Stuff and More Stuff

WHAT was that noise?!?

2011-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

By the time I get home from work, I rarely have brain cells left to be creative when it comes to cooking dinner (never mind, creative enough to have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch!). And, in spite of rumors otherwise, working for the City of Portland does not pay so well that I can afford to eat out/get take-out/drive through for lunch OR dinner.

So I try to cook ahead, stocking my mini-freezer with single-serving meals that don't require much - if any - prep other than thawing and heating.

A couple of days ago, I found a great deal on boneless, skinless chicken breasts at my local store. Some would go into chicken-corn chowder, some into chicken taco rice, some would be cubed and frozen for who-knows-what. All recipes required browning/simmering/cooking first - so I got out my trusty over-large WearEver skillet.

Chicken seared, liquid added, lid on to simmer. A few minutes in, I heard a *>POP<* from the kitchen. Wandering back, I saw this:

Really? Is that what I think it is? Apparently so...

The glass lid has ...well, it hasn't shattered, 'cause it's all still there. MAYbe, if I'm really careful, I can lift it off?

Or not. Hmmm...

If I'm really careful, can I - without spreading glass all over the chicken - pick up the lid?

Apparently not.

Eventually, I let the entire thing cool enough that I could pick up the lid by the edge and toss it. My formerly favorite over-sized skillet now gets aluminum foil when I need a lid.

Hmph!

(Fortunately, the glass chucks were sufficiently large that I could avoid them, salvage the chicken, and carry on with cooking for the freezer!)

"I can't have nuts!"

2010-10-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

That's what the kid just said - loudly!- as I started to put a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and a KitKat into his Hallowe'en bucket. Mind you, the Reese's are at the bottom of the bowl so that if (cough) there's any leftover candy, it'll be Reese's.

So I swapped the Reese's for a box of Hot Tamales.

"I can't have hot!", he claims.

I'm tempted to say, "Look, kid, I already gave away all of the boring stuff!", but give him two KitKats instead.

Back in the day (after dirt, but before dinosaurs), we swapped the stuff we didn't like with our sibling or buddies. It's Halloween, and I really can't take the time to say "ground or tree?" when a kid says he can't have nuts.

Two leopards just came to the door. The girls were MAYbe 4 and 6, and were as cute as cute can be.

When did I become a curmudgeon?

- - - -

Knitting - and Rhinebeck - has occurred. Susan and I got to spend two days at Rhinebeck. To my amazement, Anne Hanson (aka KnitSpot) recognized my shawl (Wing of the Moth) and asked if she could take a picture. As if I'm going to say "no" to the shawl's designer? (As if I weren't flattered beyond words?!?)

After Rhinebeck, Susan and I headed to Northampton (aka, "WEBS"). The brilliant and lovely Marcy (aka knittinggolfer) met us there for fun, yarn, and lunch. We posted pictures of each other on Twitter, but I neglected to take a For Reals picture.

- - - -

And, at almost-8 pm and with three almost-teenage girls (one vampire, one witch, one vampire-witch), I'm out of candy. There's one (one!) Reese's Peanut Butter Cup left. Time to turn off the porch light, have a piece of candy, and knit.

Sekrits, Rhinebeck, and otherwise

2010-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Two of the five secret projects I've been working on have been delivered (see This And That for more on those two -- and I cannot express how delighted I am to have been part of the surprise!), and three are part of Something Big And Wonderful, and wait on someone else's timing.

Now that the Sekrit Projects are complete, I've gotten a moment to work on my own knitting. And, as of yesterday, Wing o'the Moth is finished and blocking, just in time for a trip to Long Island and Rhinebeck!

It's always a guess, what to pack for Rhinebeck and WEBS. It could be cold, could be raining, could be cold AND raining, and it could be positively tropical, tank-top weather.

This is the first time I've been on the west coast and headed for Rhinebeck so, while I'm tempted to pack my entire wardrobe, I'm trying to be a bit more judicious. Current forecast is chilly (but not all of the way to "cold") both days, and windy on Sunday.

Kingscot[e] is definitely going, as is Hypotenuse. And Wing (even if I have to wear it over a coat!), but I think other, lighter shawls (Diamond Fantasy Lace, fex) will have to stay home.

I do have my List Of Things To Look For (but am not feeling obligated to buy anything) but, even better, have my List Of People I Want To See. (WEBS and Marcy on Monday!)

Before Rhinebeck, though, I'm headed to Long Island to see Susan and folks with whom I used to work at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Swell fun!

Still alive (honest)!

2010-06-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

Time seems to be zooming by faster than I can keep up. Between work (recently grant-writing, which seems to eat 30 hours of every 24-hour day) and life (family and friends' birthdays, friends' about-to-be grandkids, and the not-work of working for Tina), things seem to have gotten away from me.

