It IS Flash Your Stash day, so here’s mine.

Really. It (mostly) all fits into these three bins at the top of my closet.

There are a few skeins which hang from hangers from the closet rod, but basically this is it.

You’re not going to make me pull it all out to show you, are you? I did that just a couple months ago. Remember?

Here (to the right) is the next layer down in the closet. You can see the hanging skeins (Manos and some yarn from Rhinebeck) on the left. The basket just below them is some spinning fiber. And of course, part of my knitting library.

Oh, the bag lurking at the top right of the picture? A canvas bag filled with tote bags, ready to leap into action as knitting bags at a moment’s notice.

And, that bag is sitting on top of a milk crate filled with my knitting magazines–Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, and so on

The bottom “layer” of my closet. The rest of the craft-book library, my sewing basket, a basket filled with all my circular needles, and the bag full of merino/silk roving I got in Rhinebeck.

The box the bag is sitting on is filled with pattern leaflets. The binders next to it are filled with patterns and downloads from the internet.

It’s not perfectly neat, but I love that I’ve got everything in one place. The only knitting things not right here in the closet are my blocking board and my swift/ballwinder.

Here’s the complete, all-at-once look.

Really, it doesn’t look all that different from the picture I posted last year. That’s a good thing, right? It means I’m about holding my own against stash growth, right? (Right?)

But, oh, Wendy posted possibly the very best Flash Your Stash picture ever. Really. The very best. Ever. You absolutely must go take a look.

Really. I’ll wait.

Isn’t that fabulous??

Now, it’s been a nice Saturday, but I slept through about three hours of it. I don’t know why I’m still so tired. Darn it, I should be healthy again by now! Mom and I went out for coffee at Starbucks this morning, stopped at Ann Taylor Loft (I had a coupon), and were home within an hour and a quarter. We then took Chappy for a short walk . . . although we sped up for the last little bit because it had started to rain . . . but that was all I did today, and . . . exhausted. Sheesh!

I am just about done with my socks, though. All I have to do is cast-off the tops and they’re finished. I’m pretty happy with them, though they don’t have the same, built-in thrill that my handspun cardi yesterday had. Thanks for all the compliments, by the way. I’m touched.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Stash Flashing // 4 Comments »

Okay, here’s my list of books read in March. (And, really, even if it is April Fool’s Day, I really did read all of these. It would probably have been more if I hadn’t gotten sick!) Twenty-two books for the month, a total of 8,844 pages, and some really good books.

1. SPRING OF THE RAM by Dorothy Dunnett (469 p). Second book of the House of Niccolo series. In this book, our intrepid hero heads to the exotic Eastern city of Trebizond, last Christian outpost in the face of Turkish conquest. But meanwhile, his stepdaughter has eloped with his main rival, who is trying to outwit Nicholas at every turn, and by any method.

2. POWERS THAT BE by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (356 p.) Not really the best book, but an interesting sci-fi premise . . . a world that has been terraformed to be habitable to humans, and which has become, in fact, sentient . . . though the Company doesn’t believe it. It’s actually the beginning of a series, but frankly, it’s the only one I like at all.

3. TWO SIDES OF THE MOON by David Scott and Alexei Leonev (390 p.) A look at the space race as told by an US astronaut and a Soviet Cosmonaut. Interesting dual perspective by two very accomplished men.

4. RACE OF SCORPIONS by Dorothy Dunnett (536 p.) Third in the House of Niccolo. Nicholas is coerced into fighting a war on Cyprus, fending off the attentions of Zacco, the king, and dealing with the fate of the hostages–his former lover Katelina, and her young nephew Diniz, who is convinced Nicholas killed his father. And, oh yes, an Emir from Cairo with a grudge.

5. 102 MINUTES by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn (276 p.) “The untold story of the fight to survive inside the twin towers.” This was absolutely excellent. The story of what happened inside the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 between the time the first plane hit the first tower, and the time the second tower fell. Riveting. Wonderfully written. Meticulously researched. Amazing story–heartbreaking on so many levels–not only because of the truth of what we all know about that day, but also because of things we didn’t know. Great book, about an event that we simply cannot afford to forget. (Can you believe this was four and a half years ago, already??)

6. SOLITAIRE by Kelley Eskridge (396 p). Such an interesting idea of a book. Sci-fi, set in the not-too-distant future, Ren Segura (Jackal to her friends) is a privileged young woman, a symbol of the new World Government . . . and frankly, the beginning, “Hope” part of the book is a little dull . . . but then, tragedy strikes, and Jackal is accused of the terrorist murders of 437 people, including some of her dearest friends, and committed to virtual solitary confinement–what will feel like eight years in a tiny cell, completely alone, but in reality is only 10 months. This is where the book gets really good . . . the solitary time, and then the adjustment period that comes after. It kept me up until 1:15 in the morning, finishing this book. It’s not perfect, but as the author’s first novel, it’s pretty remarkable.

7. SCALES OF GOLD by Dorothy Dunnett (519 p). Fourth in the House of Niccolo series. Nicholas goes to Africa to try to get enough gold to save his struggling bank, in the company of Katelina’s angry sister. It turns into more of a spiritual journey for Nicholas, but ends with a hard and bitter blow at the very end–heart-wrenching.

