Saturday, September 06, 2008
Hai! I’m with stupid!
Let us just say that my knitting-black-thumb streak continues. Call it my fault for not reading the line below the chart that read “Chart only shows odd numbered rows, k all stitches on even numbered rows”, or call it the pattern writer’s fault for putting a few things between that line and the chart, and not numbering the rows on the chart so that it’s painfully obvious to someone like me who doesn’t do a lot of lace and doesn’t understand that lace charts aren’t like the other charts… whatever. Back to frog pond with these socks!
At first I was thinking that I might wind the two strands together, make a hat, and be done with the yarn; but the more I fondle it (it’s a 50/50 wool/mohair from Green Mountain Spinnery) the more it reminds me of some mystery wool I picked up in Scotland; I’m thinking the two might combine nicely into something bigger than a hat.
Thus spoke Lorena on 09/06/08 at 06:13 AM in Crafts, Yarn, Works in progress
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Friday, September 05, 2008
Hey, Antony! Remember that time we went to Scotland…?
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Green Line Worsted
Needles: Size 8 straights
Pattern: September is for Antony (pattern here)
Notes: When I made a scarf for Jag, there was no question in my mind that her husband Antony would also be getting one. Antony and I went to Scotland a few years ago for a science fiction convention (with an extra bonus stopover in Iceland!) and I wanted a pattern for him that would reflect that trip. I looked through my photos. I poured over books about cable patterns, both Celtic and Nordic. I looked through my photos again. Back and forth, back and forth… and suddenly something in this photo caught my eye. That, I thought, would translate beautifully into a cable pattern… and thus this scarf was started. I hope you like it, Antony-- I love you and Jag so much, and am so grateful that Aunt Gay and Uncle Joe introduced us.I’ll be sending this off to live with you at the beginning of December… just when it’ll really start being needed!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
My food issues: let me show you them
This’ll be a long one—I have much here about food, food allergies, and Weight Watchers. Feel free to ignore if (1) you don’t care or (2) you don’t have anything constructive to say as I’m very touchy about this subject right now.
This may seem rambly, but trust me, I have a point. Towards the end. I’ll tell you when.
Thus spoke Lorena on 09/04/08 at 09:31 AM in Consumables, Personal, Navel Gazing, Rants
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008
by the pricking of my thumbs…
Dark Victory is neither dark, nor victorious. Discuss!
Timeline:
03/09/08: Cast on
04/01/08: Finished the bottom four inches
04/29/08: Finished two more inches
... and there it sat, until the middle of August. For some reason, during Tropical Storm Fay, I picked it up and knit and knit and knit… what you see above was taken August 27th.
Two days later, Rembrandt threw up on it. A lot.
Honestly, my first thought was just to throw it out. But stronger heads (for example, my friends) prevailed. And as of today I have now cleaned it, soaked it, and since it was wet, blocked it. And it’s about three or four inches too big for me.
So. I guess I’m trashing it after all. Well, not litterally trashing it; but frogging it and using the yarn for something else. I don’t think I can start this again with this yarn. In fact, I don’t think I want to try to make it again at all. It’s beautiful, but… But. I mean… it’s gorgeous. But I haven’t really been having… fun, knitting it. And isn’t that what hobbies are about? Fun? Life is too short to spend time reknitting a project that wasn’t really fun in the first place. Sure, I’d wear it proudly. But I’d wear a lot of things that I made, proudly! For example… I see that a lot of people have made Wicked (Ravelry link) using Malabrigo. Wicked has been on my list of want-to-knits for a while. So, by the pricking of my thumbs… something Wicked this way comes. Oh come on, I can’t be the only one who used that phrase...!
Thus spoke Lorena on 09/02/08 at 12:16 PM in Crafts, Yarn, Works in progress
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Xmas 2008 hat #5
Yarn: Two strands of Sockotta Sock Yarn Fair Isle Effect held together
Needles: Size 4 circulars
Pattern: Totally made up as I went along; this was my first (and most likely *last*) attempt at a top-down hat.
Notes: This was supposed to be for a 7-year old girl. HAHAHAHAHAHAH. Only if she is a Yeti; this thing is HUGE! I just blocked it and it stretched out even more. I think the girl *and her brother* could both fit in the hat at the same time. Seriously-- it’s like 26” around. I swear it wasn’t that big when I was knitting it! I was actually worried that it was too small. HAHAHAH! Joke’s on me.
I don’t suppose any of you readers have an extremely large head and would love a hat that looks as if it were made for a 7-year old girl...? Hello? Any really big drag queens out there...?
I got nothing to say/too much to say. Have some bullets.
• It’s the first of the month! Time to change the header photo!
• Squirrels have ripped up one of the cushions in my swing, in the area of the yard that I try to tell myself is a porch, but isn’t. This annoys me to no end (both the fact that I don’t have a porch, and the fecking squirrels).
