Finished Object Dance

Sudden, but not unexpected

2007-06-15T06:31:00.000-04:00

The Destash blog owner's have decided to close up shop, (understandably), with a notice to the public and a group email to the members. There were several immediate responses to that email .There's been a new blog started on WordPress, but I haven't seen anyone posting yet. There was a reply from the owner of For the Love of Yarn on-line magazine, offering their free classified ads. And, I

For Sale - Socka of various types

2007-06-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

For Sale -- Pet-free, smoke-free home. I'm moving in August and any yarn not specified for a project is a candidate for destash.2 skeins Fortissima Colari Socka Color color #340012/9069Price $10, includes first class postage within the US (foreign inquires need to recalculate shipping.2 skeins Socka Color, color #9186/32590Price $10, includes first class postage within the US (foreign inquires

For Sale - BS LPW & Regia sock yarn

2007-06-13T06:03:00.000-04:00

For Sale - All yarn from pet-free, smoke-free home. I'm moving in August and any yarn not specified for a project is a candidate for destash.Pending - Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, 8 skeins, M-82 Blue Flannel, dyelot #091.Price - $40, includes first class postage within the US.Sold! - Regia 4-ply sock yarn, 2 skeins, color #1054, dye lot $41233Regia 4-ply sock yarn, 2 skeins, color #5275, dye

Sock yarn - 100 gram skeins

2007-06-12T21:24:00.001-04:00

(note duplicate post for the destash blog)For Sale - Pet-free, smoke-free home. I'm moving in August so any yarn not specified already for a project is a candidate for destash.100 gram skeins -- pricing $12 each, includes first class postage within the US.Opal - color #188, dye lot #2709Sold - Opal Mosaik color #1113, dye lot #1Sold - Opal Prisma - color #1193, dye lot #1Regia 4 ply color #5470,

Another destash post - Tahki Cotton Classic

2007-06-12T06:47:00.000-04:00

For sale - Pet free, smoke free home. I'm moving in August so any yarn not specified for a project is a candidate for destash.Tahki Cotton Classic 1.75 oz/50 gram, 108 yards/100 mneedle size 6/4mm, 5 sts/inch. Machine wash or handwash 30C/80F. No bleach, iron, P dry clean chemical.Sold - 2 skeins blue - color 3873 - dye lot 133 Price $8 includes first class postage in the US.4 skeins gray -

I can't get the Destash blog to work either

2007-06-12T06:22:00.000-04:00

So I'm going to try posting here. For Sale, pet-free, smoke-free home, I'm getting ready to move so any yarn not specified for a project is a candidate to destash.Classic Elite Lace Mohair. To quote the label 63% Texas Mohair, 19% American Wool, 18% Nylon. 1.5 ounces = 196 yards, 5 stitches/inch on size 6 needles. Handwash cold, dry flat. Label includes pattern for scarf, shawl, throw taking

Housecooling distractons

2007-06-11T06:23:00.000-04:00

After a week involving food poisoning (nuff bout that), this past weekend was the last time I will split my time between Himself's place and mine, and, baring unforseen incident, the last time I will be in that house in Lexington. His packers and movers do their work on Tuesday and Wednesday and his closing is on Friday. It's a lovely house and I'm sure the new family will enjoy raising their

Transition time coming

2007-06-03T22:25:00.000-04:00

We went up to Loon for the Granite State Knit In this weekend. As usual, it was a great event. 16 years, and they note their mailing list is 600 and they have capacity for only 150 people. I'm glad they keep inviting me to teach each year, if for nothing else that it guarantees I get in the door.Both classes went well. The Entrelac students were well prepared, and the Deciphering Yarn

Armload for the Post Office

2007-05-30T06:29:00.001-04:00

Last night was another fairly successful night on the Destash blog. Most everything sock-yarnish I posted has sold. One knitter who bought laceweight last month asked if there was any left (yes, and she bought more).The Sockotta and Lamb's Pride Worsted still isn't attracting any interest, though. Eh, after all, there was something that drew me to buy so much sock yarn in the first place

That went fast!

2007-05-28T22:52:00.000-04:00

Earlier this evening I posted (with the usual trouble -- takes slightly less than forever and God forbid you want to delete your autosaved drafts afterwards) the Lorna's Laces collection of Shepherd Sock off the sock weight shelf. I've still got plenty of Kroy (4 and 3 ply), Socka of various flavors and pounds (easily pounds) of Regia. After that, I get to open the closed basket of sock yarn

So many things

2007-05-22T06:49:00.000-04:00

I ended the last post with a promise of a photo of a real project. And then the rest of the week happened, including a lot of time at paying work and on the Knit Out. Himself has started making comments about the difficulties of snuggling a person and a laptop together, without disturbing the equanimity of either....I've finished with the swatches for the deciphering yarn substitutions class,

Ask, and ye shall receive

2007-05-14T06:04:00.000-04:00

After my pitiful posts of last week and with emailing specific requests out to the planners, I have help.Shop letters will be merged this week and planning and stuffing will happen at next Monday's meeting, all 275 or so. Feel free to come on by if you'd like to help.Next, does anyone know who to contact for sponsorships at the folks who have been our sponsors for years? Our last two sponsor

I'll take progress where I can find it

2007-05-10T05:58:00.000-04:00

Though it seems to happen at very late and early hours of the day.I made progress on the sponsor request letters. Subprogress, my new printer works nicely and I was able to make return address labels with no problem. Lack of progress is not having contact info for the existing sponsors from last year, but presumably they're friendly enough I can explain that info wasn't in the files and they

Eh, what?

