My friend Susan from Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm (you may have heard me mention it once or twice?) is trying hard to win a $5000 tech makover for her farm (like, live lamb-cams, woo!) and she needs votes!

Please go and vote for her? You don’t have to log in, sign up, or do anything but click on the “Liked it” button next to the vote count.

It’s EASY and will only take you about 30 seconds…

And for those of you in the US, it will be good practice for November 4th. Go vote!

You can only vote once, though, so … spread the word!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Do a Shepherd a Favor? // 2 Comments »

Well, here she is. Ingenue. Completely, totally DONE. As in, not only finished (which she was several days ago), but now finally dry, too.

Although, in retrospect, the neckline might not be the best choice for me and my short neck, and it’s probably going to tangle my hair … but, that’s okay! I’m thrilled, anyway. And also very glad I added those three extra ridges at the bottom, or this really would be too short. This is a refreshing change from most other recent sweaters made from patterns, where my row gauge ended up being way too loose and the sweaters turned out much longer than they should have been.

And look what else I have today! Finally. I’ve only read the first few essays, but am charmed.

And, folks, if you hadn’t realized this yet, I need to tell you that Chappy is silly. Three times in the last few days, he’s gone into the office down the hall and started barking at my Secretary desk. We’re not sure why. The desk is beautiful and belonged to my grandmother. I’ve almost never used it as a desk, more for general storage, and the hutch on the top is where I keep little knick-knacks that I have nowhere else to put. Well, we don’t know if Chappy’s barking at the picture of Katy, or the little stuffed “Little Brother” from Disney’s Mulan, or what, but he stares up at the hutch and barks. I mean, I know it’s dusty, but does he have to be so vocal about it?

(Although, come to think of it, that could be the explanation right there. My grandmother in heaven is appalled at the dust on HER desk and is spectrally trying to clean it, making Chappy come in to either bark at her (since he never met her), or bark FOR her, as in trying to draw attention. Hmm. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt me to get out the Windex and Pledge, huh?)

So, today was my first day back to work after a four-day weekend, and all I can say is it’s lucky I didn’t take that time off to try to relax. Because within an hour of being back at my desk, I was stressed. Our (currently) most demanding client not only was being demanding and impatient over something we’ve been trying to get her to finish for weeks, but which she left until the day AFTER it was supposed to be complete and then dropped a whole slew of changes on us … not only was she being demanding and nasty about it, but she had the gall to complain that I wasn’t there on Friday. “What do you mean there’s no backup?” If she had gotten her changes to us by the time they were due on Wednesday, that wouldn’t have been a problem now, would it? And, sheesh, we’re a small company, and getting anything from her is like pulling teeth, but anytime she asks for something, she needs it immediately, and it had better be perfect–but she’ll complain for an hour about doing something we require that would have taken five minutes…

Ahem. Let’s just say that my day was stressful. If I HAD been all nice and relaxed from a weekend with my feet up (which it wasn’t), it would all have been wasted by 8:45 this morning. As it is, the four-day weekend went by in a blur, I was so busy. It barely feels like I had a weekend at all, much less an extra-long one!

Ah well, what can you do? At least I have Stephanie’s new book to help lift my spirits!

Oh, and that new sweater.

Okay–got to go and get my September reading list post ready to go for tomorrow morning!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Ready for her Close-Up 2 // 6 Comments »

So, first, I finished spinning my “Floral Camisole” yarn that I started the other day. And yes, I know, I only finished bobbin #1 and started bobbin #2 two days ago.

But, I was anxious.

  Because I had this pretty stuff waiting for me.

That’s four ounces of cormo, people. Isn’t it pretty?

And I’ve only just begun to spin it. It occurs to me that it’s been YEARS since I spun naturally colored fiber. I learned on undyed fiber, back in 2004 when I was figuring out this spinning thing. I’ve spun a little baby camel which was undyed, but mostly? Dyed fiber.

It’s actually kind of refreshing, spinning that pretty, natural stuff. It’s really a lovely color, not quite white, more like cream. And my hat full of fiber keeps making me think of whipped cream. I might be longing for some color by the time I get through this first pound of fiber (I probably will be), but still! I just hope I have enough yarn from 1 lb to make a cabled sweater, because that’s definitely what I want this to be.

And, the second pound? I was thinking about asking Jessica to dye it for me. Half undyed, half dyed–sounds reasonable to me! And certainly one pound is plenty for a basic sweater for me … it’s the yarn-eating cables that makes me just a little nervous about doing a 50/50 split. But, hey! What can you do?

Okay, so I’ve mentioned the tv show Chuck, and how much I love it, right?

Well, season two starts tonight, and after reading the review in this morning’s paper, I’m more excited than ever.  I know it’s in a tough time slot (Monday at 8:00 on NBC), but I’m telling you folks, this is a FUN, delightful show. Even if you’re watching Dancing with the Stars or the Big Bang Theory (which I also love), or one of the other shows, you owe it to yourself to record Chuck to watch it later. It is definitely my favorite show of last season. And, how can you resist a review that raves:

What’s the opposite of the sophomore slump? The sophmore surge? Sophomore surprise? Whatever you want to call it, “Chuck” is experiencing it — big-time. An amusing enough diversion during a brief pre-strike run last fall, it’s found a higher gear at the start of season two. All the entertaining pieces that didn’t quite click with one another are now working in harmony, and there may not be a show on television that makes me happier right now.

Also–such a relief–my copy of the Yarn Harlot’s latest book has finally been shipped! (You heard me whining about not having it the other day, right?)

• Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Spinning // 6 Comments »

Well, Ingenue is ready for her close-up!

Because she is totally finished. Ends woven in. Neckband seam sewn. And blocked and drying as we speak.

Which, okay, means she’s not actually ready to be WORN just yet, but the hold-up is more a matter of laundry than knitting. I did everything I could. The rest is just a matter of water evaporation and I have no control over that. I did spin the excess water out in the dryer, though, so it should be a speedier process than when I hand-wash in the sink. (A towel can only absorb so much, you know?)

