The Infrequent Chronicles of Me

My First Felt

2007-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Same colour, same lot, and different striping. (Cascade Yarns. Jewel. Hand Dyed. Peruvian Wool.) Odd. We're sort of blocking upside down right now. I think the washing machine spun it too dry - don't think it'll block, really. But that's okay, I can always do that later. I liked the colours of this yarn, but I'll be picking more fun colours for next time...

Christmas in January

2007-01-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

My Christmas gift from Tracy arrived this past week!!

Do you see that? She knit up a blanket for me! And felted slippers! The blanket is so beautiful and soft and big ... the slippers are very comfy. Details on the blanket: Knit with three strands of Homespun held together on Addi Turbo circular 19's. Colors are Grape, Fiesta, and some red they don't make anymore. Details on the slippers: They're spongier than I expected. ;)

I did not measure the size of the blanket, but in the picture where it is mostly spread out on my bed? My bed is a Queen, so that should give you an idea. If you want REAL measurements, you will have to let me know, then wait for me to do it...

Ice

2007-01-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

20 degrees this morning, 18 degrees yesterday morning. And my coffee maker still hasn't arrived.

Organizing!

2007-01-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

I was at Target yesterday shopping for a baby shower, and decided to see if there were any suitable shelving unit things for my "Et cetera Closet". I found shelving! I bought two units (they are stackable), and four cloth drawers. (I bought the pink ones because they were on a super reduced sale, a "two-fer" deal, and I really don't mind pink at all.)

All four bins are full of yarn. On top of the shelving units sits a plastic bin (which has most of my straight needles in it), and on top of that is the orange Pandora's Box with all sorts of various knitterly things in it, then on top of THAT is a knitting tote thing that my mom found at Walmart (?) so picked it up.

And the best thing about all this? My skiis and golf clubs still fit alongside the unit! Everything still goes in the space, but in a much more organized way. Love it.

Sunrise

2006-11-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

From exactly one week ago, looking from our front deck...

Yarn and Puppies!

2006-11-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Jury Duty, Schmury Duty. We're just not going to talk about that.

First, I give you a Puppy Shot! Miss Stella *loves* to launch herself off the top of the two steps going down into the living room. Here she is mid-air, chasing after her tennis ball.

And during my lunch hour today, I wasn't hungry, so I decided "Oh! There'a a Yarn Store up the street that I never have time to get up to!" I have never been in this store. Looked in the windows when I've been up there after they were closed, but never stepped foot in there.

I came, I looked, I bought.

Buying ban? Wha'? I don't unnerstand... b... ban?

(Right. I know. A knitting-stuff-buying-ban. I completely forgot about it once I entered that store. I use the Twinkie Defense! Even though I haven't had a twinkie since .... well, it's been many years.)

This is the yarn I bought today. It's called 18 Carat (or Karat?). One is a silver sparkly one, the other is a pink sparkly. The photo doesn't nearly do the colours justice, but there you go. One of these will go up the cable of the scarf I mentioned waaay back when (you know, the one out of the pink baby alpaca? That one.).

This was my last purchase before my knitting-stuff-buying-ban really went into effect. Two blue laceweights from HPY. One is Azul Bolita, the other Oceanos. I'm not sure which is which, and I don't really care enough to figure it out...

Jury duty at 9a. Bed calls.

I Need Another Vacation.

2006-11-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was happily on vacation from October 21st - 29th. Went to Indiana to visit a dear friend and, I think, I need to go back!

See, I got back late late late Sunday night, the 29th.

On Monday after work, I picked up my puppy. She's 5 months old, she's a Jack Russell, her name is Stella.

On Tuesday, I was to report for jury duty (jury selection). My group was postponed until Wednesday. So, Wednesday I go in, and lucky me - I was chosen to sit on the jury. Say hello to Juror Number Three.... Jury Duty is Tues-Thurs from 8:30a to 4:30p until the case is done. So you know? This is the most boring thing I have ever done in my life. EVER.

The small town where the court house is has a parking garage. Three floors. With narrow-ish tight tunnels going from floor to floor.

What happened on Thursday, you ask? Well, on the TWO HOUR LUNCH we were given (wasting my time, thank you), I was leaving the parking garage to go home and let the dogs out. I scratched my truck on the parking garage wall. (I took my dad's Honda car back - it fits much better!).

I don't want to be on jury duty again. I'm glad I got to experience it this once, but from now on? I will tell the judge and attorneys that I don't have the ability to stay awake when things are this boring. It's a very honest statement. It doesn't matter that I just had a double latte. It just doesn't! (I did try the "I have a very close family friend on the Sheriff's Department, my uncle's a retired cop, and my neighbour was a retired cop." That didn't work.)

1949 - 2006

2006-10-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Godspeed, Aunt Denise.

May you be forever free of pain, full of joy, surrounded by love.

The family you leave behind is well loved and will always be taken care of.

Saturday Baking

2006-10-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Today is a "Wash the Truck" day. (Which I still haven't done, but will before the day is over.) While waiting for the driveway space to pull my truck up, I decided to bake.

In order to bake, I need music. Unfortunately, XM radio is in the kitchen (as opposed to Sirius); they don't have the good oldies stations I like! (I prefer late 50s - early 70s, but there wasn't a choice to listen to that segment of music.)

Classical it was. Veracini performing Violin Sonata #6.

The cookies? Well, I was going to make the classic Nestle Toll House Cookies. Chocolate chip. But digging through the drawer with the 'chips in it, I found about 1/3 to 1/2 bag of both Mrs. Fields choco chips, and Nestle Vanilla Chips.

So that's what I used. Then my mom piped up with, "Why don't you go ahead and use those Heath things too?" So, in went a full bag of crushed Heath bars.

And let me tell you. They were wonderful. :) (And there's a lot left. Which means some of them are going over to Tracy tomorrow.)

Progress!

2006-10-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

See? I am still knitting. I know it's amazing, but there we go! It is a crappy picture though; I didn't realize until I put the card in the card reader on the computer. I did learn, however, that pillows make nice things to pin into. The bed would've been good, but I'm not gonna do that to my bed. (It's a Select Comfort bed by the Sleep Number people. LOVE the bed. Sharp pointy things being stabbed into the air chambers could be Very Bad.)

Swatches

2006-10-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

I did swatches of the Lime Blue and Amazonas hpy's. The Amazonas is looking to be more like a camouflage colour, and the Lime Blue is just kinda fun. Never know how they will pattern themselves when knit up for reals!

Handpainted Yarn. (i.e., The Result Of My Knitting-stuff Buying Ban)

2006-10-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

I do think, though, that I set my Self Imposed Knitting Stuff Buying Ban after this batch of yarn-buying.

I bought a few skeins of lace yarn from HPY several weeks ago; the Sapphire Magenta, Black, and Sealed Wax (I think that's what the red was called). Now I have added three more to the mix because I love "knitting little" and the yarn is beautiful and, well.

I'm addicted.

"Hello? My name is Kalah? [... silence ... ] Hello? HELLO!?"

Right, I see that nobody else is in this meeting. Or at least willing to out yourselves as complete addicts. I'm FINE. Really, fine. [As in, F*cked up, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional.] Super fine... ;)

Knitting In Lace.