2007-05-09T06:46:00.000-04:00

I'm here. I'm just busy. Chasing cats.*Swatching continues. I need to start organizing the blocked swatches and coming up with my speech for the class on Deciphering Yarn Substitution.I need to get requests to sponsors out for the Boston Knit Out. I need them to send us money.I need to get shop letters out for the Boston Knit Out. I need them to send us money.I need to (grouch) get Boston Knit

You know those folks who liken their stash to a yarn store?

2007-05-03T21:26:00.000-04:00

I'm wondering if I have a museum. Thanks to Massachusetts' pricing laws, most of the skeins in my stash have the price stickers on them. What I'm not sure is if I paid those prices, or did I get more at sales than I thought?And then I found this:A Koigu sock kit -- small wood slat box, exactly the size of two skeins of their yarn, with a one-page pattern (photo smeared very messily because you

One Kilo removed

2007-05-02T05:55:00.000-04:00

As of yesterday morning, I had sold 10 100 gr. skeins of laceweight to new homes, for people to do something with, rather than just sit on my shelf. It feels good. I have a few more skeins that I think I will keep (Lucy's hand-dyed), and some that haven't had offers, though there's still hope someone may want them.The Baruffa Cashwool is still up from April 26th. Not sure if people just aren't

Yarn for Sale!

2007-04-29T13:56:00.000-04:00

The Destash blog is closed to new posts for maintenance, so I guess I can post here.Another hazard of not knowing what you have: Have a buyer send a payment to a paypal account you had forgotten you had. Suze Orman would be very upset with me.Four single skeins of Skacel Merino Lace. 100% fine merino wool shrink resistant. Approx. 100 grams/1,375 yards, No. 2/25. Label symbols for hand wash,

I seem to have invested in yarn futures

2007-04-29T11:06:00.000-04:00

Destashing has had a few twists I didn't think about. I'm going to start pricing with first class mailing included in the price since it's simpler than folks choosing between first class (which is flat rate across the US) and priority mail (which is more expensive, also flat rate across the US up to 2 pounds, but includes tracking).Inflation seems to have happened to yarn prices the years since

Wow! People might want what I don't anymore!

2007-04-26T06:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, so posting at bedtime I wake up to two people wanting the Skacel Merino Lace in white. Whee! 100 grams fewer to move in August, and an impetus to get more out on offer.My life is slightly complicated because I can't access personal email at work, so I'm hoping people can bear with my only being able to access my mail from dusk to dawn. We'll see.Himself tried taking photos of some of the

Attention, Laceweight shoppers

2007-04-24T21:19:00.002-04:00

So I'm coming to terms with my intent to destash. I still need to get myself a paypal account (can I get away with not getting a merchant account if I take in money?) and set it up with with my bank account that I'm trying to start a cash reserve with.Moving will be coming in a few months, I'm looking at the amount of Zephyr cones I already have (see bottom of this post,), and then at the open

Going out to play

2007-04-21T08:48:00.000-04:00

Himself and I haven't been dancing much lately. The weekly dance at the Cambridge VFW has moved (first to Springstep, now to the Scout House) for their renovations into a youth center, I've had off and on shoulder problems, and, well, there's been that whole new-place shopping thing lately. Yes, I've gained weight.NEFFA is this weekend, though, and we're going for today. I'm booked for the

Things bought

2007-04-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

The vertical swift showed up earlier this week. The brown is the swift, the blue and white thing is my ball winder, which clamps nicely onto the top of the upright. I got the adjustable model, which Pat at Yarn Barn recommended over the "traditional" model. It works, though I may dig out my older ball winder that doesn't have the tilting action, since that seems to make the whole thing wobble

Swatching, swatching

2007-04-10T06:42:00.000-04:00

Not much to show recently, since I'm making demo swatches for a class I'm teaching in June on Deciphering Yarn Substitution. Last weekend I had enough ready to move on to the next step -- measuring pre-washing, washing and then blocking. All swatches are 100 stitches around, with a seed stitch border, and, since I'm a loose knitter, done on whatever size needle is the next down from the

Anyone got a spare Wool Ease label they aren't using?