Anyway, you should be proud of me. I went through my entire pile of items waiting for those final little details, and it took remarkably little time. Weaving in the final end of three socks and a pair of wrist warmers, for example, took about 8.3 minutes. I also tossed my Flutter-Sleeve Cardigan in the dryer this morning (final result, if any, still undetermined). The only thing left to really figure out is what to do with Autumn Rose.

There was one, tragic ending, though. My beloved Susan Bates darning needle that I’ve had for about 20 years wove in its last end. While giving a pull on the seaming yarn for Ingenue’s neckband, there was a “pop!” and … this. The eye of the needle is no longer an eye.

This isn’t world-ending, of course, but seriously. I’ve had this needle since I started to knit–about 1987. I’ve tried Chibis and other metal needles but have never been satisfied. The eyes are too big, the needle too stiff. I’ve even tried to find replacement plastic needles as backup for just this sort of occurence, but haven’t been able to find one. Again, the eyes are always too big. This one was perfect–big enough to thread easily, but small enough to weave in and out without snagging at the knitting. (You can actually get a pretty fair idea of the size of the eye from the picture on this post from last year.)

(Sniffle.) I guess I’m stuck with Chibis now, huh? How ironic. My veteran needle shuffles permanently off-stage just as Ingenue makes her debut. … like 42nd Street without all the tap-dancing and catchy tunes.

I’ve gotten some spinning done. This is the 4 oz of “Floral Camisole” I started the other day. I’ve got the first bobbin done, and am about halfway through the second bobbin. This is exceptionally speedy for me, I know, but the sooner I get this done, the sooner I can start on my MVFF cormo, so, why dawdle?

Otherwise? Today? It’s felt like Sunday, and the fact that I spent most of the morning in the kitchen, baking, didn’t help–since that’s something I usually only do on Sundays. I baked the cake for tomorrow, and then I made one of those two-layer oatmeal cookie/brownie things I’ve made before.  And, yes, just as yummy as it was the first time. We’re all looking forward to seeing the family tomorrow!

Anybody else sad to hear about Paul Newman?

And, incidentally, did you know that today is the Worldwide Day of Play?? I didn’t, either, until I read about it at Liz Strauss’s.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Ready for her Close-Up // 9 Comments »

Well, this isn’t fair! After the grocery store this morning, Mom and I stopped at the bookstore … you should be proud of me, I resisted all temptation. But that’s not the point. I know this is a blurry picture (I didn’t want to use my flash in the store), but see that book on the top shelf? It’s the Yarn Harlot’s newest book (Free-range knitter). The one I’ve had pre-ordered at Amazon for MONTHS. And that they tell me STILL isn’t available to be shipped.

Um, but clearly the book is in PRINT though, since I held a commercially-available copy in my HAND!

Sigh. I know. I could have bought this copy at Barnes & Noble and come home to cancel the Amazon order, but … it’s cheaper on Amazon, has free shipping, and no sales tax.

Oh, but the book next to it on the shelf? AlterKnits Felt? I was surprisingly impressed with it. I don’t usually stop to really think about things I could felt my knitting into, but this had some really nice things. Of all the books I flipped through while I was there, this was the one that I liked the best. I know. It surprised me, too.

Doing a quick flip-through of the knitting section was fun, too.A chance to actually look at some of the recent books that I’ve heard about but can’t afford to buy! Some, like the Felt book, I was impressed with, and some I was just as glad I didn’t squeeze into the budget (grin).

Oh, but speaking of books, I got another review copy today.  Strip and Knit with Style, due out in October. It came just as we were trying to wash the floors (apparently my beloved Scooba is dead, and it’s too expensive to replace), so I haven’t had a chance to really dig into it, but it looks intriguing!

So, otherwise? On my day off? Well, it’s been a wet, wet day, but since I wasn’t going to work, and I woke up with Chappy giving me kisses, it certainly could have been worse. Mom and I went out for some coffee–pretending it was Saturday–went to the grocery store, stopped at the bookstore, and then came home to roast a turkey and clean the floors for Sunday. I also pulled out the knitting odds and ends that I have to do.

Not only do I have the final weaving-in-of-ends for Ingenue, but I’ve got a few socks I need to do that for. I still haven’t settled on a closure for my hood, for example. But those are minor things–a few minutes with a needle, and they’ll be done.

No, the problems are those other two sweaters of mine. The Flutter-Sleeve Cardigan, for example. It looks great lying flat, but my gauge (surprise, surprise) was so loose, it’s unwearable–especially with the problematic button bands. The way the pattern is written, you knit them independently until they are the same length as the front of the sweater … which sounds easy, but you know as well as I that the front edges of cardigans are stretchy. As in, they grow, dramatically. I ran into problems first, anyway, because my two button bands ended up different lengths. (Would it really have killed the author to state a specific length?) But, anyway, the sweater is unwearable as it is.

The correct way to fix it would be to completely tear out the button bands and reknit them–but at this point, they’re sewn into the shoulder seam, which means I’d need to take that apart to fix it. AND the sweater has just been sitting since March, and well, I hate mending. (We discussed this the other day.) So I’m not really inclined to pull it apart, you know? Even if that means fixing it and being able to wear it. The option I’m considering, though, is washing it and then (carefully) putting it in the dryer … it’s the lazy knitter’s way of fixing a sweater that’s too large, and it might not even solve the problem … but I don’t honestly see me doing it the correct way … and there’s still no guarantee the sweater would fit anyway.

The other problem sweater? That would be Autumn Rose. You remember the trouble I was having with her, right? And how odd the sleeves and armholes ended up? Yeah, the sad part is that that sweater has so much RIGHT going for it, and yet it’s still unwearable. It basically comes down to two possibilities. Okay, three. (1) Leave it in the closet where it’s been for the last year. (2) Repurpose it into something else altogether like a bag or a pillow or a hat … something that doesn’t have to FIT. Or (3) lop off the sleeves and try turning it into a vest.

Yep. Mending and fixing. Hate them!

Oh–one more word about books. Did you know that Knitpicks is having a holiday sale for 40% off ALL their books?? Nope. Even with the ongoing family money crisis, I couldn’t resist … I mean, I need something to review for Knitting Scholar, right??