2006-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

And let me just say that I enjoy it a lot.

Talent, They Say

2006-09-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a Talent!

You're a risk-taker, and you follow your passions. You're determined to take on the world and succeed on your own terms. Whether in the arts, science, engineering, business, or politics, you fearlessly express your own vision of the world. You're not afraid of a fight, and you're not afraid to bet your future on your own abilities. If you find a job boring or stifling, you're already preparing your resume. You believe in doing what you love, and you're not willing to settle for an ordinary life.

Talent: 62%
Lifer: 31%
Mandarin: 41%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

Socks! (Well, Sock. Sockette, really.)

2006-09-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday I took a sock class at our local knitting store, Sierra Knitting Co. The class started at 4p, but with work and all, I wasn't able to get there until 5p. (I had warned everyone ahead of time! I think the only time I can make a weekday 4p appointment is if a) I have horses to do or b) I have a massage scheduled.)

So, the Sock Class. It was taught by an outsider, not Debi or Donna. I think this gal teaches quite a few classes there though.

We did a mini-sock pattern so we could get the idear of casting on (with the german long-tail something-er-other cast on), dividing sts for the heel flap, picking up sts, doing the kitchener st at the toe. When I left the class I still had the whole toe section to do, but another girl had gotten down to that part so we were all able to see how it was done. Easier to go back to the written instructions after you've seen it.

I used US3's on this little sock. The class callout was for US2's, but a) I already had 3's, not 2's, and b) I'm a tight knitter and knew I'd be able to get away with it.

So without further ado, I present to you a Finished Object. (Thank God.)

Just so you know the size of the sock... the top picture was taken with Sock sitting on the nose of my bicycle seat. It's 2" from toe to heel, and 2" from heel to the top of the cuff. See? Little.

I do want to knit REAL socks at some point, but I think I would like to wait and get some Addi dpn's. They make lil ones with the Addi "turbo" coating. (I actually went to the skacel website and checked....).

For now, I'm on a self-imposed knitting-stuff-buying ban until I finish a scarf from lace weight yarn (from hpy), and the pink scarf out of baby alpaca. Once those two projects are FINISHED, then I will look into buying the Addi Turbo dpn's in size "really small".

Here's What I've Learned.

2006-09-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

I need sharper (think KnitPicks) needles before I knit up my lace yarn.

I found that out on row three of swatch.

Good thing I have my light pink baby alpaca yarn as a backup to knit, eh? How's that for thinkin'!!

(No pictures though. I'm too lazy right now.)

It's a ... What IS that??

2006-07-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Did I mention I was going to try something new (to me)?

I'm trying something new.

I decided that I wanted to do something with a cable in it. A simple basic cable. And I wanted each half of the cable to be a different colour. I can see it in my head ... I can see it completed in my head, and it looks pretty snazzy! Now I have to figure out how do do it, exactly. I have a good idea, and it will get done, but it may take awhile.

Mainly because this isn't something where my mind can wander. I have eight strands of yarn hanging down ... 4 are live, 4 are ends.

Please understand: I am a baby knitter. I don't know how this looks to you, but for me?

I need a drink.

Hello, My Name Is Kalah? ["Hi Kalah..."]

2006-07-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I suffer from yarnaholism. (See, this is my way of saying, "I have new yarn.") If I have a bad day? I need yarn fumes. If I had quite the time with CtE at work? I need to fondle yarn. If I had a frustrating day, get off work early, AND have a COOpun to use? I buy yarn.

[If you wonder, "COOpun" comes from comedian Ron White. In normal english, COOpun is coupon.]

I didn't need any yarn. I never need yarn. But... but, you see, there's this yarn that always sucks me in. I always have to touch it. Not because it's soft or anything (because that would be baby alpaca, which this isn't), but because the colours draw me to them.

This, my friends, is how I celebrated Independence Day.

Picture is smaller than I expected to make it. Must be the lateness of the night...

The grouping of five balls? Those are from Cascade Yarns. "Rio" is the yarn within Cascade.

The blue at either bottom corner? Those are both Berroco ... and I totally forget what type from them. Mmmm.... yeah. My brain is off the thinking mode. Softouch? Something like that.

I had a few people ask what I was going to do with this yarn. First? I'm going to admire it. I am going to be happy that I have it home. I am going to add it to my stash (my yarnstuff is becoming a stash!). I'm going to save it until I see a project that needs a little hint of colour, and then! Then, I will use one of these yarns, because that's what it will be perfect for.

I love yarn.

"But wait, I have PLANS!"

2006-06-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

"What has she been doing?" perhaps you wonder. Well, no, it's not knitting I've been doing. You see, some of you read about the mudslide we had a few months ago. We decided to rip up all the carpet, which meant moving everything either outside or upstairs depending on what it was, and move the damn dreaded pool table. (Anyone want a pool table? Bar sized, 1 piece of slate, heavy mo'fo. You want it, you have to move the bloody thing. Currently it resides in a garage in Folsom.) We are now having tile installed (Tile Guy is very nice, though I'm not sure why you need to know that.). Friday entailed sanding the cement that was under the carpet and painting this noxious stuff on it. Saturday the tiles started going down. Today at 7am, the tiling resumed. MAYBE by the end of the week, the tile will be complete, which would mean we could start moving stuff in, which means my Knitting Chair would come back in. In the meantime, I do have several projects planning themselves in my brain - one of which is a pair of socks!

So, here's some of what I have been doing.

This is my horse. Blondie. The Blonde One. Thursday morning the front shoes went on, Friday morning the hind shoes went on, Saturday I clipped his legs up, and now he's ready to work.

He's pawing the air in these photos. He knows he'll get yelled at if he paws the cement.

This week is a busy week with family birthdays, then Father's Day on the weekend, so ... maybe knitting will resume Sunday evening? I DO need to swatch up my KnitPicks Parade yarn with those little US3 dpns I got awhile back....

Happy Birthday to ME!

2006-04-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

So what if it's a bit more than a week still until my birthday! Tracy sent me a birthday package, which arrived on Thursday. A happy addition to a beautiful sunshine-filled day! I opened the box, and inside I found several wrapped items. This is the box with everything in it, no longer wrapped... ;)

There on the upper left side is a ball of Knit Picks Parade yarn, currently being swatched on the included #5 Addi Turbos. There are five balls of that yarn for me to play with! I love how it's going to stripe itself - FUN!! And those Addi Turbos ... Oh. My. Gosh. I LOVE them! So fabulous! (So you know, on the package for the Addi's, there is a warning which states "if used by untrained persons this tool may cause bodily harm." I'm not THAT much of a klutz!

On the lower left part of the box is the brown leather (or leather-like) zip case, which contains ...

Tadaaaa! The Boye Circular set! (The proper name is something like "Boye NeedleMaster Interchangeable Needle Set" or ... something.) All sizes I'll ever need to try stuff out, apparently! How utterly rad is that?!

Now, this yarn. This yarn I absolutely love. LOVE! The colours are so wonderful! Tracy included two, er, hanks? (knitterology totally escapes me right now) of this yarn. What am I going to do with it, you ask? I am going to admire it.