8. ABOVE HALLOWED GROUND by the photographers of the New York City Police Department (191 p). A coffee table book of never-before published photos of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001–including many photos taken from NYPD helicopters, which are amazing in their scope.

9. UNICORN HUNT by Dorothy Dunnett (656 p). Fifth in the House of Niccolo series. One long, rending contest between Nicholas and his new wife–and a search for his son. Or is there a son? She’s not telling.

10. TEMPUS FUGIT by Lawrence Rowe (305 p). A piece of fiction–obviously–that tries to read too much like a textbook. The premise? What would happen if George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were suddenly in modern America (Mount Rushmore, to be precise) and confronted with what the United States had become in the last two centuries? As a time-travel-story-lover, I was curious to see what the author would put together, and my opinion is mixed. Some of it was really quite good (Franklin was a treat), but some was not so good. I’ve never read a work of fiction that had such a long bibliography–the man obviously knows his Founding Fathers. They name-dropped all over the place about their own early lives and interactions with each other, various scandals and events, and so on. And they had some fairly serious discussions about their opinions on the amendments to the constitution or the freedom of slaves. I couldn’t quite decide if the author was writing a work of fiction for the sake of the story, or if he was trying to put together an educational work pieced together in a clever, more-entertaining-than-a-textbook fashion. Gotta say, though, I found Jefferson just as annoying in this book as I do in the history books I’ve read about him . . .

11. INAMORATA by Joseph Gangemi (319 p.) I enjoyed this quite a bit. It takes place in the 1932s, as the Scientific American puts up a $5000 prize for any spiritualist that can prove paranormal phenomena. Enter Martin Finch, a Harvard grad student who helps the committee investigate and tries to find ways to debunk the obvious frauds . . . until they come across one woman who seems to have a gift . . . This was really quite good.

12. COOL SOCKS, WARM FEET by Lucy Neatby (125 p.) A book I’ve wanted for a while–it claims to have only 6 sock patterns in it, but in fact, gives a wealth of information on different sock heels and toes and tips . . . it far transcends its meager claim of only offering six variations on a sock. Glad I finally picked it up.

13. TO LIE WITH LIONS by Dorothy Dunnett (626 p.) Book six of the House of Niccolo. Finally reunited with his son, Nicholas enters a competition with his wife to see who is more capable . . . or more ruthless, and it ends . . . badly.

14. THE KNITTING ANSWER BOOK by Margaret Radcliffe (386 p). Exactly what it sounds like–a knitting reference book in Q&A format. Thorough, useful, but I don’t know that there was anything new in there.

15. CONRAD’S FATE by Diana Wynne Jones (375 p.) YA fantasy in her “Chrestomanci” series. Conrad’s uncle tells him he’s got bad karma and must go to Stallworthy Manor as a domestic until he finds the man who can cure his bad luck . . . on the way, he meets a boy named Christopher…

16. MYSTIC AND RIDER by Sharon Shinn (440 p.) The first book in a new series, it’s very “traditional” in Fantasy style–a group of comrades travelling together, facing danger with magic and swordplay–but Shinn’s writing style makes it work. As always, one of my favorite authors–her descriptions just drip with richness and texture. I’d love to be able to write like she does.

17. THIRTEENTH HOUSE by Sharon Shinn (423 p.) The second book in the new series–focusing on Kirra, a noblewoman shape-changer, who agrees to masquerade as her reclusive sister on a tour of social outings. One of the very few of Shinn’s books I can think of that has less than a perfectly happy ending.

18. KNITTING RULES by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (218 p.) The Yarn Harlot’s third book, and unlike the previous two, this one actually addresses, well, knitting. There are patterns, tips for swatches, helpful charts (like foot length by shoe size), and it’s covered in Stephanie’s inimitable, humorous style. Entertaining read.

19. CAPRICE AND RONDO by Dorothy Dunnett (537 p.) Book seven in the House of Niccolo series. Exiled due to his actions in book 6, Nicholas ends up in Poland and points further East with Julius and Anna, while back home, Gelis and the others try to piece things back together.

20. MASON-DIXON KNITTING by Kay Gardner and Ann Shayne (158 p.) A charming knitting book, a pleasure to read, and with some unique new things to do with yarn (curtains, anyone? rugs? And let’s not forget dishcloths). It’s not just a boring pattern book–but then, knowing these two, did you really expect it would be?

21. TOMB OF THE GOLDEN BIRD by Elizabeth Peters (381 p.) The latest Amelia Peabody mystery, where Howard Carter discovers the tomb of a little-known Egyptian king, Tutankhamen (perhaps you’ve heard of him?) Better than some of the more recent Amelia Peabodys have been–it’s an enjoyable series, but it’s been going on for years now. The early ones–where Ramses is little–are still the best.

22. GEMINI by Dorothy Dunnett (671 p.) The eighth and last House of Niccolo book, where all questions are answered, and all of the many, many plot points are tied together. A masterpiece, really, although there are some slow spots. Still. This is one of the most multi-layered series I’ve ever read, it’s only logical that the summation would be dense and thick with meaning. Really, an amazing achievement.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Reading list from March // 2 Comments »