That's annoying, because I actually have knit! I wore the Diamond Fantasy Lace shawl and Kingscot[e] at Sock Camp... and I have exactly zero pictures to prove it.

Currently on my needles: Traveling Sweater in five Raven colorways, Spring Forward socks in a BMFA Rare Gem, and a project that I can't write about.

In the near future is World-Wide Knit In Public Day and Black Sheep Gathering.

Further down the road, I've just booked the plane tix to go to Rhinebeck this fall with my dear friend, Susan. Tracy and her WonderSweetie may be on a parallel path; it'd be fun to see them on the other coast.

More soon... I hope!

Yarn Torture!

2010-04-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sivia Harding's pattern for the Diamond Fantasy Lace shawl says, and I quote, "block severely". Not "aggressively", "severely".

Done, and done.

This is Blue Moon Fiber Art's amazing Seduction (50% Merino, 50% Tencel) in Winter Solstice. Love, love, loved knitting with it!

I'm not a particularly loose knitter, but this blocked 9" longer and almost 20" wider than the pattern size. (And no, I didn't do an extra pattern repeat -- in fact, I just went and recounted!) Mind you, I'm not objecting to the size. I'm tall, and I was thinking about adding a repeat or two if it looked like it was going to be small.

Now the hard part: waiting 'til it dries!

Milestones, Albeit Odd

2010-03-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Two years ago -- well, 25 months ago to be accurate -- I bought a 200 foot roll of plastic wrap. I'd just moved back to the Pacific Northwest, was living in a studio apartment, about to start working for Portland Fire & Rescue, and househunting. And while the studio apartment had some amenities (two plates, two coffee cups, two sets of cutlery, etc.), it did not include dishwashing soap or plastic wrap.

Tonight's dinner leftovers mark the end of that 200-foot roll.

At 25 months per 200 feet, how long will the recently purchased-from-Costco, double-pack of 750-foot rolls of plastic wrap last?

(Comparing my personal use with what Tina and the Barn Gals go through every day at Blue Moon Fiber Arts amuses me greatly!)

Tracy and Jen's Grand Adventure: Results

2010-03-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

I may have mentioned that Tracy and I won a grand prize basket in last week's Portland Yarn Crawl. Today, we finally had a chance to catch our breath, meet up, have lunch... and then we headed back to her house to spread out our booty. We fondled, we discussed, we divvied, and we're both quite thrilled with the amazing gifts in this basket.

Seriously, thank you to the vendors who donated and THANK YOU! to Northwest Wools for participating.

This, gentle beings, is everything spread out.

This Lantern Moon basket is staying with Tracy. (You'd be proud, Susan: Tracy's stash still fits in baskets!)

The Lantern Moon needle case and Destiny circ came home with me; the Sox Stix stayed with Tracy.

I've now got Knitted Socks East and West and Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans; Tracy has Knits Men Wear, a Pocket Pals pattern, and the winter edition of Knitting Traditions. I expect to borrow Knits Men Wear, she expects to borrow the afghan book.

Two skeins of Aslan Trends cotton - we've each got one,

and two skeins of Asland Trends Pima classic -- again, we've each got one. The brown Poems sock yarn came home with me, as did the Classic Elite Alpaca sock yarn.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca and a pattern book, and Imperial Stock Ranch yarn and pattern. We, um, didn't feel compelled to keep the bits together -- so I've got the Berroco yarn and Tracy has the pattern, and Tracy has the purple Imperial Stock Ranch yarn, and I have the dark gray. Tracy has the Tahki beret kit -- she'll actually make it and wear it!

Frog Tree chunky alpaca and Classic Elite Silky Alpaca lace -- both Tracy's colors. I somehow managed to miss taking a picture of Lanaloft bulky from Brown Sheep that's pretty close to the Silky Alpaca green -- also Tracy's color.

In the top picture, you can also see bottles of Unicorn Fibre Wash and Rinse (I've got the wash, Tracy has the rinse -- trust us, there's a logic to that split!) and a sample of Bar-Maids salt scrub.

So, keeping in mind that this is HALF of the stuff that was originally in the basket, here's Tracy's basket:

And my half, pretty well filling a Yarn Crawl bag.

Again, thank you to the vendors who donated, to the shops that participated -- especially Northwest Wools, who picked my name out of the hat -- and thank you, Tracy, for sharing the adventure!

Patience is...

2010-03-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Patience is a nuisance, sometimes. Seeing no viable alternative, that's where we're stuck.

The Portland Yarn Crawl was last weekend. What with one thing and another, Tracy and I had exactly one day -- Friday -- to participate. We agreed that, in the unlikely event that one of our names was drawn for a prize, we'd split it. It doesn't cost to dream big, after all!

