Tuesday, August 15, 2006
This is my title!
Does anyone else have trouble coming up with a title every post? Some days it's just obvious, but other days I come up with.....nothing. Today is one of those days. I have things to say, just no snazzy catchy title. The creativity gods aren't smiling on me I guess.
We took the kids camping last weekend, and had a great time. The weather was nice, we all got along well together (which can be tricky when you have 4 individuals in a tent) and our new screen tent was a smart purchase. It kept the bugs away, gave us room to work, and didn't clog up our site too much. The only thing we forgot was a can opener. Oops, thank goodness for kindly neighbors in ginormous trailers that have more than everything. Like tv and stuff. Now that's camping! We also all got to enjoy our new air beds. There's nothing worse than waking up on a flat mattress. It was almost decadent.
I'd like to say hi to the celiac knitbloggers that have made their way to my site. One is Chris, hey Chris!! And the other one that comes to mind is Lynne who stopped in from Down Under. G'day Lynne! If there are any others don't be afraid to speak up. Also I'd like to send a shout out to Susan. Hiya Susan!! She's not a celiac but she's from Grayling, which is close to where we spend a lot of our lake-time weekends. She's got my blog spotlighted on her blog, and if you go check her out, make sure to check out her Etsy store too, she has some beautiful handpainted yarns for sale. I'm waiting for a skein to hit my door any day now. Ooooh, I love shopping online! Speaking of, DD's order from Old Navy just got delivered so mom is off the hook for clothes for about 5 minutes. Maybe 4, a new season is right around the corner.
I am zooming along on my Hippo sock, and I must say it's a relief that I'm not suffering from SSS. The trick is to have a challenging pattern and that way by the second sock, you're so thrilled you're not tinking back every 2 seconds, that it just flies by, since you figured out all the tricks on the first sock. I'm getting much closer to my next pair of socks, which will be toe ups on my new Knit Picks needles. Don't worry Lisa, I'll tell you as soon as I know if I like them or not. I'm really anxious to see if they fare better than the Addis. I ended up buying some Inox needles for the Peacock shawl, due to the snubby nature of Addi tips. Too many yarn overs with lace weight silk had me pulling my hair out. It seems that Skacel is listening to our requests though as plans are in the works for pointier tips to accomodate lace knitters. Hooray! A company that really cares! Also, gotta love Grumperina for putting her proverbial foot (needles?) down!!
I survived another Monday, which means I survived another exercise class! I'm still not sure who's getting more of a workout....my students or me? Well, as long as they keep showing up, that's a good thing. It's kinda silly to dance around and bark out instructions (like a drill sargeant-right Amanda?) all by yourself. Could give a girl a complex.
I don't really have any pics to post, as I haven't really taken pictures of anything lately. I hope too soon though since I just purchased the One Skein Wonder from Glampyre, and will be using my handpainted (by others) handspun (by me!) llama. I might even make a second one using the skein of Sari silk I bought while in AA for YH. Gotta love talking in code. Makes me feel so high tech. "Hey Betty, yep I conquered the tricky YO's while in AA visiting with YH, which means I'll have another FO soon!" Roger, out! OK, yes, I'm a dork. Self proclaimed and not even remotely ashamed of said dorkdom. It works for me.
Ok, well this dork has to get back to work. Have a great day!
We took the kids camping last weekend, and had a great time. The weather was nice, we all got along well together (which can be tricky when you have 4 individuals in a tent) and our new screen tent was a smart purchase. It kept the bugs away, gave us room to work, and didn't clog up our site too much. The only thing we forgot was a can opener. Oops, thank goodness for kindly neighbors in ginormous trailers that have more than everything. Like tv and stuff. Now that's camping! We also all got to enjoy our new air beds. There's nothing worse than waking up on a flat mattress. It was almost decadent.
I'd like to say hi to the celiac knitbloggers that have made their way to my site. One is Chris, hey Chris!! And the other one that comes to mind is Lynne who stopped in from Down Under. G'day Lynne! If there are any others don't be afraid to speak up. Also I'd like to send a shout out to Susan. Hiya Susan!! She's not a celiac but she's from Grayling, which is close to where we spend a lot of our lake-time weekends. She's got my blog spotlighted on her blog, and if you go check her out, make sure to check out her Etsy store too, she has some beautiful handpainted yarns for sale. I'm waiting for a skein to hit my door any day now. Ooooh, I love shopping online! Speaking of, DD's order from Old Navy just got delivered so mom is off the hook for clothes for about 5 minutes. Maybe 4, a new season is right around the corner.
