Clearly, I need to work on lighting for Droid photography. This is draped over the back of the recliner.
6 months ago
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Summer of Meh
I do not think I can cobble together a list of the books I've read since my last book related post, even if you held a gun to my head. I suppose I could figure out what I've read on the nook, and recall a couple of library books I've read. I will get to that later. . . .
Work on the house continues at our usual pace-- a day or two of sturm und drang and paint and arguing followed by a week of slack. Well, if working and doing laundry and cooking and all the other administrone can be called slack. The new windows are done, the garage door is repainted, the trim is nearly painted. Wall painting continues and feels as if it will continue forever.
I've gotten in some knitting. It was my intention to finish a blanket for lovely baby Jacinth and a shawl for lovely Aunt Bonnie prior to the end of the first week of August. That will not be happening. Well, perhaps one of them.
The shawl is being knitted in a vaguely crescent shape. I have a 14 row repeat that consists of one row of YO K2 TOG, 3 rows of stockinette, 3 rows of stockinette where there are 11 evenly spaced KFB increases on the 2 knit rows, and then 7 more rows of stockinette. The Paton Lace has delightful long color changes, but as the crescent has increased, the stripes were getting narrow. Thus, I shall manipulate in part of a second skein in order to balance it out a bit. Once I finish this repeat I'm on, I shall do a row of K1 YO to double all the stitches and have a nice ruffly bottom until I run out of purple yarn. I hope it softens a bit with washing as well. I'm getting a bit of a dry spot on my tensioning finger. The yarn being 80% acrylic is going to require a steam block. I haven't done that before and my ironing board died a quiet death. I opened the closet one day and it was in the closet in 2 pieces. The welded spot have given up the ghost. I can't remember the last time I used the ironing board for anything other than blocking knitting. I'm a slattern.
My blanket body is finished. I've picked up and knitted along the border and I THOUGHT I had increased to the correct number of stitches for feather and fan. The joke is on me. My plan was feather and fan along the straight-aways and increasing feather and fan at the corners. Maddeningly enough, someone decided to move my stitch dictionary from the sofa to the floor. The floor right by the litter box. I shall be requiring a new copy of Vogue Stitchionary Volume 5. Diablo even had the nerve to walk around yelling at me in that abrasive cat fashion. I may chuck it in and do a simple lattice border.
Work on the house continues at our usual pace-- a day or two of sturm und drang and paint and arguing followed by a week of slack. Well, if working and doing laundry and cooking and all the other administrone can be called slack. The new windows are done, the garage door is repainted, the trim is nearly painted. Wall painting continues and feels as if it will continue forever.
I've gotten in some knitting. It was my intention to finish a blanket for lovely baby Jacinth and a shawl for lovely Aunt Bonnie prior to the end of the first week of August. That will not be happening. Well, perhaps one of them.
The shawl is being knitted in a vaguely crescent shape. I have a 14 row repeat that consists of one row of YO K2 TOG, 3 rows of stockinette, 3 rows of stockinette where there are 11 evenly spaced KFB increases on the 2 knit rows, and then 7 more rows of stockinette. The Paton Lace has delightful long color changes, but as the crescent has increased, the stripes were getting narrow. Thus, I shall manipulate in part of a second skein in order to balance it out a bit. Once I finish this repeat I'm on, I shall do a row of K1 YO to double all the stitches and have a nice ruffly bottom until I run out of purple yarn. I hope it softens a bit with washing as well. I'm getting a bit of a dry spot on my tensioning finger. The yarn being 80% acrylic is going to require a steam block. I haven't done that before and my ironing board died a quiet death. I opened the closet one day and it was in the closet in 2 pieces. The welded spot have given up the ghost. I can't remember the last time I used the ironing board for anything other than blocking knitting. I'm a slattern.
