the quacking fiber addict

whoosh!

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:11:00 +0000

Sorry for any confusion. Wordpress (alas for Blogger) offers file hosting and suchlike, which I'm going to be needing more and more as time goes on.

yes, I forgot my camera again

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:32:00 +0000

But, I had the camera-phone again. So, yay, blurry picture time! Aren't you sooo excited??

(Aimee is holding the trekking sock aloft, btw)

Tonight was the second attempt at a weekly knitting meet-up at Mabel's Cafe & Knittery. I think we can all safely pronounce it a success. After last week's showing of 4 (including moi) and my lonesome experience on Sunday, I wasn't too hopeful. Well, wow. Knitters upon knitters kept pouring through the doors.

You can't see 'em all in the photo (hey, I tried), but a couple of knitters and a knitting husband were hidden by the two A(i)my/ee's and Kate. So, yeah, maybe a dozen people for our second week? Not too bad. And lots of fun. The knitting class, shuffled off to the far corner, watched us curiously. One student even went so far as to say she'd come and knit with us after the class finished.

All in all, much more satisfying than Sunday. Although, I did get lovely, lovely yarn on Sunday...

Hmm, hard pick.

Also, today I got The Call from Knit/ Purl regarding my Spocks pattern. I am pleased. It is good. I realised after hanging up, of course, that I had a few questions to add to my list. Ahwell, I go to Knit/ Purl every Thursday anyway.

Knitting (actual knitting) news? I CO the Celtic Cables Cap yesterday. And, dammit, I swatched. Twice. I followed the pattern. By row 20 it was apparent that the FO would have fit a very large watermelon. I can't bear to rip it yet, oh well.

But I finally found the right length DPNs for the, ah, thingies for Stephieface's son. The ones I had been using were about 2" too short and I kept losing stitches. Oh, the joy.

In fact, I'm gonna go and knit on that for awhile and watch Eureka.

um, where was I?

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 05:06:00 +0000

Is it Sunday evening already? Wow, that was... fractured. I had a couple of really low days there, so not much was done. Other than lying in bed, wondering what I had done to piss off Hashem so badly.

But I'm better now, and have finally admitted to myself that it's time to buck up and go to a psychologist. The antidepressants are clearly not working. I hate having to try new drugs (friends and family can tell about the horror of me on Welbutrin), but I hate the lows even more.

Anyway. Enough drama. Somehow, I managed to knit a bit. The heels of the Baudelaires took longer than any other heels I've knit. This might be due to my own problems at the time, or it might just be due to the fact that the heels are f*cking insane.

Genius. I'm not denying the genius of toe-up heel gussets/ flaps. But insane. Clearly insane. Cookie A. must have some interesting thoughts.

Tonight was supposed to be a Knitting Southies meet-up (ravelry), but I ended up being the only one to turn out. Nice, I know. I forgive Aimee, as she has a young daughter. To make myself feel better, I indulged in yarn therapy. Looking around Mabel's, I sought the perfect yarn for Mona's Embossed Leaves socks.

Finally, I spied the Green Mountain Spinnery cubbies. Ah, c'est magnifique. The colourway "Yarrow" immediately made me think of Birch leaves in autumn, so I snatched up two skeins of Cotton Comfort (20% organic cotton/ 80% wool - and machine washable!), to be used as soon as I get some needles free:

Did I mention that I took out Favourite Socks and Knitting On The Road from the local library? No? Hehehe.

Aaand look, more knitting news!, I'm nearly done with the left sleeve of the SBT, now affectionately known as Miss Lizzy's Spencer:

I've always been fond of the character Elizabeth Bennett, from Pride & Prejudice. Designing something with her in mind has been of interest ever since I read the "Jane Austen knitting" thread on Craftster.

In non-knitting news, I applied for 10 different jobs on Friday. I have absolutely no doubt that I will not be hired for any of them. Which is fine, I have tons of yarn to keep me company.

Oh, and finally, ravelry is going to steal my soul. Sockdown: Ravelry is a success. The SKA hyas 740+ members, and I'm losing track of all the forums I'm on. It's worse crack than Craftster. Someone saaave me. (well, not really, I'm having too much fun)

throbbing

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:46:00 +0000

Arg. Throbbing headache. Short post time. Went to the Portland International Rose Tests Gardens today:

"Wow," says it all. The perfume was intoxicating, the scenery dazzling, and there was a rainbow of roses spread about. My favourite (other than the one above) was Amethyst:

Honest to goodness, that was the actual colour of the roses.

There was also the Shakespearean garden:

Every plant mentioned by Shakespeare in his plays, sonnets, whatever, was planted there. I couldn't help but wander around the beds barefoot, indulging in the feeling of lush grass against my soles.

Speaking of soles - baudelaire is nearly to the heels:

And, ouch, too much sun, too much champagne, and just too much stuff today. Gonna go and be quiet in the dark.

Sauvie Island

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:33:00 +0000

Sunday was completely uneventful. Monday was... I've already forgotten, so one can assume it was also equally uneventful. Tuesday was not uneventful, so it warrants a belated post.

Yesterday, Mum, Emm, Charlie and I drove out to Sauvie Island. It's a large island located in the Columbia River, 30 mins outside of Portland. It's famous for having been a Native American, and later Pioneer, site. Of course I realised, as we were driving along OR-30, that I had forgotten my camera at home. Mum and Emm sighed and made snarky comments when I told them I'd use my camera phone instead. Neider, neider to them - it actually worked.

