Well, the camera is still out in the Great Unknown somewhere, so I'm digging through pictures to see if anything strikes me. I was hoping the camera would turn up by now, though.
I finished Edison's birthday gift. He asked me to make him a blue dinosaur with a long neck. After much digging I settled on the Bronty pattern I found on Ravelry. I showed him the pattern and he gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. I used slightly less than one skein of Plymouth Jelli Beenz in colorway 0133 (it's a deep royal blue plied with one strand of a rainbow variegated yarn.) The variegated strand looked really prominent when I was working, but it knits up as flecks of color, very nice.
I tweaked the pattern just a little, I changed the first decrease on the tail each time to look smoother and I moved the eyes a little further back on the head. The yarn I chose kind of hid the eyes, so at 3:30 in the morning, I was learning how to make a French Knot. If I had discovered this earlier, I could have had Mom teach me, but I didn't think she'd appreciate my waking her up in this case. Thank goodness for the internet. All in all, the pattern was very nice. It was easy to follow and the dino was simple to assemble, a little fiddly getting the legs on, but I think that was a user issue. I'm not a big fan of seaming and sewing up, but since I want to eventually make a sweater, I guess I'd better suck it up and deal with it. In the meantime, I have to figure out just how to wrap this little guy for my little guy...
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
In Search of...
You know, I used to love watching that show, "In Search Of". It was so neat with Leonard Nimoy hosting (sorry, always Mr. Spock to me) as they searched for evidence of the mysteries of life, UFO's, poltergeists, Bigfoot. That show may have been singularly responsible for my closet light staying on all night on a regular basis! Anyway, I'm on a search of my own. I'm still in search of my camera. I've hunted through the cars and bags and am in the process of turning the house upside down. There is a slim chance it was lefet behind at the derby, so I'm putting a couple calls in tomorrow to see if anyone turned it in. I'm counting on the general goodness of folks and the Universe to help me out here. In the meantime, I can't stand having a photoless blog, so I'll just have to post about things for which I already have shots.
My eldest really enjoys knitting. He's currently working on a scarf, two inches down, twenty-eight more to go! We had gone out to dinner and everyone but the husband and the baby had knitting to keep us occupied. Turned out to be a good choice. We went to Outback and got there in the middle of the dinner rush.
As you can see, he is definitely my child. He carries his knitting everywhere. It gives him something to do on road trips and we never ask him to turn its volume down. Knitting- 2, Gameboy- 0.
My eldest really enjoys knitting. He's currently working on a scarf, two inches down, twenty-eight more to go! We had gone out to dinner and everyone but the husband and the baby had knitting to keep us occupied. Turned out to be a good choice. We went to Outback and got there in the middle of the dinner rush.
As you can see, he is definitely my child. He carries his knitting everywhere. It gives him something to do on road trips and we never ask him to turn its volume down. Knitting- 2, Gameboy- 0.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Location, location, location...
You know they really are right (whoever they are) location truly is the key. I have discovered location is much more important than I thought. Take, for example, the location of my digital camera. Doesn't seem like a huge thing, but I couldn't tell you where the heck the blooming thing is right now. I figured I would give myself a simple task before heading off to my next location; I would see if there was enough juice left in the camera batteries to download the most recent set of pictures. The battery capability was questionable because I previously was unsure of the location of the charger. I took approximately a gazillion shots of our Pinewood Derby on Saturday and the little warning light came on (the one in the camera, not the one in my brain. I've come to believe the cranial one has suffered a severe malfunction.)
I rose to the challenge of discovering the location of the USB cable and the location of the ever-wandering charger only to find that the present location of the camera itself eludes me. I have become an adult version of Nancy Drew or the favorite young sleuth of my childhood, Trixie Belden or perhaps more appropriately I have turned into a younger version of Dame Agatha's tricoteuse, Miss Marple. I have questioned all the usual suspects and of course, no-one claims any knowledge of the camera's whereabouts. For a split second, I thought I had found it in the diaper bag, then I recalled the bag had been nowhere near me at all the last time I took pictures. (Turns out that my Canon Elph feels remarkably similar to an Altoids mints tin when located in the bottom of a diaper bag pocket.)