My blanket body is finished. I've picked up and knitted along the border and I THOUGHT I had increased to the correct number of stitches for feather and fan. The joke is on me. My plan was feather and fan along the straight-aways and increasing feather and fan at the corners. Maddeningly enough, someone decided to move my stitch dictionary from the sofa to the floor. The floor right by the litter box. I shall be requiring a new copy of Vogue Stitchionary Volume 5. Diablo even had the nerve to walk around yelling at me in that abrasive cat fashion. I may chuck it in and do a simple lattice border.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Hamlet Knits
You remember Hamlet, right? Over-thinker, underachiever. In the world of deciding what to knit or how to design my knits I am TOTALLY Hamlet. I have a thing for knitting baby blankets. Sadly, I cannot keep up with the rate at which my friends appear to be breeding. I am considering a pi shawl sort of blanket, but I want to start it from the outside and go in. How screwed would I be if I ran out of yarn? Completely and totally. I am also considering a different shape, where the decreases are made in 4 pairs, so that I make a giant square. Perhaps something stripey, where I'd have options for more colors is the way to go on this one. Or perhaps just start with an obscene amount of yarn and a receipt to take it back. I'm not clear on what is an obscene amount though. . . 69 ounces? snicker. My previous pinwheels have consisted of 750 grams of bulky and 22(ish) ounces. Perhaps some nice yarn overs and slipped stitches would stretch it out a bit. I suppose I should start swatching.
I am also pondering the creation of a knitting app for the droid to track the stitches in my stitch dictionaries and others. I would love to be able to query for different stitches based on the number of stitches or rows in them. . . .ah, database design. So many potential pitfalls. I swear I am not using this idea as an excuse to buy more of Barbara Walker's stitch dictionaries. I am fully admitting I just like them.
In This F-cking Old House News: we are still chipping away at the house. Whoever buys this place will be crazypants lucky. I've gone to see inside 3 comps for open houses in this neighborhood. So far, we have the best smelling basement. Our house has also been weather-proofed better than the others I've seen. Also: I have masonry paint stuck to my hair and under my nails and I think I may be 5% drywall dust by weight.
I am also pondering the creation of a knitting app for the droid to track the stitches in my stitch dictionaries and others. I would love to be able to query for different stitches based on the number of stitches or rows in them. . . .ah, database design. So many potential pitfalls. I swear I am not using this idea as an excuse to buy more of Barbara Walker's stitch dictionaries. I am fully admitting I just like them.
In This F-cking Old House News: we are still chipping away at the house. Whoever buys this place will be crazypants lucky. I've gone to see inside 3 comps for open houses in this neighborhood. So far, we have the best smelling basement. Our house has also been weather-proofed better than the others I've seen. Also: I have masonry paint stuck to my hair and under my nails and I think I may be 5% drywall dust by weight.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Today on PBS
On a new episode of This Fucking Old House, our homeowners frame walls and hang drywall as they finish their basement. For extra excitement, they've called in the father in law-- Mister Fucking Perfect. Not only is he the president of the Fucking Perfect Club, he is the founder. And he has a pickup.
I really think people would watch a reality show of Jason and I fixing this house. First of all, we are 100 times more anal than any contractor, secondly nothing is plumb, straight or level in a 60 yr old house, so a project like our basement provides enough footage for a whole season.
We've been churning on the house like crazy, in the hope we will get it listed by July. We know what we want to get and we know what other houses are like in our neighborhood (crappy). Our hope is that by making a room in the basement and getting everything painted, polished and decluttered prospective buyers will find ours the easy choice.
Today while the dudes are in the basement, I intend to work on laundry (like every day) and paint the porch and foundation. CURB APPEAL, BITCHES!
I really think people would watch a reality show of Jason and I fixing this house. First of all, we are 100 times more anal than any contractor, secondly nothing is plumb, straight or level in a 60 yr old house, so a project like our basement provides enough footage for a whole season.
We've been churning on the house like crazy, in the hope we will get it listed by July. We know what we want to get and we know what other houses are like in our neighborhood (crappy). Our hope is that by making a room in the basement and getting everything painted, polished and decluttered prospective buyers will find ours the easy choice.