2007-04-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

I'm making progress on the great swatch project. I've run into a difficulty -- I've finished the Wool Ease swatch and find I've only got half a label in the bottom of my briefcase. The other half is just not to be found.For the class, I'm looking to have full labels to be able to compare and analyze the information contained. If you've got a spare label you're not using, would you consider

Pausing for the moment

2007-04-01T19:54:00.000-04:00

This weekend, for the first time in what seems like a long time, we did not have to go open-housing or house viewing. We did not have to leave Himself's house in a state of staged perfection.The offer Himself received on his house is moving right along in the negotiations part. We have found a place he's put an offer on, and those negotiations are getting going.It looks like he'll have a few

Well, that was vaguely disappointing

2007-03-27T07:40:00.000-04:00

Himself and I had looked at an under-renovation Somerville property on Thursday, late afternoon, that would work really well for us 1. if a wall could be knocked down and 2. if they could meet his move-in date. We wondered why the realtor wasn't getting answers from the builder over the weekend.It went under agreement to someone else yesterday.On the other hand, the exercise let us figure out

No, I don't work here, but I could probably help you

2007-03-25T16:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first Annual Half-Mystery Tour, put on by Yarn Safaris. The advertised route was to Webs in Northampton and a mystery location.Pictures start at the Riverside T station, where the 8 a.m. pickup was only a little behind. Not bad, considering that pickups had already happened in Milton and Woburn. It was a medium sized bus, and full with 30 paying passengers, the driver,

Wally the Green Monster has new friends

2007-03-23T23:12:00.000-04:00

Don't know how long the Red Sox have had this up, but Wally the Green Monster has two new friends, Righty and Lefty. We can but hope they hold hands when they go through the wash, because it would be a shame to lose one of them.I need to write to the Red Sox and ask if they're doing anything with Stitch N Pitch, or if Stitch N Pitch will be happening at any of their away games. I'll do it right

Whirl-a-gig week and it's only half way done

2007-03-21T22:04:00.000-04:00

Himself getting an offer on his house so suddenly has put him and me (him mostly) into high gear on choosing the next place. He has plenty of places that might meet his criteria, and, we being the Libras that we are, want to make sure we've seen everything before we decide we like something. (Note bene, do not take us anywhere new for ice cream where we've never seen their menu board before.)

Boston Knit-Out -- 2007 gets underway

2007-03-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

Below is what I sent to the announcement group for the Boston Knit-Out at Yahoo Groups just now. If you have any interest, please come join. Yeah, that last line is corny, but it gets the point across.We had the annual Board meeting tonight.Permit applications were due to the Parks Department March 1st, so we're rushing to get that in within the next couple days. It was decided to ask for

Anyone else want in on a Camb-erville stash sale?

2007-03-18T19:02:00.000-04:00

Chialea over at Wooly Mammoths had a great idea in the comments for a fiber yard sale. More later, Himself has a sudden appointment to go consider offers on his house!*****************Okay, that was exciting. Where was I?Yes, I kind of like the idea of a cash and carry fiber yard sale in the Porter/Davis area of Cambridge/Somerville - i.e. Camberville. How many people have stuff they would

Happy Evacuation Day!

2007-03-17T09:14:00.000-04:00

Evacuation Day, celebrated March 17th in Suffolk County (which is largely the City of Boston) is an official City holiday. This explains why there were a large number of grade school kids around the Pru food court with a parent yesterday.Not much to say today. Even with the snow/slush storm and the advice to stay of the roads, Himself and I need to temporarily vacate his house to the realtor

Growing on the destashing thing

2007-03-14T21:51:00.000-04:00

I did a destashing a few years ago, and wound up giving the Knitting Connection about 7 boxes of odds and ends of stuff. My problem is, if I figure that I can live without it anymore, well, why would anyone else want it? I can't get my imagination around people wanting to pay money for something I don't want anymore.On the other hand, I definitely have a case of having eyes bigger than my hands.

If I'd known people were coming over

2007-03-13T06:44:00.000-04:00

And let that be a lesson to you, young bloggers, to keep your blog up to date, because you never know when the Yarn Harlot will give you a mention, and there you are with not much posted of recent date. I'll let the EMT of my acquaintance comment on whether or not non-ripped underwear matters as much in an accident.I'm finding it hard to post lately because I've been depressed for about the last

Skiing, at last

2007-03-04T07:37:00.000-05:00

Having tried the sport with rentals for a couple of winters with Himself, Christmas 2005 he put the word out to family that I wanted cross-country ski equipment. We've had a snow drought since.Today, at last, there is finally skiing at our favorite place. Nacent swatches for the Yarn Substitution class in development will be worked on on the ride up and in the lodge after lunch as Himself goes

40,000 mile checkup

2007-02-28T06:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had the 40,000 mile physical with my Primary Care Physician. It's actually the first time I've had a real appointment with her in years, since most often I'm seeing either the endocrinologist for the diabetes care, an urgent care doctor for infection/accident, or one of the nurse practitioners for check-in and vaccines. No signs of complications so far, still need to see the results

