New shawl on the block!

Yeah! My Sea Silk Lace Wings shawl is complete and, as I type, pinned and drying in the other room. If I say so myself, it's gorgeous! Best of all, it worked up quickly and used only one skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk, which has to be one of the most luscious yarns on the planet.


But before you see it blocked, here it is just off the needles. I love the way it gets really skinny at the ends so that you can easily tie it in a variety of ways.


And I love, love, love the way the colors change on this. The mixture of bronzes and golds and silver-greys makes for a truly lovely look.


Can you tell I'm in love? :)


Okay, so here it is blocking in all its glory on the floor of my spare room. I'm not the best at blocking these things, so it's not comletely even. I'll probably go back and make some more adjustments, but I'm not going to get too anal about it. It's amazing how I can see the blocking imbalances in a picture, but I can't when I'm standing over it in the room! More proof that in life, perspective is everything. :)


Blocked measurements are 68" wide by 31" neckline to tip of the triangle. I had my doubts about the size of it as I knit. I thought I was going to end up with a scarf! But it came out great. As usual, with lace you have to have faith that all will be well, because you simply cannot tell what size something really is when it's on the needles.


Just so you can get a better feel for the colors, here's a close-up. Unfortunately the sun isn't shining directly into that bedroom right now and I didn't want to wait until later in the day to take the pics, so this will have to do for lighting.

So, one shawl down, one to go before the cruise. The feather and fan shawl is proceeding nicely. It travels with me wherever I go so that I can get in a few rows whenever possible. I think it's about halfway done, although I still have two full balls of yarn left. That's deceiving, though, because I didn't weigh each ball when I was winding them off the skein to make them equal. Therefore, I have no idea if I've used half of the skein or not. In any case, when it gets to about 70" long, I'm done no matter how much yarn is left.


I've also started my second test-knitting project, which is a pair of socks made with Knit Picks Gloss. I like the yarn. It's soft and has a nice amount of give to it and is not overly prone to splitting. To get gauge, I went to size 2 DPNs instead of the size 3s specified in the pattern. I have until mid-April to finish these, so it's a good thing that one shawl is done. Dividing my attention between two projects is fine; three is pushing it a bit. :)


Oh, I mentioned yesterday that I received a subpoena. Oh joy. Not. It's really nothing bad, it's just a pain in the patoot. You see, I work as an independent contractor in a few different arenas. One is test knitting (duh), which doesn't pay much, but keeps me in yarn and I get to learn new things and work with materials I may not otherwise have tried. The second, and primary, thing is transcription and editing, done for a company based in San Francisco. Third, I deal cards for a local company that provides entertainment at casino-style parties. All three of these gigs are on an independent contractor basis, which means (a) there's no promise of when work will be offered, (b) there's no guarantee how much work will be available, and (c) it's completely up to me whether or not I accept any work offered.


Sounds pretty straightforward, eh? I like it because I get to do a variety of things and I can do them pretty much whenever I want to. I don't have to go into an office and I can work in my bathrobe at 1:00 in the morning if I want to (which I do, frequently). I'm free to schedule my time so that I can go shopping during the weekdays and avoid the weekend crowds. The downside, of course, is that I have no employer-paid benefits, no paid vacation or sick leave, and only a minor amount of control over how much money I make each month.


Anyway, the State of Oregon has decided that the casino party place should be paying all of us as employees instead of independent contractors. Why, I have no idea. I mean, that's what I call my "fun job," and one that I wouldn't do at all if it wasn't fun, simply because it doesn't provide that much income. It's very seasonal work. During the holiday season (November/December), we're extremely busy with company parties. During the rest of the year, it's sporadic with graduate season being a brief blip of frenzied activity as we do grad-night parties (until 4:00 in the morning). So basically, you can work a LOT in November/December and make decent money, but after that, you may work only two or three parties in a month, which is just enough to buy a few more skeins of Sea Silk or some other luscious yarn. Certainly nothing like being an employee. I have to provide my own cards, buy a vest and tuxedo shirts to conform to the "uniform" standards, and get myself to and from the events -- which can be very nearby or a couple hours' drive away.


How does any of that constitute employee status??? I have already provided a written affidavit answering a bunch of questions from the State and been interviewed by them on the phone. I've told them that if I'm an employee for this casino party company, then all the high-tech and customer call center companies in the state should be very afraid because they use independent contractors all the time in a much more intense fashion that this company does. I know, 'cause I've worked for some of them.


It's a witch hunt. The State doesn't like that this casino party company provides 'gambling' to people and they don't get a cut, even though no real money is used in the gambling; it's just funny-money and then the client decides what prizes to offer, if any. But the guy who owns the company has lobbied in Salem for things like making it legal to offer Texas Hold 'em tournaments at fundraisers (that was previously forbidden) and I guess he pissed off the wrong people.


Anyway, next Tuesday afternoon, I am now required to be near my phone so that they can call me to 'testify' in the hearing regarding this matter. It could be worse; I could have to go to Salem and sit in a courtroom for the afternoon. Nevertheless, it ticks me off and makes me nervous all at the same time.


So that's the long and the short of it for now. The sun is shining and I'm heading out this afternoon to head towards Lebanon (Oregon, that is) for a Chamber of Commerce fundraiser. On the way, I'm planning a few shopping stops, including to an LYS that I haven't visited before. Not that I need yarn, but. . .

Ciao for now!

How much is that doggy in the window?

I'm way behind on my blogging -- and my knitting! Way too much work to do lately.

However, I did finish the Sea Silk Lace Wings shawl tonight and have some things to share about that. Unfortunately, I don't have time to post it right now.

In the meantime, I offer this for your amusement (the following image is not an ad, just a screen cap of one):

Hmmm... is this thing free? Apparently not. Is the cost $24.50? Well, sort of, I guess. It appears that the real price is $49 for two tablets, but you can't tell that until you look REALLY closely at the ad! Good grief!

Okay, gotta dash and go transcribe some more.

Oh, yeah, I got subpoenaed today, too. Lovely. More about that later.

What a pain.

First, thanks for your well-wishes regarding my shoulder. It's really not too bad. If I could just get a full night's sleep, I think I'd be fine. :)

So I went to the doctor today. Nice front-desk gal, nice nurse, nice doctor, nice office. They didn't even keep me waiting long enough to read my knitting book or pull out the 'traveling shawl' to work on.

But as for solving the problem. . .well, we're not there yet. Basically I'm told I have either bursitis or a rotator cuff problem or a combination of the two. Yeah, that's what I figured. What to do for it? Take 800 mg of ibuprophen three times a day and go to physical therapy. If that doesn't help, then cortisone shots.