I am zooming along on my Hippo sock, and I must say it's a relief that I'm not suffering from SSS. The trick is to have a challenging pattern and that way by the second sock, you're so thrilled you're not tinking back every 2 seconds, that it just flies by, since you figured out all the tricks on the first sock. I'm getting much closer to my next pair of socks, which will be toe ups on my new Knit Picks needles. Don't worry Lisa, I'll tell you as soon as I know if I like them or not. I'm really anxious to see if they fare better than the Addis. I ended up buying some Inox needles for the Peacock shawl, due to the snubby nature of Addi tips. Too many yarn overs with lace weight silk had me pulling my hair out. It seems that Skacel is listening to our requests though as plans are in the works for pointier tips to accomodate lace knitters. Hooray! A company that really cares! Also, gotta love Grumperina for putting her proverbial foot (needles?) down!!
I survived another Monday, which means I survived another exercise class! I'm still not sure who's getting more of a workout....my students or me? Well, as long as they keep showing up, that's a good thing. It's kinda silly to dance around and bark out instructions (like a drill sargeant-right Amanda?) all by yourself. Could give a girl a complex.
I don't really have any pics to post, as I haven't really taken pictures of anything lately. I hope too soon though since I just purchased the One Skein Wonder from Glampyre, and will be using my handpainted (by others) handspun (by me!) llama. I might even make a second one using the skein of Sari silk I bought while in AA for YH. Gotta love talking in code. Makes me feel so high tech. "Hey Betty, yep I conquered the tricky YO's while in AA visiting with YH, which means I'll have another FO soon!" Roger, out! OK, yes, I'm a dork. Self proclaimed and not even remotely ashamed of said dorkdom. It works for me.
Ok, well this dork has to get back to work. Have a great day!
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Another quickie!
I just wanted to show you my first finished Hippo sock, and the start of the second one.
How's it look?I think the reflection of the bars from the window is a nice touch. Gotta love working in the ghetto. I love the colors in these socks, but don't love using size 1 Addi's with their blunt tip. I just recently purchased size 1's from Knit Picks and am anxious to try them on my next pair, for comparison. I'll let you know when I try them.
That's all for now. I'm pretty wiped out from last night, I taught class and squoze (it's a word) a little (very little) yard work in before it was pitch black out and it became somewhat ridiculous that I was still out there. Tonight we're going shopping for some more camping necessities since we're taking the kids this weekend.
Have a good one! (Is it 5 yet?)
Monday, August 07, 2006
This crazy thing called blogging!
Wow! What a boost to a girl's ego. I came in to work this morning and there were no less than 14 comments to my last post! Holy crap, did I feel special on an otherwise crappy Monday morning.
First of all, for the weekend, we went up to the lake Friday night and I actually slept in till 12:30 Saturday. That's what happens when we don't have the kids, I can actually SLEEP IN. The SO was restless long before that so he was up and about doing his own thing, and I got the whole bed to myself and despite a little noise interruption due to other houseguests I fell back to sleep and happily woke up at 12:30. It felt awesome!! I was long overdue. I had frogged my first Hippo sock, cuz every time I tried it on to admire my work, I couldn't help but notice the toe was a bit snug. And it nagged at me. And I couldn't have it nagging at me that way. So, since this project has been a very educational experience to say the least, I decided to teach myself something else. Frogging an already kitchener'd toe back to the beginning toe decreases and lengthening the toe. It worked. And despite the fact that I didn't have the kitchener directions handy, I did it from memory and I think it came out ok. The toe is a bit roomier, and I should be much happier with this. It sucks to be a perfectionist. But since I've been doing so much with this pair of socks, it only seemed right to get them exactly right. After much struggling with the toe up method of socks, and after a brief conversation with the pattern designer, Cookie convinced me that toe ups for the second Hippo Sock would be too tough to pull off. So I frogged the second sock and cast on for the top down, a repeat of the first sock. I've survived the 10 rows of 1x1 ribbing and have happily moved on to the now familiar chart for the leg.