Here's the southern coast of Sauvie Island, inside the Wildlife Area, taken atop one of the dykes running along the coast:

I have to say that Sauvie Island was incredibly beautiful, and I'm embarrassed that I didn't get any good photos to prove this. Being incredibly fertile (located on an island in the middle of a river along a volcanic line), there were farms and plants of every type. We passed fields of waving purple at a lavender farm. Rippling gold and green were acres and acres of wheat and corn. And Bailey's gardening plants were being propagated, too. I even saw wild pears growing on the southern coast.

But, because I was so busy admiring, I tended to forget to take a photo until it was too late. I'm such a tourist, sorry. I can at least claim I remembered to take travelling sock photos:

(Baudelaires on the southern beach)

Once in the Wildlife Area, we managed to get down to the beach. Charlie went crazy, because he loves to play in water. I pulled out my Crocs and Emm rolled up his shorts:

(yep, Charlie still has the dorky haircut)

Here're Emm and Charlie racing along the shore:

After playing on the southern beach, driving, hiking around the Wildlife Area - they have an island on Sauvie Island, can you believe it?, and finding fresh produce for Emm to devour, we went to the northern coast. The northern coast was different from the southern in a bunch of ways: the water was colder, it was windier, and there was sand:

The socks really enjoyed their time lounging in the sun. We all felt better for it, because they've been complaining incessantly about the trekking sock seeing all the action. Emm even offered to carry them into the Columbia:

And so the socks were quieter on the way home.

By 4:30, we had to leave because I've started a Stitch 'n' Bitch at Mabel's on Tuesday nights, from 6 - 9 pm. Luckily, I wasn't too late (oops?), and I got to sit and chat and knit with 3 other PDX knitters for 3 hours. We're planning to make it a weekly meeting, if you're in the PDX area and are interested.

By the time I got home, I was completely exhausted and barely managed to keep my eyes open long enough to watch Eureka. I (still) <3 Eureka.

Today was pointless. I went to an interview for a job, but there's no way I can take it. It's too far away for too few hours for too little pay. *sigh*

But, I have my knitting. And I heard from D at Knit/ Purl yesterday - they're buying my pattern! I'll get the contract details tomorrow or on Friday. W00T!

That alone makes today acceptable. I'm gonna go and find something cool to drink, it's 92F out...

lagging

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 02:42:00 +0000

My sleep cycle is all wonky after the Harry Potter release party. It's only been a week, so hopefully it'll stabilize soon. In the meantime, I'm surviving off of catnaps.

On Friday, Mum and I went to Forest Park, the largest park in any city in the US. Over 5000 acres of greenery, paths, and an Audubon sanctuary. We took the Wildwood path, which curves along a very steep drop (above a 100 ft straight down), but the sock wasn't too scared:

The dog was tenacious and general pain in the tuckus. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky he didn't try to follow a bird off the trail, down the slope. The area is famous for it's few remaining old growth Douglas Firs - some, I'm told, are up to 8 ft in diameter. The largest we saw was about 6 ft. But, the undergrowth (secondary) was full of maidenhair ferns, Solomon's seal, and teeny-tiny wild flowers. I really do love the PNW, just for places like this:

Growing up in an area that had been lived on, and tamed by humans, for thousands of years (the Cherokee and Iroquois were settled, remember?) meant that I never saw a tree 100's of feet high until moving to Oregon. Seeing hundreds of them for the first time (in 2002), blocking out the sun and dizzyingly tall, was an experience I'll never forget. Even now, thousands of acres of wild forest, old and secondary growth, is awe-inspiring to someone raised on concrete and manicured lawns.

It also impresses (and amuses) the hell outta me that women pioneers settled Oregon wearing corsets and skirts (don't tell me they didn't, cuz they did). I often wonder at the foolishness of it all.

But, anyway, that's enough musing. I know all y'all come for the knitting content.

Today, after sitting through a series excruciatingly off-key Torah readings (oy), meeting some of the local Reconstructionist Shul (I miss East Coast Conservative services so much), and escaping narrowly from a rowdy Bar Mitzvah crowd - I dragged the folks to Lint. If you haven't heard by now that Lint is closing, you probably don't live in the PDX area and don't care.

But, as I do, and the Shul was 5 blocks away, we made a stop. This post definitely qualifies for SSE. 10 balls of Rowan 4-Ply Cotton:

9 in Aegean, for the body of a lace pullover, and 1 in Bluebell for accents.
Can you tell I already have the pattern designed?

Aaand, the last 2 balls of Panda Cotton in white:

For a pair of spocks with antique, enameled black buttons. I cannot wait to finish them. I just have to finish little D's pair (one nearly done!), and then I can CO my own.

Other than that? I put the spencer-bolero-thing back on the needles, because Opus wants a copy of the pattern - but I have to finish knitting the SBT before I can write a pattern for it. I'm 16 rows away from finishing Clue 2 on the Mystery Stole, and am nearly to the heels on Baudelaire.

And that's about everything. I hope this post was better than the last few... And, thank you everyone for your congrats! This is so exciting.