Oh, and then we had the obligatory talk about my body mass index being high and had I considered weight-loss surgery. Yeah, I've heard it before. I've been fat since I was a kid. Been on diets and pills and you name it since I was around seven. All that's ever happened is that I lost weight and then gained it all back plus more. "Oh, but you could do the gastric band and lose half your body weight," she says. Yeah, and I could have complications or I could gain it all back again, plus more. And let's be real here. If I had the discipline to eat the way you have to after having this surgery, I'd lose weight.

I mean, really! Here's a list of things "that may never be well tolerated" after such a surgery (from About.com):

• Meats that are especially tough such as steak and pork chops. Some Lap-Band patients have difficulty digesting other meats that contain gristle such as hamburger.
  
• Oranges and grapefruits may not be tolerated unless the membrane is removed before eating.
  
• The seeds and/or skins of all fruits and vegetables.
  
• High fiber vegetables such as celery and sweet potatoes.
  
• Spicy foods.
  
• Fried foods.
  
• Certain spices including cinnamon, pepper, or onion or garlic salt.
  
• If you are unable to tolerate milk, it’s important to add other calcium and protein rich foods such as cottage cheese. Dry milk can be added to foods for added protein.

And this is after around six weeks of no coffee, no bread, everything in a blender, and so forth. Sorry, but to me, being skinny isn't worth living this way.


Hey, doc, since my blood pressure is perfectly normal (128/65 today), my glucose levels are perfectly normal, and my cholesterol ratio is perfectly normal, do we really need to discuss this? Can we just focus on my aching shoulder, please???? Something's going to kill me eventually. And when it does, I'll be smiling knowing that I had a cup of good coffee and some nice whole-grain toast for breakfast.


Anyway, I'm sure I'll get a whopping bill and I need to check to see if my insurance will pay for the physical therapy and bone scan she wants me to get done.

See why I hate going to the doctor?


Anyway. . .


In knitting news, I finished my first test knit project and sent it in. I was concerned because although I thought I had gotten gauge, the finished garment came out a bit smaller in measurements than the pattern indicated. It was hard to see the gauge because it was a ladder yarn worked double strand in a 2x2 rib. It was drapey and stretchy and difficult to see the individual stitches. It did end up being a cute piece that a teenager would probably look great in.


In any case, the folks who hired me seemed pleased when they got it, so that's what counts, right? And I hope my feedback to them on the pattern/yarn combination will be helpful as well. They're sending me a new project, so I guess it's all good. :)


Progress on the two shawls continues as do my high hopes that I'll have them both done in time for my cruise.


Now 'scuse me while I go pop some ibuprophen.

#*&%!

Since Monika posted about her alll-nighter, I guess I'll join the fray. It's 5:04 a.m. right now. I went to bed at about 1:00 a.m. No, I don't have insomnia and no, it's not freezing outside causing the walls to go 'pang' as they did at Monika's, but nevertheless I'm up. It's my #*&%! shoulder that's the problem.

For a while, my left shoulder has been bothering me. It started as a range of motion thing. If I moved it too far in one direction, it hurt like heck. Okay, I can adjust. Avoid moving that way. Fine. Not really that big a deal. Maybe this will pass.

Nope.

Then it started building up tension in the muscle before adjusting and popping a bit. Sort of like when static builds in a stereo speaker. You sort of notice it as it builds to an audible buzz and then *pop* and its energy releases. Only in the case of the shoulder, the build up hurts. But again, it was livable. Move in the right way, manipulate the joint a bit, and *pop!* the pain is gone and all is right with the world.

Fine. I can adapt.

But the shoulder had other plans. Each time I adapted, it would pull a Dr. Phil as though it was dealing with a misbehaving child and "up the price of poker." Instead of providing the satisfying *pop* and subsequent pain relief, it now just builds to a peak and then aches like heck-fire, making the whole arm feel as though it's about to fall off.

Notice how I'm now speaking of it as though it's an independent entity? That may have something to do with the fact that my right arm is fed up with this mess and feels like chopping the left one off just to be done with the problem. Or maybe I'm just beginning to hallucinate due to lack of proper rest.

Anyway, now we're to the point that I can only manage to sleep for about four hours at a time before the darned thing wakes me up. Moaning in pain, usually. The cat wonders what the heck is going on. If I had a bed mate, he would probably be irritated as heck. That would be my ex-husband's reaction anyway. I suppose a different person might react with more concern than irritation, but that's just a guess, not something I've experienced.

I probably should have gone to a doctor about this before now. But I don't really have a doctor other than my gynecologist, who is ill-equipped to deal with this sort of issue. Last week, I did finally reach the point where not going to a doctor ceased to be an option. Ibuprophen only does so much and lack of sleep starts to wear on my sanity. Thus, I have an appointment with an Osteopath on Thursday morning. Shoud be interesting. Hopefully will bring some modicum of relief.

In the meantime, I'm up. Again. I'll head to the couch soon and probably end up falling asleep there in a propped up position, which seems to hurt a bit less. It seems that gravity and being prone is a combination that's not conducive to a pain-free shoulder. Remember how Mel Gibson could throw his shoulder out of the socket at will in the Lethal Weapon movies? It's sort of like that, only the shoulder is in control, not me, and I haven't tried ramming against walls to "fix" it. Although I confess the idea has crossed my addled mind.

The thing is, I'm right-handed. So why is my left shoulder the one that's hurting? It's a mystery to me. One that, hopefully, the Osteopath will help me solve on Thursday. Because I have lots of work (aka, typing) and knitting to do. And my worst fear is that I'll be told to stop doing both -- even temporarily.

Ellie says, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Crocus, shawls, cars, Isela's book, and a tattoo

It's almost springtime! At least that's what the crocus and daffodils in my yard think. When the occasional sunshine does come out, it definitely feels like spring is approaching. However, in the mountains, they're still getting snow -- something that makes the ski resorts very happy. We even had a little bit on the valley floor earlier this week, but it didn't last very long.

Anyway, since the sun peeked out this morning for a bit before the cloud cover took over again, I snapped a couple of pics of shawls in progress (SIPs).

First, I have made rather significant progress on the feather & fan shawl. I'm working on the secod of four balls of yarn. If I use all of them, the shawl will probably be about as tall as I am (which would equate to 70" or, for non-Americans, ~178cm). I'm not sure I want it quite that long, but we'll see. It really is looking at home among the crocus, sort of like a waterfall by my front porch. :) I love the colors and the drape of the fabric. This is now my traveling project. I've worked on it in coffee houses, hotel lobbies before casino gigs (and on breaks), and at the bowling alley during league. This is the only way I can be sure it will be finished in time for my cruise in May.