Today while the dudes are in the basement, I intend to work on laundry (like every day) and paint the porch and foundation. CURB APPEAL, BITCHES!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Book 16: Allison Hewitt is Trapped
When I'm not reading IT books or romance novels or mystery novels, I like zombie fiction. Yes, that English degree is not going to waste at all! My professors must be so proud to have taught me. This book is framed as being submitted for the historic record of the Zombie Plague. It's the blog of one woman (Allison) who was a hero that contributed to the ultimate survival of the human race. A very good read. The pacing was good. The characters were well done. The ending was not what I expected, but I am not a spoiler kind of reader/writer.
Allison and some of her coworkers are trapped in the bookstore where they work, surviving on beef jerky and juice until they bust out. They do some moving around and there are some casualties, as you might expect. There is also some great ass kicking and axe wielding. I sort of like how the overall zombie genre doesn't agree about what zombies are capable of and if the plague is transferrable to animals. Some surprises in how that all plays out.
Allison and some of her coworkers are trapped in the bookstore where they work, surviving on beef jerky and juice until they bust out. They do some moving around and there are some casualties, as you might expect. There is also some great ass kicking and axe wielding. I sort of like how the overall zombie genre doesn't agree about what zombies are capable of and if the plague is transferrable to animals. Some surprises in how that all plays out.
Book 15: Prelude to a Scandal
Ok, so the writer is a very good writer, but the relationship was mind bendingly stupid. The hero is basically a sex addict who's screwed up his life but good. I dislike it when my historical heroes have their problems framed through the modern lens. The heroine is a big ole nerd who agrees to marry him because he's getting her dad out of jail. Offputting. Her dad's in jail for writing a book saying homosexuality is no big deal. AGAIN with the modern framing. Then! THEN! When our hero finally tells his wife with whom he has not actually had sex that he's a male slut, she makes him promise to get rid of the portrait he beats off to AND stop beating off! And he agrees. I don't believe any dude on earth is giving up polishing the pole. CRAZYPANTS.
Book 14: Socially Responsible IT
I read this for my CSTE certification upkeep. It was quite a dry read. It is also very idealistic. I read perhaps 5 or 6 IT books per year and I don't really have any outlet allowed by my employer for my thoughts on them. I do recommend the book to other IT professionals, especially those who are empowered to implement policy. I would also recommend it to job seekers. When you are in an interview and they ask if you have any questions you can really dig in with the topics in here.
Book 13: Love in the Afternoon
At last, I've finished up with the Hathaways series. I must say, I thought the hero a dreadful snob who needed to get the hell over himself. And the heroine was the type of girl who never speaks up but wonders why people take advantage. I do like Kleypas, but this was not my favorite of hers at all.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Wear Protection
I am dying wool for the mitered cross blanket and neglected to wear gloves. I thought I had bleach. Not so much.
I am really, really overthinking this project and I haven't even cast on. Sad!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Book 12: Made By Hand
Obviously, I am a fan of making things by hand and fixing what I have, but I still put down this book thinking that Mark Frauenfelder is kind of douchey. He's pretty oblivious to what a privileged life he leads. I am so sick of fixing things (and cleaning the things and fixing the things that clean and cleaning the things that fix) that frankly at the end of the day, I don't want to make a cigarbox guitar. I want to knit or read a book. I harbor no illusion that a baby blanket is qualitatively superior because I made it. The value is based on emotions, the sentimental ties between myself and the recipient.
So Frauenfelder has kept chickens, and thus built a chicken coop from wood he saved when tearing down a shed. He has several instances in the book where he talks about all the bits and bobs he saves because he might use them some day and all I can think is "his poor wife." (I read recently, by the by, that Chickens are the New Knitting. At one time Knitting was the New Yoga. I guess time marches on.) His life is very full of stuff, it's just old junky stuff instead of new shiny stuff. I must just be too middle class to appreciate the nuances because I don't see how this makes him morally superior, which is definitely the undercurrent of the book. I do feel superior to people who can't fix a flat or drive stick or make bread or replace a button or catch a fish or grow tomatoes or patch drywall or glaze a window, but that is intellectual superiority. And intellect is an accident of genetics, not something meritoriously earned.