I swear I'm not a deadbeat

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 06:36:00 +0000

I feel guilty because I've been promising to post the spocks pattern for so long. Well, honest to goodness, I was planning to post it tonight. I brought my camera, the spocks, and the determination to trap a knitter into being my model with me to tonight's Sip'n'Knit. I promised Emmos I wouldn't post the photos I submitted to knitty online, for various reasons.

Anyway. Someone actually volunteered to be a model (wow, that's a first), and as I was getting my camera set up, the owner of Knit/ Purl saw the spocks. She wanted to buy the pattern to sell through their shop/ site. I'm uncertain as to whether this'll be through the Knit/Purl pattern line or ShiBui, at the moment.

Well, who am I to say no to payment? (My credit card statement alone would have prompted me to say yes)

They're holding onto the spocks for a meeting with their pattern editor on Wednesday. I've been promised the purchasing details ASAP.

Sooo... yeah. To make up for this complete posting deficit, I come bearing a picture of Amy Singer:

Who is very friendly and outgoing. She was immediately ensconced in the (laaarge) group, and I'm sure Muggles could hear us from miles away.

And, yeah. I'm bad. Not much body to this post, again. I'm nearly done with the Slightly Twisted socks - and I'll post that pattern, soon, I promise.

socks and ... more socks

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 03:06:00 +0000

This post is a bit tardy. I uploaded the pictures last night, but then got distracted by cleaning and knitting that I forgot to finish it. Oops? (It's now 3pm, 7/26/07)

My promise to write better posts is going to be unfulfilled for another day. Sorry. Here's my Baudelaire progress as of yesterday:

And, here's the trekking sock enjoying the sun and breeze on the Willamette:

(taken with my phone)

At around 4, Emm started whining (okay, it was closer to nagging) about the fact that I had promised to take a walk with him. I don't know why the boy won't go on walks by himself, he just won't. I decided to look up the Portland parks service website and decided that we would go to Waterfront Park.

By the end of a 2 mi walk, Emm was whining (he really was) because he was hungry. Sometimes I feel like I have a 5 year old. Anyway. I fed him and we made our way home on a packed bus (where I entertained flashbacks of Naples), and my knitting was covertly watched by a couple dozen people.

So... lemme see. The 'rents came home last night, as the paint fumes were causing Mum to have asthma attacks. They 'ooh'd and 'ahh'd over the new spinning wheel and my progress on the MS3.

And, well, that's about it. I'm going to try and call the Peace Corps again tomorrow (I keep forgetting about the time difference and always manage to call on their lunch break or after closing). Amy Singer will be at the Sip'n'Knit tonight, I've already promised to meet with Opus there.

I guess I'd better bring my camera to make up for the last couple of lame posts.

sleepyhead

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 05:10:00 +0000

Got food poisoning yesterday. Or, something like it. Mum and Emm and I all got sick within 3 hours of eating at Burgerville. *sigh* I also got to take copious amounts of Benadryl, because they use the same oil for french fries and onion rings. Not going there again.

All the Benadryl is making me sleeeepy.

But I was very excited (in a droopy way) to receive two parcels in the mail yesterday. One from Penny, containing ducky finger puppers to cheer me up (and cotton floss):

I have a ducky finger pirate!!!
(Thank you, Penny!)

The other package was from The Loopy Ewe. I gave in and ordered one of their new CTH Sockitome skeins, in "Peacock":

I ordered it on Friday, wow that was fast.

Because I was feeling quite peaky, I didn't get much knitting done. I did, however, finally strap some steel to my backbone and grafted on the lace border to Mum's Oregon lace shawl:

Now I just need to block it.
(This is where I cry: help meeee!)

After finishing that (and staring at the wall for an hour or two), I cast on a pair of Baudelaire, with my ShiBui Knits Sock, in "Orchid":

And, um, I'm sorry this post is so bare-bones. I'm still a bit peaky.

I went to the East Side Knitters Meet-up at Twisted tonight, even so, and met a bunch of cool knit-bloggers. The ride there was harrowing. The first connection I made was wrong (why am I in the boonies?) and then I accidentally got on the Knight Bus disguised as a Muggle vehicle. I swear to Hashem the bus drove up on curbs and made turns that are impossible within the Laws of Physics.

But, positive note - I arrived still-breathing, met lots of friendly knitters (already noted, I know), and didn't spend a dime on yarn. Food doesn't count. We (Aimee and I) have agreed to start a knitting group nearer to us on Tuesday nights. Mabel's Cafe & Knittery, 6 - 9 pm. Drop by if you're in SE PDX :D

I think that's everything. I'll do better tomorrow, I promise. Over and out.

I forget

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 03:37:00 +0000

What I was planning to blog about. Bugrit. Instead, I offer the distraction of handspun yarn p0rn:

1.5 oz (I think) of fine wool mix

I love my new wheel. It has beautifully smooth action, and it spins laceweight easily. What more could I want, eh?

Oh, now I remember what I was planning on mentioning. I'm not quite in shock (okay, maybe a little) over the fact that Sock Knitters Anonymous now has 589 members on ravelry. I'm also not quite in shock over the fact that people actually want to take part of the year-long knitting challenge I suggested. It is a bit surprising how many knitters are interested.

But, I must admit, I am a bit shocked by how many indie yarn dyers and Etsy sellers have agreed to donate yarn and knitting goodies for monthly prizes and for our Mystery Sock designers to use with their patterns. Seriously, last I heard from our great and wise Sockdown prize mod (Maia) we had 15 skeins of yarn donated and assorted sundry other goodies.