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, knitting book review • Permalink:No fair! // 7 Comments »

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Lichen // 4 Comments »

  Really, do I have to say any more? Okay … Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm is just fantastic! After seeing it sheared in April, my Spring Share just arrived. Two pounds of really lovely Cormo roving that is just ever so faintly redolant of sheep. (Which isn’t a bad thing because it IS “farm fresh.” It said so right on the box.)

The irony, of course, is that this arrived just in time for the Fall Shearing Day. Or rather, the Fall Shearing Day That Wasn’t, because they had to cancel it for weather. Isn’t that sad? The sheep and goats will get sheared next month, but all the people who were planning to go and had to cancel? It almost makes me glad that I couldn’t afford to go in the first place, but mostly, it just makes me sad because the Spring shearing was so much FUN and I want everybody else to experience it, too!

On the plus side, I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.  The cousins who were supposed to come in February but couldn’t because of snow? They’re coming this weekend. So I’m taking tomorrow off from work to help mom get ready. This should be interesting–cousins I’ve never met before! These are Mom’s first cousins (her dad’s brother’s kids), which makes them first-cousins-once-removed for me, and first-cousins-twice-removed for my niece and nephew (and Chappy, though he, of course, is only related through adoption). It should be interesting, though, and Mom is really excited.

Now–the hard decision. Do I spin this beautiful stuff as is? Or do I ask Jessica to dye it for me? If I keep it natural, of course, I can start spinning it more or less right away. If I ask her to dye it for me, I’ll have to wait for her to get a break in her schedule (she’s vending at the NJ Sheep and Wool festival next weekend) and then I’d have to get the wool to her and then wait even MORE for her to finish. Not that I think she would leave me hanging indefinitely, mind you. Not at all! But well, I signed up for this share about 10 months ago, saw the shearing for it 5 months ago, and now finally have it in my hands … It’s kind of tempting to just hang on to it. And the creamy color really is lovely. I could get the NEXT share dyed….

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Farm Fresh Yarn! // 12 Comments »

Well, I can’t complain that that first bar of soap didn’t last very long, huh? I mean, my order from Blessed Juno only came last June … as in, June 2007 … I mean, don’t think I’m slovenly, or anything. I promise that I shower daily and I do wash my hands regularly–I just don’t always use soap (since, even the most moisturizing soaps can dry your skin), and I use body wash in the shower … so, since this bar has sat in the bathroom’s soap dish. Well, yes. It lasted 15 months.

I guess the “Hand knit” scent that I’m starting next doesn’t really need the “Newborn” label any more, since I think it’s aged sufficiently now… and I certainly can’t complain that this lucious bar of handmade soap (in the “Sunshine” scent, which I loved) was too extravagant a purchase, huh? At this rate … since I had bought three bars … I won’t need to buy more soap for my bathroom until 2011.

In other news–here’s Ingenue! In theory, it’s completely done except for weaving in a few ends. In practice, though, it was a little short when I tried it on, so I’m adding a few more ridges on the bottom. I was going to block it FIRST and then go back if necessary but I know myself better than that. Once my psyche considers it “done,” it’s DONE. I like making things but hate mending them, so if it needs tweaking, now is the time to do it. Once it’s entirely off the needles and washed, well, if it’s not wearable then, it’s not going to be, you know? I really hate mending–even a handknit.

And, okay folks–a couple more calendars for you, if you’re interested. The Skies over New Jersey (oversized and regular-sized) and the Skies over Martha’s Vineyard. Skies, you know, because things are looking up. (Or so I keep trying to tell myself.)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Soapy // 2 Comments »

Okay, first things first–an announcement.

Last year, as some of you will remember, I had two calendars up in my Cafe Press store. Well! This year, I’ve got an assortment in my new, improved store!

I upgraded a couple months ago so that I could put up more than one of each item for sale, and so this year,

I’ve got Knitting/Spinning calendars (regular wall-size, oversized, and vertical), AND

Martha’s Vineyard calendars (regular wall-size and oversized).

For that matter, I’ve got mugs, tote bags, and note cards of all sorts of pictures in the shop (which is proudly named after Chappy, of course). I don’t have many t-shirts and the like, though, because just about everything is made from photographs, and I tend to think that a rectangular photograph loses something on a t-shirt … what do you think?

In fact, tell me what you’d LIKE to see in the shop! If I can do it, I’ll add it. I was thinking about starting a section for flower/scenery pictures, too, since I seem to be taking a lot of them lately. Those and food pictures. You know I love to take pictures of baked goods and fruits and things. I’d love to hear what you think. More Chappy pictures? Maybe a section of “Knitting Scholar” things? (Although, really, would anybody other than me buy those?) If you want to browse around, the Knitting/Spinning section would probably be the most reasonable place to start. (grin)
Now, otherwise, obviously, now that I’ve finished my last batch of spinning, it’s time to start fresh…

So … here’s “Floral Camisole.”

Am I the only one who thinks it’s sticking its tongue out at me?

It’s spinning up very nicely, though. I only just started it. (I haven’t even covered the bottom of the bobbin yet!), but it’s very pretty and a pleasure to spin, so it bodes well.

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

So, I went to Jessica’s yesterday for some spinning and socializing. I even finally (finally!) finished the batch of spinning I started several years ago.

Well, okay, it wasn’t years, but it WAS months. As in, April. But, anyway, I treadled away for about two hours while we all chatted and laughed and had fun and finished just as we all took a break for food about 3:00. And, well, something didn’t agree with me. I finally left Jessica’s at 4:30 and felt pretty much sick most of the drive home (not nauseated, but, um, lower than that, if you take my meaning. You don’t really want me to be more graphic, right?)

So, I got home about about 5:00 and my parents were out to dinner, and I managed to get my wheel, and my big knitting bag to the door and opened it, and turned to turn off the alarm. Except, I wasn’t really concentrating on anything other than getting in the door and to the bathroom and so my fingers stumbled on the keypad with the wrong number. And then I tried again, but it didn’t take the number that time, either. I dropped everything to the floor to try a third time, and by now the “beep beep beep” is getting faster because my allotted minute is almost up and then ….