We went to nine stores in seven hours (we had a plan and a GPS), hitting stores we'd never visited before (Close Knit (need to go back, now that we know what they've got), Yarn Garden (lovely space, lovely people), Happy Knits (near Yarn Garden, lovely people, entirely different lovely stuff!), and Northwest Wools (kind, helpful people, and they group yarn by color within weights!)), favorites (Twisted (love), Dublin Bay (love), Knit/Purl (love - and Tracy knits samples for them), All About Yarn (more love), For Yarn's Sake (hadn't been there since opening day, and were even more delighted with them now)) and, had we not run out of time, two more favorites (Knitting Bee, Kathy's Knit Korner) would have been included.

Yes, that's a lot of stores but, as I said, we had a plan. And we didn't just stop in, sign up for the prizes and leave; oh, no!

One of us -- and usually both of us -- found something that HAD to come home with us at every single store.

Well.

Today, Northwest Wools called, and said we'd won a grand prize basket.

Okay, technically, they'd pulled my name out of the hat. But it could have as easily been Tracy's. So, from my perspective, WE won a basket. I did collect it on the way home from work tonight.

But here's the "patience" part: I'm up to my eyeballs in grant writing this week. Tracy is up to her eyeballs in family stuff this week. We won't divvying stuff up until Sunday.

We may need another prize for "remarkable restraint"!

Personal Best

2010-03-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

(which is a kind way of saying "Knitting Olympics FAIL")

As you may recall, I signed up to make Sivia Harding's beaded Diamond Fantasy Lace shawl for Steph's Knitting Olympics. Might have worked, too, if I'd remembered a) my schedule and b) "beaded".

After Sivia's class at Madrona (see how clever I am? I signed up to knit something with a teacher and instructions!), my shawl looked like this:

A week-plus-weekend-plus-another-week later, my shawl looked like this:

The final weekend, I admitted that I wasn't happy with the start:
- the first bead was on the wrong side,
- Sivia (herself!) said that she'd probably use a different double decrease if she were writing the pattern today (and then taught it to us),
- errors fudged into compliance,

but I also knew that I seriously loved the fabric created by Tina's BMFA Seduction (oh, BAY-bee!).

To make a long story short ("Too late! Too late! ," I hear you cry) I cut off the first attempt. I started over on Friday morning of The Final Weekend.

I didn't manage an entire beaded shawl in two-and-a-half days. But I did manage enough that Sivia's pattern calls it a "scarf " and I'm well on the way to producing a shawl I'll actually wear and enjoy.

(note to self: If you're knitting a shawl, you probably need an Addi Lace longer than 24" Good thing that Tracy will remind you at PDX Yarn Crawl!)

I'm amused

2010-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

I've been going through the prove-you-don't-need-money-so-you-can-borrow-money process of refinancing my house.

Wells Fargo had the original mortgage.

The refinance process is complete, and the original mortgage has been paid off by the new mortgage company...

Wells Fargo.

I'm sure this is logical in some cosmic sense but, in the meantime, I'll just be quietly amused. (And ahead on my mortgage, thankyouverymuch!)

Silly...

2010-02-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

It's a silly thing I miss from my old, married life.

MAJOR qualifier: I love my current life. I am truly blessed. Last weekend, I was at Madrona with Tracy, who wrote one of the nicest Valentines I've ever received. This weekend, I was at Cannon Beach, listening to one of the most inspirational speakers I've heard in a long while.

But life - and laundry - goes on, y'know? I've been home for a couple of hours. It's back to work tomorrow morning. I'm tired and my muscles ache. What do I miss from my old, married life? Not something in the relationship. It's something from the house:

My decadent (for me) bathtub.

Nothing fancy -- no spritzing jets, no whirls or vortexes -- just a "garden" tub long/deep enough that I (!) could stretch out enough that my knees and shoulders could be under water at the same time.

I think I'll go take a vertical bath.

p.s. Olympic knitting? Exactly where it was a week ago...

Knitting Olympics

2010-02-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

WHAT, pray tell, was I thinking?!?

When Steph decided that she was actually, factually going to organize the 2010 Knitting Olympics, I thought, "Heck, YEAH, I'm in!"

I had the perfect project in mind: a beaded lace shawl, Sivia Harding's Diamond Lace Fantasy. A stretch, but doable. I anticipated pure pleasure knitting this in amazingly wonderful BMFA Seduction. Even better, (here's the sneaky bit) a class at Madrona last Sunday, by Sivia, about this specific shawl.

I mean, y'gotta love a plan!

I knew I had two evening meetings this week (I can knit and look interested at the same time), an all-day workshop (ditto), and an all-day event with downtime (ditto). And that's just week one! It's still a stretch (I can't actually talk and knit lace, but I can listen...) but I'll be okay.

Except...

Except I forgot about the "bead" part.

It's one thing to quietly make hand motions under the table. It's another thing to break out a box of beads, a crochet hook, a pattern, AND try to knit quietly under the table.

In Olympic terms, I may not make it past the quarter finals.

What was I thinking?!?

Ma-dro-na! Ma-dro-na!