See? It'll be very easy to just admire this yarn for awhile. It doesn't need to be made into anything yet. It only needs to exist.

Tracy also included a hank of Malabrigo Worsted Merino Wool. The card says Emerald, but it looks more Seafoam in colour. I think it will need a pink/purple/blue type of colour with it.

That baby blue yarn you see underneath everything? That wasn't part of my birthday present; it was just yarn that nobody down Tracy's way wanted. From how T talked about this yarn with such disdain, I think I am either going to hate it, or be stubborn enough to make it work for SOMETHING. It is a very furry yarn that appears to tangle quite easily. "USE LARGE NEEDLES" is what I was told. We'll see what happens!

Also included in the box is a cute stationary (or is it stationery? I really don't remember... to the horror of all those years of schooling I've had.) set which includes a small spiral-bound notebook, a pencil, the cutest holepunch I've ever seen, a lil' stapler, and little clips to clip papers or anything else you may want to clip! Also with this is a cute pencil holder which MAY be used to hold things other than pencils...

Now for my Wednesday and Friday evening shopping experiences at Sierra Knitting Co., located in Cameron Park. (I have to keep plugging these guys - they're wonderful!)

On Wednesday I went in looking for a soft something to make a new hat out of. I felt up a lot of yarn... and found Misti Alpaca's 100% wonderful Baby Alpaca! It's so amazingly soft ... I'm just in heaven! It's a medium-dark green with tiny slivers of orangish throughout. And so soft. SO soft!

THEN, on Friday, I had to go back to the store again (oh darn!) to pick up the dpns I'll need for the size circs I bought on Wednesday (to go with the yarn...). And then bought more dpns to round out the sizes I will likely need in the not-too-distant future.

(See the bag? Sierra Knitting Co. Have I told you I like them? And? And?! They may be expanding their store, which may include an area to just come in and KNIT!!!)

Oh, I also bought new stitch markers, because I am housesitting and left that kind of stuff at home. I bought them for their colours ... bright green and purple. How could I resist!? But now I'm home posting pics for y'all, and will grab my stitch markers (I think they may be more flat than the ones I just picked up, which will be perfect for the Knit Picks project; I'll use my new ones for the baby alpaca project.), my measuring tape, and anything else I may need for my 9 remaining days of housesitting. Whew!

(And so you know, this is a record for me. Two projects kind of going at once. WOW! I feel the need to do aran-style cables on the knit picks yarn/hat. I am looking SO forward to seeing how that yarn stripes up in a hat, and am also looking forward to using the Addi's!)

Another quick note: Sierra Knitting Co. is hopefully going to start carrying those Addi Turbos pretty soon. Yay! As if I don't spend enough money on my horse and for gas for the truck...!

:) I'm so happy with these new additions to my Knitting Stuff. Don't I have one of the best cousins ever?! Tracy, thank you SO MUCH!!! And see, I may take a long break from knitting, but I come back! ;)

Finito!

2006-04-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

My hat is done! I had the last part of my class yesterday (transfering to dpn's and finishing the hat). I felt like I had grown an extra five fingers that kept getting in the way, but at least I didn't have to worry about the dpn's falling out of the stitches since I knit tightly. I had fun doing this hat ... my first time using circulars (which I accidentally left at the knitting shop ... they called and told me that, so I guess I have another excuse to go in there sooner than I was planning), my first time using dpn's, and my first time tying in a new ball of yarn the way Tracy recommended (which worked really well, btw).

So, here it is. Many thanks to my model, a Kirkland roll of paper towels.

And while at my friend's house last night, I started working on a practise run of the Aran Cable. It doesn't show up as well here as it does in person, but it still doesn't show up greatly in person either. I started it a few rows up, and instead of using just the 12 st width in the pattern, I should've made it wider just so there was more run out along the sides. I think that would've made the cables stand out better. But there you go, live and learn!

Super Freaking Great.

2006-04-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

So, we've been getting rain. Our total up here is now about 55" (35" is about normal for us). That's a lot of freaking rain. I've been staying at my brother & sister-in-law's since Monday (only two nights, not bad). Came home late tonight, happily knowing I'd be in my own bed.

Some facts you need to know: I live on the second floor. The windows in my hall face the mountainside. There is only air between the windows and the dirt/rock of the hill. Meaning, there are no trees back there.

Okay, correct me if I'm wrong, but those look like leaves. "But ... [pause] ... I don't have a tree back there."

Well, dude, there's a bloody tree there now!

Super.

Just bloody super.

Here's the downstairs: Wet carpet (mud must be about 4-5' deep behind the house in order for water to get in back there), and mud crashed through the back door (that leads to the back of the house, where septic is) into our garage / laundry room.

Again, not much more to say than Super. Just bloody super. See, we've always had to worry about the water coming up from the front (the river flooding), not the mud, rocks, and trees coming down from behind. Okay, not entirely true. We've had to worry about falling trees (200' Ponderosa Pines). They make a very distinctive sound when they crack that you never forget. And the pause before the thud when it hits ground, and the shake of the ground. Very interesting and unwelcome. Anyway, don't know how much damage that will have to be replaced because of the mud. The carpet may have to be replaced. It'll at least have to be pulled up to dry, while a torpedo heater does its magic. We don't know the damage of the sheetrock. It's cinder block wall on the other side of the sheetrock for 4-5' high along the whole backside of the house.

Needless to say, I haven't gotten any further on my knitting... Still ready to tie in the second ball to start the decreasing on my hat. Hopefully tomorrow evening I'll do that. I should be home relatively early.

Around & Around & Around She Goes

2006-04-02T00:20:00.000-08:00

Yes indeedy, I learned how to do circulars today! Today was the first of two lessons in my hat knitting class. I was the only one in my class. :) I knew that before showing up today; the original class had filled up, and I was the only one to sign up for the extra class, so they cancelled it but didn't want me to lose out - so they said "come in when you can on Saturday, and we'll get you started!" Okay! I'm s'posed to knit this baby up 10" before I start my decreasing. Seems excessive to me, but that's okay. I can roll or fold up the bottom part and be happy. If it's cold, I can pull it down way over my ears. I told them from the start that I'm a very tight knitter (just in case it mattered .... but it only matters to my right index finger, apparently, where the blister is forming). A few inches into my knitting, one of the owners came over and said, "Oh, you ARE a tight knitter! But it looks so good, and you have very nice even tension in your knitting." Thank you, I guess?

I really like the colour of the yarn I picked out. Pink with very light purple and very light orangish colour. It's striping nicely. The owners of this knitting shop are really, really kind, and have the kind of personality I get along with fabulously. :) (Sierra Knitting Co. in Cameron Park, CA - go visit them!!) While I was knit knit knitting, Lorna of Lorna's Laces came in - she's very kind, too. I love nice people. They make the world such a wonderful place!

After that, I went over to a new friend's house and taught her and her friend how to do cables and knit in the round. It's after midnight, and I just got home! We had a fabulous time, and after my lesson next Saturday I will teach them how to finish their hats. Whew! What a knitting day! It is SO past my bedtime! (Though if I wait 40 minutes, it'll be midnight again...)