Oh well, the game is afoot and the search will continue. As soon as I find it, I will post pictures of the chemo cap in progress. Until then it's back to p1, k2, p1, k2 ...
I rose to the challenge of discovering the location of the USB cable and the location of the ever-wandering charger only to find that the present location of the camera itself eludes me. I have become an adult version of Nancy Drew or the favorite young sleuth of my childhood, Trixie Belden or perhaps more appropriately I have turned into a younger version of Dame Agatha's tricoteuse, Miss Marple. I have questioned all the usual suspects and of course, no-one claims any knowledge of the camera's whereabouts. For a split second, I thought I had found it in the diaper bag, then I recalled the bag had been nowhere near me at all the last time I took pictures. (Turns out that my Canon Elph feels remarkably similar to an Altoids mints tin when located in the bottom of a diaper bag pocket.)
Oh well, the game is afoot and the search will continue. As soon as I find it, I will post pictures of the chemo cap in progress. Until then it's back to p1, k2, p1, k2 ...
Sunday, March 2, 2008
With love...
Ever have one of those times when things seem to really jump out at you? You know, when everything you see seems to be related? Maybe it's coincidence, perhaps serndipity, possibly something else entirely. Whatever it is, I've learned (finally) to pay attention. Too many time I've brushed these instances off only to smack myself later and wonder what in the world I was thinking. (much like the old V-8 juice commercials).
Most recently it's been charity knitting, more specifically chemo caps. The lady organising a local knitting group mentioned she wanted to do some knitting/crocheting for charity. That got me thinking. I had lots of fun making the Binary Cable Hat from Ravelry and had been wanting to make another one. I actually cast it on a few times, but it just wasn't right somehow. I couldn't get in the groove for some reason. I thought I might try a different hat or even a different project all together so I started to poke around on the site. I had a few ideas but on a whim I started to look for a group for chemo caps. I found one I really liked and through them discovered some neat blogs with nice patterns and plenty of info about chemo caps.
I decided to make a cap, but I had to find just the right yarn. The sites I had been checking out mentioned using a really soft acryllic for caps. I generally prefer knitting with wools, but there can be an issue with sensitivities and allergies from the chemo. I wasn't sure what I was going to use and them I remembered a scarf that I started quite a while back. I wasn't happy with it. It was a pattern I had heavily modified and it had issues. It was too wide. I always seem to forget when I am casting on that the item will grow exponentially once I get started knitting a few rows. It was my first attempt at holding three strands together. I was running a strand of worsted weight with two strands of eyelash yarn and in more than one place I dropped a strand. Due to the nature of the resulting fabric, I didn't notice the error until several rows later. Have you ever tried to frog eyelash and worsted fabric? I've had an easier time getting the 14 month-old to relinquish her blankie! Frankly it just wasn't worth the trouble... until now. I untangled the whole thing and started the cap.
Then I got an e-mail from the knit group commenting on knitting for charity. The organizer has set up a box at our library for afghan squares, which I think is a great idea. When I mentioned that I would be glad to assist once I finish the chemo-cap, she mentioned that she too had lost someone to cancer and wanted more info about the caps. A little while later I was on Ravelry again and a new thread popped up in an unrelated forum asking about... chemo caps. I recently posted about my friend Earl who passed away from liver cancer, but I had another friend slip away last year after battling cancer as well. She was born a year before I was and she and Earl have been on my mind a lot recently as has a cousin who died from a rare form of cancer a couple years ago. Maybe it's serndipity, perhaps it's coincidence, but I prefer to believe it's a message, a reminder to send out some comfort to other people who may be going through a dark time... some good vibes in memory of those who have been there. So I'm going to be sending out caps, with extra love from Earl, Kathleen and Craig.
Most recently it's been charity knitting, more specifically chemo caps. The lady organising a local knitting group mentioned she wanted to do some knitting/crocheting for charity. That got me thinking. I had lots of fun making the Binary Cable Hat from Ravelry and had been wanting to make another one. I actually cast it on a few times, but it just wasn't right somehow. I couldn't get in the groove for some reason. I thought I might try a different hat or even a different project all together so I started to poke around on the site. I had a few ideas but on a whim I started to look for a group for chemo caps. I found one I really liked and through them discovered some neat blogs with nice patterns and plenty of info about chemo caps.