I'm also moving forward on the little white Knitty sweater that I started eons ago. I realized that it stalled because the directions were somewhat unclear and because of all the trouble I was having with the hippo socks, I couldn't bear the thought of frogging another project and starting over. I installed a lifeline at the point the pattern directions changed, and that's where it sat. I picked it back up last week, decided I knew what I was doing and have moved forward once again.
I've started to keep a knitting journal, because I've realized that sometimes too much time passes from the start of a project to when I actually pick it back up, and if I can keep notes, without trashing the pattern itself, it might be helpful. I used it to note the mods I did to the hippo toe, so when I get to it for the second sock it will be the same-hopefully. Also, I'm going to make notes when I swatch (when I swatch!) to keep track of needle sizes and gauge and all of that stuff you're supposed to keep track of, for sizing purposes. I'm running into that with the KSH cami from Weekend Knitting. I did the swatch months ago, and can't remember what size needle I ended up getting gauge with. ARGHH!! But never again. I'll be prepared next time. It will also give me a chance to see just how long certain projects take me, since my memory is for crap on those kinds of details.
Now, to address all the comments to my last post. It was great to hear from all of you!! I really appreciated that you came out to "see" me. But ladies, easy does it on the SO. I know it's fun to jump on the "man-haters bandwagon" and they're usually such easy targets so it's not like we have to work at thinking up things to hate, but in my SO's unknowing defense: he is a really good guy! He's a great dad to his and mine, he's very good to me, he's just slightly oblivious to the whole knit-blogging, photo taking of FO's/WIP's craze that we knitters consider "normal". And for those that have asked, no I haven't been given the digital camera back yet, but then again, I haven't asked, since I haven't presented him with the Petition as of yet. It's all about timing ladies. We all know not to present certain things at the wrong time (say anything in the middle of a critical football game), as that could be damaging to future endeavors. Maybe about the time I haul his sweater back out and start on it again, then I'll be able to ask for the camera, to document progress and give him the Petition as cause for doing so. This way, we'll both win, since he's been bugging me for a sweater forever, and I'll be justified in getting the camera back. Except, his sweater is gonna be a huge drag, as it's primarily stockinette that will go on forever, considering his stocky man's build. Oh the price I'll pay for fabulous broad shoulders {sigh}.
I want to say hi to Elli, as I've discovered she was the mystery Pomatomus sock knitter I met in line at the YH event in A2. It was great to put a blog with a face, and now I can watch her progress on Pomatomus. Check out her blog, she's very talented, and has lots of FO's to show for it!
Also, hi to everyone else who hit me with comments, I enjoyed reading all of your posts, and snuck over to check out your blogs too!
Also, for clarification it wasn't MY idea to wear name tags listing our blogs, it was actually Amby's idea. I just flapped my big mouth about it, before she could. But we were in agreement, it was disappointing not to put more blogs with faces in A2. Maybe next time we're at an event we'll try neon or something flashy like that. Because we realized that our personalities didn't just send out the proper blog identification. Neon is a much better idea. What do you think?
Also, I am looking for some suggestions. While in A2, I finally broke down and bought a skein of recycled sari silk, and am looking for a purpose. Any suggestions for this beautiful fiber would be welcomed. I purchased some Rowan Summer Tweed in a lovely lavendar color, but again, have no specific pattern in mind. I'm looking for a simple summer top, but don't know exactly what it's destined to become. Again, any suggestions would be welcomed.
I hope to have some pictures for you on my next post (I have a camera phone at least), to keep it a little more interesting. I've got aerobics tonight, and maybe some yard work too, but we'll see who poops out first-me or the daylight! Have a great night!
First of all, for the weekend, we went up to the lake Friday night and I actually slept in till 12:30 Saturday. That's what happens when we don't have the kids, I can actually SLEEP IN. The SO was restless long before that so he was up and about doing his own thing, and I got the whole bed to myself and despite a little noise interruption due to other houseguests I fell back to sleep and happily woke up at 12:30. It felt awesome!! I was long overdue. I had frogged my first Hippo sock, cuz every time I tried it on to admire my work, I couldn't help but notice the toe was a bit snug. And it nagged at me. And I couldn't have it nagging at me that way. So, since this project has been a very educational experience to say the least, I decided to teach myself something else. Frogging an already kitchener'd toe back to the beginning toe decreases and lengthening the toe. It worked. And despite the fact that I didn't have the kitchener directions handy, I did it from memory and I think it came out ok. The toe is a bit roomier, and I should be much happier with this. It sucks to be a perfectionist. But since I've been doing so much with this pair of socks, it only seemed right to get them exactly right. After much struggling with the toe up method of socks, and after a brief conversation with the pattern designer, Cookie convinced me that toe ups for the second Hippo Sock would be too tough to pull off. So I frogged the second sock and cast on for the top down, a repeat of the first sock. I've survived the 10 rows of 1x1 ribbing and have happily moved on to the now familiar chart for the leg.