2010-02-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Arrived in Tacoma with TracyBird last night (late enough, after we'd both worked all day, that we were a bit crispy fried), found hotel, slept...

And today. Class all day with Evelyn Clark (Icelandic Lace Knitting). Friends met and hugged. Projects pet and ogled. Acquaintances renewed.

Brain very, very full...

Rogue, complete

2010-01-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

Speaking of knitting, it was a relief to finish this one!

My sister asked for a Rogue sweater. Can do.
But, maybe, a cardigan instead of a pullover? Okay, can do.
Not too fond of the thick hems, though... Okay, there's help for that, too.
Now, about the color... It took five months (and swatches from several mail-order companies) before she made a decision.
I bought yarn, swatched, got approval, and (because *I* wasn't entirely happy with the feel of the fabric), knit the sleeves first for Sis's approval.

She liked 'em.

On I knit, through tidy (thin!) hems, cables, pockets, back and forth, until I got to the armpits... and then the entire thing went into a box so I could move across the country and back to the Pacific North West.

On occasion, my sister would delicately clear her throat and murmur something about how nice it would be to have a green sweater. "Haven't come across the box it's in." "It's July. Too hot to knit a wool sweater." "Erm, yeah." My excuses got weaker.

So, in October, I dragged it out, figured out where I was (rarely have I been so glad that I write notes to myself on patterns!), and carried on.

And now it's done. And my sister is, well, happy.

Good intentions, lousy execution...

2010-01-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

(I suspect that I may have said that before...)

I'm hoping that, by posting something (ANYthing!), I'll get past the "there's too much to tell" bump I hit a couple of whiles ago.

Long story, short: Knitting has occurred. Job has been maintained. Holidays have been celebrated. And, five days after my last post, I had a complete hysterectomy for (and I quote) adenoendometrial carcinoma. So far, things are okay (aside from "granulated tissue" that made my oncologist frown - but the biopsy says "normal" and "healthy"), but I'm still a bit twitchy about the whole "cancer" thing.

Some dear friends have kept me sane: my sis (who spent a week holding my hand in person and continues to do so long-distance), Tracy (who listens when I need to grump and doesn't go weird on me), Tina, the Barn Gals, and the Sockateers (who expect me to just show up and be helpful - and that's a good thing when I'm overthinking too much), a sympathetic and supportive Chief and colleagues at Portland Fire & Rescue, and a bunch of folks who held me in their thoughts and prayed for me.

And now I'm going to hit "publish" so that I can get back to documenting knitting projects!

How to ignore a sprained ankle:

2009-09-13T19:33:00.001-07:00

Spend a good chunk of the day on a yarn crawl with Tracybird!

Friday, I was at Providence doing pre-op stuff and somehow managed to ignore (crossed legs, complex cable pattern) that my left foot went to asleep. When my name was called, I leaped up, gathered knitting and paperwork, took a step, another step, and then realized that my foot wasn't working and the floor was getting close.

Y'know, if you crumple in a hospital waiting room, you're suddenly surrounded by a LOT of people...

I tried to collect my knitting, paperwork, and dignity (managed the first two!), and carried on. (Spent the evening with my ankle wrapped and elevated, though.)

Saturday, Tracy and I met at The Knitting Bee. She'd made a Sideways Spencer out of BMFA's LLS, and wondered about the fit. (Fit was fine, and the yarn -- and Tracy's knitting! -- is gorgeous).

I'd been intending to stop by the Knitting Bee to pick up the yarn for a Hive Hat for my niece, so it was a good place to meet. And somehow, yarn for a scarf for said niece also found its way into my hands...

But apparently not enough. Tracy and I tromped off to see Cindy at All About Yarn where I bought the IK Weekend mag -- which I hadn't intended to, but dang!, there are some fun patterns.

Lunch, a wander through Powell's, and I realized (reluctantly) that my ankle had had enough and it was time to quit.

It may have been Tracy's charming company, it may have been yarn fumes, but it was a fun day, in spite of the ouchy ankle!

Thanks, Tracy!

Lovely weather for tea and knitting

2009-09-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

We've gotten the first hints that fall is on its way in PDXville: it's a cool, rainy weekend. No excuses needed to stay indoors and knit. The back of Kingscot is coming right along:

The yarn is knitting into fabric that's lovely and oh! so soft. But it's not so soft that the cables get lost:

I wonder why I thought a wool-bamboo combination was going to be difficult to knit!

Speluking

2009-08-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

I went spelunking in the sewing loft today, trying to find the pedal and power cord to my serger. I didn't find 'em. But I did find the box of dpns and circs that has been missing since the move.

I'm puzzled by the missing serger bits, though. I usually leave myself Really Obvious Clues when I pack parts of items separately -- and clearly I packed them separately because the serger is on the counter and the power cord (with attached pedal) isn't.

Good news: I'm running out of places to look.
Bad news: I'm running out of places to look.