WOW! That thing is loud. Ear-piercingly, mind-numbingly LOUD. Really, really, obnoxiously LOUD. And obnoxious. And LOUD.

Now, at this point, all I really want to do is get to the bathroom. Poor Chappy is bracing his paws in the hallway with his eyes wide, trying to figure out why his house is making this awful noise, and I CAN’T GET IT TO STOP. And then Chappy started to bark this awful, high-pitched, terrified bark, like he was screaming, “Make it stop! Make it stop!” (Which, really, is exactly what he was saying, I’m sure. I know I was.) But that didn’t help matters, either–my little boy was in distress!

I don’t usually fall apart in minor crises like this, but I wasn’t really at my best last night, and finally, I just grabbed the phone and went out the back door with Chappy so we could hear ourselves think. I thought I heard the phone ring–and the alarm company IS supposed to call–but when I answered it, there was no dial tone. That’s actually happened a couple times this week, so I don’t know if it was a fluke or if the alarm somehow interrupted the phone signal, but so that didn’t work. I made another dash into the kitchen to try to get the alarm to turn OFF, but still no luck, and by now I’m thinking the police could be on their way. So I headed to the front door and reached for Chappy’s leash … and looked down … he had dashed out the front door on his own and was almost to the driveway, he was so frantic to get AWAY from the awful noise.

Meanwhile, I still really needed to go to the bathroom, and the noise is making me just as frantic as Chappy, and, darn it, I can’t stand there all night, waiting for the police to get there or the alarm company to call and turn the thing OFF. So I tried one more time at the number pad and … blessed silence.

I apologized to Chappy, and would normally have immediately sat down to soothe my poor, frantic dog, but … no, I really had to go to the bathroom. And why hadn’t the alarm company called? And, when were the police going to come? So I tried to be as, um, quick as possible, and then went to sit with Chappy in the dining room, watching for the police car I was sure must be on its way since I hadn’t heard from the alarm company. Well, poor Chappy was still shaking and practically climbed on top of me for comforting, and I was apologizing to him for scaring him so much. I’ve NEVER heard him bark like that. If the noise was so godawful for my ears, I can only imagine how much it hurt his more sensitive ears. And that made me feel even worse.

But, because of my, um, abdomen issues, I couldn’t sit with him for more than a few minutes, so I figured I’d carry my wheel upstairs. Of course, he followed me up and wasn’t watching where he was going and ended up hitting his head on the bottom of the wheel at the top of the stairs. (Neither of us was at our best just then.) I glanced at the phone as I put the spinning wheel down and … red, blinking light. That means there’s a voicemail message. (The downstairs phones don’t tell you when there’s voicemail–no help at all.) So, I call in and, yep, there’s a message from the alarm company, telling me to call a certain number and quote a 10-digit long “report number.”

Naturally, something was stuck in my desk drawer so that I couldn’t get to a piece of paper to write down the number. But eventually, I did, and dialed the 800-number with shaking fingers, gave our special passcode, and was told that, since the alarm had been cancelled soon enough, the police had NOT been dispatched. Which was a relief. I would have felt terrible about their making the trip for my own stupidity, but also, I really needed to spend some serious time in the bathroom and didn’t have the time to wait for them. Not to mention that my mother would have been frantic if she had gotten home and found a police car in the driveway!

So, at least that was something. All in all, I had a great day until about 3:30, a still nice but not so great from then until 5:00, and then all hell broke loose.

And, yes, even though I didn’t eat anything last night, Chappy got some extra supper AND an extra-good biscuit last night. He deserved it!

At least I have a beautiful skein of yarn to show for it. I don’t know the yardage, though. Dad walked in the room and started talking to me while I was winding it onto the skein winder–I was at 103 rotations at that point, but then lost count. “But, you were reading,” he said in self-defense. “Yeah, but I can count and read at the same time.” He just went away, shaking his head. You’d think after all these years he’d be used to the fact that I really can read and do all sorts of things at the same time!

• Tags: Finished Spinning, Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:From Fun to Terror // 8 Comments »

Here’s a sky picture I took on the way to work the other day. It actually makes it look earlier than it was, because of the golden hue off in the east, but it was really about 7:50. I love the way the light is streaming through the clouds. I just had to stop the car.

Today is another gorgeous day–we’ve been having practically perfect weather lately. Sunny and right about 70 degrees (F) during the day, with a nice little nip in the air at night time. Fall is definitely coming (phew). In a little while, we’ll be taking Chappy out for a walk, and then I’ll be going to Jessica’s for a fun afternoon of spinning, knitting, and laughing.

The only tricky part is figuring out how to get my wheel there. I’ve barely touched my wheel in weeks. (In fact, really, I’ve only touched it to move it around the room.) This means that it’s still in the middle of plying my most recent batch of singles. As in, the flyer and bobbin on the wheel are attached to the two bobbins on the lazy kate and have to stay that way until the bitter end.

This isn’t a problem while they’re sitting in my bedroom, but picking them up, putting them in the car, and transporting them to Jessica’s house? I need about three hands…  Especially when you add in my knitting bag, camera, and the banana bread I baked yesterday. (Obviously, this will require at least two trips to the car, in addition to the three hands.)

As to knitting, I’ve got just a few more rows to finish Sleeve Number One on my Ingenue, and Sleeve Number Two isn’t likely to take a whole lot longer, so I really need to start thinking about my next project. I can’t remember the last time a sweater has gone so quickly! I tried it on the other day, too, just before starting the sleeve. It fits pretty well–not too tight, not too loose–but it IS just a little short. This is easily remedied if I need to, though. I figure, I’ll finish the sleeves, sew down the neckband and then block the whole thing and THEN try it on again. If at that point I still think it’s an inch or so short, I can easily unravel the cast-off row and add an extra couple ridges of the Ridge Stitch at the bottom to make it just a little longer. No worries!

Oh, hey, there’s a new poll up at Knitting Scholar … I bet you can figure out why I’m asking, too…. (grin)

• Tags: General, Sky • Permalink:Early Sky // 1 Comment »

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Gladiola // 2 Comments »

Okay, this is going to be quick because just in the last 10 minutes my eyes decided to start whining, “We’re tired,” and I’m thinking I’d better get them away from the computer pretty quickly before they start screaming and leave me with a splitting headache just in time for bed. (Though, I suppose, there are worse times to get a headache than just before you’re ready to go to sleep, but still, let’s try to avoid it altogether!)