Although this is my primary project right now, I simply could not keep my hands off the skein of Sea Silk I purchased from Yarnzilla. So I broke out the Lace Wings Seasilk Shawl pattern by Alice Cooley that produces a shawl from just one skein of this wonderful fiber and started knitting. (You can order the pattern from Lettuce Knit in Toronto. Just drop them an email to make the arrangements.) This yarn is fabulous!!! The color I have is called Bronze and I really like the way it's working up so far. The lace pattern is simple, a repeat of four rows, two them lace and two of them resting (aka, purl) rows. About 10cm (~4") you switch needle sizes to 1cm larger. I started with 3.25cm (US3) and am now on 4.0cm (US6). I'm not sure how big this will end up being, but I'm sure it's going to be fun to wear and I hope it's done in time for the cruise. Doesn't it look sort of like a sunset over those pretty crocus?

Oh, for you loom knitters out there, I got my copy of Isela's new book, Loom Knitting Primer, yesterday. It's really wonderful with lots of great pictures of various loom and board techniques as well as some very handy patterns. Congrats, Isela!


Finally, Scout asked us to share our tattoos. I have just one (so far) that I got this last fall at a car show. A friend and I went to the show and sat around all day waiting for the judging to be concluded and winners announced. The show takes place every year at the Chinook Winds Casino and Resort in Lincoln City, Oregon. They always have nice trophies and sometimes cash that goes along with them. One year my car took 2nd place; one year it got the "Just Cuz It's Neat" award. Both times $75 cash came with the trophy. Not bad for a day at the beach.

This time, they had traditional categories awarded by a group of judges as well as two awards voted on by folks in attendance. (Oh, the picture there of my car is obviously not at the beach. That was taken at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in August of 2004.)

Awards weren't handed out until around 6:00 p.m. While we were hanging out, we checked out the mobile tattoo artist's books and I found a design I really liked. When asked, the artist said it would cost $70 to have it put on my ankle. That didn't sound too bad, but it was more than I really wanted to spend. When the awards were finally announced, the judges passed me by, but not the folks who were at the show. I won both the Exhibitor's Best of Show and People's Choice Best of Show awards, along with $200.

My friend looked at me and said, "Now you can afford that tattoo!" She was shocked when I said, "Yeah, let's do it!" And thus, this design now graces my right ankle, partially covering the scar from surgery to install a plate and several pins when I broke it in 2003. So, my first tattoo was purchased at the age of 50 to celebrate awards received at a car show!

Gratitude, stash enhancement, a mulligan, and a rant

Since I haven't had time to post in a few days, this one might be long, so grab a cup of your favorite beverage and get comfortable if you want to make it all the way through. :)

Today we have a variety of topics to cover, starting with gratitude. There are lots of things to be grateful for every day. Today, I'm saying "thanks" to those of you who posted comments to my last post and shared some of your favorite knitting blogs. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of seeing the wonderful projects other knitters tackle or of reading the variety of stories they have to tell. There are just a awful lot of creative people out there in cyberspace and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to connect with all of you, even if it's a tenuous thing. :) Of course, now I have a much longer list of blogs to stay up-to-date with, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. And of course, I'm very grateful that some of you are such faithful readers of my ramblings, too. :)

This week, I did a bit of stash enhancement. I think I now have enough in my stash to keep me knitting merrily along for the rest of the year. Of course if that truly stops me from purchasing more, I'll be shocked, but you know how that goes! LOL

First up is this lovely Alpaca with a Twist Fino laceweight. It's 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk in a silver-gray color. I got three skeins of it from Yarn Stash on eBay. Each skein is 875 yards, so there's plenty to tackle just about any project from Victorian Lace Today that I choose. Meanwhile, I'll just pet it -- a lot. :)

Next we have a skein of Yarn Place Graceful purchased from a seller on the Destash blog. This picture doesn't really show the colors well, but it's a subtle varigation of deep blues and purples. This is 100% wool, very fine lace weight, and has 2,400 yards in the skein. I'm not sure what it will become, but the word "cobweb" comes to mind in conjunction with "lace" when I look at it.

I have a copy of the book Big Girl Knits that I've been ogling for some time. The other day, a wild idea came into my head and a voice said, "Why don't you make a tank top from that book for your cruise?" Now keep in mind that my cruise is coming up in mid-May and I haven't finished the shawl I need want for the trip yet, but nevertheless, I told that little voice, "Oh, what a marvelous idea! How about the Boobalicious tank?" Yeah, I'm a bit crazy and talk to myself sometimes. Is that a problem??

The pattern calls for Dale of Norway Svale, a yarn my LYS doesn't carry. There are alternate DK-weight yarns that could be used, but I decided I wanted to do my first one in the yarn that's specified, so to the Web I went. Fortunately, Yarnzilla had some at clearance sale prices. I've done the initial swatch, but haven't started the actual tank yet. I want to finish my shawl first!

Yarnzilla has a deal where you get a 10% discount if your order totals between $50 and $99 (more, if you go higher). Now this is a very nice deal, but it's also a very dirty trick! You see, my order didn't go that high, but I figured if I was going to order something, then I might as well. . . Okay, you get the picture. Of course, the folks at Yarnzilla are very clever merchandisers because they know that folks like me will add something unexpected to their order so they can get the discount!

In any case, I think my addition was a good one. I got a skein of Fleece Artist/Handmaiden Sea Silk in the color Bronze. I had read about this yarn on several blogs and everyone sings its praises. In anticipation of someday owning some, I had even sent to Lettuce Knit in Toronto for a copy of the one-skein shawl pattern that The Yarn Harlot wrote expressly for this yarn. So it seems perfectly logical and a fortuitous twist of fate that I should need to add to my order to get the 10% discount at Yarnzilla and they had this yarn available! (Aren't I good at justifying my purchases???)

I have to add that all the folks who wax enthusiastic about this fiber are very, very justified. It has a wonderful feel to it and seems as though it will drape very nicely. The added bonus is the wonderful scent of the stuff! It makes you think of the seashore and a field of wildflowers all at once. Knitting it will definitely be a pleasure and wearing it will be, too. Some say that there are medicinal properties from the sea cell fibers that impart to you as you wear the finished garment. I don't know about that, but I'm sure I'll be smiling, just as Mr. Sun is in the picture. (BTW, that's as much sunshine as we're getting here in Portland today!)

Okay, so I've covered gratitude and stash enhancement. Now on to the mulligan.

You may remember that I had completed a good deal of my feather and fan shawl made from Interlacements Rick Rack II yarn, only to find that I had been rather dyslexic when casting on and made the bloody thing too wide.

Well, I started again, this time on a nice pair of Brittany hardwood needles and it's been going quite nicely. I'm almost through one of the four balls of yarn I have to work with. Amazing how quickly the rows fly by now that there are roughly half the number of stitches to be worked!

I did have a moment of panic today when, while preparing to take pictures of it, I accidentally dropped about 20 stitches off the needle. I'm happy to report, however, that I have garnered enough skills now where I was able to fix it, even those stitches that had ripped down a row or two, and now I'd be hard pressed to find the spot where the mishap occurred! Of course, my cat had to endure through the process. She kept wanting to play with me and I kept pushing her away. Cats and small children seem to have a perfect sense of when you really need to concentrate and it's that exact time that they come along and want attention!