The challenge doesn't start until August.

Someone pinch me.

Since I am not my brother

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 19:48:00 +0000

I will not post Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows spoilers. I could kick him for doing things like that.

We left for the Powell's Harry Potter release party at 8:30 pm - the party was supposed to start at 10. After dinner, we crossed the river and finally found parking. The city of Portland had actually closed Couch St between 10th and 11th! It was insane, in a good way. The Powell's employees estimated that 3,000 people would be there.

Because I didn't finish Mum's robes in time, I finally convinced her to wear mine (I was not wearing velvet in that humidity). Emm and I dressed up as, ah, 'Muggles'. Here we are with Hagrid:

And here is part of the crowd at 10:30 pm:

Emm at Platform 9 3/4 (the side entrance to Powell's):

And Mum with Dumbledore:

Powell's definitely went all-out for this final release. They hired street performers, set up speakers to play the HP movie soundtracks, and had props set up everywhere. At 12:01 they opened the doors. Since people had started lining up at 9 am, we were closer to the back of the line. But things moved relatively fast.

Relatively. The line, in the end, snaked on itself 5 times on Couch St, wrapped around Powell's City of Books (which is a building the size of a full city block), swept past the front of the line and ended around the corner of 11th and something.

By 2 am, we were at the front of the line and I had finished knitting the first Trekking sock:

I didn't weave in the ends, that would have been insane. About as insane as the people taking pictures of me because I was knitting. In a street (and store) full of people in Wizarding and 'Muggle' costumes, I was the one who was stared at and photographed.

Muggles.

We arrived home with the books at 2:30 pm. I changed and started reading. At 7 am this morning I noticed that I could turn off my ceiling light (because the sun had risen), but refused to get up/ put down the book until I had finished entirely.

I read the last page at 8 am. It's as addictive as the other 6. And good. Really, really good.

Read it.

And now I'm going to go back to bed for a little while. And spin. I want to spin when I wake up...

escapism

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:04:00 +0000

Yesterday was this:

And these:

Meaning, I spent most of the day unpacking boxes and stealing snatches of time to sew or knit. I was completely exhausted and brain-dead by the time I fell into bed (around 2am). But, most of the family's books are unpacked. I say most, because all of them won't fit on the shelves we have here. I live with a mob of bibliophiles. Oy.

I was, as you all correctly guessed, more than a little depressed this morning and afternoon. The JW's arrival:

Helped alleviate that. In fact, I let myself spin for an hour - no unpacking, cleaning or sewing (which is why Mum's robes are still unfinished). I felt much better, most of the tension had eased out of me and I was almost at peace with the world in general, and the Peace Corps in particular.

After an hour I had half a bobbin of lace-weight yarn:

Spun of the lovely ultra-fine wool mix I got from a local breeder. Nice. Soft and sqooshy. And it wants to be spun laceweight - my kind of wool.

After that, I made myself get up, clean the kitchen and iron the fabric for the HP sleeves and lining. Now I just have to actually use the fabric. It's laying on the floor, spread out, and I have completely forgotten how I was going to attach the lining. I had an idea that made sense at the time... but no longer.

At 4:30 I jumped on a bus to go downtown early - to hit Josephine's for bias tape (for the robes, a ha, I am not a complete deadbeat), and then Knit/ Purl for tonight's Sip'n'Knit. I managed, within an hour to spill my flute of champagne on their carpet. Brava to me. They took it in stride and told me how often they spilled their coffee, tea, liquor on the floor - but I still felt like an idiot.

Opus convinced me to leave for a bit and get chocolate. Which is how I ended up eating chocolate cake and pie for dinner and reserving two copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows at Powell's. She really is a terrible influence on me. In the best way, of course.

We never made it back, bad us, cuz we kept getting distracted. I'll explain next week. But, right now, those robes need to be lined. All while the wicked JW sits there, whispering to me...

Oy gavault.

Givin' 'em ulcers.

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:01:00 +0000

My screening nurse and medical screening assistant are clearly: a) complete bums, b) worked off their collective hinies, or c) avoiding me like the Plague. I've tried calling twice. Not at their desks.

So, I've resorted to emails.

I'm very frustrated and angry, I admit it. I've been rejected for 4 jobs in the past 2 days, Knitty has rejected my pattern, and the Peace Corps is acting like a dead-beat dad avoiding child support.

Well, fine.

I'm going to go and distract myself. My new(ish) Journey Wheel arrived today and I feel the need to spin. Mum's robes can bloody well wait.

ah

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:19:00 +0000

My parents took my deferment worse than I did, when I called them this morning. Mum was almost in tears and Dad sounded like the dog had died. They were surprised at 'how well' I was taking this. Well, it helps that I found this on the Peace Corps medical clearance FAQs:

If you have any of the following conditions, your entry into Peace Corps will be deferred until the condition is resolved:
Kidney or Bladder Infections

Great. Now I have to bother my Urologist again. But, I'm going to call them (bloody Federal holiday today). I swear. If only because I was raised in the South. "If you can't break their hearts, give 'em ulcers."

Anyway. I spent the day being a little self-indulgent. I dragged my brother and the mutt on a 3 mi hike to The Knittn' Kitten and got a fat quarter, 3 12" zippers, and 3 pieces of craft felt - all for $2.65. Gotta love craft thrift stores.