10 months to Christmas and a week until I teach again

2007-02-25T09:51:00.000-05:00

Leaving the first part of that alone for now, next Saturday afternoon I'm teaching Entrelac at Mind's Eye Yarns (scroll down to the Workshops section). I normally teach once a year at the Granite State Knit-In in June up at Loon Mountain, where I get an hour to teach the topic. I've been doing Entrelac as a class there for enough years that I'm pretty comfortable with it. We can do it in an

Can't get back here-ah from there-ah

2007-02-22T06:57:00.000-05:00

If we only had a transit system that didn't shut down at shortly after midnight. The problem is, once we get everyone on that bus back to the Boston area, how do they get home afterwards? We would need to leave NYC when to get back to the pickup point, for those with connections to not get caught at Park? The transit system shuts down, a number of us don't have cars, and the T parking lots

More than a hundred rows today

2007-02-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

Himself and I had had plans to get some exercise today, but wind chills above and below zero F put the kabash on that.The Regia 4-ply sweater has been moving along. I'm about to come to the end of the second skein on the body, and I'm guessing it will take 3 or a little more to get up to the underarms. At some point soon I'll need to start the sleeves. Sometime soon I'll need to check that the

Meg's making videos again!

2007-02-15T06:30:00.000-05:00

Schoolhouse Press has a long tradition of publishing the Woolgathering twice a year. In it is news/essay, a project and plugs for things they've found that they like on the back. At some point they started filming the project design/production progress and offer a VHS video for those who want to order it. Simply done, good production values (they know you want to see the hands with the

Undulating rows of K3P3

2007-02-14T06:39:00.000-05:00

As of this morning, 146 rows are finished and the pattern is coming out nicely. This is a satisfying knit, 1. the pattern itself is K3, P3, started at varying points in that pattern in order to make the pattern shift, 2. rows are only 42 stitches across, so it's easy to perceive oneself making progress, and 3. when I made this last time, I printed out row by row instructions, (as opposed to

Stop me before I shawl again

2007-02-13T06:50:00.000-05:00

I'm still waiting for the size 1s to show up, so I've been thinking about a not-long term, interesting project to work on in the meantime. Interesting is winning out over not-long term.And I realized I was heading towards another shawl. I don't want to make another shawl now, especially when I have a succession of light-weight sweaters I want to make, sweaters I have daily use for, well, as

Hubris, or I can't count at 7:50 a.m.

2007-02-10T09:27:00.000-05:00

I was working away on the current commuting charity sock last night, the series that purports to appease the commuting fairies to make the subway run better and have seats available, when something told me to check the number of stitches in that heel flap. So I counted and had 26 where there should be 28. Okay, there have been a couple instances where I pull the sock out of the briefcase and

This time with pictures

2007-02-08T07:02:00.000-05:00

Another post in a rush when I really, really should be getting ready for work. In any case, the spumoni hat got a friend last night with the orange one I worked on at knitting group. Finished just at the end of the evening (well, no ends sewn in, you were expecting finished?) some new people across the room thought it was inspired to put just a hint of cream at the very top. Um, no, it's

In the meantime

2007-02-07T07:42:00.000-05:00

Since the Regia 4-ply sweater is on hold while I wait for (they're checking) 2.25 mm Inox Express needles to show up from Schoolhouse Press, I realized I'd better get going on the No Hair Day Hats for Children's Hospital supposed to be done by the end of February.So far I've got a spumoni version (brown, hot pink, cream, and brown again at the top), I started an all orange one last night. I've

Frustration at lack of agreement

2007-02-04T21:18:00.000-05:00

The Regia 4-ply sweater was coming along, until I took it to an Iolanthe sing at friends' of ours today. Mid-way through act one the peers come on in marching procession, and since we'd all been sitting awhile there was a general call to all stand up and march around their living room while the piano had a good long intro. I'd had my knitting out before we got started, picked it up in a hurry

Uptight? Guess not.

2007-01-30T19:37:00.000-05:00

I would have thought that the Regia 4ply would knit much tighter on the size 1s than the Sockotta on the size 3s, but I'm getting a gauge of 6.5 stitches to the inch, not much different than the 6.4 with the Sockotta. (The Regia 4ply on size 2s produced a 6 stitch to the inch fabric that just felt too loose.)I was expecting something like a 7 or 8 stitches to the inch gauge, but I'm happy with

Pretty pretty!

2007-01-30T06:48:00.000-05:00

Lucy distributed the sock yarn club skein for January, and it's a winner. The colors are even better in person, the flash has caught the highlights. She describes the process of creating this in her blog last week. It's skeins like this that make you glad you're in the club, and makes me look forward to anytime she posts updates to her Etsy store.I've given myself permission to put the Baby

Not too many runny bits

2007-01-28T12:50:00.000-05:00

The Sockotta sweater is done, though it hasn't been blocked yet. I'd been angsting over the color varigations and how they would show up. I'm happy with the body, though the sleeves gave me a bit of trouble. It seems the period of the color repeat pretty much matches the 86 stitches going around the top of the sleeves, creating vague vertical stripes that rippled upwards. I ripped the first