Progress on other fronts: After working on nothing but socks for the past month (two pairs of RPMs for the Sock Summit museum and thank-you socks for the Guinness World Record attempt judges), I'm finally back to working on the Woobu Kingscot. There's even visible progress!

(Well, fine. I'll post a progress pic later, when Blogger's gnomes wake up.)

... time passes... look!

And now that I can upload the image, I'm going to add that that was taken 20 row ago. Gotta love knitting progress, even if my inability to locate the serger's foot pedal and power chord has impeded sewing progress.

BLECH!!!

2009-07-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

(if I may be so rude...)

It's entirely too hot to think -- never mind type, never mind think coherently -- but I'm still managing to knit. Excuse me?!? 101*F/38*C a 8 p.m.?!? Great. Another record-setting day.

rpm#3 finished, and #4 is past the heel and at the decreasing-the-gusset stage.

A week from this moment, I'll be finishing my first shift as a Sock Summit volunteer. This is, frankly, so awesome that I have no words. Even in this heat.

rpm, rev 2

2009-07-20T19:50:00.001-07:00

Lost two days driving from Portland to Monterey Bay and back, but there's progress...
More stitches on the needles (size large, with heel flap) this time, so the striping is entirely different.

rpm

2009-07-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

First variation. Done, and done, for the Sock Museum at Sock Summit:

Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks That Rock mediumweight, in Tigers Eye.
(now casting on the second pattern variation, in Blarney Stone)

Woo Hoo, Woobu!

2009-07-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

The next project:

Norah Gaughan's Kingscot[e] in BMFA Woobu. I groveled, begged, pleaded with Tina to let me buy some Woobu in a Raven color (Haida) for this sweater. She's stopped dyeing Ravens in Woobu because the colorways turn out silver-y, not black. Apparently some people didn't read the warnings about how Woobu dyes up differently than all-wool fiber (duh, bambu and wool? plant and animal? there's a difference...) and were disappointed.

Huh. Their loss, frankly! I am SO loving the way that the pattern highlights the color and yarn.

(Here's what a poor, abused, formerly lovely cake of yarn looks like, after a day stuffed into a backpack:
)

All of this is about to be set aside because I've just received the yarn needed to make RPMs for the Sock Summit Sock Museum.

Woo hoo!

Button, button, who's got the button?

2009-07-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

That's what's next on this beauty. (What a difference a week makes!)

I'm quite pleased, frankly. This pic is a bit gappy, but that's 'cause there's ten stitches in the center front that will be lost to steaking. Call me twitchy, but I'm not going to steak until I'm ready to work the button band, and I'm not going to work the front bands until I have buttons.

The end is in sight! (Please ignore that it was 103*F (according to the thermometer on the south side of my house) yesterday, and I'm finishing a wool sweater. Okay?)

Third Thoughts

2009-06-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

After thinking about it for a couple of days (and muttering a lot), I decided to take a deep breath and decide what, exactly, the Bohus needed to make it right. So I tried it on again.

I think it's okay. Seriously, I think the problem is me, not the sweater. I think I'm still in the I'm-not-skinny-anymore-so-clothes-have-to-be-huge mindset, and ignoring the doc saying I'm back down to "normal" weight. (Yeah, okay, the high end of "normal", but "normal". )

Tammy, Terry, Bobbie, Valerie... you gave good knitterly advice in the face of my earlier Bohus discouragement... am I nuts?

The sleeves aren't tight, the cuffs are snug -- which is what I was aiming for.

I think a shirt sleeve will comfortably fit inside the sleeve. I think the Bohus is okay.

(Now, if only I believed that the neck shaping is really going to work out when it starts this soon...)

Yes, well, I know...

2009-06-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

It's one thing to say "more soon!" and entirely another thing to actually do it.

Seriously? I'm not the first person to type that?

I can't promise to do better, but I'll try. Right now, the main issue is this:

The Bohus. I've joined sleeves and body, knit the charts, done decreases, and... now I start the neck decreases? Seems a bit early, to me...

I've done enough decreases that I tried it on. I like the length and width of the body, even after squirshing out the 10 stitches for steek facings. I'm less sure about the sleeves. If this really is the width at which the neck is supposed to begin, the sleeves might be an inch long... and the forearms may be snugger than I'd like. (Hey, I was making it up as I went!)

Right now, Bohus is sitting quietly on the corner of the couch while I think about all of this. I'm trying very hard to ignore the "FINISH! You want to start the next sweater!" calls and listen to the "You'd totally wear this, if it fit nicely -- and you have the skills to make it right." voice.

Too bad "fit nicely" probably means re-knitting the sleeves and, therefore, the yoke...

Sock Camp

2009-03-31T22:50:00.001-07:00

It's Tuesday -- the first full day -- at camp. If the connection wasn't frighteningly, painfully slow, I'd be posting pictures. That'll have to wait until I get home simply because the bandwidth (and my patience for low bandwidth) is minute.