I decided to make a cap, but I had to find just the right yarn. The sites I had been checking out mentioned using a really soft acryllic for caps. I generally prefer knitting with wools, but there can be an issue with sensitivities and allergies from the chemo. I wasn't sure what I was going to use and them I remembered a scarf that I started quite a while back. I wasn't happy with it. It was a pattern I had heavily modified and it had issues. It was too wide. I always seem to forget when I am casting on that the item will grow exponentially once I get started knitting a few rows. It was my first attempt at holding three strands together. I was running a strand of worsted weight with two strands of eyelash yarn and in more than one place I dropped a strand. Due to the nature of the resulting fabric, I didn't notice the error until several rows later. Have you ever tried to frog eyelash and worsted fabric? I've had an easier time getting the 14 month-old to relinquish her blankie! Frankly it just wasn't worth the trouble... until now. I untangled the whole thing and started the cap.
Then I got an e-mail from the knit group commenting on knitting for charity. The organizer has set up a box at our library for afghan squares, which I think is a great idea. When I mentioned that I would be glad to assist once I finish the chemo-cap, she mentioned that she too had lost someone to cancer and wanted more info about the caps. A little while later I was on Ravelry again and a new thread popped up in an unrelated forum asking about... chemo caps. I recently posted about my friend Earl who passed away from liver cancer, but I had another friend slip away last year after battling cancer as well. She was born a year before I was and she and Earl have been on my mind a lot recently as has a cousin who died from a rare form of cancer a couple years ago. Maybe it's serndipity, perhaps it's coincidence, but I prefer to believe it's a message, a reminder to send out some comfort to other people who may be going through a dark time... some good vibes in memory of those who have been there. So I'm going to be sending out caps, with extra love from Earl, Kathleen and Craig.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thanks, Earl
My husband and I met over a gaming table. Actually it was a large, round table with a Robo Rally board on it. Every year I go to the World Boardgaming Championships. It's big, it's full of good competition and it's tons of fun. It's the one week we make sure to have off every year. You see, for years I worked in a game store. The guy I worked for had one night a week that he met up with his buddies and payed various boardgames. I'm not talking about Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit (although those are fine games.) I'm talking about Union Pacific, Successors, Up Front, Acquire and many more. Some of them are games published by the now defunct Avalon Hill (which has sort of been revived by Hasbro, but that's a post for a different day,) and some are newer games put out by German companies or independent American publishers.
My boss' group consisted of about half a dozen guys who had one week each year to go to WBC (née AvalonCon) by themselves and game non-stop. One year,one of the sweetest gamers in the group became terminally ill. He told his friends that he knew he wouldn't be able to attend, but as his spot was already paid for, they should send somebody else in his place. His one caveat was that they choose a person who would a.) really enjoy it and b.) otherwise be unable to afford to go. I had been playing games with them on Game Night for several months and they knew I could hold my own. The only concern was childcare for my two-year old. My mom stepped up and said she would be thrilled to take care of him, so I hopped the plane and took off toward a new adventure. I scheduled something for almost every waking moment and I had a blast. I played Robo Rally and thoroughly enjoyed myself... in spite of being blown to bits, driving off the board and being shoved into pits. (It was OK, the GM was pretty cute.) I had such a good time, I was invited to join the guys the next year. We found out on the way home that our friend had just passed away. I found out at Earl's funeral that he was glad to hear they had chosen me to take his place and his wife was thrilled that a female would be going along. She thought I might keep the guys out of too much trouble.
The next year I went back and played many of the same games, but I didn't try to schedule each moment. When I went to play Robo Rally, the same cute guy was running the show. He had the same cute friends hanging out with him and we seemed to show up at a lot of the same games. (turns out this is not uncommon. If you think about it, people who like one particular game tend to enjoy other similar games.) Over the course of the week, he and his friends dragged me to a lot of games that I had never played before. The good thing about being an active gamer is that it wasn't a problem picking up the rules just before the tourney. I had such a good time with these guys, that we kept in touch afterward and the GM and I began dating. Years later, I have not only the cute Robo Rally GM, but another son and a daughter to love.