So, tonight, you get a copy of this lovely little pile of books that just arrived.

The Mason-Dixon book, I’m sure you know about already. And if you haven’t heard about it, go read my review at Knitting Scholar. Or, save yourself the trouble and go directly to Amazon or your local bookstore or your library and get a copy–you’re going to want to anyway, so why fight it? (grin)

Then, there’s the new Robin McKinley book, Chalice. I pre-ordered this book back in February, and would have completely forgotten it was coming out if it wasn’t for the author’s blog … and even then, I knew it was out soon, but not TODAY.

And then, I won a $15 Amazon gift card at Business & Blogging (which I came across through one of the author’s writing blogs). I decided–instead of buying yet another knitting book (Knitting Scholar-fodder or not)–to buy Understanding Shutter Speed instead by Bryan Peterson. His book on photography and Exposure was so great (really, it was), I’ve wanted this one ever since.

because Liz at the Successful Blog also had a contest–submit a photo-with-caption to describe that “Brand-New Blogger Feeling” and mine was one of the 50 winners picked, netting me a free copy of her e-book. Check out the slideshow she made of all the winners–it’s great .

Okay, and that’s it for me for tonight. I’m turning the computer off now!

Ironic, huh? All this great reading and my eyes are too tired to do anything about it … although, of course, now I think of it, reading a book isn’t nearly as hard on the eyes as a computer screen, right?

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Booking… // 3 Comments »

Well, first, you’ll be glad to know that I turned the heel yesterday at just the right time. Give or take a row or so, the feet on both socks ARE in fact the same length.

Not only that, I finished the body of my Ingenue tonight. Just two sleeves to go!

And, how nifty is this? I got a review copy of Casual Elegant Knits for Knitting Scholar. I just got all emotional that someone would GIVE me a knitting book (sniffle). It’s just so wonderful, you know? Of course, I wasted no time … and my review is up right here.

Isn’t it nice to know I had some extra, fun distraction from the fact that UPS isn’t delivering my copy of the new Mason-Dixon book until tomorrow? That, and my Chuck - The Complete First Season DVD came today. I’ve had it pre-ordered for MONTHS. Would you believe Mom and I haven’t gotten to see the season finale yet??

Okay, so … I’m not the LEAST bit unhappy with the Nikon D40 I bought in May. I love it. It takes amazing pictures.

But, Nikon just came out with this.

The Nikon D90 DX. A 12.3 megapixel DSLR with an 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 vibration-reduction zoom lens AND that does video. The lens alone is making me drool. And, I know, the thought of a DSLR that does video is actually a little weird, BUT think about all the nifty things you could film with all those interchangeable lenses.

Okay, not that I could remotely afford it. But Wow. (I’m sorry, the Canon 40D 10.1MP just doesn’t compare to that.)

And no, I have no business looking at cameras, but I keep having lens envy. Like, for the 18-200 VR zoom lens. Or even just the 50 mm Prime lens (the f/1.8D or, even better, the f/1.4D–who cares that I would need to manually focus them?)

Really, I should be focusing on knitting books, right??

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Camera Lust // 6 Comments »

Look at that heel. It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it? Especially when you consider that it didn’t even exist when I left for work this morning. Isn’t the miracle of life a beautiful thing?

I’ll tell you, this day did NOT start smoothly.

First, I forgot to reset my alarm clock from its weekend time (8:24) to it’s weekday time (6:24), so I was sound asleep when I should have been getting up. Luckily, Mom walked down the hallway and knocked on my door at 6:47, so I started the day more or less on time, but rather groggily. But, it’s Monday, so that’s not entirely unusual anyway.

I left the house on time–even a couple minutes early–at 7:48 and headed for the office. Drove over the hill and headed down the road toward the train tracks and … everything stopped. Okay. I’m still a fair distance from the tracks, but there could be a train coming, or a school bus that stopped things. So I waited. And waited. And waited, but things still weren’t moving, so at 8:03 I turned around and headed back the way I came. When I got to my own street I wistfully looked down the road to where I knew Chappy was, but resolutely turned left and headed to the office by the other route.

Just FYI, my office is almost exactly 3 miles due North of my house, but the roads circle around, so that the drive is almost exactly 4 miles on any of three possible routes. So I can head up my street and go in either direction and still get to work in about 10 minutes. Except today, of course. As it was, I pulled into the parking lot at 8:23.

But, how odd! Some of my coworkers were hanging out in the parking lot instead of inside, busily making Monday happen … And, hmmm … those windows look awfully dark….

Yep. No electricity. I could have headed home after all! I walked in and put my purse away, did the 3.2 minutes’ worth of work that I could do without my computer and then … wandered around with my sock, chatting with co-workers in the half-light, and knitting. My own office is right off the front hallway, so while I don’t have an actual, outside window, I get the light coming in the front doors, so I sat in my half-lit office and knit for a while. Until I got to the point where I needed to turn my sock heel–which I really need to SEE–so I moved my chair into the hallway with my coffee cup, and camped out there.

The power came back on about 9:30, just as I reached the heel’s halfway point. We were told to give the IT guys a few minutes to make sure the system was up and running, so I started knitting the “long rows” on my heel and was about halfway through when it came time to turn my computer back on.

Of course, you know as well as I do that it can be confusing, stopping a heel midway. So, for the next hour or so, I surreptitiously worked on my sock between bits of actual work. I’d send an email, knit a row. Check a file, purl the row back. Correct the schedule and adjust the renewal timing, knit a row … you get the idea. Because it would have been WRONG to stop the heel mid-process, right?? And, it really only took about 7 minutes of company time to finish it and I refuse to feel guilty about that. I mean, if they had provided me with electricity in the first place, I wouldn’t have been knitting anyway, right? (grin)

Anyway, it was certainly a “Monday” start to the week, that’s for sure. At least it was a bright and sunny day, though, because the offices with windows were getting plenty of light, so you could at least walk around the hallways without tripping over things or running into people. (Though, going to the windowless bathroom was fun.) A couple people made a run to Dunkin Donuts and brought back a couple boxes of coffee for the folks who hadn’t brought theirs from home, and everything was back to normal by 9:45, so it wasn’t too bad.