That said, DANG! it's been an amazing day. If you are ever, ever in the fortunate position to hear Tina Newton talk about color -- what you see when you glance, and what you see when you *look* -- take that opportunity. And when she talks about translating what you see onto yarn and into dye? Pay very close attention.

On the first day of classes, my group got to dye yarn with Tina. Someone else said it, but I feel the same way. I could take that class every day this week and learn something entirely new.

Afternoon and evening involved making Joe's Crab Sack (a clever, no-sew ditty bag by Cockeyed) and a knit-based answer-and-question -- which, I should add, was won by the Fiddler Crabs. There are some smart people on that team. Fortunately, they let me tag along.

Tomorrow: cast offs with JC Briar. (Last year she taught cast ons. Gotta love symmetry!)

Oh, honestly!

2009-03-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, knit night, knitting away on Bohus (which has received exactly zero attention from me in the past two weeks), when it occurs to me that maybe I should check length. Fumble around for tape measure, check... and it seems that I've knit about an inch more than I'd intended.

On the up side, I'm tall, and I'm not about to argue with a Long Enough Sweater. On the down side... I really do try to pay attention...

I need to do some arithmetic about the above-armpit length, and decide if I've now put the waist shaping on my hipbones (and need to rip that inch back) or if I'm going to be smugly pleased at the accidental length.

In the meantime, I've done exactly what any self-respecting knitter would do: cast on something else.

Here's Gardiner Yarn Works's "Toe The Line Shawl", by Chrissy Gardiner (and purchased at Twisted), in Blue Moon Fiber Arts's Geisha in Atomic #6.

(If you're puzzled by this logic, I suspect that you're not a knitter!)

Wednesday Nights

2009-03-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday nights are supposed to be for spending time with my knitsibs (I warned Duffy that I was stealing "knitsibs").

Wednesday nights are for listening to Bobbie grump about the smell of the silk she's spinning (I love the smell of silk, but that's just me!)

Wednesday nights are for checking out what Cindy has going on, and trying to remember the bacon-based recipe for Kerin, and asking Tracy about the interview.

Wednesday nights are about seeing progress, including Judy's book, including knitting, including babies.

It's Wednesday night... and instead of catching up with folks, I've just finished replacing yet another set of headlights on my much-loved Subaru.

Feh.

p.s. The "grown up" part of me is glad that a) I can change my own headlights and b) that's my biggest grumble about tonight. Still, it does seem odd that I've had to replace both headlights in less than a year...

Lost in Translation

2009-03-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

My German is pretty good. I'm not sure if it's this good...

A skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Geisha in Atomic 6 is suggesting that, if I exert a little brain power, it might just be possible.

It's "suggesting" rather loudly too. The Geisha is upstairs at the other end of the house, and I can hear it down here in the kitchen.

Dare I say it?

2009-03-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

I think, think, think that there may be actual progress on the Bohus.

(funny how "think" looks misspelled...)

Saturday was a spur-of-the-moment, let's go! day with TracyBird. The original plan was to meet at the Beaverton Powell's for coffee and some knitting after I went looking for a book I needed.

Bought the book, decided that it was feeling lunch-ish, remembered that Abundant had a lovely lunch counter, and headed to the East Side... where we serendipitously ran into Duffy working on her Queen Anne's Lace shawl. Chicken chili and, dang!, what was it called? Mocha coffee with cinnamon and chili? 'Twas good! Lunch, and yarny goodness? I can see why people like this store so much!

Several pleasant hours passed (at the risk of sounding like Jane Austen). What fun to just chat and knit with folks who Get It!

Then Tracy and I headed north to Twisted. Great people, lots of tea varieties when you need a moment to think, yarny goodness... I can see why people like this store so much!

More pleasant hours passed and, as a result, I can see Serious Progress on the Bohus. Even better, it's close enough to gauge that I think (there's that word again) that I may let it live.

I am mindful of the honor...

2009-02-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

... of being a Sockateer, in more ways than I can put in words.

I spent today "bundling" yarn with Tammy, who tried to teach me how to tell (without actually picking up the yarn) how to tell lightweight from mediumweight from heavyweight STR.

Okay, heavyweight is simple: it feels heavier when you twist it into bundles. (I may be slow, but I'm not completely clueless!)

I'm struggling with feeling the difference between lightweight and mediumweight. Yes, yes, there are different "ties" on the skeins before they're bundled (lightweight has "fluffy" ties, mediumweight has ties that don't take dye so look more-or-less white) -- but once they're on the table, tie-less, I struggle.

So what, that today was my first day bundling yarn? Cut myself some slack? Learning curve?!?

SOMEone is going to knit the yarn that I (wait, what? ME?!?) bundled today. (Thank $WhomEver that I have nothing to do with dyeing or design!)