Thanks Earl. Who could possibly have known what would come of your generous gesture?
My boss' group consisted of about half a dozen guys who had one week each year to go to WBC (née AvalonCon) by themselves and game non-stop. One year,one of the sweetest gamers in the group became terminally ill. He told his friends that he knew he wouldn't be able to attend, but as his spot was already paid for, they should send somebody else in his place. His one caveat was that they choose a person who would a.) really enjoy it and b.) otherwise be unable to afford to go. I had been playing games with them on Game Night for several months and they knew I could hold my own. The only concern was childcare for my two-year old. My mom stepped up and said she would be thrilled to take care of him, so I hopped the plane and took off toward a new adventure. I scheduled something for almost every waking moment and I had a blast. I played Robo Rally and thoroughly enjoyed myself... in spite of being blown to bits, driving off the board and being shoved into pits. (It was OK, the GM was pretty cute.) I had such a good time, I was invited to join the guys the next year. We found out on the way home that our friend had just passed away. I found out at Earl's funeral that he was glad to hear they had chosen me to take his place and his wife was thrilled that a female would be going along. She thought I might keep the guys out of too much trouble.
The next year I went back and played many of the same games, but I didn't try to schedule each moment. When I went to play Robo Rally, the same cute guy was running the show. He had the same cute friends hanging out with him and we seemed to show up at a lot of the same games. (turns out this is not uncommon. If you think about it, people who like one particular game tend to enjoy other similar games.) Over the course of the week, he and his friends dragged me to a lot of games that I had never played before. The good thing about being an active gamer is that it wasn't a problem picking up the rules just before the tourney. I had such a good time with these guys, that we kept in touch afterward and the GM and I began dating. Years later, I have not only the cute Robo Rally GM, but another son and a daughter to love.
Thanks Earl. Who could possibly have known what would come of your generous gesture?
Friday, February 8, 2008
Catching up...
I've been doing a fair amount of knitting lately. I finished my square for the Pratchgan, a bobble sheep for the Tiffany Aching series of books. I wanted to do Mabel the Mock Cable Cow, but I couldn't get it to fit in the parameters I needed, so I went with Plan B. I finished blocking it and sent it out Priority to Scotland. I hope it makes it in time. The lovely lady running the show is looking for it and said it would be OK if it's a couple days late.
I also very nearly finished my first Jayne hat. It was supposed to be for my husband, but when I drew in the last few stitches at the top, it seemed to really pull the top in. I'm not sure it will fit him anymore, but both the nine-year old and three year-old have voiced their willingness to "take one for the team" and claim ownership of the hat. (Of course they like it, it's a cunning hat, quite possibly the sweetest hat ever...)
[I just had my husband try it on and it fits fine, at least as well as Jayne's did. Of course, he may still have to fight the kiddos for it.]
I swatched for Hat Attack and came fairly close to gauge. Actually for the first swatch, I figured I could measure the Jayne hat I had just finished to get some idea of which way to go. I used US 10's and needed one more stitch per inch so I figured I would try 8's. I picked up a pair at Never Enough Yarn (a lovely store with a fantastic proprietor. I really just can't say enough about these folks.) and came home to try again... and again... and again. After three tries, I finally admitted that I just wasn't going to get gauge with my new needles. A bit disappointing since I could have used that money elsewhere. Then I remembered that I wasn't sure I liked the way the Jayne hat came out with the 10's, so I'm going to use the new Plymouth needles for the next attempt. I finally dug out a pair of metal needles that I've had for donkey's years. I think they are US 5's, but I'm not positive. I don't really care what size they are, they are the right size for me to get gauge. Woo Hoo!!! I swatched this yarn so many times, I was afraid it would rebel at the thought of knitting into anything other than stockinette. As it turns out, however, it wasn't a problem. I had to cast-on three times, but once I got underway, everything was fine. I even got my hat finished and mailed before my assassin's hat reached me. Woot! I took someone else down with me!