To my way of thinking, keeping stuff because you might need it in the nebulous someday is the underlying issue of our consumerist mentality. I don't lead a low stuff life by any stretch, but maybe from being in a smallish house with 3 other people, a dog and 2 cats I have begun to think of what it costs me to keep things. How much room does this take up? What do I pay per month for that space? How long do I work to earn money to have the stuff? Are those hours at work worth the cost of this stuff? How much upkeep will this thing take in terms the time I'm not at work? If something is not consumable, I don't want to make a commitment to it where the stuff owns me instead of me owning it. This is probably why I have more yarn and books than clothes.
I was hoping for more tutorials in the book but this is not that type of book. Mark may have learned from his mistakes along the way, but we don't really have the information to do so. I get it that he finds the learning and the improvement a vital part of his process. I am all in favor of those things, but I am also no fan of reinventing the wheel. My scrolling screen saver for a while was "If you don't have time to do it right, how will you ever find time to do it over?" So if you are looking for hard info on how to keep chickens, bees or a garden or how to build a cigar box guitar, this is not the book for you.
So Frauenfelder has kept chickens, and thus built a chicken coop from wood he saved when tearing down a shed. He has several instances in the book where he talks about all the bits and bobs he saves because he might use them some day and all I can think is "his poor wife." (I read recently, by the by, that Chickens are the New Knitting. At one time Knitting was the New Yoga. I guess time marches on.) His life is very full of stuff, it's just old junky stuff instead of new shiny stuff. I must just be too middle class to appreciate the nuances because I don't see how this makes him morally superior, which is definitely the undercurrent of the book. I do feel superior to people who can't fix a flat or drive stick or make bread or replace a button or catch a fish or grow tomatoes or patch drywall or glaze a window, but that is intellectual superiority. And intellect is an accident of genetics, not something meritoriously earned.
To my way of thinking, keeping stuff because you might need it in the nebulous someday is the underlying issue of our consumerist mentality. I don't lead a low stuff life by any stretch, but maybe from being in a smallish house with 3 other people, a dog and 2 cats I have begun to think of what it costs me to keep things. How much room does this take up? What do I pay per month for that space? How long do I work to earn money to have the stuff? Are those hours at work worth the cost of this stuff? How much upkeep will this thing take in terms the time I'm not at work? If something is not consumable, I don't want to make a commitment to it where the stuff owns me instead of me owning it. This is probably why I have more yarn and books than clothes.
I was hoping for more tutorials in the book but this is not that type of book. Mark may have learned from his mistakes along the way, but we don't really have the information to do so. I get it that he finds the learning and the improvement a vital part of his process. I am all in favor of those things, but I am also no fan of reinventing the wheel. My scrolling screen saver for a while was "If you don't have time to do it right, how will you ever find time to do it over?" So if you are looking for hard info on how to keep chickens, bees or a garden or how to build a cigar box guitar, this is not the book for you.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Maytag Still Sucks
here is the unsurprising email response I got from Maytag:
Thank you for visiting the Maytag web site. We appreciate hearing from you.
I am very sorry to learn of the problem that you are experiencing regarding your
dishwasher. Based on the information given, it appears your appliance requires
service.
We, as consumers, can certainly understand and appreciate your feelings and
frustrations. When a product fails to meet a consumer’s expectations, it
concerns us. While we make every effort to ensure only the highest quality
materials are used during manufacturing, we cannot guarantee an appliance will
never need repair.
Due to our remote location, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the
problem that you are experiencing, and we do not have provisions for detailed
technical assistance. We suggest for an accurate diagnosis and satisfactory
addressing of any malfunctioning component that may be contributing to your
concern that you contact one of the factory qualified service companies listed
below.
In an effort to administer our warranty fairly to all customers, Maytag
Corporation complies with our legal, written, product warranty. Once a product
warranty has expired, any costs for maintenance, service, or component
replacements are then within the owner’s time frame of responsibility. We
regret that due to the age of the product, we will be unable to assist with the
cost of the repair.