[Edited @ 10:30a to tell you I'm retarded. I always get the Fall Back / Spring Ahead things mixed up. So, it wouldn't be midnight again, it would be 2a instead! Earth to Kalah... Earth to Kalah!]

I Learned Me Howta Cable!!!

2006-03-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Yes yes, you read that correctly. I bought some cable needles yesterday. They're these odd plastic things, two sizes came in the pack, I think they're from Clover. They're the U kind. Anywho, the wonderfully nice woman at my new local yarn store said these were what she used, so I said hey, good enough for me. Besides. I figure she's going to be the one to help me if I get in trouble, so might as well use what she uses. It's easier to teach people when they use your methods, and I'm so easy to teach, so that's the route I went.

One Cable, for your viewing pleasure. Just so you know? I really liked doing it. It's so much funner than just knitting something. There's more stuff to pay attention to, but not so much that you say, "I think it's time for a drink."

I just followed the instructions from the Stitch 'n Bitch book. :)

We Have A Scarf!

2006-03-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

Oh yes we do! I have completed The Scarf. Done. Well, with the knitting part. It is shy of 7 feet by about 4 inches or so. I still need to block it (or steam it or something) to take the curl out of the edge, but that's a project for tomorrow or Monday.

Here it is. All sprawled out. This is a bar sized pool table, so for those of you who know the difference between all tables out there, you have an idear of how long it is.

This? Aaah, for the love of HPY.com ...

I'm not sure what happened to the nice diamond pattern it was doing for me. But that went away for nearly a foot 'n a half.

Here's how I ended it. Wanted to try to end the scarf much in the same way it began, which, if you look at it, appears to be a few rows of "Hmmm, *that's* interesting...", so this part was intentional and actually looks a lot cleaner. I just swapped the pattern so it's on the other side for a few rows, then did the bind off in strictly knit stitch.

Because that's what I knew how to do, and I didn't want to read 'structions.

Sit Down before I tell you this...

2006-03-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

... I am knitting again.

After setting this scarf-in-progress down for awhile (it had "issues") (okay, maybe I'm the one with the "issues", but still.), I decided to fix the "dropped stitch" problem (thanks to Tracy emailing me instructions ... after I emailed her "WTF?!" pictures), and continue on with this scarf. I would, afterall, like to wear it sometime before, you know, summer.

After various problems that I would prefer not to admit to here, especially since it would force me to admit to y'all that I am a completely retarded knitter, here's where we are now. We're just shy of 4' long now.

I started the second skein the other day. Tracy taught me the magical spit-splice / "suck on the ends and KarateKid it together" method of connected the end of skein one to the beginning of skein two. Perfect! In the photos, where the loose needle is pointing is the row of the skein change. Works for me! :)

Back to the "24" marathon on tv. Hopelessly addicted to the show starting this season, so I have 4 season to catch up on. Jack Bauer is ... wonderful. :)

Pictures of the Week

2006-03-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Since I can't keep up with the APADs, and probably not even weekly... Here are some photos from last week. All were taken while driving (or pulled over, but still in the truck).

This picture is now what I have on the wallpaper of my computer. I love clouds, I love sunsets, and I rarely think to take their pictures to make the memory last longer. :)

This here? This is called Country Graffiti. See, we don't really have big fences, walls, or buildings for taggers to hit, so they have to do it on the rocks on the side of a hill. I just wonder who Heather is. (If you can't see it in this smaller version of the picture, sprayed in red paint is "I love you Heather".)

This is generally how I see sunsets. From the side mirror of my truck. I loooove sunsets. I could marry them.

Four Corners ... and a KNITTING UPDATE!

2006-02-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

I worked on my room today. [Knitting? What about knitting?! Right. Well. I'll get to that.] But here's the entrance to my room. Walk straight back down the hall, and you will run into something. Chances are it's my door or my bookcase.

First I'm going to show you what I did today. This picture here? Do you see that nice dresser/entertainment unit on the right? That was just moved down from upstairs. Heavy SOB, that. And the dresser in the closet there? That was where the entertainment unit now sits. I had my tv, vcr, dvd player, satellite receiver, and alarm clock all perched vewy vewy cawefully atop the dresser. Perch no longer! They have their own home now ... tv and alarm clock are hidden behind the doors, and the satellite receiver, dvd and vcr are under the doors in that space before the drawers. (Three more drawers for clothes, yay!)

This is my bed. With, count them, five pillows. I love pillows. The main one is a king sized white down feather pillow. LOVE IT! There's another feather pillow in the pile somewhere, and other pillows... One me, lots of pillows. Happy me. :) I also changed the sheets and the comforter cover, since they were covered with black Lab hair. The black Lab sleeps with me when I'm babysitting him. He sheds. A lot. (The ball doesn't live on my bed. it was just in the way when I was walking around in there, so that was the best place to toss it.)

This is my desk, my computer desk [the corner unit there with the flat monitor on it], and is my next project to tackle. You can't see it, but last weekend I tossed all sorts of crap from the drawers. You should've seen all the files that went Hasta La Byebye! Next weekend I hope to make this corner of the room organized and clean. That's the plan anyway. That mess drives me mad!

This is the way out, in case you got lost in that last mess. Another bookcase, yes. One warning for those of you who don't really think ahead on some things, like me: Measure the distance between things to make sure there's room to "move stuff". Between the tall bookcase on the left and the 4 footer on the right, I only had about 1/4 - 1/2" to spare when pulling the entertainment unit in. Things were interesting there for a moment...

*** KNITTING UPDATE!! *** KNITTING UPDATE!! ***

Okay. So. Regardless of whether I want to knit now or not, I can't, because I still have about two weeks to go with a finger brace on my right index finger. That's an important knitting finger, to me. BUT. I have plans to sign up for a knitting class! Yes, ME!! It's a beginner II class ... for those of us who have done the scarves, this one is teaching us to knit in the round, doing increases/decreases, etc. Very nice! This is at a new knitting shop that opened locally earlier this month. The class starts in April, is on Saturdays for 3-4 weeks in a row, and a client of mine wants to take it with me. It'll be loads of fun!!! I already have the days crossed off in my appt book...

No Knitting, No Thinking of Knitting...

2006-01-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Yeah. I was about ready to fix The Stitch. So I could finish the scarf. I had a half day of work on friday, and was off through monday. As of saturday, I am no longer at home. As of the wee hours on saturday, we were actually flooded in - water was too high to be able to drive any cars out of our driveway. Saturday afternoon, we shut the propane off to the house (i.e., no cooking anything, no boiling water to make it drinkable, etc.), packed a few changes of clothes into backpacks, grabbed the dogs, and hiked up to our neighbours (we're built into the side of a mountain, so think "poison oak, blackberry bushes, running water, mud, hands & knees going uphill, feet and butt going downhill" (thankfully, I don't get poison oak, and I don't mind getting muddy!)... Now? The water level is back down, but we had a mudslide, so we need to get the tractor home to move mud so I can get my truck out. I borrowed my brothers truck this afternoon so I could go take care of a few houses that I'm supposed to be taking care of, but it looks as though I'm staying at my brother's until further notice.

The Stitch will wait. I'm sure of it. I don't think it will decide to fix itself, nor do I think anyone else will pick it up and mess with it.