You know, I think I might actually finish this in time for the cruise after all! Maybe I'll take the tank as a project to finish on the cruise. That wouldn't be so bad. :)

Okay, that's all the knitting-related info for now. Last on the list is a rant. (If you stop reading here, I won't mind -- really!)

Today I heard a noise outside my door. Looking out the window, I saw a kid walking back down the driveway. When I opened the door, there was a bag full of phone books on the doorstep. Okay, the rant isn't the fact that a kid who looked to be abou 11 was delivering these on a Sunday afternoon. The rant is simply this:

How many bloody phone books does one household need?! I mean, really?! Here's a shot of the phone books I've received in the last few weeks. I get this many every year and usually I don't even unwrap the plastic that encases them -- that's how often I use a phone book anymore. But since I wanted to rant about them, I figured I'd unwrap them so you could see just what I'm talking about.

There are two large volumes from US West DEX, four volumes from Verizon (two large, two small), and one vrom Yellow Book.

Does anyone still use these things for anything besides doorstops??? And if you own a business, how on earth do you decide which one to advertise in -- or do you pony up the cash for all three? From what I understand, ad space in these books is not cheap. It just seems like such a racket. Maybe I'm off base here. Maybe lots of folks still use these things instead of going online. But for me, they're a waste of paper and I truly wish I could find a way to opt out of having them delivered to my door. All they do is clog my recycling bin!

Okay, rant over. I feel better now. :) Next time, more knitting news!

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

Ever feel like you're talking to yourself? What's that? Speak up, I can't hear you!

Now I know that there are at least a few of you out there in cyberspace checking me out because the hit counter on this page keeps increasing. But it seems you're a mostly shy bunch, given that there are only a couple of you who ever leave comments (not including the occasional spammer who sneaks in to deposit droppings here and there).

With all the pontificating that goes on here, not to mention the braggadocio when I actually complete a knitting project now and then, I find it hard to believe more people don't have some sort of commentary to add.

Heck, in my experience it's usually hard to get people to shut up! LOL

So since I don't have any knitterly things to add right now, I'll just ask a question of you, oh patient readers.

What are some of the knitting blogs you visit regularly? Come on, share! What is it about those sites that makes you keep going back?

I have a fairly long list of blogs that I track. I used to visit them manually on a daily basis looking for updates, but since Isela alerted me to the problems my blog feed had in Bloglines, I've been using that. Much more efficient! (BTW, did you know you can subscribe to my blog on Bloglines just by clicking the button at the top of the right-hand column?)

But I digress. Here are a few of the blogs I read regularly and why:

• The Yarn Harlot - Isn't this one on everyone's list? Stephanie's writing is a delight to read and offers a great mix of wit and wisdom.
• The Purling Sprite - Home of Isela, queen of the knitting loom - and a darned good needle knitter, too. This is where I started and I'll always feel an affinity with Isela and her wonderful family.
• Stitch Marker - Larissa has a book in the works about knit-alongs and I've participated in a couple of the ones she'll use as part of that. She's right here in Portland, Oregon, which makes me smile. :)
• Persistent Illusion - Judy is another Portland gal who I discovered while searching for names and locations of LYSs in town (she has a great list on her blog). I like reading of her knitting adventures.
• Scout's Swag - If you want some hand-painted yarn in a set of colors that are special to you, here's the lady to contact. Beautiful stuff is what she makes, I tell ya! And the pics of New Mexico skyline are wonderful, too.
• KnitSpot- Anne designs great patterns and shares the progress with us as she does.

These are just some of the ones I track. It's hard to narrow down the list because there are so many talented knitters sharing their trials, tribulations and success stories with all of us.

So now it's your turn. What blogs do you read and why?

Oh, and my very first blogiversary is coming up next month, so if you start commenting now, it would get you in the habit for when I run some sort of celebratory contest! :)

Secrets anyone?

I've started my very first test knitting project and it's progressing nicely. It's done using two strands of a ladder yarn, which I've never worked with before (and may never again) and which presents its own unique challenges. The pattern is quite simple, which means that it's a relatively mindless (read, boring) project -- except that I have to pay close attention or I end up going through the strands of the ladders and that makes a mess.

While working on the test knit the other day, I tuned in to Oprah and she was talking about a new book/DVD called The Secret with the author and several folks who contributed material, including James Canfield, he of Chicken Soup for the ____ fame. Intrigued, I watched as they discussed how you can manifest things in your life through the power of intention. Now I'm not sure they ever really said that, but that's essentially what it seems they were saying the book/DVD addresses.

I'm a firm believer in the adage, "What goes around, comes around," or if you prefer, "What you put out, you get back." I learned that early on in Sunday school singing "The Magic Penny." The key lyric in the song is "Love is something when you give it away, you end up getting more." To me, this just makes sense. If you walk through life expecting little, it's exactly what you find. Is the glass half empty or half full? Do you look for the positive in your everyday existence or are you always looking over your shoulder expecting the worst?

Now I admit that I haven't read the book or seen the DVD. I did pick up a copy at Costco yesterday and leaf through it, pausing to notice that it is almost entirely a collection of stories and quotes from others who claim to help people move forward in their lives -- all the while selling them more and more books, tapes, and retreats where folks can discover their inner power or whatever. I have to wonder sometimes -- if they're so darned good at helping people unleash their inner power, rise to their divine purpose, create the success and wealth and beauty and inner peace they've always wanted, how do they stay in business? Wouldn't they run out of customers at some point? I mean, if you really are good at teaching people how to do those things, then it woud stand to reason (in my mind, anyway), that you would constantly be needing to recruit new students to keep a revenue stream flowing. I suppose there are countless of opportunities to find those new students, but I highly suspect that much of their revenue stream comes from repeat customers.

Maybe I'm overthinking this. Maybe the secret really is knowing how to pander to the masses looking for that one thing that will unlock happiness and fulfillment and joy in their lives.

Personally, I think they should listen to Jack Palance as Curly in the movie City Slickers. He knew that the secret to life was one thing. As he said, "Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don't mean shit." When Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, asked him what that one thing was, he replied, "That's what you have to find out."

Therein, my friends is the true secret. No one can define that one thing for you. Only you can do that. And no library of self-help books and videos will provide you with the one thing. They can show you examples of things, they can give you clues and new perspectives, but they can't give you the answer -- that must come from within yourself.

As for me, my one thing is simply this: Everything that happens and everyone I encounter is an opportunity for me to learn something. Sometimes I don't realize I've learned anything until the moment is long gone. Sometimes I know right then and there that I've been impacted by someone or something. And sometimes I steadfastly refuse to believe there's anything of value in the experience at all. Silly me. That free will thing we have can really get in our way sometimes, don't you think?