You are a valued Maytag customer and we apologize for any inconvenience this
concern may have caused.
You may schedule service directly from our website using the link provided below
or by calling our Customer Experience Center.
http://www.maytag.com/support/service_parts.jsp
We invite you to contact Maytag again either by calling (800) 344-1274 between
8:00am to 8:00pm EST weekdays or by emailing whenever the need arises. When
calling please press the available option or stay on the line to reach a
representative.
Sincerely,
Amanda L.
e-Solutions Specialist
Maytag Customer eXperience Center
http://www.Maytag.com
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Maytag Sucks
So, The Mister is a video engineer and thus, handy with the electronics. Today, for grins, we took apart the face of the dishwasher and got out the diagnostic sheet taped to the bottom of the unit. 
Turns out that Diode P-13 burnt up. Guess which cycle buttons use P-13?
Go on! GUESS!
If you guessed ALL OF THEM you are correct.
My friends, Maytag is officially crappier than your average string of Christmas lights, but instead of costing 5 bucks, it cost about five hundred bucks.
I am officially The Woman Who Hates Maytag. And I have pictures up on my flickr page. Oh, and again, this dishwasher was purchased on Halloween 2009, so it is less than 18 months old.
Turns out that Diode P-13 burnt up. Guess which cycle buttons use P-13?Go on! GUESS!
If you guessed ALL OF THEM you are correct.
My friends, Maytag is officially crappier than your average string of Christmas lights, but instead of costing 5 bucks, it cost about five hundred bucks.
I am officially The Woman Who Hates Maytag. And I have pictures up on my flickr page. Oh, and again, this dishwasher was purchased on Halloween 2009, so it is less than 18 months old.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Books 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Unveiled and Trial by Desire by Courtney Milan-- I liked Unveiled quite a bit. A most excellent resolution on that one. Trial by Desire I was lukewarm on because the hero was Too Stupid To Live-- he was all angsty emo-boy and frankly, I wanted to slap the hell out of him.
When Beauty Tamed the Beast-- by Eloisa James. This is a retelling of the fairy tale, put in a blender with House. Eloisa James owes us more than this. She is a good writer and I'd rather she put out one book a year than churn out something so. . .rehashed. Not up to potential. I suppose if this were the first book of hers you'd read it would be ok, but I expected more.
Notes From a Small Island-- by Bill Bryson. This book is funny but the time line is all jumbled. I was not always able to reckon about which stint in the UK Bill was writing. I would say this is better vacation reading that bedtime. It needs to be read in long stretches, rather than 30 minutes or so a night.
The Third Revelation -- by Ralph McInerny. Most exciting read of the year. This is a mystery about a former FBI agent, working with the Vatican to recover the stolen 3rd Secret of Fatima and solve some murders. Ralph was Catholic, so this is not like reading anything by Dan Brown. Also, Ralph was a scholar, so this is not like reading anything by Dan Brown. Yes, I went there. If you are not pretty familiar with Catholic Apologetics and Church history, you will want to read this with the innernets handy. I did have to look up a few things and I think I'm slightly above average among Catholics in my knowledge. Sadly, there are just 2 books in this series. I have been informed that the Father Dowling mysteries do not suck like the tv show. Very encouraging!
When Beauty Tamed the Beast-- by Eloisa James. This is a retelling of the fairy tale, put in a blender with House. Eloisa James owes us more than this. She is a good writer and I'd rather she put out one book a year than churn out something so. . .rehashed. Not up to potential. I suppose if this were the first book of hers you'd read it would be ok, but I expected more.
Notes From a Small Island-- by Bill Bryson. This book is funny but the time line is all jumbled. I was not always able to reckon about which stint in the UK Bill was writing. I would say this is better vacation reading that bedtime. It needs to be read in long stretches, rather than 30 minutes or so a night.