The dim light did kind of leave me with tired eyes, though, which, on top of the abrupt awakening, made me feel more tired than I really was. I really don’t know how much I’m going to be able to do on the computer tonight, though–my eyes are already complaining that they’ve worked so hard today (whine!).

On the plus side, I’ve got the heel on my sock done, though. That’s not bad for a Monday’s work, right?

Of course, I haven’t yet checked to see if I got the foot length the same as it was on sock number one … all I know is that I tried it on before turning the heel and it fit … whether it actually matches its mate? Well, I can’t make promises.

It’s Monday, you know.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Monday Miracle // 3 Comments »

So, yesterday, the four of us all went to the park, and afterwards.

We stopped and bought some apples. Fresh, autumn apples.

Mmmm … don’t they look yummy?

Good enough to eat, even!

I even turned some into cake, using my best friend’s grandmother’s recipe (that she was kind enough to type out for me somewhere around 1983).

Chappy’s been having a great weekend–his whole family home, extra goodies to eat. (Though he only likes apples if they’re in baked goods.)

Then, this morning, I pulled out my camera and a whole bunch of handknits and yarn and spinning supplies and brought all of them down to the living room to take advantage of the morning sun.

And then I took lots and lots of pictures, looking for just the right ones to put on my Cafe Press calendar for this year.

You know, in case any of you wanted to buy a copy of my calendar this year!

I had a lot of fun taking the pictures, though…

And, really, these are just a few of them! I took over 125 of them….

• Tags: Baking, General • Permalink:How Many Apples a Day? // 8 Comments »

Are you wondering how Ingenue is coming along?

Pretty well, I’d say! I’ve got about 10 more rows before starting the bottom portion of the “ridge stitch” (the pattern stitch at the waist). Then, two sleeves, and we’re done.

Yeah, I know, that made it sound like it was almost done right this second, when really, it’s probably just past the halfway mark, but still! Not bad for just under two weeks of knitting, huh? I mean, I only bought the yarn two weeks ago tomorrow.

I wonder how my niece is doing on hers? I haven’t wanted to call and pester, since she’s busy with school again, but she hasn’t called to ask me any questions, either, so I’m assuming things are going smoothly. I hope!

Have I mentioned how much I like the blue? (grin)

My college alumni magazine arrived yesterday, and I think they had me in mind when they designed the cover–a smiling face with open books for the eyes, with a caption, “The Booklover’s Guide to Bliss.”

Hey–those of you who know programming–can you help me with this? Over at Knitting Scholar, the block for ads on the front page is designed for a 250-pixel wide graphic. I’d like to offer advertising, but want to offer it in 125×125-pixel blocks. But, if I put two blocks there, they wrap into two in a column, rather than two side-by-side.

My guess is that the problem is in the padding and/or margins, but don’t know how to fix it.

The relevant portion of the CSS coding is:

The CSS says:

<blockquote>.ad_block { border: 1px solid #dadada; padding: 4px 0; margin: 1em 0 1.2em; text-align: center; }
.ad_block .ad125 { margin: 0 auto; width: 125px; }
.ad_block .ad250 { margin: 0 auto; width: 250px; }
.ad_block img, .ad_block p img { margin: 0; padding: 0; display: block; }</blockquote>

Then, the code where the ad is actually entered looks like this:

<div class=”ad_block”>
<div class=”ad125″>
<!– Insert your ad code here. Make sure the ad size is 250px in width and preferably a maximum of 250px in height. –>
</div>
</div>

Unless it has something to do with the “<div class>”? I can read HTML but can only sort of figure out CSS. (And, no clue what php means!) But, ads stacked on top of each other look silly!

Can anybody help me out?

Oh–and if you haven’t seen, not only did I publish part 2 of the Mason-Dixon interview yesterday, but my review of Classic Elite Knits is up, too!

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Two Weeks // 3 Comments »

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Ferns // 3 Comments »

Do I need to remind you what today is?

I’ve written about 9/11 before. I wrote this in 2005, only days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. I posted this amazing photo in 2006. And, last year, it just got a passing mention.

Today, I devoted the Booking Through Thursday question to 9/11 and atrocities everywhere. And I took this picture on the way to work. That “V” in the trees, just to the left of the lampost? Off on the horizon, we used to be able to see the Twin Towers there. And on 9/11/2001? The cloud of smoke spread up for miles and reached well past the border of this photo to the right …

It’s a sobering thing, really. So many things changed that day that will never be the same–not just for the familes that were shattered, but for that unique, American view that the World is a Good Place. We are a nation of optimists, really. Our forefathers believed in a nation ruled by its people. They said it right there, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”… “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

I think that one of the worst fallouts of the terrorist attacks that day … the worst ever on U.S. soil … isn’t so much (with all respect to the devastated families) the loss of life, though that was horrific, but the loss of a certain faith and belief that things will work out. As a nation, we tend to be eternally optimistic–we may bully other nations (and I would never claim that we don’t), but our outlook tends to be that we’re doing it to HELP. Of course, this often doesn’t turn out to be the case, but I don’t think we butt in out of malice, but out of a misguided attempt to share that American Dream. But since 9/11? I often feel that we had the same wake up call that Americans had on Pearl Harbor Day. That the world can be a dreadful place and that atrocities don’t always happen “Over There.”

They can happen right here, in our backyards, and to our loved ones. And we’ve had that deer in the headlights, wide-eyed look on our collective faces ever since. 9/11. Katrina. The war in Iraq (don’t get me started). The economy. We’re all looking around, trying to figure out what happened to the America we knew.

The thing is–it’s still there. How many people have reached out to help a friend? Donated a few, hard-earned bucks to a charity to support a friend’s ride for MS? Handed out flyers? Helped a child cross the street safely? Rowed a boat through floodwaters to save a stranger? Opened their house to a displaced family? Cleaned out the pantry for a food kitchen?