On vacation and forgot to blog

2007-01-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

Strange how time works when you're on vacation. Unless you've got distinct things to do that day, well, it just sort of passes.There was lots of reading of email digests and catching up with the blogosphere..... and some knitting.The Baby Surprise Supersize project has taken an interesting turn now that the colors have started to come together. I had forgotten that not all colors get used

Pictures in the not very good light of dawn

2007-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

I got some photos taken yesterday morning just after official dawn. The flash still seems to be washing out a lot of the color, but. First we have front and back not-sewn-together pictures of the single-strand Baby Surprise Jacket. Eh, it's a Baby Surprise Jacket. The sewing and buttons will happen in the next unplanned session of batch finishing sometime in the Spring.Next is the sleeve of

Reminder that I'm making progress

2007-01-09T06:25:00.000-05:00

My first thought about projects this morning was that I wasn't really making progress. Then I had to remind myself that I finished the single-strand Baby Surprise Jacket and cast on for the double-strand. Yes, it's still dark, so no pictures. And no, I did not do any finishing of ends, seams or buttons on the single-strand.The single-strand fits crowded, but not dangerous, on a 16" size 3

Serious destashing through Supersizing Surprises out of Shetland

2007-01-07T12:50:00.000-05:00

Last year's Knitting Olympics got me to finally deal with two Rubbermaid underbed storage boxes of J&S Shetland Jumperweight bought at Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp back in 1991, which was over $400 worth at the time. That's right, 15 years stashed, because I bought so much, so randomly, I couldn't bring myself to do anything with it. Bear in mind, I have the color sense of New England boiled

I would have done some sleeve shaping algebra

2007-01-04T07:40:00.000-05:00

I was planning to do measuring and row gauging and figure out very specifically how to shape the sleeve via spacing the increases. Eh, I was tired last night, though I did make it out to knitting group and help (along with someone else) Lucy get the Mitten Tree put away for the year.If I had done, it would be measuring from elbow to wrist (I want the sleeve to reach fullness by the elbow or only

Easing on down the long road

2007-01-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

Had the first appointment of the year with the endocrinologist this morning. She had the test results from last Thursday. A1c has come down to 7.3%, which, while it's not under 7%, is better than I've recorded since Dx. For the record, as far as I can remember, the last tests have been July, 2005 8.3%, October, 2005 8.1%, January, 2006 8.6% (December was a terrible month for management),

Further than I would have thought

2007-01-01T11:43:00.000-05:00

Starting the new year with the next skein of the sweater. I'm surprised, the first skein of Sockotta has gone to 8 and a half inches in length up the body. This from a 100 gram, 414 yard skein that the label suggests it be used with a size 2 to get 7 stitches to the inch, and I'm using a size 3 and getting 6.4 stitches to the inch, though I should double-check I'm still on gauge sometime

Motoring up the body of the sweater

2006-12-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

I finally settled to do the increases half and half. The math worked out by 228 is divisible by 12, which leaves 8 stitches left over, so the formula was to k2 after the marker, start the k19 increase 1, after 6 times you're at 2 before the half-way marker, k2 after the marker and repeat.The remaining 12 will be increased in 3 rounds of 4 increases each, one of which has been put in at 10 rounds

Cogitating on the increases

2006-12-30T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Sockotta sweater is about to start row 24 of the ribbing and it looks deep enough that I'm going to stop that at row 25, switch to the 3s and start the stockinette. This means I need to make up my mind about how I want to get from 236 stitches up to the key number of 260.That's a 24 stitch difference. I could just increase them all in one round, but that will produce a blousing effect on

Bad color pictures of the Sockotta

2006-12-28T07:46:00.000-05:00

These are bad morning pictures with flash, but the light is not up early enough for me yet, still. To the right is the progress made last night, about 3 rounds around the bottom. Not much to show, but at least it's documentation of the process.On the left is a picture of the swatch. The yarn is all over a black with a white thread and small lengths of bright colors every few inches. The

Getting into some decision-making

2006-12-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

Tonight I took my Sockotta swatch off the size 3 needles (3.25 mm) (Crystal Palace) and measured. It seems to be fairly consistently 6.4 stitches to the inch.I'm going to aim for a 41 inch around sweater, so that comes to 262.4 stitches, which I'm going to round down to 260. Subtracting 26 stitches (10% of key), brings me to 234 stitches, which is not divisible by 4 for a K2P2 rib, so rounding

Anyone know anything about the Eastern Townships of Quebec?

2006-12-26T21:57:00.000-05:00

Himself and I are planning to get away for the week of the MLK holiday and are looking to rent a vacation cottage somewhere in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, where we're hoping they'll have snow. Cottage with kitchen, laundry, snow removal, shower, not too far from a road. Waterfront optional, but they all seem to have it. Prefer <$800 cdn per week for rental.We've been looking at an awful

Gauge does matter

2006-12-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is not a sad post, but there's an example at the end of why gauge matters.So, first the gift that was thought of last year and took the better part of this year to execute. Last December, I started thinking I'd like to make a sweater for Himself, this time with his input. He finally decided on the Wonderous Woven Cables out of a Knitter's magazine that's not too far back, I think, and it

Goodie Four Hooves am I?