SOMEone is going to assume that it's the correct yarn, with the correct label, and (I hope!) looks like a proper skein of BMFA Socks That Rock! when they see it.

If you purchase Tina's yarn any time within the next, oh six months, and think anything negative, please have a second thought before you blast BMFA.

It's probably my fault, made on my first day as an official Sockateer.

Gauge? What's that?

2009-02-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Bohus sweater, frogged because (in spite of swatching) gauge was too small and I need to go up a needle size:

The Climbing Vines Pullover, frogged because (in spite of swatching) gauge was too large and I need to go down a needle size:

Some days it's hard to see progress!

Or, maybe not. Here's where I was a year ago, finally leaving New York to move home:

On Wednesday, I…
drove through:
… 2 1/3 tanks of gas,
… 4 states (NY, NJ, PA, OH) and have landed in a fifth (IN),
… (over) the highest point on I-80 east of the Mississippi (2550′, I think. whee.)
… multiple snow flurries, though nothing worth bothering to flinch,
… 12 hours, and
… waved at Linda and Ellen as I passed through…
and I’m still in the same flippin’ time zone! SHEESH!
Tomorrow I’ll drive s’more and won’t wait until 9:30 before I eat my dinner sammich (yay, Panera!)

All best,
asleep! (aka Jen)

Wait, WHAT?!?

2009-02-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

(I seem to be saying that a lot, recently...)

I knit. I sometimes forget how much of "me" is a knitter.

My (German immigrant) grandmother taught me to knit long ago. My first project was a "potholder" -- if trapezoids can be considered "square". My second project was a blanket for my Barbie doll's horse -- if a stuffed animal can be considered relevant to Barbie.

My third project was mittens for my sister. Four needles, knit-in-the-round, and (because I lied) she thought they were for our adopted-into-the-family cousin. To this day, I remember the look on her face when she opened them at Christmas. The mittens were hers, and knit with love.

Time passed, sweaters are knit, socks are knit (bless you Joanne Marron, wherever you are, for reminding me about socks!), quilts were pieced and quilted, other crafts were crafted, and more time passed. Knitting was always there... not always the foremost craft, but there.

Eventually sanity returned -- and knitable yarn returned -- and life improved. I frankly don't remember what caused me to splurge on my first skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock, though I suspect that it was the Yarn Harlot's rant about the epic Tina-and-the-bank struggle (which Tina-the-incredible won, lest you had any doubt).

Y'know that saying about, "if you try this, you'll never settle for anything less"? BMFA STR. I'm the prime example. There have been times (I freely admit it, and have told Tina, so it's not a surprise) when I've had serious doubts about colorways and patterns. And every blasted time (I'm so NOT a pond scum fan) I've been impressed.

More time passes, I move home to the Pacific Northwest to a job I love, and (because I work odd hours) end up volunteering to help Tina, her staff, and the Sockateers with the de-stash sale, and eventually, sock club shipments. There may have been EEEvil brownies involved, but they were an honest "thank you" to the folks who produce my favorite yarn and intriguing and interesting colorways.

Side note: I'm JustJen on Ravelry. Several weeks ago, there was a thread speculating on the January Rockin' Sock Club shipment. Some posters seemed to assume that the pattern was by Sivia Harding and would involve beads because beads weren't an expensive treat. Being the subtle sort (stop it!) I posted:
- - -

True, they’re not expensive. Frankly, that’s not the point. The beads would get weighed. And then… what?

Poured into teeny zipper baggies? Hugely time-intensive. (The moo cards were so fiddly that the Sockateers convinced Tina that they were a Very Bad Idea.)

Poured into the bag that contains the yarn? People will complain because they have to catch the beads as they’re flung across the room whilst winding yarn from their swift.

Poured into the pattern package? The whole point of that package is that the pattern stays flat.

Poured into the shipping bag/box? Complaints because the pattern calls for 230 beads and I only got 317!?!

Nope. I agree with Nartian and tapmouse2. Some things are reasonable for a small business. Some aren’t.

And, parenthetically, all of this – as far as I’ve seen – is pure speculation. No one promised a beaded pattern. Heck, I don’t think anyone actually promised which designer came with the January yarn!

- - -

And so it amused Tina hugely when I showed up to help with the January shipment and Sockateer Tammy showed me that there are teeny beads that need to be scooped into 2000 teeny baggies. Cat Bordhi showed up to work on Sock Summit, and bagged for a while, too. Tina took pictures, and said her amusement would end up on the RSC blog after everyone had their yarn.

A couple of days later, I got to work again with Tammy, Hot Flash, and the BMFA folks. It should be noted that, when I saw the January shipment yarn, I had to swear on the head of the chicken that I would keep RSC secrets, and then dance to make it Truly True. Embarrassed? Nah. Frankly, I was just hoping that I'd do a good-enough job that Tina would let me come back!