And maybe by 2009 or so, I'll be wearing that scarf! ;)

Merry Christmas, with Handmade Gifts!

2005-12-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to fling a picture up here showing what my Sister-in-law made me for Christmas. This is just a close-up(ish) view of the blanket she made...

Houston, We Have A Problem. Houston? HOUSTON!!!

2005-12-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

Oh, my scarf. My favourite one so far, mainy for the colours and the time I've put into it. See? Isn't it purdy?

(I'm sorry, ignore the green felt of the pool table. It doesn't exactly compliment my scarf.)

I got brave and was backtracking on the row with the Offending Stitch (read previous post for details). Everything was going swimingly for the first few stitches. I thought I was pretty handy! Until I had the thought of "WTF is THAT?!"

Here is a picture of "that"...

Yeah, you see, I'm too much of a beginner to understand what I did to get here, and what I need to do to rescue myself. More pictures will be sent to Tracy, begging Her Brilliancy to talk me through it over the phone. If not, then thankfully she'll be up for Christmas and she can show me what I did and how I FIX the Bloody Thing. (!)

~sigh~

"All I wanted was a colourful scarf to wear when the skies are grey..."

Instead, I'm wearing a grey scarf. But it's soft and comfy and London Fog does pretty decent work.

"But It's Good Practise!"

2005-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, good practise my ass.

I noticed that something wasn't quite right. So I looked a little closer. Indeed, I made an incorrect stitch, and proceeded to not pay attention until the end of the following row. I've already backtracked on the one row, and now I need to undo the row the mistake is in. See what happens when I watch tv while I knit? DO YOU SEE??!!!! (Point of needle is directing you to the Offending Stitch.)

And for the record, this is how much yarn I had left ... this is what I was going to try to finish up with tonight since I won't have time to knit this week. THIS, before I found the Offending Stitch. All I wanted was to be able to start with the 2nd skein when I picked the project up again! For Pog's Sake!!

(But no. I'm going to bed now. I will unravel the row when I have time. )

[Oh, and I did get a cramp in my right arm, which made my index finger curl oddly. That's another thing that happens when I'm flying along, staring at my yarn, wondering how many rows I have left before I hit the end of the yarn, and gah!]

And for the record, it is three hours past my bedtime.

Well, I Still Know How To Knit

2005-12-10T22:23:00.000-08:00

Even though it's been a few weeks (months).

Do you remember this scarf? My first and only yarn purchase ever from HPY? Well, we got reacquainted tonight. And I doubled its length! I didn't even mark the row I started from since I am finally confident enough to correct mistakes. Whew!

And no, I still don't have the desire to wind the yarn into a ball. We get along well enough to work with it as is. =)

A Very Important APAD

2005-12-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

And there are actually TWO pictures to share. For those of you who don't know, my hair is very thick, and curly. Each strand is thick, and there's a lot of them. My hair can go from ringlets (if I help it along a bit by scrunching) to straight ... so I can do my hair in five minutes or over two hours.

The following picture shows the tools I had to use to get the next picture. From left to right: Matrix Vavoom "Smooth Me" smoothing gel; Redken Extreme "Anti-Snap" leave-in conditioner; Redken Smooth Down "Heat Glide" heat protector; Redken "Align" smoothing creme ("for stick straight results!"); Biosilk "Silk Therapy" because it's silky and I love it; Red Christmas Cup containing my brushes soaking in vinegar to get the gunk of styling off. In the foreground is my flat iron.

This picture is the result of a lot of work. Day One was about two hours of blow drying and ironing, and I ran out of time before I had to leave for work. Day Two was this morning, and I had more time to finish (I did NOT wash my head this morning - I wasn't starting over!) - so this was using a bit more of the Heat Glide and Align with the Flat Iron. Trying to take pictures was ... entertaining. This is actually of the right side of my head; I was looking in the mirror to see what the display on my camera was showing so I could take a picture. Fun.

OH MY WORD! She lives!

2005-11-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

Here I am!

Just a quick update: I have been out of town and / or have had no internet access for the past six weeks. It looks like I will be home for the time being. Whew! Now I can clean my room, set up my bike and start riding again, finish my two scarves that I have on the sticks, and just plain get back to my world, rather than living out of my travel bags.

Coming up when I have more time on the computer:

A reminder of what my two scarves look like, and how far I have (not) come on them.

And?

"My Visit To Tracy's" aka "My Personal Yarn Store". =)

The One With 100 Things

2005-09-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

1. I am a daughter, sister, niece, and aunt.
2. I do not wish to be a mother.
3. I never rule anything out.
4. I started getting along with my brother the day he moved out.
5. I have been paying into Social Security since I was 9.
6. I have worked for the family company, for a vet clinic, in retail, and for myself as a farrier.
7. I enjoyed them all.
8. I have never asked for a job.
9. I don't mind working hard.
10. I have had a lot of schooling.
11. I greatly dislike homework.
12. I have an AA degree in Math & Science.
13. I have an AA degree in Human Services (Counselling degree).
14. I am about six classes away from having a BA in Mathematics.
15. I am also about six classes away from having all prerequisites completed for Vet School.
16. I would go to vet school if I didn't have to work.
17. I will finish my Math degree, but not right now.
18. I love to draw.
19. I am good at almost everything I try.
20. Most things don't interest me enough to continue doing.
21. I love to listen to music.
22. I greatly dislike Jazz, Heavy Metal (if it's still called that), and most Rap.
23. I have a love for classical music, especially if it has piano, violin, and/or flute in it.
24. I like talk-radio and listen to it almost daily.
25. I am a Fiscal Conservative, first and foremost.
26. I was a registered Republican until about six months ago.
27. I am a registered Independent.
28. I don't like either of the "main" political parties.
29. I think they have their heads up their collective asses and no longer represent what they once did.
30. I don't mind talking politics, but will throw a fit if others talk about their views then refuse to listen to mine.
31. I don't believe in organized religion.
32. I am very spiritual.
33. I don't believe in coincidence.
34. I sense things about people within the first ten minutes of meeting them.
35. I am generally correct in what I "see".
36. I am not good at lying, so I don't.
37. I am incredibly honest.
38. I have very strong morals, and I stand by them.
39. Those who don't like that don't need to exist in my world.
40. Even if you are family.
41. I do not trust people easily.
42. I am very picky about who I let into my world.
43. I have been hurt anyway.
44. I am incredibly sensitive in many ways.
45. I cannot stand the sound of a ticking clock.
46. I hear things other people don't.
47. I pay attention to my dreams.
48. I have had dreams come true.
49. I almost changed my flight to Hawaii last year because of a dream I had about it.
50. I love flying.
51. I want to learn to pilot a helicopter.
52. I can go to sleep anywhere, anytime if I am tired.
53. Cleaning the shower drain makes me gag and sometimes dry heave.
54. Smelling steamed broccoli gives me the same reaction.
55. I am texture sensitive when it comes to food.
56. I love canned asparagus, but hate it fresh.
57. I will choose salty foods over chocolate.
58. I played with bugs, lizards, worms etc. as a child.
59. The older I get, the more I hate bugs, rodents, etc.
60. I've only hit one animal while driving, a goose.
61. I have had two deer hit me. Once when my car was parked, once when I was driving.
62. I love animals, particularly horses and dogs.
63. Nobody else in my family particularly likes horses.
64. Animals tend to trust me more than most.
65. People tend to instantly like and trust me.
66. I have had strangers start telling me their life stories.
67. It always seemed to happen when I was running late.
68. I let it continue, as I am a Conversation Encourager.
69. People seem to feel they know me simply because I let them talk.
70. I don't say that I hate someone unless I wish them to be dead.
71. The only person I ever really hated was my old doctor.
72. He died in a single car wreck.
73. I have a general dislike of doctors and dentists.
74. Several years ago I think I broke my right patella.
75. I refused to get it x-rayed or to see a doctor.
76. I have, and continue to, pay for my stupidity.
77. I never had fillings in my teeth until I was 24.
78. My teeth never hurt before then, and have since then.
79. I have never been back to a dentist since.
80. Having my wisdom teeth removed was the only surgery I've had.
81. I have weird eyes.
82. One is dominant for distance, one for reading / close up stuff.
83. All my eye doctors said I didn't need glasses since both eyes were being used fairly equally.
84. I was told my headaches were from reading too much - "something you get from being a student".
85. I made them give me reading glasses.
86. I love studying equine anatomy.
87. I can name all the bones and most tendons in a horse's leg, front or hind.
88. I know nothing about human anatomy.
89. I have to look in a book to find which bone is the tibia and which is the fibula.
90. I am a very logical person.
91. I am a very emotional person.
92. Those two sides don't communicate very well.
93. I know what it's like to panic.
94. I didn't start drinking alcohol until about three years ago.
95. The smell of beer and wine have always made me gag.
96. Only once have I started drinking to get rid of a bad day.
97. I will never do that again.
98. I love to write, pen on paper, and I don't care what.
99. I love fountain pens.
100. I got my first ever headache in my senior year of high school - it was a migraine.