When we got home, I put my new fabric to work and tried my hand (again) at this tutorial. I think I'm close to getting the pattern down. I have 1 bag I can bear to look at (well, if I ignore the handle) without wincing (too much):

And another bag that taught me why I should follow the pattern's specifications:

Learn from my mistake - use a 12" zipper, not 9" zipper I just happened to have lying around. Also, use a zipper and not snap-tape (which was really last night's lesson, but it bears repeating).

I think I'm going to force Opus to take the bags away from me - she can burn them for all I care - but maybe she (or her Mum) can use them for their knitting WIPs. I just can help but frown at the fact that I put the wrist band on backwards on one and askew on the other. *sigh*

Other than that I have: made dinner, done 2 loads of laundry, dyed the lining of for the mock-up robes, knit 10 rows on the MS3, and knit 2" on the Slighty Twisted sock. Sooo... all in all, I'm not doing too bad. I just wish I hadn't eaten those Oreo's earlier.

Tomorrow I get to line the robes. And call the Peace Corps.

And walk off those Oreo's.

'deferred'?

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:12:00 +0000

I just checked my Peace Corps status.

DEFERRED. You have been medically deferred. If you have any questions regarding your medical status, please contact your screening nurse.

What?

Another reason for:

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 06:39:00 +0000

Me to never become a sheep shearer
Australia and New Zealand to deny me entrance into their territories
Shear Genius to take away my scissors
and Charlie to run away whimpering whenever he sees me...

Luckily, within 15 minutes of finishing the most atrocious dog-haircut in the history of domesticated animals, Charlie completely forgot that it had been me to wield the Scissors of Doom:

It helped that I threw his squeaky toy around the backyard for him for awhile:

*squeek squeek*

The Most Atrocious Haircut took some time to finish (give or take an hour and a half - the dog was hairy). Afters, Emm and I went our separate ways. Him to WoW and suchlike. Me to sewing, silk, socks and stoles:

Oooh, alliteration. I promised Mum I would finish the mock-up robes for her to wear to the Harry Potter release party at Powell's. But, since we've had so much difficulty with the sewing machine, I decided to test the waters before diving in.

So, I tried out this tutorial. Only, I had to change it because I didn't have interfacing and a 12" zipper (details, details). I used snap-tape instead and upholstery fabric to negate the need for interfacing. It all went well until I accidentally cut the fabric down the middle - forcing me to change the dimensions. At this point the bag will hold a ball of yarn and not much else. Ahwell.

At least we know the sewing machine works, right?

And the pink silk bag is my Lantern Moon project bag. I couldn't take how open the top was (balls of yarn falling on the floor isn't fun), so I used an awl to poke holes in the outer layer of the top hem. Elastic cord and a adjustable doohicky (no, I can't remember what it's called) make it easier to keep projects inside the bag.

And, now, the knitting. The Slighty Twisted sock, it turns out, doesn't fit me. I made the heel flap just a weeee bit too long. It fits Mum. I'm too far to care to frog, so Mum gets the pair.

*sigh*

I take comfort in the fact that the Mystery Stole is still mine. And pretty as ever. I'm not through clue 2 yet (the sock distracts me with it's flashy-flashy variegation), but I'm making progress without a single guess as to it's theme. Well, maybe one.

I'm a Classicist, so I should know this, but was there a Greco-Roman g-d of confusion?

pardon me

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:58:00 +0000

while I wait for my brain to register...

Columbia Gorge daytrip

The family went to the Columbia River Gorge today. It's not that long a trip from Portland (1.5 hours each way), and it was absolutely lovely. We did have to get up inordinately early (for us) to get there before noon and to sightsee.

While we were there, we had the best meal I've had in Oregon (Hood River Hotel), found me some wading shoes to teach the dog to swim (partially successful), and all went down to the river:

... even the sock.

We got back to Portland just barely in time for me to grab my stuff and meet Opus at Twisted:

Oooh, look, traveling sock friends. And, just to make you jealous, I must inform you that the sock that Opus is knitting is for me and it's being knit up with ShiBui Sock yarn.

I just lost each and every single subscriber I have with that little tidbit, didn't I?

Opus and I spent an inordinate amount of time at the store, mostly fondling their sock yarn. I actually managed to escape without buying any more (buying the 'Smooshy' yesterday immunized me, I think). Opus was not so lucky, she got a skein of yarntini. Yum.

Across the street from Twisted is the coolest Ethiopian restaurant. We decided to hit them for dinner, as Opus had never tried Ethiopian food before:

Our waitress (with a heavy accent) was very impressed with our socks and had all sorts of questions. A little girl, running into the restaurant, also identified our WIPs as socks with some glee. Sort of a Red Letter Day, really - two people not guessing that we were making sweaters.

And from there I came home and collapsed. I think I shall go back to being horizontal now.

Red Letter Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 03:29:00 +0000

It was so hot and humid today, I almost felt like I was back on the East Coast. We're expecting another thunderstorm tonight, which is shocking to me - 2 in one summer in Oregon? Strange.

This afternoon, I received four teasers - the 4 extra bobbins for my en route Journey Wheel:

*sigh*

After fixing the sewing machine (again) for Mum, cleaning, doing several loads of laundry, and slaying a small chimaera, I took the sock to Laurelhurst Park:

The sock didn't like the weather, either. But we fared better than either of the 'rents or the dog. It was quite pathetic, really, how droppy Charlie was - he wouldn't even play with the other dogs at the park. That was another first.