While I've been knitting, I've been catching up on Prairie Home Companion broadcasts. One of my favorites is the joke shows and I've been going through the archives. Of course there are lots of laughs to be had, but one that struck me as particularly funny was this boat rental one...
I also very nearly finished my first Jayne hat. It was supposed to be for my husband, but when I drew in the last few stitches at the top, it seemed to really pull the top in. I'm not sure it will fit him anymore, but both the nine-year old and three year-old have voiced their willingness to "take one for the team" and claim ownership of the hat. (Of course they like it, it's a cunning hat, quite possibly the sweetest hat ever...)
[I just had my husband try it on and it fits fine, at least as well as Jayne's did. Of course, he may still have to fight the kiddos for it.]
I swatched for Hat Attack and came fairly close to gauge. Actually for the first swatch, I figured I could measure the Jayne hat I had just finished to get some idea of which way to go. I used US 10's and needed one more stitch per inch so I figured I would try 8's. I picked up a pair at Never Enough Yarn (a lovely store with a fantastic proprietor. I really just can't say enough about these folks.) and came home to try again... and again... and again. After three tries, I finally admitted that I just wasn't going to get gauge with my new needles. A bit disappointing since I could have used that money elsewhere. Then I remembered that I wasn't sure I liked the way the Jayne hat came out with the 10's, so I'm going to use the new Plymouth needles for the next attempt. I finally dug out a pair of metal needles that I've had for donkey's years. I think they are US 5's, but I'm not positive. I don't really care what size they are, they are the right size for me to get gauge. Woo Hoo!!! I swatched this yarn so many times, I was afraid it would rebel at the thought of knitting into anything other than stockinette. As it turns out, however, it wasn't a problem. I had to cast-on three times, but once I got underway, everything was fine. I even got my hat finished and mailed before my assassin's hat reached me. Woot! I took someone else down with me!
While I've been knitting, I've been catching up on Prairie Home Companion broadcasts. One of my favorites is the joke shows and I've been going through the archives. Of course there are lots of laughs to be had, but one that struck me as particularly funny was this boat rental one...
"Boat 99, you'll have to return to the dock immediately or I'll have to charge you for overtime."
"Hey, Boss, there is no Boat 99. We only have 75 boats."
"Ummm... Boat 66, are you in trouble?"
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Boy, oh boy!
All I can say is , "Wow!" Actually that's not entirely accurate. If it were, this would be an incredibly short entry. My husband and I have had a busy couple months. In the Fall/Early-Winter, we dealt with a broken thumb (his), an appendectomy (his), a tonsillectomy (mine), pneumonia (daughter's), thumb pin-removal (his) and a trip back home (actually lots of fun). We figured January had to be better and in general it has been. Annabelle got over her pneumonia/ear infection wonderfully and is finally getting some teeth (at least, I think that's a positive. I'll let you know if I suddenlly break-out in bite marks.) She has also begun walking, I'm pretty sure this is a good thing too. It certainly means things have been moved to higher elevations.
On MLK Day, we got to go see some friends who we only see a couple times a year. This is always a fun get together for us. They open their house to friends to spend the entire weekend hanging out and playing games. As if that's not enough, they stuff us silly with homemade banana pancakes on Sunday morning. This year we had the added bonus of seeing their lovely daughter and adorable grandson as well. It's been way too long since we got to game with them. We had a pleasant, uneventful drive home with very little traffic and got plenty of sleep in our own beds. Mom went back home and we got back into our routine. Then, on Wednesday, I apparently decided to make the bottom stair optional. Turns out it wasn't. My foot immediately turned a lovely variegated shade of black, blue and purple. At least my eldest came down to make sure I was OK. (he's usually the one who skips the last step or two.) Fortunately nothing is broken, but it is badly sprained . Turns out there are three main ligaments that wrap around the ankle and keep everything in place. Most sprains are to the outside of the ankle, stretching one or both of the ligaments on that side. Not one to do things halfway, I managed to damage all three. The doctor asked if I heard a snap or pop when I went down. All I remember hearing was the colorful language when the step wasn't where I expected it and the thud of my butt hitting the floor.