APAD #24

2005-09-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

APAD #23

2005-09-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

APAD #22

2005-09-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

APAD #21

2005-09-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

APAD #20

2005-09-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I try to take a picture of the beautiful moon when it's not *quite* dark out.

APAD #19

2005-09-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

APAD #18

2005-09-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

APAD #17

2005-09-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Redemption

2005-09-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I did it. I really did. I dug my leather backpack out of my closet (okay, I didn't dig. I slid the door open, picked it up off the floor where I put it the other day, and slid the door closed.), put my two projects in there, and took pictures for your viewing pleasure. I think this will work perfectly for the time being! I'm happy to be out of the [tacky] boxes and crate. ;)

Lessons Learned, Lessons Shared

2005-09-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Lesson #847a: Keep your digital camera with you at all times. Don't leave it at home, go ahead and put it with your daily crap that gets carried to and from the truck each morning and evening. The best scenes that would be great pictures are those you see while driving.

Lesson #847b: Don't stare at the sun while looking at the really neat Almost-a-Sunset while driving. It's hard to see the road through white spots. And other drivers don't appreciate you driving by braille.

I'm sorry, but...

2005-09-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

I have been receiving so much spam on my blog lately (in the comments) that I turned on the "word verification" setting -- so, you will have one extra step if you choose to post to my blog. Hopefully there aren't any problems and it works smoothly!

APAD #16

2005-09-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

(Those black things? Five bats. That we walk under unknowingly during the day.)

Busted!

2005-09-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

So Tracy was in town this past weekend. We were able to get together for a few hours on Sunday, and during that time I had a scarf that I so badly wanted fixed so I could start working on it again! (She is so batass; I did watch while she fixed it [in mere seconds...] and got the stitches on the needle correctly - woohoo!). Anyway, she was absolutely apalled at how I had my knitting! [Hey, let me explain!!] You see, when I'm working on everything at home, I have my project and yarn and needles all nicely spread out on the pool table. Nice and out of the way, but very easily accessible. Sounds perfect, right? Right. So, someone comes through and cleans the pool table off, and puts my knitting stuff in those cardboard flats that you buy a case of Coke or something in. So, to put that "safely" in my truck, I put the cardboard flats in a crate. In this picture, you're looking down on my knitting from the back door of my truck, so you're looking down on the back seat. Green blanket is Morgan's (the Black Lab - the back seat is his).

And so it goes. "Kalah!" [I cringe.] "What is this?!!" [Still cringing... "it's my knitting!"] "But what is THIS!? Oh, I MUST take a picture of this."

But if you see the post below, I'm really WANTING to organize my stuff. I think I found an old backpack that will work (for the time being) to transport knitting around - it's a small leather backpack. Will have to try it out and post a picture of THAT if I'm satisfied.

My Craft Corner?

2005-09-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

I have this space that would be perfect for organizing my crafty things. Various stamp stuff, many coloured pencils and standard graphite drawing pencils, knitting stuff, you know. Art stuff. I'm just not sure how to go about *really* organizing this space. In the picture, you see this cool little cubby that was built for sports equipment storage. My skiis are downstairs with everyone else's, my bike is (sadly) outside waiting for me to clean space in my room to bring the trainer in (so I can hook my bike up to it), and only my golf clubs live in the sports storage area. What I want is to have shelving in there. I'm tall enough to where I can leave the bottom part available for golf clubs etc. to live, but to have shelving that's 18" or so deep would be WONDERFUL above that! That little wall on the left has electricity running through it somewhere, and the wall on the back and right may have plumbing running through it. I JUST put my yarn and some needles in that very small shelving unit in the picture - I can't put anything else in there! Oh to dream of shelving... I'm sure I can buy smooth 18" deep boards at Home Depot ... and I know exactly where to get my L Brackets, and ... well, sure sounds like a weekend project, doesn't it. Now that I'm done organizing the back of my truck, I have weekends (sort of) free enough to start another project. See, I'm rambling. What I really want? To wave my magic wand and have the shelves already cut and stained and put up. So that I can go straight to organizing my STUFF. :) (And yes, my bedroom walls are all dark green. It's a very calming colour for me. I also have glow in the dark stars covering my ceiling.)

APAD #15

2005-09-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

APAD #14

2005-09-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

APAD #13

2005-09-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

APAD #12

2005-09-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

APAD #11a and 11b

2005-09-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

APAD #10

2005-09-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

[Edit {29-Aug-05}: I thought I was being soooo smart by dating my APADs for future dates this week, as I will not be around a computer this week to upload them each day. I thought that perhaps Blogger was brainy and would know that if I put Sept 1st as the date, it wouldn't show the post until that date. Just so you know? Blogger isn't that brainy.]

*

(Petrified Rock)

APAD #9

2005-08-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

APAD #8

2005-08-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

APAD #7

2005-08-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

APAD #6

2005-08-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

APAD #5

2005-08-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

APAD #4a & 4b

2005-08-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

APAD #3

2005-08-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

APAD #2

2005-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Seatbeltbags = Happiness

2005-08-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am such a happy girl. I've waited a long time for these bags (well, the red one anyway), as poor Tracy can attest to! But here, first I have to show you what I'm using now. The black thing is a purse that met my needs, even though I didn't care for it when I bought it and still don't care for it. It's .... too rectangular. The tan thing is my leather attache that contains all my "non-purse-essential" stuff. Appointment book, receipt book, client info, writing pad with clipboard, map book (that actually belongs in the truck), banking envelopes / deposit slips, reading glasses, calculator, "feminine products", tissues, bandaids, sunblock, you name it, if I need it, it's there. I spend a lot of time on the road. My purse basically has my checkbook w/ credit cards, my cell phone (which is generally in my truck), my Rescue Remedy oral spray, sunblock, lipstick, and one or two pens.