Because we were on the right side of town, I dragged Mum, Dad and Charlie to Twisted. Oh, yes, Charlie came in, too, to ooh's and ahh's. I liked the store. They've made an effort to stock unusual yarns, like recycled rayon and Tibetan hemp. The store's still new and their shelves are a little bare (good publicity has helped them with that), but I also really appreciated the fact that they had a wall of sock yarn. Sock yarn other stores in the area don't carry, like Cherry Tree Hill (drool), Woolarina, aaand Dreaming in Colour's 'Smooshy':

I'm sorry. I couldn't resist it's siren song. It kept whispering sweet nothings to me when the young ladies were chatting with Mum. 'Knit me! Knit me! I want to be a pair of Embossed Leaves socks! I know you want me... Knit me!"

Oh, right. Speaking of Embossed Leaves socks... (deep breath)... Mona Schmidt, the designer, has agreed to be the SKA's Mystery Sock designer for November! (little squee)

And that is all the news I have right now. So sleepy and we're getting up early to drive along the Columbia River Gorge to the Dalles. Expect lots of traveling sock photos tomorrow...

listen closely

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:22:00 +0000

And you just might hear the 'thud!' of my mother falling off of the wagon.

She tried to get a prescription for a narcotic today. Luckily the doctor was either incredibly clever or unbelievably incompetent, because he wrote the prescription out incorrectly. None of us tried to stop her from doing this since we didn't know about it until it was too late.

The next week or two should be interesting. In a gum-gnashing, nail-biting, snippy sort of way.

I really wish someone would hire me already.

Until then, though, I shall knit like I'm being paid for it. Below are the Mystery Stole and my new traveling sock:

This sock is much better behaved than my last traveling socks and will thus be rewarded somehow. If you have any ideas on how to reward a sock, let me know.

Moving on. The landlord came by today, approved everything we'd done, and then left - all within 5 minutes. He's definitely my kind of landlord.

The Peace Corps was not so obliging. Upon inquiring as to my medical clearance status, I received this reply from my medical screening aide:

Greetings,
At this time, your medical file will need further review by our staff specialist. After the specialists have completed their review a letter, confirming the status of your medical review will be sent.
Regards,
X-X-X

I then called my medical screening aide, only to find that he wasn't in his office and still hasn't returned my call. Nice. I'm really going to have to start hounding these people more.

Good news? SKA has 350+ members on ravelry and we're starting a year-long sock challenge in August. I've even received a positive reply from the designer I contacted in regards to contracting a Mystery Sock pattern for this fall/ winter.

Bad news? Er, I'm officially terrified of my Bloglines subscription page. I'm so far behind on my feeds that I'm into the triple digits. I have a feeling that I've missed some important stuff, too. I've also not managed to send out Crimson's prize or Bulldogknit's goodies for her son. I also haven't forgotten the VACANT 1506 challenge, I'm just really really far behind on my plans. Expect it to emerge sometime in 2010 at this rate.

Someone please kick me.

can I have a do over?

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:37:00 +0000

Today was one of those disconcerting, existential, surreal days. All day I felt wrong, like I was in the wrong body, living the wrong life. I couldn't knit anything. I didn't want to eat. And everything I touched turned to lead or broke.

Oy.

To make matters worse, the family was snippy again and I finally couldn't take it any longer. I snapped and started screaming. It wasn't pretty. But I've since apologized and sat in my corner trying to psychoanalyze myself.

First thing I noticed? Analyzing oneself isn't the easiest task in the world. Finally, I just admitted to myself that this is all probably part of the frustration of the move, being unemployed and still living with my parents.

Let's add a 'gavault' to that 'oy' above.

But, to make matters somewhat easier on us all, I come bearing more pictures of the Portland parks, and the PNW, from Lake Oswego:

The last one is something pretty cool and amazing (even for the 10-year-Girl-Scout) - a holly tree growing out of the stump of a long-dead cedar tree. Now, I've seen young trees growing out of the stumps of old ones, but they've always been the same type of tree. It was really cool to see a holly paired with a cedar.

And, on top of the pretty greeness, I also come bearing yarn p0rn:

You are looking at the LAST TWO skeins of Shi Bui Sock "Orchid". At the Sip'n'Knit tonight, I saw (omg, what's her name?) walking by with an armload of too-beautiful-to-be-real yarn and immediately asked if those skeins were what I thought they were.

They are. They're also the last two in the store. The other ones in the shipment have been on order for several knitters for the past 3 weeks. Realising this might be my last chance for another month (or more) to get the yarn I've coveted for weeks, I immediately pulled out my checkbook.

And, you want to know something sad?, they didn't even ask for my name or address this time. They have it all memorized. This is a bad, bad sign. And Opus didn't even stop me! Bad girl. She promised last week that she'd stop me the next time I tried to buy yarn.

*sigh*

After buying the yarn, waiting for it to be wound, and knitting a bit, we decided to leave at around 7:30-ish. I hadn't eaten and Opus hadn't eaten what we would call real food. And it was hot in there.

Just as we finished dinner and were leaving the restaurant, the sky opened and lightning laced across the sky in an eerily East-Coast-sort-of-way. The natives were all excited and immediately started counting between the flash and crash. I, instead, though about getting somewhere insulated.