All of this time off my foot has given me plenty of time to catch up on missed episodes of my favorite shows (House, Bones, Medium, Psych, Monk...) It has also given me way too much time to spend on Ravelry. I now belong to a bazillion groups and have a project queue that stretches around the block. The coolest thing though is that I bumped into Hat Attack. It is similar to Sock Wars, where you knit a predetermined pattern and send it to your target. When they receive it, they send their work in progress to you and you finish it a nd send it to their target and so on until you are eliminated. The pattern for the hat will be distributed on Saturday (while I am helping decorate for the Cub Scout Blue and Gold) along with the target assignment. I was kind of hoping my assassin would be a really slow knitter on the outer reaches of Mongolia, but it looks like there are a few folks in this area. They are matching people up by zip code, so my chances of someone of getting someone who lives in the middle of nowhere and relies on smoke signals and Pony Express are pretty slim. *sigh*
On the plus side, while I was heading out to look for supplies (my DPNs were too big and this time it's imperative I get gauge) I stumbled across a yarn shop I've been meaning to visit. Turns out the owner is super nice. He was getting things ready to move next door,so he had just inventoried and knew exactly what was in. He also carries Lamb's Pride which is the yarn used for the pattern and he even had some on sale. It's the last of a dye lot, but it's just what I need. I was hemming and hawing trying to decide what to get when he pointed out that this skein is a neutral color, should show off the cabling nicely and besides is on sale which makes it, in his words, a no-brainer. With customer service like that, I will certainly return to Never Enough Yarn!
On MLK Day, we got to go see some friends who we only see a couple times a year. This is always a fun get together for us. They open their house to friends to spend the entire weekend hanging out and playing games. As if that's not enough, they stuff us silly with homemade banana pancakes on Sunday morning. This year we had the added bonus of seeing their lovely daughter and adorable grandson as well. It's been way too long since we got to game with them. We had a pleasant, uneventful drive home with very little traffic and got plenty of sleep in our own beds. Mom went back home and we got back into our routine. Then, on Wednesday, I apparently decided to make the bottom stair optional. Turns out it wasn't. My foot immediately turned a lovely variegated shade of black, blue and purple. At least my eldest came down to make sure I was OK. (he's usually the one who skips the last step or two.) Fortunately nothing is broken, but it is badly sprained . Turns out there are three main ligaments that wrap around the ankle and keep everything in place. Most sprains are to the outside of the ankle, stretching one or both of the ligaments on that side. Not one to do things halfway, I managed to damage all three. The doctor asked if I heard a snap or pop when I went down. All I remember hearing was the colorful language when the step wasn't where I expected it and the thud of my butt hitting the floor.
All of this time off my foot has given me plenty of time to catch up on missed episodes of my favorite shows (House, Bones, Medium, Psych, Monk...) It has also given me way too much time to spend on Ravelry. I now belong to a bazillion groups and have a project queue that stretches around the block. The coolest thing though is that I bumped into Hat Attack. It is similar to Sock Wars, where you knit a predetermined pattern and send it to your target. When they receive it, they send their work in progress to you and you finish it a nd send it to their target and so on until you are eliminated. The pattern for the hat will be distributed on Saturday (while I am helping decorate for the Cub Scout Blue and Gold) along with the target assignment. I was kind of hoping my assassin would be a really slow knitter on the outer reaches of Mongolia, but it looks like there are a few folks in this area. They are matching people up by zip code, so my chances of someone of getting someone who lives in the middle of nowhere and relies on smoke signals and Pony Express are pretty slim. *sigh*
On the plus side, while I was heading out to look for supplies (my DPNs were too big and this time it's imperative I get gauge) I stumbled across a yarn shop I've been meaning to visit. Turns out the owner is super nice. He was getting things ready to move next door,so he had just inventoried and knew exactly what was in. He also carries Lamb's Pride which is the yarn used for the pattern and he even had some on sale. It's the last of a dye lot, but it's just what I need. I was hemming and hawing trying to decide what to get when he pointed out that this skein is a neutral color, should show off the cabling nicely and besides is on sale which makes it, in his words, a no-brainer. With customer service like that, I will certainly return to Never Enough Yarn!
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