The Third Revelation -- by Ralph McInerny. Most exciting read of the year. This is a mystery about a former FBI agent, working with the Vatican to recover the stolen 3rd Secret of Fatima and solve some murders. Ralph was Catholic, so this is not like reading anything by Dan Brown. Also, Ralph was a scholar, so this is not like reading anything by Dan Brown. Yes, I went there. If you are not pretty familiar with Catholic Apologetics and Church history, you will want to read this with the innernets handy. I did have to look up a few things and I think I'm slightly above average among Catholics in my knowledge. Sadly, there are just 2 books in this series. I have been informed that the Father Dowling mysteries do not suck like the tv show. Very encouraging!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Shawl from Paton Lace
80% acrylic, 10% wool, 10% mohair. This yarn has a nice halo but after knitting with it for several hours over the last 2 days, it's sort of irritating to my index finger, which I use to tension the yarn. It is super pretty though, and machine washable.
I started with the old garter nubbin-- cast on 3, knit 6 rows, turn 90degrees and pick up 3, turn 90degrees and pick up 3 more. Then some exploding increase rows with the old KFB. Pattern started once I got a good half moon:
It's stockinette stitch with 3 stitches in garter on each side. When this is blocked (with steam on account of the acrylic) that garter stuff will be the top edge.
Increases are on every other knit row, 10 KFBs, evenly spaced
I'm throwing in eyelet rows on the knit side about every 8 rows. Like a fool, I decided to do the decreases differently on each half of the rows. K2tog on first side, KRS on the other. My K2tog leans to the right. KRS, which leans to the left is made by Knitting a Stitch, Returning to Right Needle, Slipping the Second Stitch over. So it goes for the left handed mirror knitter.
To make a neater edge along the sides I knit the last stitch twisted-- for me that is through the front loop, but for standard knitters that is through the back loop. Then after I turn the work, I slip with the yarn in front, move the yarn to the back and continue in pattern. I can't believe how much I was bungling that for YEARS.
I am considering a picot bind off. . . .but that is a few days off yet.
I have another skein of this yarn and I don't think this shawl will require it, so I'm planning a lengthwise feather and fan scarf for myself.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Organic Cotton Scarf
I hope this means I've linked my blog to flickr correctly. Considering that I don't know how to turn pandora off when I use it on my droid, I don't hold out a lot of hope. I am remarkably lazy about learning to use technology if I'm not getting paid for it. I could be learning knitting instead! Or a new recipe. Or reading some genre fiction.
Cheers!
Cotton Scarf
This is my latest finished object: a scarf knitted lengthwise from knit picks sport weight organic cotton. It's a nice cotton, not too hard on the hands. I like the natural shades of the yarn.
Books 5 and 6: My Lord and Spymaster and Forbidden Rose
I also read these two books while sick last week. I really should have had a fainting couch. I was that pathetic.
I would not say the particulars of these books are any more realistic than book 4, which I panned. However, these were very compelling. The suspense and danger were paced with near perfection. The tension in the relationships was great without the hero having to be an insulting dickhead. I so despise the 80s style alpha hero. These guys were wicked smart, as were the heroines. They were quick thinkers, rugged, good at manly stuff without being dumbass macho pigs. That's a fine balance in books and real life.
I would not say the particulars of these books are any more realistic than book 4, which I panned. However, these were very compelling. The suspense and danger were paced with near perfection. The tension in the relationships was great without the hero having to be an insulting dickhead. I so despise the 80s style alpha hero. These guys were wicked smart, as were the heroines. They were quick thinkers, rugged, good at manly stuff without being dumbass macho pigs. That's a fine balance in books and real life.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Book 4: Scandal of the Year
This book was a sidebar ad on Smart Bitches. It was one of 3 books I read last week when I was sick. Bronchitis bites it. Hero had a stick up his butt. Heroine was Victorian Emo. Eh. There were some good scenes, but the overall conflict keeping the two apart was . . . lacking something. It wasn't that I don't believe that women got divorced from rotten husbands in that day. But the husband was so ridiculously villainous, he may as well have twirled his mustache.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Week In Review
I have to send weekly updates at work on a project basis. I'm almost in the habit. Well, I would be if not for the fact that they are due to be emailed on Thursdays and I have 8.5 hours total meetings scheduled on Thursdays.