ALL of that leads up to the point of this very long post: I'm thrilled beyond words to be a new Sockateer. I'm seriously amused to disover this by reading the RSC blog -- which led, yes, to me emailing Tina with "Wait, WHAT?!?" email.

Seriously. How weird is it, that I'm excited to volunteer to work without pay to spread the yarny goodness of BMFA! (Apparently, it's not all that weird. I called my sister (she of the third-project mittens and multiple sweaters, socks, and mitts since) and, half-way through the build-up, she exploded, "You're a Sockateer?!? Wow!!" Thanks, Sis!)

p.s. I was at the Knit Night / Sip-n-Stitch / knitters who meet in Haggen's food court / PDX bloggers / whatever it's called last night. Tammy-the-Sockateer was there. Apparently she (and the others) voted (unanimously, according to Tina's response to my panicked email) me in. I hadn't read the blog yet, so had no clue. Seems appropriate, somehow, since Tammy was involved with the surprise! beads! episode :-)

Swatches Lie!

2009-02-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

I was just grumping at the PDX-Knit-Bloggers about lying swatches when the "why" clobbered me.

I started a navy blue Bohus cardigan last Wednesday at Knit Night, and commented that it was going to be my first adventure in steeking. Several gracious people offered support and, frankly, I figure I'll deal with it when I get there.

The cardi starts with cabled ribbing -- 3.5" of it -- so I was going on faith in my accurate swatch that I was getting gauge. Eventually (thanks to waiting four hours for new tires on Friday) I had enough above the ribbing to actually measure... and found that instead of getting 4" to 20 stitches, I'm only getting 3.5". This sweater is going to be way too small if I continue on.

And I suspect that the reason why is because I knit the swatch flat, and I'm knitting round. Sigh.

So, pictures for posterity before I rip this out and start over:
(I do like that ribbing!)

And the CPH that I should be seaming up? I actually started to do it today, but then realized that I'd better block the button bands while the body was still flat -- so that's where that project is:

(color not even close to accurate!)

Shall we try this again?

2009-02-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to feel guilty. I read about other people's projects, get ideas, try new things and, although I'm not at all confident that I've got anything of value to contribute, give nothing back. So I'm going to try this "blogging about knitting" thing again.

That said, I did re-learn (for the umpteenth time) something today: when you use the kitchen sink to soak hand-knit socks, it's wise to use the correct plug so that the water actually stays in the sink. Yes, it's true. After 20-ish minutes, I returned to a sink containing socks with a light froth of bubbles on top -- but no water. (Hard to "soak" with no water...)

I finished two pairs of socks this week (don't be impressed -- I didn't start them this week!): the January club socks and a pair of my "stupid" socks (the socks aren't stupid; I can knit them when I'm feeling stupid) in STR Smokey Blue.

I pretty much followed the instructions for the club socks, and am thoroughly delighted with the cast on. JC Briar taught us the tubular cast on at camp last year, but she taught us so many brilliant cast ons that I forgot how much I liked this one. I added an extra repeat to the leg, and stopped the beads just above the heel. Very, very pretty!

I seem to have started a new sweater before sewing up the CPH (perhaps declaring it here will prompt me to actually do it?), which is pretty dumb 'cause I'd like to actually wear the sweater.

sigh.

2008-09-30T21:48:00.001-07:00

Nothing to show... because I knit on my generic, standing-in-line/waiting-in-doctor's-office sock during an evening meeting tonight and I'm too flippin' tired to haul out my camera. And my (insert long desc.) sock is where it belongs: on the passenger seat of my car.

The "too tired to haul out my camera" extends to the swallowtail shawl, too. I'm five rows in to the main pattern (leaf? leaf bud? Ah. Budding Lace 2 (I'm tired, but apparently I can still read!)).

Fortunately, I've got a boss who believes that work-related evening meetings count as "work" -- so I'll leave work early on Friday to compensate for tonight.

Why not?

2008-09-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

I finished my sister's socks yesterday (Socks That Rock, Incredible Shrinking Violet, in CookieA's Monkey pattern) and they're washed and drying on either side of the Fire On The Mountain RPMs I wore to OFFF yesterday:

And I've cast on this month's Socks That Rock sock club socks:

AND I'm making serious progress on the Central Park Hoodie:

So it's time to cast on Swallowtail in Briar Rose's Grandma's Blessing, right?

Right!

A real test

2008-08-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

If this works, you'll see a picture of the socks started last night for Ravelympics. This is Linda Welch's brilliant "Spring Forward" pattern, in Blue Moon Fiber Arts - lightweight Atomic #6.

Whether this works or not, I must go start laundry and bagging quilt swap squares and doing all of that other lovely life-maintenance stuff that seem to occupy my weekends.

Testing, testing...

2008-08-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

I never have figured out how to post pictures on my "official" web site -- so perhaps this is a way I can show off quilts and knit?

We'll see...