And oh, by the way, not everything that occurs in life is, or should be, positive. Bad things happen. They hold lessons, too. Sometimes purveyors of self-help programs/books/whatever sound like they're selling a one-way ticket to a life filled with nothing but abundance, wealth, health, love, you name it. To quote yet another cliche source, "I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden!" Life isn't all fun and good and bounty and mirth. Sometimes life sucks. But bad times have their own lessons to teach, even if we aren't the most willing and eager of pupils. When someone says, "Why me?" I say, "Why not?" I mean, seriously, would you rather it happen to your neighbor?

Anyway, if you want to buy a copy of The Secret I think that's great. Just don't expect it to give you the magic key that's going to make your life perfect, or a Top Ten list of things to do to be happy. It might help you discover new ways of looking at things, and that may lead you to figure out what your one thing is, and that would be grand. But then, the Bible might do that for you, or the Qu'ran, or the Tao Te Ching or Dr. Phil or ______ (insertyour favorite text/author here).

So how does all this pontificating and philosophizing relate to my knitting on the test knit or anything else? Gee, I'm glad you asked! You see, a while ago, I stated an intention to the universe (and anyone within earshot). I said, "It would be so cool if I could somehow get paid to knit!" Friends who indulge my knitterly obsession just smiled and agreed that would be a nice thing for me. The fact that this was sometimes accompanied by a subtle eye roll or a pat on the shoulder didn't phase me a bit. :) Anyway, I put the intention out there. And now I'm actually doing it! Once I finish this test knit project and send it in, I will get a real, honest-to-gosh paycheck in return! Not that I could live off the proceeds or anything, but that's not really the point. The point is that I envisioned it, I stated it as something I would like to do, and now I'm doing it. Coincidence? Providence? Fate? The power of intention? The Secret? I guess it could be labeled any number of ways.

For me, I choose to believe that what you expect, what you believe, what you live comes back to you. The universe has a way of maintaining balance. Oh my! Now I'm starting to sound like Desmond in the last episode of Lost!

Okay, armchair philosophy 101 is over for today! If you've read this far, you deserve a reward of sorts, so I leave you with a picture of some yarn my friend brought me from China. I'm not sure what it's destined to become, but I have the intention of making something nice from it one day.

Mulligan!

Are there mulligans in knitting? I don't know if the term can officially be used in the fiber arts, but it certainly applies. At least today.

Because today I realized that the feather and fan stole I've been working on in hopes of wearing it on my upcoming cruise just wasn't right. And it was taking forever. And I was almost through the first of four balls of yarn I wound off the skein to make this stole and I hadn't gotten very far.

Then I looked more closely at what I had already done and realized that at some point early on I had lost count of the rows I'd done in the pattern. The result was that at one point, the right side became the wrong side. ARGH! In truth, I probably could have continued and no one would ever have noticed this mistake flaw design element but me since the colors are very pretty and the yarn has nice texture and the two combine to hide a world of sins -- or at least distract the eye from mistakes flaws ill-thought-out design elements.

What, I wondered, was I going to do? And how did I get this far along in the project before noticing that this was starting to look more like a lap blanket than a stole? Hmmm, let's look at the pattern instructions. "Cast on 108 stitches (multiple of 18)." Okay, I thought I did that, plus added a two-stitch garter stitch border on each side for stability. Let's count, shall we? This should be easy because I put a marker every 18 stitches to make it easier to keep my place in the pattern. Aren't I smart???

So 108 stitches. Let's see, here's one marker for one set of 18, two markers, three. . . uh, wait a minute. How many times does 18 go into 108 anyway? Oh. My. Goodness. It's not 10, is it?! Yes, dear readers. I did dyslexic math. Instead of casting on 108 stitches plus four for the border, I got overly ambitious and cast on 180!

Well, now isn't that a fine how do you do?! No wonder the darned thing seem to take forever. No wonder after using almost a quarter of the yarn on hand I had about 10 inches of stole to show for it. Nothing like almost doubling the size of the darned thing! ACK!

Now this may all seem like a rather pedestrian story to some of you. You may be thinking, "Yep, been there, done that!" At least I hope someone besides me has done this kind of bonehead math mistake. I'd hate to think I'm alone in my blunders.

Oh, did I mention that I had this epiphany while at the bowling alley? Yes, you read that correctly. I'm secretary for my bowling league and usually end up with some time on my hands before league starts (because I have to get there early to make copies of standing sheets and so on) and after my team finishes bowling while I wait for all 14 teams to finish up and give me thier score sheets. Thus I usually have some knitting with me to bide the time.

So here I am sitting at the bowling alley knitting away when I suddenly get this feeling that something is wrong and come to the conclusion that I need a mulligan. This is not a good feeling to have in a bowling alley where I can't cry, scream and shout, or madly start ripping out all those stitches into a pile of yarn spaghetti on the floor.

Ah, but such is life. Fortunately, I had a second ball of the yarn with me, so I just took the whole thing off the needles and cast on the correct number of stitches using the new ball of yarn and started over again. Once I got home, I frogged the work and rewound the yarn. At least this is a very forgiving yarn. It's Interlacements Rick Rack II and, despite it's texture, doesn't knot easily. And since it does have a texture, there's very little kink evident after frogging.

Okay, so I'll start again. At least this time I'm very familiar with the pattern and the chance of making a big mistake (as I did before) is much smaller. Plus with almost half the number of stitches on each row, things should move along quickly and there's actually hope that I'll finish it in time for my cruise, just 90 days from today.

Ah, yes, I think there are mulligans in knitting! FORE!

Oh, I finished the wave scarf for my sister. Silly me was so busy trying to get it into the mail (her birthday was yesterday, so it's already late) that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! Suffice it to say that it is lovely and warm and soft and cuddly. I hope she likes it! :)

Super Sunday = Wavy and Stash Enhancement!

Super Bowl XLI is done. (Hope I don't get a letter from the NFL for using their trademarked phrase!)

I worked a bit in the morning and then headed to my LYS for their Super Bowl Sale (oops! another letter from the lawyers!), wherein I joined a hoarde of other fibery folks in loading my bag with yummy things. Some were on sale at 40% off and everything in the store was 10% off. Oh, the temptation of it all! I did not go unprepared. I knew I wanted yarn for a scarf my sister requested and I knew I wanted to scout yarn for a tank top in Big Girl Knits I want to make for my cruise in May. But of course, once I got there, all bets were off!

I stayed on task at first, scouting out suitable yarn to substitute for the Dale of Norway Svale specified in the tank top pattern. Unfortunately, my LYS doesn't carry Dale of Norway yarns, but the helpful sales gal pointed out several things that would make a suitable substitute. Only problem was, there wasn't enough of any color -- okay, any color I liked --to make the top. So, on to plan B for that! (Plan B involved searching for a good sale online when I got home, which I found on Yarnzilla.com and promptly placed an order for some in Chinese Red.)