I'm also moving forward on the little white Knitty sweater that I started eons ago. I realized that it stalled because the directions were somewhat unclear and because of all the trouble I was having with the hippo socks, I couldn't bear the thought of frogging another project and starting over. I installed a lifeline at the point the pattern directions changed, and that's where it sat. I picked it back up last week, decided I knew what I was doing and have moved forward once again.
I've started to keep a knitting journal, because I've realized that sometimes too much time passes from the start of a project to when I actually pick it back up, and if I can keep notes, without trashing the pattern itself, it might be helpful. I used it to note the mods I did to the hippo toe, so when I get to it for the second sock it will be the same-hopefully. Also, I'm going to make notes when I swatch (when I swatch!) to keep track of needle sizes and gauge and all of that stuff you're supposed to keep track of, for sizing purposes. I'm running into that with the KSH cami from Weekend Knitting. I did the swatch months ago, and can't remember what size needle I ended up getting gauge with. ARGHH!! But never again. I'll be prepared next time. It will also give me a chance to see just how long certain projects take me, since my memory is for crap on those kinds of details.
Now, to address all the comments to my last post. It was great to hear from all of you!! I really appreciated that you came out to "see" me. But ladies, easy does it on the SO. I know it's fun to jump on the "man-haters bandwagon" and they're usually such easy targets so it's not like we have to work at thinking up things to hate, but in my SO's unknowing defense: he is a really good guy! He's a great dad to his and mine, he's very good to me, he's just slightly oblivious to the whole knit-blogging, photo taking of FO's/WIP's craze that we knitters consider "normal". And for those that have asked, no I haven't been given the digital camera back yet, but then again, I haven't asked, since I haven't presented him with the Petition as of yet. It's all about timing ladies. We all know not to present certain things at the wrong time (say anything in the middle of a critical football game), as that could be damaging to future endeavors. Maybe about the time I haul his sweater back out and start on it again, then I'll be able to ask for the camera, to document progress and give him the Petition as cause for doing so. This way, we'll both win, since he's been bugging me for a sweater forever, and I'll be justified in getting the camera back. Except, his sweater is gonna be a huge drag, as it's primarily stockinette that will go on forever, considering his stocky man's build. Oh the price I'll pay for fabulous broad shoulders {sigh}.
I want to say hi to Elli, as I've discovered she was the mystery Pomatomus sock knitter I met in line at the YH event in A2. It was great to put a blog with a face, and now I can watch her progress on Pomatomus. Check out her blog, she's very talented, and has lots of FO's to show for it!
Also, hi to everyone else who hit me with comments, I enjoyed reading all of your posts, and snuck over to check out your blogs too!
Also, for clarification it wasn't MY idea to wear name tags listing our blogs, it was actually Amby's idea. I just flapped my big mouth about it, before she could. But we were in agreement, it was disappointing not to put more blogs with faces in A2. Maybe next time we're at an event we'll try neon or something flashy like that. Because we realized that our personalities didn't just send out the proper blog identification. Neon is a much better idea. What do you think?
Also, I am looking for some suggestions. While in A2, I finally broke down and bought a skein of recycled sari silk, and am looking for a purpose. Any suggestions for this beautiful fiber would be welcomed. I purchased some Rowan Summer Tweed in a lovely lavendar color, but again, have no specific pattern in mind. I'm looking for a simple summer top, but don't know exactly what it's destined to become. Again, any suggestions would be welcomed.
I hope to have some pictures for you on my next post (I have a camera phone at least), to keep it a little more interesting. I've got aerobics tonight, and maybe some yard work too, but we'll see who poops out first-me or the daylight! Have a great night!