In troubled times, it’s more important than ever to remember what it is that we Americans dream about. It’s not that white picket fence. It’s not 2.4 children. It’s about living in a place where it’s safe for those children, and your neighbors’ children to grow up. And where there’s room for the tired, the poor, the hungry, the cold, the displaced people of the world to find comfort and solace and a chance for a new beginning. Except for a disproportionately small group of Native Americans, ALL of us came here as immigrants at some point or another–either us, or ancestors of ours.

It doesn’t matter what color your skin is. It doesn’t matter in front of what altar you bend your knee. It doesn’t matter what accent you have, or type of hair. Your income level is irrelevant. What does matter is that under the skin, we’re all just trying to live a safe and happy life, and that we’re all neighbors, struggling to reclaim the feeling of a dream. It’s just a shame that there are small-minded people who feel that that dream is “theirs” but not yours; or that you have no right to dream anything at all when they are hungry and frightened and terrorized.

America is not perfect–especially these last few years–but at our best, we stand as a beacon of an idealistic dream that a group of people embodied two and a quarter centuries ago. The trick is remembering that that dream encompasses ALL of us. You have to work at it. You can’t expect charity. You really should learn the language. But, otherwise? Dreamers are always welcome.

But … We can never forget the nightmare. After all–it just underlines why that American Dream is so important.

• Tags: General, Sky • Permalink:Do I Need to Remind You? // 9 Comments »

And then, yesterday would have been Jilly’s birthday–our miniature dachshund whom we lost at 15 years old in February 2001. (To give you an idea? That little girl in Mom’s arms? My now-19-year old niece who’s taller than all of us.)

• Tags: Katy, Jilly, Muppy • Permalink:Jilly // 2 Comments »

Okay, here’s a unique question.

You know I’m in NJ, but my best friend–you remember Dawn, right? The one I gave my Peacock Shawl to?–She just started studying how to become a film producer at AFI in Los Angeles. Her team is gearing up for their first project and, because they’re also the first group, they’ve got a tight schedule.

What she desperately needs is someplace to film a couple of scenes in what looks like it could be a graduate student’s apartment–you know, clean and decent, but not chockfull with things like stainless steel appliances and such.

She’s new to LA–she’s lived in California for over 10 years now, but only just moved down from the Bay area–but this means that she doesn’t know a lot of people she could ASK this of yet.

They would need to film over October 4-7th, during daylight hours, and they need a kitchen with a window, and a bedroom with a window. (It doesn’t even need to be an apartment, technically, because they could film it as if it was one.) They have practically no budget, but could afford to pay about $300.

I know–it’s an odd request, but, well … I promised I would pass it on …

Please leave a comment if you think you’d be interested–or know somebody who would be. Dawn is a responsible 40-year old and I’ve known her since she was 7, so I’ll vouch for her basic human decency. (Or, really, would I be asking a bunch of people 3000 miles away for a favor? Well, I mean, you ARE yarn people, after all–you just probably have MUCH better tans than I do!)

Thanks, everyone!

This has been a FSA (Friend Service Announcement).

• Tags: Friends • Permalink:Can You Help a Budding Film Producer? // 4 Comments »

Well, some extra reading material is never a bad thing, right?

I’ll, um, just add it to the top of the pile. It’s GOOD to have recreational reading, though!

Today has been a crazy, late day. Everything’s been just a little off. I over slept–not by a lot, just by one alarm clock “snooze”–but enough to throw things off. Then, I goofed when I measured out my oatmeal this morning and ended up with soupy gruel instead of, you know, oatmeal. I even tried adding some 1-minute oatmeal to the pot (I always eat the Old-Fashioned, 5-minute oatmeal) to thicken things up, but to no avail. But by the time it was done … well, not done, exactly, but it was late enough I didn’t have any more time to mess with it … because I HAD added extra oatmeal to my extra water, there was too  much of it to fit into my bowl and still have room for enough milk to cool it off enough to be able to eat it. So I had to dump some into the garbage, and I was still eating at 7:20, when it’s time for Chappy’s breakfast. You can imagine how he felt about that!

Then, we had thunderous, torrential rain this morning, with lots of thunder and lightning. Huge amounts of rain–there was so much coming down the hill toward the office door, I was afraid my car was going to wash inside the building. (Well, not literally.) We had a client come to visit, and just as he walked in the door at the height of the storm, I noticed my phone wasn’t working. Neither was one of my office neighbor’s phones … but everybody else’s was. (I don’t know why either.) But I had to get everybody in the office off the phones so I could reboot the phone system–all as quickly as possible, so I could get into the meeting with the visiting client.

Um … the rest of the day kind of followed the pattern. Late home for lunch because of the meeting. A suddenly-swamped mailbox this afternoon. Headache from the shifting air pressure from the storm. Tired, tired eyes from the computer.

But, there was one, huge bright spot.

(Well, other than Chappy–who always makes me smile.)

And, you’ll like this one. Because, I’ve got something else you might want to read–an Interview with Kay and Ann from Mason-Dixon Knitting at Knitting Scholar!

As in–an interview with me, over at my book review site. How cool is THAT? (You, um, DID know they’ve got a new book coming out next week, right?) This was SO much fun! Not only that, I only sprung the idea on them on Sunday night, sent them the questions yesterday, and had them back today with great answers. Funny, entertaining, insightful … just what you’d expect from Kay and Ann. Part one of the interview is up right now; part two is coming up in a day or so…

• Tags: General • Permalink:Reading Material // 4 Comments »

Well–here’s Ingenue, so far. I’ve finished the raglan shaping for the top and just put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn to keep them out of the way while I focus on the front and back of the body for the next while. I know, the pictures aren’t the best, but, well …

Oh, lordy, I was going to update the pictures on the Chappysmom calendar over at Cafe Press this week (in case any of you wanted a 2009 edition), but … who’s going to want my pictures of yarn, when they can have this calendar from Franklin?

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Ingenueing // 2 Comments »

So, the negative about pulling out so many old, favorite knitting books to write reviews about them? My already-overflowing bookcase has started disintegrating into chaos. Because it’s overflowing to begin with, I’ve got horizontal piles of books, and piles of books balanced on the top … not to mention the knitting magazines overflowing their holders. The extra bags of yarn that have been piled there haven’t helped matters, either.