Next it was on to the grey for my sister's scarf. Grey seems very dull to me (although I know it's really not the yarn, it's my perception of it), so I picked a pattern that would add some oomph and chose a yarn that's so soft and snuggly that I'm loathe to give it up! It's the Wavy scarf by Sarah Smith, as published in Knitty, made in a light grey Berroco Ultra Alpaca, a lovely blend of 50% alpaca and 50% wool. I started the scarf shortly before the game started and this is how far I got. It's a very easy and quick pattern, as long as you keep track of what row you're on. (Oh, I bought a cool row counter at the sale, too, and some easy-to-use yarn bobbins for later.) The result is a very soft, squeezable, warm scarf that I'm confident my sister will love.

Oh, the rest of the stash enhancement you see in the picture above is: Two skeins of Toasty Toes from Interlacements in the Reds Plus colorway. I've been itching to knit something in red and this called out to me from the sale bin! Then I spied the Trekking sock yarn and grabbed a skein in color 78, Purple Heather that reminds me of a bowl bursting with summertime berries. (Did I mention I love berries?) Here are some pictures of socks made with this color of Trekking, courtesy of Heather at her blog 'no harm in yarn.' Good job, Heather!

On the 40% off table rested a basket full of Debbie Bliss Merino DK. I couldn't pass that by, so I snagged two skeins of purple. I'm thinking a pair of mits that will match the vest I wear when dealing cards. I have an upcoming party that will be in a tent outside (in the winter?!) and we are allowed to wear sweaters or whatever to stay warm. If it's too cold, I can deal cards with mits on! LOL

The line to check out was long, although a merry group, and ran right in front of the bins holding Noro yarns. Well, if you know Noro, you know it's very hard to resist! Standing right next to the bins for 20 minutes or so is enough to drive any knitter to an irresponsible purchase! I feel I maintained tremendous restraint by only putting three skeins of Silk Garden in colorway #8 in my bag. It's a pretty blend of blues, greens, and purples. Bet you couldn't tell that's my favorite color spectrum! I have no idea of what I'll make with this, but I'm sure I'll think of something!

Finally, when I got to the checkstand there was a small basket with shawl pins from gita maria. I'd seen these in the shop for a while, but they aren't cheap and I held off. But hey! Everything in the shop was 10% off! My resistance was lowered and I bought one. I think it will look lovely with the feather and fan shawl if when I finally finish it (which, hopefully, is before the cruise in May).

As you can see, it was a busy day! :)

Oh, then I came home and found that I won a prize for participating in Larissa's Test-along for her upcoming book. In an ironic twist (and a happy one), I won two skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca and a scented candle all the way from England. Now I'll be able to make myself a scarf that's just as huggable as the one I'm doing for my sister. Thanks, Larissa!

Finally, I leave you with one last picture. Many folks in blogosphere participate in the Saturday Sky ring. I'm not in that, but when I got up early on Friday morning and looked out my bedroom window, I had to run for the camera because this was just too stunning to pass up. By the time I got something on and went downstairs to try and get a better outdoor shot, it was gone. But this will give you an idea. :) I'm not usually up early enough to see sunrise, but I'm glad I was that day!

Happy Knitting!

NFL = No Freakin' Lawyers!

Oh, come on! I just read this story about how the NFL lawyers have given notice to an Indiana church that they would be violating copyright laws if they host a Super Bowl party for their congregation and show the game by projecting it on the wall. They claim that the licensing they have with the networks to air the games on free TV (something that seems to be headed for extinction) only allow viewing on TV sets no bigger than 55 inches and that 'mass viewing' is not allowed except at places like sports bars, because Nielsen ratings monitors would not pick up the numbers correctly and thus the whole ratings scheme on which advertising dollars are measured would be thrown out of whack.

Get a grip! What in H-E-double-hockey-sticks are these guys smoking? If I was an advertiser, I'd be hoppin' mad at the NFL for this stance. Here are a bunch of folks wanting to set up a family environment for everyone to come and enjoy the game and the league says it's a no-no. That's a bunch of families that aren't going to be watching the most important part of the game -- the commercials!!!

The pastor of the church said it best: "It just frustrates me that most of the places where crowds are going to gather to watch this game are going to be places that are filled with alcohol and other things that are inappropriate for children," Newland said. "We tried to provide an alternative to that and were shut down."

I'm not a big football fan. I enjoy the game, but rarely watch it as I think of it as a participatory thing to watch and I'm usually home alone on game days. Watching football alone = boring, to me. But I do go to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl. I don't care much about the game, but I do like the commercials and halftime show. Yeah, I'm a stereotypical gal, I guess. But the NFL's stance on this issue sure isn't going to make me try and find ways to watch more games.

There must be a better way to deal with this. Here's an idea -- get the lawyers out of it!!! It's not like someone was going to make a big profit from this event. I could see their point if the game was going to be on the JumboTron at the local arena with $10 admission charges (or more) and concession stands in full swing, and so forth. But a church having a gathering for families??? Good grief.

Okay, rant over. I just had to get that out. Oh, and I will be knitting while watching the game, you can count on that! :)

Just call me square!

I've been busily knitting squares for a "test-along" project that Larissa is doing for her upcoming book. One skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the color Baltic Sea yielded four squares on size 2 DPNs, each approximately 7" square when blocked. I really like the way the color striped, so here's two pictures -- one in the pre-spring sunshine on my deck, the other inside. Hope Larissa likes them!

In other square news, my LYS just started an Aran Squares Knit-along using Leisue Arts booklet "Sampler Afghans." Each month, the group will knit one square from the book, yielding enough squares to make an afghan approximately 36"x48". The first square is pattern #15, six-stitch cable. You can see how far I've gone so far. I'm using yarn from my stash, in this case a cone of acryllic worsted weight in soft Navy that I got from Herrschners some time ago. I also have a cone of Carol Simply Soft in gray and I'm thinking I'll do half the squares in blue and half in gray, maybe use a third color for the borders and joining them all together, but I'm not sure yet.

In other knitting news, I started a pair of socks with the wonderful Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn, but realized part way in that they were going to be a little small for my gigantic rather large very own personal feet, so I'm going to frog and start again with a larger needle size.

Oh, I almost forgot! I will soon be doing some test knitting for Knit Picks! I'm so excited! Isela mentioned the possibility to me and I followed up. Now my first project is on its way to my postal box and I can't wait to get started! I had been saying to friends that I wished I could be paid to knit so I could do it more often and now that's exactly what will be happening. Granted, it's not enough to quit my "regular" work by any means, but it is getting paid to knit. LOL

ACK!

I have just been alerted by a friend that the Atom feed of my blog on Bloglines is displaying a very nasty German porn site instead of my humble knitting blog. (If you don't know what Bloglines is, don't feel bad -- I didn't, either!) If you use Bloglines and haven't clicked the link for my site recently, don't! At least not unless you want to see very explicit pictures. ACK!