2006-12-21T06:58:00.000-05:00

As found on Splinderella's blog....You Are PrancerYou are the perfect reindeer, with perfect hooves and perfect flying form.Why You're Naughty: Because you're Santa's pet, and you won't let anyone show you up.Why You're Nice: You have the softest fur and the sweetest carrot breath.Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

I've done something about a few things

2006-12-20T22:22:00.000-05:00

Sunday's gathering was quite nice, and I got a lot done on the current Baby Surprise, but only on the to and from part of the trip, not the during the visit.Mom's present is done and blocking out at Himself's house, though I forgot to take pictures in the dark of Sunday evening. Himself was immensely helpful with the yardstick and the evening eye, as I was fussy enough to want the thing laid out

I suppose I ought to be doing something about...

2006-12-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

Lucy finished the hard finishing of Himself's sweater and passed it over tonight. It fits! Like it was made for him or something. Now I need to do something about sewing in the ends and doing the neck. And there's just enough yarn left over to make me comfortable about having enough to do the neck and keeping some for future fixes, but not feel like I bought waaay too much.I still await

Other options coming out of the woodwork

2006-12-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

He's back in the States, and presumably New England, though with his flight landing at 5 minutes shy of midnight, it seemed reasonable that he wouldn't wake me up in the dark of night just to say hi! and I won't wake him up when I head off to work.We won't into what it says about me that I don't want to go to a purely social occasion without my knitting, because, after all, I can put it down any

Back on topic -- Knitting before Recipient?

2006-12-11T20:14:00.000-05:00

Damn, having left my endocrinologist email that the 311 can be explained, she wants to discuss it tomorrow morning.Enough of that. Himself has posted and he's okay. And I showed myself able to stress completely internally, while maintaining outward composure and intellectual calm. On the other hand, we may need a rule that if one finds oneself in a foreign city that unexpectedly becomes a

Waiting for word

2006-12-11T06:46:00.000-05:00

Himself was supposed to fly out of Santiago to Lima last night sometime. Last email yesterday he was off to book that, so no flight info.Then Pinochet died. It looks like there are small demonstrations and clashes. No word about trouble with Americans or the airport being shut down.Just waiting for word that Himself is happy in Lima. Just waiting. Waiting.Same as the time he transferred through

Astounding Sheep-Themed Gift Alert

2006-12-10T12:27:00.000-05:00

Found yesterday at Joie De Vivre on MA Ave. near Porter Square, this visual and auditory stimulating animatronic sheep. (It sings a rendition of Barbara Ann while doing a better bounce-bop than I can get out of my 40-year old knees.) For less than $35. And yes, it does have an off switch.It will be gifted very, very soon to someone in my immediate knitting circle. And I'll state here and now,

A grand day out

2006-12-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

With just a bit of retail therapy thrown in for good measure.First off, the knitting of Himself's Wonderous Woven Cables (from a some time ago Knitter's) done in Green Mountain Spinnery Moutain Mohair in an unphotographable dark blue was finished last night. This is completely the wrong shade of blue, but it's evidence. The bundle has been passed to Lucy to do her marvelous finishing services

Okay, quickie quiz

2006-12-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Though I take exception to that question about the lean of decreases. I think they have it backwards, but then again, I haven't had a fasting test yet this morning. What Kind of Knitter Are You? You appear to be a Knitting Purist. You are an accomplished knitter producing beautiful pieces with a classic feel. You sometimes lament losing half of your local yarn

Yes, Dear, and it's so cute to watch you do it.

2006-12-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

Himself has added his comment to my Wednesday post about the necessity of fussing.In the meantime, the annual "holiday party" is coming up in two Fridays and I got to thinking about what kind of dressiness I want this year. This is an occasion that we do dress for, though it's daytime so it's not formals. Usually I get some sort of dressy suit, or recycle one from prior years, highly dependent

Can anyone see my blog?

2006-12-02T06:47:00.000-05:00

I can see other people's blogs, but mine appears to me as a blank page. We'll see if posting makes it recover.

Let there be light

2006-12-01T06:55:00.000-05:00

It's how many days left until the daylight turns around? Can't come soon enough for me.Tomorrow, if the sky isn't completely gray, I'll be able to post pictures of the green yarn Lucy dyed custom for me. This is destined to be a Shapely Shawlette for my Mom for Christmas.Other than that, the commuting fairies either have an axe to grind or they've gone off the job. Can't decide. Outright

Still here, not much going on

2006-11-29T20:26:00.000-05:00

The commuting fairies have been distinctly unfriendly this week, especially in the morning. Therefore, not much progress has happened on the hat.Monday evening was devoted to revamping the template, which I'm surprised went as well as it did. Tuesday the replacement CGMS showed up. In the meantime, there has been very little progress on Himself's sweater.Off to catch some sleep. Just one of

How do you expect them to learn without experience

2006-11-27T07:16:00.000-05:00

Dez in New Orleans has an excellent post about how children learn and worries over how they are no longer allowed to experience traditional methods.Safety knitting needles indeed. What ever happened to "this is your tool, treat it well and respect it."?