Then, I’d pull books out, and somehow, they would lose their places and there wouldn’t be room to put them back … As I say, chaos.

So–an hour or so of work later, at least I’ve got everything more or less tidy. The yarn is organized and all in the appropriate bins at the top of the closet and, for the moment at least, the books mostly all fit. (Um, we’ll see how long that lasts!)

Also? Today would have been Katy’s birthday. I know, I tell you this every year, but for some reason, I’m really missing her today. Or at least, right NOW.  So, here are some (blurry) photos-of-photos of her because, darn it, she was so beautiful….

• Tags: Family, General, Katy, Jilly, Muppy • Permalink:(Re)Organization // 8 Comments »

How cool is this? My very own business cards! Black, with the logo on the front; white with my knitting-stitch icon on the back. They look just fabulous, don’t you think?

Although, in retrospect, I should have made the composition book with “Reviews of Knitting Books” a bit larger–it’s a little hard to read. But, hey, they’re fancy-schmancy business cards that I designed myself, so … no complaints! (And, can you tell I’ve been having WAY too much fun with that little cap?)

Speaking of Knitting Scholar, I got a mention in Ivy’s Knit Spirit podcast, which is also cool.

Oh, and also–my review of Nancie Wiseman’s “Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques” is up. Next review coming? Elizabeth Zimmerman’s classic, “Knitting Around.” Also coming up? Casual Elegant Knits: Classy Designs for Men and Women. I’m even getting a review copy for it, which is fantastic because this way I get to SEE the book I wouldn’t otherwise have gotten. (In fact, the author is in the middle of a blog tour this week, and today is at Fitter Knitter.)

How does one GET on a blog tour, anyway?

Additionally, guess what else I did? I signed up for advertising space on Ravelry. I looked into Knitty’s advertising, but it was hundreds of dollars, and I asked for rates for Knitter’s Review and haven’t heard yet. Ravelry, though? Something like $10 a month, depending on where the ad goes. So–to help spread the word, that seemed pretty reasonable.

In fact, it seemed SO reasonable, I signed up for TWO ads.

Because–why not? It’s the beginning of September–plenty of time to get a Tannenbaum hat knit in time for the holidays, right? If I sell two patterns it will more than pay for the cost of the ad, and if it doesn’t? Well, I tried!

Okay, so … other stuff. It’s raining, because Hanna came to town. They had been forecasting rain due to start in the early morning hours, but as it turned out, it didn’t start raining here until after 3:00 in the afternoon. Which meant that Mom and I were able to go out for coffee for the first time in weeks without getting drenched. And Kim, who was handing out flyers this morning (announcing a meeting to protest the NJ Transit cutbacks at Mt. Tabor), didn’t get soaked doing her good deed, either.

But, other than reading and doing computer things, and listening to the pounding rain this afternoon–the first real rain we’ve had in weeks, so no complaints–it’s been a quiet day. Chappy is thrilled because he’s had his family home practically all day, and had LOTS of pets, scratches, and other outward signs of adoration. (Well-deserved, of course.)

Oh, and I got a comment on yesterday’s post by another Chappysmom. A woman with a Leonberger dog named Chappy who came across my blog when she googled his name. (It’s so nice to know I’m not the only person who does that.) Hi, Judi! Hope your Chappy is as happy as my Chappy!

I wandered around the yard last night with my camera. It’s amazing how many tree leaves have started to turn already, since it HAS been so dry.

• Tags: General, knitting book review • Permalink:Soggy Saturday Updates // 2 Comments »

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Blueberries // 6 Comments »

You know that irresistable temptation feeling? The one you usually get when you’re faced with luscious yarn?

Yeah, well … I really loved Eli Stone when it was on the air for its short season last Spring, and appalling money trouble or not, well … I had to have it. How can you resist a law show about a lawyer with a brain aneurism which may or may not be causing prophetic visions … many of which come in the form of musical number, and frequent appearances by George Michael? It’s just a delightful show. ABC was thoughtful enough to run some repeats over the summer. (Okay, they were on Saturday at 10:00, but I’m not complaining–we recorded them.) The fact that they aired repeats, though, gave me a chance to get Mom watching, too, and now she’s as hooked as I am … and now we can see the episodes we missed!

The one weird thing? In the bonus features, they talk to Jonny Lee Miller, of course, and while his character is purely American, he himself is British … but I’m so used to “Eli” talking with an American accent, that the actor speaking as himself keeps throwing me off! Still … watching the cast (Natasha Hendridge, Victor Garber, Loretta Divine to name a few) joking with each other is fun. SO worth getting this set.

And I’m not going to apologize for my pre-ordered set of Chuck, either. These two shows were by far my favorites of the new season last year (followed closely by the  The Big Bang Theory, which was a riot).

I know, there’s really no excuse … other than that the show is delicious.

On the plus side, my sweater is coming along. The blue … which is to say, the top of the sweater … is about 4″ long now and I just keep pausing to admire the color. I’ll say it again (because why should Mom and Chappy be the only ones to hear it), I LOVE this color. Love it, love it, love it!

My review of Inspired to Knit is up … please come over and read it! (For that matter, I wrote an article ABOUT writing reviews for Punctuality Rules!, too.)

Oh, and I’ve been Twittering lately … come follow me!

And–a funny cartoon that we all got a kick of today.

And, speaking of TV shows on DVD, Amazon is having a special “Emmy Deals” promotion, and since I am a big fan of getting tv shows on DVD, well, I had to point it out!

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

If you didn’t see it, I compiled a list of all the new knitting books coming out in the next few months–or, at least, all the ones I could find on Amazon.

Guess how many there were?

Forty-four! That’s a lot of books!

Which ones have I actually pre-ordered?

• I love the cover sweater on Color Style, so that was one of them.
• The Mason-Dixon book–of course!
• The Yarn Harlot’s new book was a must and
• Franklin Habit’s just because I love his cartoons so much.
• The Classic Elite book because their styles are always so classy.
•