Meanwhile, if you've reached this page as a result of clicking through from Bloglines because you wanted to see more German porn, sorry to disappoint. The only porn around here is yarn porn!

I'm trying to get the issue resolved, although I really have no idea how to do that. Emails have been sent. Messages have gone on message boards. The red flags are up!

For those of you whose eyes have been scorched by the feed update, my apologies. I can only say this: It's flattering to think that someone in Germany figured my site would get requested often enough in Bloglines that it was worth hijacking!!! (See, it's all in how you spin it!)

Edited to add: Bloglines responded really quickly (yeah, customer service lives!) and took the offending feed down. If you subscribe to my blog via Bloglines, however, be aware that the RSS feed does not appear to be up-to-date (it shows posts from August), so you won't be able to tell from Bloglines if I've posted something new -- at least not right now. :)

Use your imagination

The snow has been melting, so I ventured out today and went to my LYS to get some yarn and DPNs to make squares for Larissa's test-along for her upcoming book. Lured by the subtle colors of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Baltic Sea colorway, challenged by the almost toothpick size of the US2 DPNs, I printed the pattern and cast on. I dutifully did a swatch to check gauge, then frogged it and started the pattern.

WOW! I really can knit with toothpicks small DPNs! (I have big hands, so this is somewhat surprising.) The first few rounds were a bit awkward, but as the piece grew, it became much easier to handle. I've finished one square, but I can't show it to you because I lent my camera to a friend. More about that later. As the title of this post says, you'll just have to use your imagination for now. :)

I felted some more cranes for the Knitnotwar project, too. I have six ready to go now, so getting ten done by the deadline isn't going to be a problem. I'm using leftover wool from other projects, so there are red ones and white ones and blue/green/yellow ones as well. Seann has posted a link to a picture of mulitudes of these cranes hanging in a shop window. (That might be Lint, but I'm not sure.) I think mine will blend in nicely.

I also picked up a gorgeous skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot sock yarn in the Granite Peak colorway. It's very soft and the colors are beautiful. I may use this to make my first pair of 'real' socks (as opposed to the slipper socks I made earlier). I've often marveled at the allure kintting socks seems to have for so many. But I'm beginning to see how intoxicating it can be. Once you get used to a basic pattern, doing the math to adjust for different patterns and gauges isn't too daunting. The projects is completely portable, something shawls and complicated lace patterns definitely aren't. And desipite the fact that they end up costing a lot more than the packs of Dockers socks I usually buy, they are so much prettier and softer and . . . just special! Seeing as how I'm still not a very speedy knitter, I don't know that I'm ready to sign up for a sock club or anything, but. . .

Actually, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself since I haven't made even one pair yet! I'm just using my imagination! :)

Anyway, I will have pictures later. As I said, I lent my camera to a friend. Her sister is getting married tomorrow in a very small, immediate family only ceremony and she wanted to use my camera to document the event, because it's got a few more bells and whistles than the one she has. I gladly gave her a quick overview and sent it along with her. Can't wait to see those pictures! Congratulations Tina and Ken!!!

Snow day!

I awoke this morning and it was very quiet. Last night they predicted snow and I figured that must be what had happened because snow brings a very special kind of quiet to the neighborhood. Sure enough, everything was covered in about two inches of snow and more was falling. A very pretty site -- as long as you don't need to go anywhere. Lucky for me, I work at home and I went to the grocery store last night, so I'm set. Here's some of what went on in my back yard today:

Folks in Portland simply aren't used to snow and ice. Heck, the first time it rains each season, folks have problems driving safely, so you can imagine what kinds of problems several inches of snow and icy roads can cause! The ones that really slay me are the SUV drivers who seem to think that four-wheel drive means they can go anywhere, anytime. Here's an example of what happens when an SUV driver encounters snow and ice and keeps hitting the gas anyway. Geez.

In knitting news, I finished one scarf and am almost finished with another. They are both made with the same colorway of Noro Kureyon, #156. The Twisted Spiral scarf is designed by Judy Warde from her pattern as published in One-Skein Wonders. It's a short scarf that looks really nice around the neck with the twists locked together. The other is a mistake rib pattern from the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. In the book, they call it the Child's Rainbow Scarf, but I think it's great for an adult, too. Instead of using two colorways of Kureyon as recommended in the pattern, I grabbed some white Wool-Ease from my stash and alternated that with the Kureyon.

Okay, I have some 'real' work to get done tonight. It's usually my bowling night, but the alley (like most things around here) closed early; no league tonight. I'd love to sit in my warm wooly slipper socks and knit some more, but transcription awaits and that, after all, is what lets me buy more yarn!

Wherever you are, hope you are warm and safe. Looks like they're already announcing lots of closures for tomorrow, too. Happy hibernation! :)

Mistakes? I've made a few. . .

But then again, too few to mention! Are you hearing the song in your head now? Will it bug you for the rest of the day? Sorry about that!

Stephanie posted the other day about adventures in felting (aka, 'ruining' knitting) and Anne shared her mishaps with falsely assuming she had her own pattern committed to memory.

These stories made me think about some of my own blunders in knitting and other crafts. Yeah, been there, done that. I've had the occasion to make pairs of mitts for some poor unfortunate soul who may just happen to have two left hands. Altogether, I'd rather have Anne's mismatched sets of faux cables than that!

Over the years, I've been a victim of the idea that things need to be perfect or they aren't any good. I find that this kind of thinking generally leads me to not attempt things that I think I may not be able to accomplish with any degree of pefection. This kind of thinking is a slippery slope. If you give in to it, you may find that you don't do much of anything new or exciting for fear (which is, of course, the operative word) of being less than perfect.

So rather than bemoan my mistakes, what I try to do is look at them as diversions, learning opportunities, creative anacronisms, or something similar. Two left-hand mitts? Interesting. Maybe what is needed here is a fresh outlook on what makes a pair. How about making the second one with the same color of fun fur and a coordinating color of the other yarn? The two would be "matched" by virtue of the fun fur and "mis-matched" by design instead of folly. Why should both hands be the same color anyway? In the case of Anne's mismatched cables, whoever wears them can consider it an opportunity to test the powers of observation of other people. Do they notice that one has three cables and the other four? If so, they pass the test! If not, no worries! :)

After all, creativity and innovation often arise from the ashes of 'imperfection' and 'mistakes.' In the business world, there are books and workshops and seminars about leadership and the need to embrace mistakes in order to foster innovation. Companies who do not grasp the concept of learning from mistakes often find that their business plans do not evolve to match the changing marketplace. They are afraid of failing and thus do not take risks that can lead to new, innovative approaches to their products or services. To remain successful, companies must innovate; and to innovate, they need to take risks. Risks invite mistakes and sometimes failure <gasp!>, but they also open doors to new ideas.