What, me worry?

2006-11-26T22:48:00.000-05:00

In the relationship between me and Himself, he has placed me in charge of any necessary stressing and fussing, because I'm a natural at it and I do it so thoroughly.And now, long distance, he has set me a task. I'm not so concerned about the active volcano part, but more worried about how sick he was how few days ago, combined with his lack of experience with the ice climbing. On the other hand

You know you're missing him when

2006-11-25T21:58:00.000-05:00

This morning I had breakfast at Andy's. Standing up to go, there's a Christmas song on the speakers. Alvin, Simon and Theodore are singing that one of them still waaaants a hoola-hoop. And what crosses my mind? "You could waltz to that." Except there isn't a waltz partner there. Sigh. He owes me one.On the other hand, I had a bit of comeuppance on the train to the folks tonight. I get

A couple finished objects later

2006-11-25T11:48:00.000-05:00

The mitten tree at Mind's Eye Yarns is up and starting the collection for Somerville Family Network. Shown at the right is the 32 stitch scarf started last Sunday night. It's a k2 p2 rib done with one skein of Cascade 220. So it's a dual-purpose scarf. Yes, some kid will be warm, but it will also serve as an illustration for knitters coming in wondering "how much yarn do I need to make a

I should be thankful at the things I grouse about

2006-11-23T06:32:00.000-05:00

I'm up early to catch an 8:45 train out of North Station to get to my folks. As someone once put it, I may love my mother, but I don't like her very much.Must remember to pack Tylenol, and think about how to raise the issue of whether or not she need hearing aids. When they visited last Saturday I was amazed at how loud her normal speaking voice is getting.I can be thankful I'm not scrounging

How much acreage of an evening?

2006-11-20T07:13:00.000-05:00

Last night I (very suddenly) decided I needed to start a scarf for the mitten tree. On the right is how much I got done starting while waiting for my food at Christophers. Well, they were having a busy evening. It's a 32 stitch, k2, p2, not-moping-at-all, scarf. I started with one 100 gram skein of Cascade 220 with another in reserve. See, the thing is, I can never remember how much it is

Getting back on track

2006-11-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

Some one of these days I'll get the hang of teaching - especially the bit of keeping your samples and not just frogging them. I wound up having to recreate a couple of swatches for the class on Reading your Knitting. Combined with that thing called job running longer than usual, I didn't have time to work on anything else.However, in the last day I've picked up the front of Himself's Wonderous

These things take longer than I think they will

2006-11-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's one of those things. Sometime between 7:30 - 8:30 at night I say that tonight I should make an effort to go to bed early because, after all, I keep staying up late without meaning to. Then I get to doing things and well, there it is going on midnight and I'm making myself stop what I'm doing just to get some sleep. Repeat the following evening, except maybe falling asleep around 10 and

Modifying the pattern for a DQ hat in smaller gauge

2006-11-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

So, having made a first attempt last week at making the Elizabeth Zimmermann Dairy Queen Hat, using worsted weight vs. the bulky/superbulky yarn the pattern was written for, the first instance came out just a little small. This was the red one posted yesterday morning. When measured, its bottom width is 6.5 inches, so that makes a rough circumference of 13", which, according to the Craft Yarn

No real title post

2006-11-12T10:50:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a bunch of different things since I last posted. I've been following the Zimmermania blog and decided to try a Dairy Queen Hat, since I've never done one before. It turned out a little small, not really surprising given I had Lamb's Pride Worsted rather than a bulky to work with. It's posed on a 100-CD spindle pack, which I'm hoping is about the diameter of a small baby

For it tis, it tis, a glorious thing, to be a

2006-11-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

Pi-eye-rit King. Or queen, for that matter. The Knit Like A Pirate Hat is done, for now. The part that fits on the head is a tad small in circumference, but I'm counting that wear will stretch that out. What's slightly more problematic is how high the brim is -- roughly 4 inches or so. But to back up a bit.I used Cascade 220 Tweed in black (3 skeins, with a softball size left over of the

No Moping. Nope.

2006-11-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

I've set myself a firm rule of No Moping while Himself is away. So. I'm not moping.Course, I'm going to have to think twice tomorrow morning and not call him on my way to the subway for our usual not-together morning chats.Had an interesting time voting this evening. In line ahead of me was a women trying to explain to the election officials that her daughter hadn't had time to vote earlier in

Post with pictures sometime soon.