Okay, yeah, I carry a lot of crap. But it's all crap I USE.

So, the "before" picture (they look like a sad lot, don't they? They're asking for a vacation from use, you can see it.)

So, after THAT, I switched everything over. Now, I did have stray papers in my purse that I didn't swap over (because really, they need to be thrown away...), and from my attache, there was a magazine and a file that I no longer need in there, so those didn't make the transfer either. But other than THAT, here's what happened!

APAD #1

2005-08-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Tracy Made Me Do It!!

2005-08-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

I will now (attempt) to do the "A Picture A Day" thing, herein known as "APAD".

I just thought you should know who to blame.

2005-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

And An Update!

2005-07-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow. See? I have been kind of knitting. We are now just shy of 30". This is going to be a nice long scarf, and I'm happy about that. Thin enough to be perfect for the chill, long enough so you can wrap it twice around your neck. Yay!

The One Where There's Progress

2005-07-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

I love seeing progress. We're about 11" long here. I love the gentle striping the yarn is doing, and with the lightness / airyness of how the scarf is coming out, it's going to be perfect for fall/spring weather. And, I've figured it out. Purl the bumpy side, knit the smooth side. As long as I remember that, I can put the needles down at any time and be able to know what I'm s'posed to do when I pick them up again...

Well, well, well ... !

2005-07-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ohm Goodness!! She can knit! Yes, yes, yes. I ~gasp~ picked up the needles again after a long time of not, for whatever reason. (Mainly sleep reasons I think.) So, I decided to go back to the green boucle scarf. Good choice! But I picked it up and thought, "Huh. What on Earth was I doing?" You see, being a baby knitter, which I hope you can remember, I don't immediately (or even slowly) recognize the kinds of stiches I used and what its overall general classification would be. I finally figured "Ah, stockinette!" and opened my trusty Stitch 'N Bitch book to figure out if I was to knit the nooses and purl the scarves or what. I couldn't figure it out. So, I thought to myself, "Well, if you were smart when you stopped last time, you would have stopped so that when you picked up again, you would be using the knit stitch." ... so, I started doing a row of knit stitches. Then a row of purl. Then another row of knit. And low and behold! I don't have to go redo it! :) Hooraaah!

Cute Dog.

2005-07-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is Lucy, our neighbours dog. I had to include her here because she's cute. She's still a mental puppy (and at under 2 years, I guess she's a puppy in general still anyway), a bit hyper, and looooves to play. She's fun ... and I think she's going home this week. Which is nice, since I don't exactly do well at walking a dog - on leash - at just after 5 in the mornings. The coordination thing just isn't there. Our dogs don't require leashes so that's not a big deal. Who knew that figuring out how to snap the leash on the collar would be so difficult before the sun came up...

Tracy Has Slugs, We Have Beetles.

2005-07-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Okay. What I want to know is why bugs of this size actually need to inhabit my side of the planet. This little dude could do some serious damage to my panicking issues! Imagine the Panic Dance if this thing were to be alive still and ... and ... and flying. Yes yes, I know it's outside and I could just go inside. But honestly? I think I would have to go back outside armed with our tennis racket bug zapper thing, cans of whatever bug spray I could find, and ... and kill it. Or else I would know it is still out there to haunt me. ~shudder~ (I just want you to know. I did look at him through binoculars first to make SURE he wasn't moving before I got close with ruler and camera. I'm not a complete idiot!)

But Seriously. Back to Kanitting.

2005-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

So, I figured out that I'm simply bored to tears with kanitting scarves. I mean seriously. I had finished Red and was happy with the way she turned out. So I ordered my yarn from HPY to start a new scarf that wasn't a simple knit stitch the whole way through. And while I managed to tweak that one a bit (as in, "Fuck it up"), and still haven't spent the time to sit down and fix it, I started on a new scarf out of a green boucle.

Speaking of...

Tracy sent me a package awhile ago. She said she had a lot of extra needles of various sizes that she could give me. Yay for needles! I only had a pair of 10s and 8s of my own (I think that's what they are, anyway), and it would be simply sa-weeeet to have a nice array of needles. So, I get a box. "Uh, that's a tad heavy just to have needles in there, isn't it?" Right-o!

So, here's the box. (I love getting boxes.)

(That "here's the box" reminds me of that thing we used to do when we were kids with our hands and fingers ... "Here's the church, here's the steeple, open up and see all the people!".)

The yarn! The yarn! I got yarn with the needles! (I deleted some stupid jokes that I had put here to spare you my odd humour.) Here we have a nice green boucle, a dark blue boucle that is not as thick, and a blue and silver boucle. I love, love, love (!) the blue and silver. I have absolutely no idear what I'm going to do with it (okay yeah, a scarf would be nice because I would always wear it, but I don't want to do another bloody scarf!), but I do love it.

Oh, the purple hawaiian print background? That's my sarong. From Hawaii. I love it very much, and since it was there I used it instead of my purple sheets on the bed. (Thought I should explain for some reason.)

Here are the needles! You will see that one of the needles has yarn attached to it. That's my last bloody scarf. But it's a simple stockinette or seed stitch. (See, it's been so long I can't even remember.) Oh, in this picture you will also see my purple sheet. There shouldn't be any drool marks on that section.

Okay, so that's the update. How exhausting. (Actually, I just can't think of anything else to say right now.) (Not true, I can always think of something to say, but nothing that belongs here.) :)

Something Amazing For Chaun

2005-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ask, and you shall receive! Lovely amethyst ink on my most favourite paper - my engineering comp pad. (Yes, I am a nerd, I love graph paper, but it has to be a faint graph print rather than bold how most are.)

The One For Summers

2005-06-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

I shared in a previous post about buying a fountain pen from Levenger, a favourite catalogue of mine, and Summers came out as a fellow penaholic. So I share with thee a photo of my new pen. Filled with amethyst ink. This is a Levenger brand pen, as it was very decently priced (this particular colour was on sale even! So I got my initials engraved on it as well...), and it is the perfect weight. I love the fact that the cap screws on, rather than snaps on like most pens. I love that it already took a dive to the ground and showed no ill will towards me. I love, love, love this pen! I use it daily. It is very smooth, and it is SO me. :) I am a happy little camper!

The One With Frogging, Flogging, ...

2005-05-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Scarf is currently just sitting there staring at me. I had to frog it a little. And now I have to figure out how to get the stitches back onto the needle correctly. [It is, apparently, a good idear to read the book on how to do things you don't know how to do ... before you attempt to do them.] I am also toying with the idear of putting stripes (of seed stitch) every so often. Before I pick up the needles again, I have to figure out a) if I want stripes to break up the ribbing, and b) the ribbing-to-stripe ratio.