Summer storms in D.C. meant either: A) flash floods, or: B) tornadoes.

But, I managed to get home (damp and frazzled) safe enough to lose my cool. Joy. I'm probably going to be hearing about this for weeks. Oh, well. It happens.

Tomorrow we get to clean the house because the landlord is coming by. Oooh, what fun. I'll even give you the Peace Corps update tomorrow, to keep the next post from being completely boring.

expecto soleam

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 05:03:00 +0000

True to my word, I BO the last stitch on Bean's second bootie right as the previews started before HPatOP. I also only had 12" of yarn left. Is that kizmit or what?

The movie was fantastic. It is widely known that I strongly disapprove of the 1st and 3rd movies, for many reasons. But I liked this latest director's take on the HP universe - the Death Eaters were much cooler this time (in an evil sort of way), as was the Order (loved Tonks and Shacklebolt). The interpretation of the relationships of the 3 was closer to the way I read the books - neither saccharine nor sexual. I also approved of the actress who played Luna (great job) and the twins were as fun as ever. The special effects were even more impressive than the last movie. The final 30 mins are perfectly described as an apocalypse.

Go and see it. You'll definitely get your money's worth, and it'll be so much more entrancing on a large screen.

Moving on. Booties done meant I could spin for the Tour when I got home:

I love my charkha, but am even more excited to announce that Sheila at Journey Wheel emailed me today to let me know that my wheel would start it's journey to me tomorrow. Once I calm down enough, I'll send her a reply that goes beyond "SQUEE".

After that I got down to some knitting, and am very annoyed to report that I'm going to have to frog these two socks-IP:

Stretched, they'll fit a 7" foot. As my foot is 8" around... *sigh*. I think the sock yarn is punishing me for quitting on Titania's Revenge. I may just have to re-CO. Later. Much, much later. For now, I'll frog, rewind the ball, and CO a different pair of socks with different yarn.

Aaand, to cheer myself up I'll check the SKA on ravelry - last count was at 240 members.

ugh

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:05:00 +0000

What a horrible day. 104 F.

We couldn't find the power cord for our sewing machine anywhere (I swear we opened every box we could find), and called every store in Portland about obtaining another one. This was after I spent over an hour online, trying to psychically beg the Brother Intl. website to work for a 5 whole minutes together.

So, the closest store with a cord in stock was in Woodburn - 40 mi south of us. Mum has been trying to get several sewing projects done for days now (wow, sound familiar?), and we decided it would be worth the time to get it now, instead of waiting for a new one to be stocked in two weeks closer by.

We drive. And it sucks. A lot. I don't know what's up with the crazies on I-5 lately, but I'm beginning to think there's some sort of airborne contagion localized to the Interstate that makes drivers psycho.

After a series of frustrating events we arrive at the Woodburn Sew & Vac. They start assembling the cord for us (apparently the power cord and the treadle are sold separately). During that time, Mum and I look around. We ask them for the correct type of bobbins, the lady staffer pulls out two bags behind the counter. Mum and I are excited, as the store is having a sale on Sulky threads, and carried several Clover tools I hadn't seen before.

On leaving, a different route home was chosen. 99-E. This route was quicker, safer, and prettier. I recommend it, if you don't mind stoplights in the towns.

We get home, planning to get to our separate crafting ventures after dinner. We make dinner and watch Eureka. After cleaning up, I locked myself in my room - planning to play on ravelry, knit and spin.

Dad knocks. The cord won't work. Can I fix it?

I have no idea where my parents got the idea that I'm some sort of sewing expert, but they have it all the same. Oy. I don't know.

It turns out the cord worked, it was the treadle that wouldn't work. $50+ and 80 mi for a cord that won't work. Mum was practically in tears and I just sat on the floor. We finally decided that it would be best to let Dad return the cord (Mum was livid). And the 2 bags of bobbins which, it turns out, don't fit our machine.

What a stupid, pointless day. And I only managed to get an 1" done on the booties for Beans. Arg. The booties, for your daily Knitting News, are nearly finished. They're taking so long because I am a freak and am knitting them at 9 sts/ inch. But I swear I'll get them done before the baby is too big for them.

Even if I have to knit through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tomorrow.

verdant

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:36:00 +0000

I haven't knit a single stitch today. But I didn't really feel up to it for most of the day. I was having terrible femm issues earlier (too much information?) and only went out with Mum because I need the exercise. That said, I am really, really glad I went with her to the Hoyt Arboretum:

(My Tour de Fleece pic)

Mum and Charlie:

Mum throwing sticks for Charlie:

And the coolest tree roots ever:

It's a beautifully maintained place and the flora AND fauna are amazingly varied. After I took the last photo and we were on our way out of our little dell, a hummingbird (still unidentified) flew out of the creek and into a tree. I immediately grabbed Charlie and pointed the bird out to Mum, and I suppose the bird sensed that Mum is a member of the Audobon Society - it flew back down and hovered in front of us (I swear it was inspecting us) for a full minute or two. It was so magical and amazing. I've never seen a hummingbird so close (within 3') without glass between us.