• I feel like bitching about food allergies and the change this is having on what I eat, and how it’s affecting my weight… but who wants to hear me bitching on y’all’s day off?
• Spellcheck wants me to change y’all’s to yawl’s.
• The only thing that I’m currently knitting that I’m absolutely in love with is a pair of socks that I am making with no recipient in mind. They’re totally not my colors but I’m having a good time knitting them. Anyone with a 9.5-inch foot circumference really into pink and green?
• Maybe part of the reason I’m not loving what I’m knitting right now is my frustration at the cat who threw up all over a project I’ve been slowly working on for the last six months—right after I knocked out a big chunk of slow-going knitting on it.
• Also, a pair of socks that I love but were juuuuuust as tight as tight could be, have shrunk a little in the wash. I don’t want to throw them away, if I keep them they will get no use, but I don’t know that anyone with about a 9-inch foot and a 9-inch circumference will want some gently used hand-knit socks.
• Sounds like I have knitting black thumb these days!
• I’ve spent the last few days immersed in making the next schedule of classes for the shop. It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, made of four different puzzles. The schedule of all the different teacher’s (teachers’? teacherses?) availability and the list of classes we want to offer. Sometimes it works better than other times, but this time I am very happy with what’s on the table. Ecstatic, even! I just really, really hope the teachers are happy!
• For some reason I am rather cranky today. Perhaps because I was looking forward to a nice long walk this morning and instead got a dog that walked about half a mile, suffering from diarrhea the whole time, so I turned around and came home? No exercise makes me cranky; this is a good thing for me to remember.
• It’s the first of the month! Where’s the new scarf? Sigh. I still have a few inches to go. See above on knitting black thumb. Meanwhile, here’s a hint.
• Forgot today was a holiday, so we’re open at the shop. We had better have sales through the roof or I may be mildly bitter since the husbeast has the day off and we could have spent some time together. We really want to go out to his sister’s park (she’s a park ranger) but we never have time off together. Hear that? Come to my shop and buy a lot of yarn! Or the puppy gets it!
• Ahem. Not that there’s a puppy. But if there were…? Note to self: stop looking at that page. Note to old pukey cat: please die soon so I can get a dog. Note to husband: ignore this paragraph.
• Speaking of work, I should probably get ready for that. Don’t forget to come by and buy a lot of yarn! Or at least come and hang out for a while!
Thus spoke Lorena on 09/01/08 at 11:27 AM in Personal, My random life
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Sunday, August 31, 2008
Instrumental break…. everybody drink!
This one is for Kelly...!
more animals
Thus spoke Lorena on 08/31/08 at 07:39 AM in Randomosity, Humor
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Random linkdump
Rat-owning animal-hoarding rapture-obsessed twin elderly ladies versus the family next door
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A look at The Westing Game - a great book I remember quite fondly from my childhood
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Wired.com Photo Contest: Cities
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Modofly - Journals and sketchbooks (Unca Joe will love this one)
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I absolutely love this story - Lesbian IVF couple who shared eggs and sperm BOTH give birth to twins
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Thus spoke Lorena on 08/28/08 at 11:10 AM in Links, Random linkdump
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Six places I’ve lived
In scanning in all these photos and slides, I am seeing a lot of themes. People. Gatherings. Activities. Holidays. Pets. Places.
Here are six random photos of places I’ve lived…
1. Baltimore, Maryland, 2. North Tarrytown, New York, 3. Largo, Florida, 4. Bayport, Florida, 5. Tree Frog Farm; Alachua Co., Florida, 6. Gainesville, Florida
Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
Monday, August 25, 2008
It takes two, baby!
Fiber: Crown Moutain Farms 100% Merino (possibly superwash?)
Colorway: It Takes Two, Baby!
Yardage/Weight: 315 y/about 8 ounces (all four skeins together)
Roving From: my friend Lara
QOTW - 2008/08/25
And the Question of the Week is…
Friday, August 22, 2008
Friday Photo
Thus spoke Lorena on 08/22/08 at 11:13 AM in Personal, My random life
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In the eye
We are about in the eye of the storm right now (maybe the southern end of it) and if you click here you can see the rain that is coming our way in a couple of hours. None of what’s coming looks nearly as bad as what I was driving around in after work yesterday, so I’m thinking the worst is over! And for us, really, the worst was like a very severe thunderstorm, sans thunder. Last night I slept very well; rain is one of my favorite noises to sleep through. And this morning, it’s a slow steady rain with not much breeze.
So… that’s where we are!
Thus spoke Lorena on 08/22/08 at 07:56 AM in Randomosity, Weather
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
Crest of the Wave
Yarn: Ancient Threads Merino in “Black Walnut”
Needles: Size 1 DPNs and circs, depending on where I was
Pattern: Crest of the Wave by Charlene Schurch
Notes: Y’all, I am knocking the Xmas gifts out of the park!