So instead of figuring that out yesterday, I went golfing. If you can call it that. Driving range first, where I first noticed that a back/side muscle was aching, then three (or was it four?) holes of play. I think I did okay. [Translated to mean "I didn't lose any balls." Although I think I walked a lot more than the marked yardage on the different holes. Which is a whole different story.] I am now rubbing lotion in that my massage therapist gave me for tight/sore muscles. And I will put a call in to her to see if she has room to schedule me in a week earlier than I am already scheduled...

And the happy news of the day? I ordered myself a fountain pen. I've wanted one forever, and I broke down today while browsing through Levenger. I'm such a pen slut. But I will have Amethyst coloured ink to go with it...

Oh happy day!

Ribbing and "In Other Art News..."

2005-05-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've been plodding away at Scarf. I'm enjoying it, which accomplishes Objective One. It's looking, overall, like what I intended for it to look like, which accomplishes Objective Two. I didn't see it until I looked at the picture, but it looks like the colours go in a diagonal checkered pattern, which is neat.

In other art news, if you can call it that, I couldn't decide what colour to paint my toenails. I normally stick with bright colours. Blues, purples, pinks, red/oranges. I simply could not decide on one colour. So, I decided on five. Truthfully, I do this all the time, but I normally keep the colours in the same order when doing both feet. This is the first time I didn't do that. Oooh, the boldness. I'm sharing a picture of my feet because I'm a dork. (My lotionless white feet, gripping the sandals. With mosquito bites. Aah, summer.)

The One With The New Scarf

2005-05-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

I've started (and re-started, and re-started) my new yarn. I think I've decided on this 4x1 ribbing. It's going okay as long as I pay attention. We had a bit of a rocky start, but we're doing okay, considering I'd only done about two inches of ribbing before this point. I wonder how long this scarf will take me? I wonder when we're going to have cool weather again so I can wear my new creations without sweating to death?

Holy Crap, Batman!

2005-05-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

I ordered my first order from Handpaintedyarn.com on 5/13. I was told it was shipping on 5/20. So I was expecting it on 5/27.

Well, I received it TODAY! I'm so excited! But now I have to hurry up and figure out how I want to knit it! It's going to be a scarf, but I don't know yet what kind of scarf. The colours are fun, I like them.

This is "Cuarenta" in Bulky Merino.

The One With The Other Art

2005-05-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am an art person in general. Most people don't know that I'm in heaven with a pencil and a blank sheet of white paper. I almost chose, in my first year of college, to double major - Math and Art. (Thankfully, I did not do that.)

I don't normally work with colour but would really like to. I colour my mandalas with colour, but I want to be able to draw freehand with colour. At the urging of someone in my circle, I bought some coloured pencils that I had been longing for for years. I have the 48 count box of these, but I wanted more.

Here's what came in the mail to me a bit over a week ago...

I actually let them sit there for awhile. I opened the shipping box, opened the tin that the pencils live in, and looked at all the wonderful colours. Ooooh heaven!! So, taking a break from knitting today, I sharpened all 120 of these pencils. Only one pencil had a crack in the grain to make life a little difficult, but I made it work, and I am thrilled to bits!

I did use my birthday gift certificate to Amazon.com to lessen the pain of the cost a little. I don't think I would have purchased them otherwise. But they will give me years of entertainment and joy!

The One With The Ribbing

2005-05-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I did it. Knit the scarves, purl the nooses. If I lose track of "knit, knit, purl, purl", that is. So I hope it's right. The picture is without the flash, because the one with the flash didn't show any depth (i.e., you couldn't see the mountains and valleys of the ribbing). Oh, in case you're curious about backgrounds... The red is a plastic binder, and the green is the faded felt of the pool table. Not a pretty combo, but there it is.

Now I want to go sharpen all my new coloured pencils. They've been calling my name for a week now!

The One With The Purling

2005-05-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed, I finally did it.

I purled.

Since I finished Red, which was done all with the knit stitch, it was time to learn the Other One. I found it rather easy, and ended up doing the stockinette thing so I could just purl an entire row, then knit, then purl, rather than trying the ribbing where I had to worry about yarn position. That was just too much for my poor brain to handle last night.

But that's next on the Knitting Agenda.

For now, I offer for your viewing pleasure (ha, sounds like it should be something super fantastic, but I assure you it's not), my Practise Piece with about two inches of stockinette...

The One With Photos

2005-05-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I did my weaving of the ends, I survived (it seemed as easy as I was hoping I thought it looked), snipped the overage, and snapped some pictures with the last bit of oomph the batteries in the camera had.

Here is Red on my model. (Model's name is Morgan, and he's a black lab.) I had to include two pictures. One shows the scarf better, but the model isn't sure about whether or not he's being punished for something. The second picture shows the model in a better mood. (Bribery with food tends to do that.)

[Waiting very patiently for photobucket to load my pictures...]

Ah! Here we go.

The One With The Almost

2005-05-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

I almost have a finished object! Woohoo! Red Scarf, aka First Knitting Project Ever, appearing to be 54" in length and 8" in width, is now off the needles. Binding off was interesting. Must learn to leave more yarn for this process (I have 3.5" remaining...). Now I need to read the section on weaving in the ends, so I'll do that tomorrow, and get a picture of Red Scarf on my model. Model is sleeping right now, or else I'd get a picture sans ends being woven. After a frantic 2 hour CSI (which meant frantic knitting!), I am happy to give my poor hands a break. I am also happy to be done with this shedding yarn. I have red poofs of fuzz everywhere.

The One With The Progress

2005-05-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

By golly, it's looking like a scarf! I just completed one, um, ball / roll / thing of yarn, so I will pause here and take a breath before I read in S&B how to tie on a new roll of yarn. (Knitting terms are not my thing.) This puppy is about 26", so I think the two total rolls of yarn will be perfect. I'm guessing it'll be about 54" total (I know, you're thinking "Good math, Kalah. 26 and 26 is 52, not 54.") Right you are! BUT, I lost two inches at the very beginning of doing this scarf because I had to find out how fragile the yarn was. Read: The yarn broke when I tugged it too hard.

2005-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

It is really a darker red than this picture shows.

The One With The Scarf

2005-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

My current project is a scarf with a nice blood red coloured chenille yarn.

I learned early on in my first attempt that this yarn breaks easily. Lucky me! But hey, it'll teach me to be more gentle with my knitting. So, this picture is of my second (and current) attempt. It's 7.5" wide, and looks like it's going to be perfectly thick for the chilly winter days.

I think it'll be done by winter, anyway.

2005-05-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

(must find better background for picture taking...)

The One With The Knitting

2005-05-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I have started learning to knit.

And I think I actually like it.

Tracy said it was time to turn my blog into a Knitting Blog, so I've deleted my other rambling posts and am starting anew. Knitting it is! Though I think what I'll do is keep it mostly about knitting, maybe really making it about arts 'n crafts in general (with the occasional off-topic post about, oh, my nephew or my horse or some other equally joyful thing in my life).

Stay tuned. Pictures and more posts coming soon. (As soon as I sign up with an online picture host place, so I can put pictures here of, you know, knitting.)

Current project: Red scarf out of yarn that sheds a lot.