2006-11-06T06:52:00.000-05:00

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for Himself to go away to Peru and Chile for 5 weeks. And working on not thinking about how much I'll miss him.The first sock for brother got finished and it fits Himself's tester foot, so that's good. In the meantime, the second sock is about to have its heel turned. The pirate hat was finished and felted. The camera's batteries are dying, so I need to figure out

In which I rip a foot at lunchtime

2006-11-03T20:34:00.000-05:00

Maybe the commuting fairies did me a subtle favor this morning by having no seats available on the Red Line. I got to change at DTC, sat on a bench, pulled out the sock and got on with decreasing away on the toe. Just for kicks I decided to count the stitches on each needle as I went. I counted 19 on the first needle, which had me a little worried, because it's a 64 stitch sock, right, and

Just shy of 2,700 stitches in his foot, eh?

2006-11-03T06:52:00.000-05:00

Even though I tend to make sock legs long, it's the foot that seems to take the most time for me. I was doing some back-of-the-head math at lunch yesterday and realized that 32 sts on each needle, times 2 needles per round, times 42 rounds between instep decreases and toe decreases equals 2,688.This is a number I want to forget as soon as possible. It's like counting the individual calories to

From somewhere early in the 42 round foot

2006-11-01T06:59:00.000-05:00

(Yes, as I was arranging the sock, I noticed one of the circs had stayed behind in my briefcase.) My brother's sock is coming along, thanks again to commuting fairies opening up a seat at Harvard. As of last night the instep was picked up, decreased and the length of the foot started. I'm liking this yarn's colorway and think my brother will, too. It's dark navy with just the occasional

You can turn a heel from Park to Porter

2006-10-30T20:48:00.000-05:00

So the sock is moving right along nicely, thanks in part to the commuting fairies who freed up the seat at Harvard this morning. I could have done without their additional gift of the long pause after Kendall waiting for something to move through Charles, but, eh. In any case, on my way home I managed to get my brother's sock through the heel flap. turn and now I have the second edge of instep

It looks to me like it's grinning

2006-10-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

As promised yesterday, at the right is the blocking photo of the surprise I've been working on for a co-worker who covered for me on vacation, when things needing to be done weren't ready for me to work on before I left, so she wound up doing a whole lot more than usual. I had hoped to have it finished to give to her last Monday when I went back, but that turned out to be too ambitious of a

Using that extra hour wisely

2006-10-28T18:40:00.000-04:00

It's funny, most people think about SAD in the true winter time of January and February. I find this time of year to be a problem -- starting about August/September/October, it's just not light enough in the morning when I get up. The fall back thing will help some, but, fortunately, it's not that long until the Solstice for winter. Note the new ticker up top. It's from a nifty little site

< 2 months till Christmas

2006-10-26T07:04:00.000-04:00

and that's not just sayin.....I've cast on a number of things in the last few days (including the Pirate Hat, at last), but have had to focus on one project. The project is a surprise gift that I'm really hoping to finish up over the weekend, so.... knit, knit, knit, it's a lot of garter. I'll just say that there's a lot of yarn in a skein of Lucy's sock yarn.BTW, Lucy, where's that picture

How could I not have.....

2006-10-24T07:14:00.000-04:00

It has come to my attention that (it seems) I don't have a size 13 circular needle.Sunday I cast on two projects to celebrate the new moon -- there's now a Red Quattro 220-bellied hedgehog underway, and the front of Himself's ongoing sweater.Last night I got home from the Boston Knit-Out wrap meeting and started a few more things: socks for my brother, a top-down raglan baby sweater with Lucy's

All This Sock Yarn Already Extant

2006-10-23T06:45:00.000-04:00

I sat Himself down yesterday (and then told him to move off the couch, I needed the space) to look at all my sock yarn and tell me what I could consider using to make socks for my (when he had hair) strawberry blonde, blue eyed, gets pink in a moment skinned brother. The first picture is colors set aside that I should not use. The "Girly Stripe" colorway of Lorna's Laces in the upper right came

New Moon Sunday - what's new?

2006-10-21T18:30:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I'll be starting the front of Himself's Wonderous Woven Cables sweater. The back got finished last night. It's supposed to be 22 inches wide by the schematic. When I first put it down it measured 20 inches across, but a quick smoothing of the fabric got it to 22, without blocking and pinning even, so I'm feeling good that this sweater will come out okay. And the funny thing is, the

For those of us staying close to home this weekend

2006-10-20T17:17:00.001-04:00

I.e., someday I will get to Rhinebeck, but not this year. Best bet for it to happen, persuade Himself to take one of his multi-week turns around a far away part of the Earth in late October some year and work on getting into someone's carpool.In any case, I started checking out some of the bloggers listed on the Boston Knit-Out's page (yeah, it's only taken slightly less than a month to get to)

All That's Left.....

2006-10-19T18:32:00.000-04:00

The Shapely Shawlette with one skein of Lucy's Sock Yarn in Grasshopper Sky colorway was finished yesterday, with this small bit left over.It was delivered to Mind's Eye last night, but having honest-to-God customers in the shop prevented photos from being took. Lucy promises size photos soon, however, given her exciting news, I can see why it didn't happen today.Another skein (or two) came