So the next time you make a mistake in your knitting, try to embrace it. What did you learn in the process? Is there a way you can adapt the project and make it something new? And, if all else fails and frogging or discarding are the only options, remember that you spent time enjoying the knitting, the feel of the yarn as it slipped over your needles, the peace of working on your project and forgetting about the cares of the day. That was, with a bow to Brad Paisley, time well wasted. :)

Of course, if all else fails, throw the bloody thing across the room and stomp around a bit. That can relieve stress, too! :)

It's two, two, two pairs of socks!

As I mentioned in my last post. I discovered that I did have enough yarn to complete two pairs of socks for the Socks 101 test knit. And now they're finished! There are a couple more pictures on my Flickr page. You may be able to see that there's a color difference between the two pairs. Manos del Uruguay yarn doesn't have dye lots, so each skein has some variance. In this case, one skein was a bit brighter than the other, so now it doesn't look so mistmatched as it did before -- not that that was a real issue, but. . . :)

Yesterday afternoon, the local news was all abuzz with warnings about a big arctic blast that would hit us sometime last night or today. Warnings of snow and ice abound! Cutesy storm names prevailed! Names such as “Winter Blast,” “Big Chill,” and “Winter Apocalypse” prevailed on local radio and TV news. For some reason, they just love naming a storm before it arrives here! Well, this morning, I awoke to a dusting of snow on the rooftops and sunshine. Then it started snowing in earnest with some really big flakes. My cat, Ellie, was fascinated by this! She sat in the window and kept twitching as the flakes fell, much as she does when a flock of birds visits the backyard. It was quite amusing. Here's what it looked like when the flakes stopped falling:

Pretty, eh? Well, it lasted about a half hour. THen the sun came out and melted it all away. We still may get more (it's lightly snowing right now), but it remains to be seen whether all the dire predictions on the weather reports last night come true. I just hope the roads stay drivable since I have to work in Wilsonville tonight (about a 40-minute drive for me).

Oh, I went the the bookstore yesterday with a gift certificate from a friend (thanks, Paula!) and got copies of The Yarn Harlot and Knitting Rules. Good stuff! Also spent a gift certificate I got for using my Amazon VISA card and ordered Folk Vests and One Skein. Happy Birthday to Me! :)

Another year, another candle

Well, today it's official. I'm in my second half-century. Yep, 51 years old (young?) today! EEK! Don't know where the time has flown to. (No, I didn't make the cake. Found it online via a Google search.)

Celebrations have already begun. My friends Angel, and Mike & Irene took me to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory Monday night. A most excellent place! I had Hungarian Goulash and I highly recommend it. Delicious! Besides the wonderful dinner, they also gifted me with some awesome wine and a great star-shaped mobile (I have a love of stars, moons, and suns that's quite apparent around my house.) Thanks, you guys! Love ya, mean it! :)

Tonight is bowling league, wherein I will get the pleasure of rubbing in the occasion of the big 5-0 for a teammate. You see, he's a year younger than me and last year he made it his personal mission to have it announced to the entire bowling alley that it was my 50th birthday and also took the liberty of making several scathing remarks about my age. Tonight is payback. I went to Spencer Gifts today and got some goodies for him. 'Nuff said. :)

Beyond that, who knows? I just hope no one puts the right number of candles on a cake for me or the Fire Marshal will surely need to be called!

My Fortune Cookie told me: You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Hmmm. . . I think this fits me pretty darned well! :)

On the knitting front, I decided to try my luck and see if I could get another pair of socks out of the leftovers from two skeins of Manos del Uraguay I used to make the Socks 101 test knit. I figured if I couldn't get a whole sock out of each small ball left from the two skeins I used, then I'd just finish it with some other leftover yarn in a different color and call it 'a design feature'. Turns out I could get another pair! Or at least I got half of one so far. I used the leftovers from one of the skeins and started knitting and the next thing you know, I finished and still had about a yard of yarn left! Amazing. Good thing I didn't keep my gauge swatch, but instead frogged it and then knitted. Otherwise, I would have run out at the toe. Hope the other remainder of a skein works out the same way. Then I'll two nice pairs of slipper socks! Sweet!

And the party continues

Actually, I should say parties, because that's more accurate. December was very busy on the casino party front. I worked 19 parties during the course of the month, which is a lot. I dealt blackjack, three-card poker, let it ride poker, and roulette. Longest distance traveled to deal cards at a party in December was 200 miles to Sunriver; shortest was 4.25 miles. So far, January is just as busy, but I suspect it will taper off sharply at the end of the month. Meanwhile, the editing and transcription end of things was pretty quiet in December and is starting to pick up again now.

Why do I mention all that here? Mostly because I need an excuse for not having more to show, knitting wise, for this post. :)

Okay, I actually have been knitting and I actually did finish a scarf, but I can't put up a picture right now because it's destined to be a gift for a friend who might see it here first. And I actually have cast on for another scarf (a lacy one this time), but I can't show you that, either, because it's destined for another friend who might see it here.

Hey, didn't I say that after all the Christmas gift knitting I was going to work on things for me? Hmmmm.... Well, I did make the fingerless gloves...

If you're looking for a fast, fun knit to use up some of the non-superwashed wool or other feltable yarn you have hanging around, check out the KnitNotWar site and make a crane or two. I'm making a bunch of them (several are made, but not felted yet), some of which will go to the art installation and some I'll keep around for small gifts and just to hang here and there as decoration.

First project of 2007

Inspired by Isela's production of multiple pairs of Fetching gloves, I visited my LYS Tuesday evening and bought some Debbie Bliss Aran Cashmerino in a nice burgandy/red. Although the pattern says you can complete a pair with one skein, I bought two because I have long fingers and made my pair a little longer than the pattern calls for. Next time, I think I'd make them even a bit longer. As these are now, they cover my knuckles nicely, but I'd prefer to have them come up closer to the middle of my fingers.

These work up really quickly and are absolutely lovely and toasty warm! I love them! I suspect that I will receive requests for some of these from friends when they see me wearing them.

I've made fingerless gloves (or handwarmers, if you will) a lot on my looms, but this is the first pair I've made with DPNs. I like both versions. The Fetching pair is just a lot more dainty than my usual pattern. :)

My LYS recently got some Namaste bags in stock. Since I got a nice tip at the party I worked on New Year's Eve, I decided to treat myself to one of the Everyday bags in brick red. It's awesome and it matches my new gloves very nicely. Bonus!

It's a lot bigger than any kind of purse I'd ever carry, but when I want to take a project (or two or three) along with me, it will be worth the trade-off in size to only carry one bag instead of several.

I also finished one clog. It's HUGE! But then, I have big feet and I'm counting on the felting process making it be just right. Now I need to go make the second one so I can see if that works out!

Happy New Year!

May 2007 bring you many joys and lots of knitting!