After that, at the Visitor's Center, we met a really cool artist who we exchanged contact info with. Coolness abounds, as she's leaving for the Galapagos in 3 days! I nearly died of envy. The Galapagos islands are on my Top Ten List Of Places I Must Visit Before I Am: Old/ Blind/ Or Dead. *sigh*

Then came the dangers of stepping into a Fair Trade store. Mum and I have killed our older gauze shirts, so we got two. Along with a Panama hat each, a hand-stamped kerchief from Ghana, and a Lantern Moon bag for less than I've seen at LYSes. How cool is that? I now have that medium sized knitting bag I've been needing.

And, last but not least, the knitting content. It might interest you to know that Sock Knitters Anonymous now has 80 members! Woot :D And, I have a question (actually, several). Some craftsters mentioned that they'd be interested in buying my Spox pattern. How does one sell patterns thru Paypal? And how much would I charge? Is $5 too much?

I'm going to go knit, so I don't have to think about it...

snip. snip. snark.

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 06:16:00 +0000

I don't know what's in the water or subliminal messages right now, but everyone in the family is so snippy. A person can't say the sky is blue without someone taking offense, "Did I say it wasn't?"

Oy. I ran away to the PDX Knit-Bloggers meet-up at Knit/ Purl today, just to escape the egg-shell covered floor. The ladies were very nice, very cheerful, and quite rowdy - I could hear them in the basement when I walked into the store.

Which reminds me. I found their group on ravelry, which I finally got invited onto last night! I'm so addicted. I've been searching patterns, adding pictures, and puttering about every spare moment I can. There are tons of lace knitters on already, so it's nice to see what they're working on and what they've got queued as well.

And, because they've started a new 'groups' section (and have asked for people to start groups of their own), I made up one: Sock Knitters Anonymous. Like any other group, we've got our 12 steps:

We admitted we were powerless over our desire to hand-knit socks and stash sock yarn.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of our LYSes as we understood Them.
Made a searching and fearless accurate inventory of Stashes.
Admitted to ravelry, to ourselves, and to other human beings the exact nature of our sock addiction.
Were entirely ready to frog any defects of knitting.
Humbly asked for knots to be removed from our skeins, hanks, and balls of yarn.
Made a list of all patterns we had started, stashed for, or designed on cocktail napkins, and became willing to start/ finish them all.
Finish sock WIPs wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them, the yarn, needles, ourselves, or others.
Continued to keep a stash inventory and when we buy more sock yarn, promptly admitted it.
Sought through trial and error to improve our conscious contact with sock knitting we understood It, praying only for knowledge of Turning Heels and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other sock knitters, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

C'mon and join if you're on ravelry. Also, friend me if you're on, please! I've lost track of all the members I know online and my puter is soooo slow that searching is nigh impossible :(

Campanula mitts pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Sara M) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 01:04:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post this pattern for a while now (for myself, in all honesty), because I like wearing my mitts and they're a fun, quick knit and they keep my hands really warm in the winter.

SIZE

Adult women's M (change the gauge to change sizes)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Hand circumference: 7.5 inches
Will stretch to comfortably fit up to 9 inches - the lace pattern is ribbed and stretches comfortably.

MATERIALS

150 yards fingering - sport weight yarn
Set of 5 US #5/3.75mm double-point needles
Tapestry needle
waste yarn

GAUGE

24 sts = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette

LACE PATTERNS:

R1: *YO, K3, SK2P (sl 1, k2tog, psso), K3, YO, K1* across

R2 & all even rows: K across
R3: *K1, YO, K2, SK2P, K2, YO, K2* across
R5: *K2, YO, K1, SK2P, K1, YO, K3* across
R7: *K3, YO, SK2P, YO, K4* across

R1 - 3 & 5: *P1, K3, P1* across
R4: *P1, YO, SK2P, YO, P1* across

CREDIT:
All photos were taken by TheBon & the lace charts were made using this cool FREE Knit Chart maker.

LEFT MITT:

CO 40 sts
Work rows 1 -7 of Horseshoe lace.
At the end of row 8 - knit 2 sts from N1 to N4, new row starts here.
Work row 1 of Campanula lace - transferring 2 sts from each needle to the next (i.e. N2 -> N1, N3 -> N2, N4 -> 3), effectively redistributing the sts after moving the starting point over 2 sts.
Continue rows 2- 5 of Campanula lace.
Work 5 more repeats of Campanula lace.
Inc 5 sts next row - 4 for the palm by Kf&b into the first st on every needle. Inc 1 thumb gusset st by Kf&b of last st on N2. (45 sts total)
Work row 2 of pattern, making sure to P extra palm sts and K the thumb st.
Row 3 - continue in pattern until the thumb st: M1L, K1, M1R, work remaining sts in pattern. Inc on either side of the thumb gusset every 3rd row, working the surrounding sts in campanula pattern.
Finish increasing on row 4, with 15 thumb sts.
Next row (row 5): Work to 1 st before thumb gusset, Kf&b, place thumb sts on waste yarn, P1 from N3 and Sl last stitch from N2 over it to join in the round. Finish row in pattern. (44 sts)
Work 1 final repeat of lace pattern.
P 2 rows.
PBO (BO whilst purling, not knitting)

THUMB:
Place gusset sts on needles as follows: 3 on N1, and 4 on N2, 3, 4.
Row 1: Kf&b, K13, Kf&b. (17 sts)
Row 2: K1, slip last st on N4 over 1st st on N1 - to join in round. Knit to end.
Row 3 & 4: K across
Row 5 &6: P across
Row 7: PBO.

Weave in ends.

RIGHT MITT: make as for left.