Jason's Aunt Doyle passed away, so he's out of town. Aunt Doyle was great. We will really miss her humor.
We haven't made much traction on the house. We did get the tree down. And I hired someone to make a run to the landfill with the old drain stack pipe, the old dishwasher, the old water heater, and some other old house debris. Now we can make more debris. I think the replacement windows for the basement would be great to work on, but I'm not the project manager. I'm just the minion!
I am keeping up with the laundry still, and it's such a relief to know that there are school shirts and socks and underwear every morning. I do have a little pile of mending to do and will probably tackle that today.
Speaking of mending, I FINALLY seamed the Baby Surprise Jacket and put on some buttons. It's . . . enormous. It would fit a 3 yr old. Trouble is, I don't know any 3 yr old boys. It's a very boy sort of color scheme. I will get a pic up on flickr today. This is my favorite part of the droid-- I can upload photos without finding some stupid usb cord.
I found a list of the books I read last year and didn't review! Then I lost it again! I did read Jane Eyre, which I'd never read before. I really liked it a lot, but I honestly wonder if Mrs. Rochester wasn't gaslighted by Mister Rochester.
The prototype shawl continues along. I am not sure which way to go with the Real Yarn. I may take the Citron and put different stitch patterns in lieu of the ruched bands. I read about Crazy Lace on ravelry, but cannot find a copy of it anywhere for less than $70. No. Just. . . .No. Apparently it is a way to knit lace without charts or instructions. I am dubious. There is a rav group, but they don't have much to say that is useful-- it's all adoration for the designer. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I just need actual information.
As it is the time of year when I often have a little windfall at work, I ordered Vogue Stitchionary 2: Cables,
2-at-a-time Socks, and Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders. I really want to also get Stephen West's delightful pattern Clockwork. Of course, since I want to make it in Knit Picks City Tweed DK which I do not have in stash, I will have to get medieval on some other stash busting projects in order to buy the yarn. Note-- I have added the knit meter gadget to the sidebar.
Jason's Aunt Doyle passed away, so he's out of town. Aunt Doyle was great. We will really miss her humor.
We haven't made much traction on the house. We did get the tree down. And I hired someone to make a run to the landfill with the old drain stack pipe, the old dishwasher, the old water heater, and some other old house debris. Now we can make more debris. I think the replacement windows for the basement would be great to work on, but I'm not the project manager. I'm just the minion!
I am keeping up with the laundry still, and it's such a relief to know that there are school shirts and socks and underwear every morning. I do have a little pile of mending to do and will probably tackle that today.
Speaking of mending, I FINALLY seamed the Baby Surprise Jacket and put on some buttons. It's . . . enormous. It would fit a 3 yr old. Trouble is, I don't know any 3 yr old boys. It's a very boy sort of color scheme. I will get a pic up on flickr today. This is my favorite part of the droid-- I can upload photos without finding some stupid usb cord.
I found a list of the books I read last year and didn't review! Then I lost it again! I did read Jane Eyre, which I'd never read before. I really liked it a lot, but I honestly wonder if Mrs. Rochester wasn't gaslighted by Mister Rochester.
The prototype shawl continues along. I am not sure which way to go with the Real Yarn. I may take the Citron and put different stitch patterns in lieu of the ruched bands. I read about Crazy Lace on ravelry, but cannot find a copy of it anywhere for less than $70. No. Just. . . .No. Apparently it is a way to knit lace without charts or instructions. I am dubious. There is a rav group, but they don't have much to say that is useful-- it's all adoration for the designer. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I just need actual information.
As it is the time of year when I often have a little windfall at work, I ordered Vogue Stitchionary 2: Cables,
2-at-a-time Socks, and Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders. I really want to also get Stephen West's delightful pattern Clockwork. Of course, since I want to make it in Knit Picks City Tweed DK which I do not have in stash, I will have to get medieval on some other stash busting projects in order to buy the yarn. Note-- I have added the knit meter gadget to the sidebar.
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