Pompeii and such

I just wanted to mention that last night Jeremy and I watched Pompeii: The Last Day on the Discovery Channel. It was actually really good and interesting.

I've actually visited Pompeii and thought it was an awesome archeological site. The town is still only partially unearthed, too. One thing I learned last night was that more than just Pompeii was effected by the volcano and that no lava came oozing down the side of the mountian. I can see this topic being the next big Hollywood Blockbuster. Kind of like Titanic...

I think it is being replayed Tuesday night, so check it out if there is nothing else on TV.

---

Now, Monica has tapped me to play along in this little music meme. This was hard, but here goes:

1. Total amount of music files on your computer?
I think I have no songs left on my computer. When I got my DVD burner, I put them all on a DVD--about 2 GB. When I had a computer at work that could play the DVD, I listened to them at work. Now I can't because my laptop doesn't play DVDs. I don't own an sort of MP3 player, either.


2. CD you last bought?
The last CD I bought was with a gift certificate--Jet. I used to belong to BMG and bought CDs like they were going out of style. Guess they are...

3. Last song you listened to before reading this message?
The last song I heard on the radio was "Breath" by Anna Nalick. It was the first time I heard the song, so thank goodness for those displays on the radios!

4. 5 songs you often listen to, or which mean a lot to you?
About 5 years ago I think this would have been an easy question for me to answer. I barely listen to more than a couple of artists now voluntarily (not on the radio).
a."At Last" by Etta James (Our Wedding Song...even if the DJ screwed it up!)
b."Dream a Little Dream of Me" done by Chicago. (I swear they did this song. I can't find it anywhere, but I know I heard it!!)
c.Anything from Matchbox 20
d.Just about anything by Bush
e."Eine Kleine Nacht Muzik" by Mozart (I think Mozart was one of the first Classical Composers I really liked)

5. Who are you going to pass this onto and why?
I've begun to know some great bloggers on each edge of the US...
a.Heather
b.Kate
c.Melissa

Good Bye, January!

Today is the last day of January...I hope it takes its snow storms and extremely cold weather with it...A girl can hope, can't she?

Going back to school really cuts into knitting time. There was about 7 hours this weekend I did homework instead of knitting. Boo. Guess I'll have to keep telling myself that when I am done I could be making more $$ to buy yarn with...

Updates

I worked on the Here and There Cables scarf. Almost done. I have one ball of yarn left and then I am done with the knitting. There is still the weaving and blocking, but that is minor. Next I think I need a hat. How did I manage to get through the winter so far without a hat? No idea. Maybe that hood that is attached to my coat helped...

"The Thing" is mostly done. I'll have to finish it up and take pictures. The next step is a "Son of a Thing". All that means is a custom sweater for myself. Hmm...But there is still Klaralund and possibly Mariah...

Speaking of Mariah, I think I am going to wait to cast on. I'll wait to see what the finished ones look like and then decide if I want to do it. That's the safest thing to do. Don't worry, the yarn will not go to waste! Besides, at the rate I am going with school, it would take me a year to get it finished. Maybe I should stick with small projects for a while.

I did it!! I did the lace bind off. I think I did it right since all the stitches seemed to work out. I think it looks funny, but that could be because the yarn is worsted weight--something a little less substantial may make it look pretty like lace is supposed to look. Thanks, Amy for your suggestions!!

Should I?

I am seriously rethinking doing Mariah. I like the sweater, but I think I am trying to move away from things that resemble things I wore in high school and college--as comfortable as they are! I was thinking about using the Patons for a sweater in the round...I am learning all those fun techniques...So,

Thing a-long

Some of you are not sure what "The Thing" is, so I pulled this from the book:
"The Sampler [aka 'Thing'] is your opportunity to experience the whys, the wheres, and the whens of knitting a sweater. As you work from stitch to stitch exploring the more obvious how-to’s, this underlying focus becomes apparent; reason emerges as the key to a perfectly constructed sweater. Combine this perspective with your own wits, wisdom, and natural flair, and you’ll have the makings of many a variation. And varied they will be, for timidity and hesitation will be gone Proudly, and without a second thought, you’ll be adding a pocket here, a bit of lace there. This new “nothing-to-it” attitude will spark your enthusiasm for knitting."
~Jacqueline Fee, The Sweater Workshop

I have learned quite a few techniques from doing this sampler. Things I probably wouldn't have tried in a sweater if I had never done them before. Someone left me a note yesterday that they are doing the sampler, too...who are you? You forgot to leave your name and I can't send you a shout-out if I don't know who you are. Aside: Maybe a good reason to rethink Blogger...

It's Cold Out There, Baby!

The knitting I have been doing has been focused pretty much on one thing--staying warm! When Elann had their Peruvian Wool Bag Sale, I got so excited that I bought two bags (one black and one grey). I didn't read the details, so I didn't realize it was 60 yards of wool each ball and that the guage was much smaller. I thought I was going to get another Ribby out of it...um no. That's ok, though. This stuff is not very tightly spun and much softer than the original! After looking through a couple books, I found the pattern to knit--Weekend Knitting's Mittens were it:

After braving some snow and cold, I decided that the Glorious Gloves, while pretty, are not warm enough. Boy are these mittens warm, too!

Here and There Cables

My other bag of Highland Peruvian Wool is being used to make this beautiful scarf from Scarf Style

This is how it will look blocked:
Isn't it pretty? Who would have known?!

Thing Update

As you can see, I have been busy learning new skills on "The Thing". I believe this is the front of it in relation to a sweater.

Here is the other side. I am on the cast offs. They are pretty interesting and different. This cord-type cast off could have been used on the Ribby Cardi if I was going to do the roll collar. This rolls no matter what!!


This is a knitted belt. It was actually a really cool technique! I still need to add a button and then put it on "The Thing".

A close up of my first attempt at two color knitting. Not bad if I do say so myself!

My boring life...

I have been a bad blogger as of late...I haven't posted much, no pictures...It's just that my life has been pretty boring. I haven't really completed anything, which means I haven't really been knitting. I've been bad at getting back to people who left me comments--which I truely appreciate! I've been bad about leaving comments on other's blogs. Please forgive me.

I do have pictures today...not of knitting, but pictures. It snowed on Friday night. We didn't get as much snow as the east coast (thank, God!), but we got quite a bit in the Chicagoland area. Here is a picture of snow removal:

As you can see, we have an island in the middle of our circle street. For some reason a regular plow cannot get in there, but a medium wheel loader (it is a CAT!) can. Here are a couple of more pictures Jeremy took of this fiasco:

The snow did Yoda in, too. She was pooped just thinking about going outside to potty:

BTW, I am still working on my "Thing" from Jacqueline Fee's Sweater Workshop. I've come to the lace cast off. I have not done lace before, so if someone can help me out with the YO2, I would appreciate it!!

By now, you all should have heard about the new KnitPicks yarn collection. Hell, I think I even mentioned it a couple of days ago. Well, within that time, I have received my KnitPicks catalog. I read all the descriptions of all the yarns. I have to say the most impressive part of the catalog was the way they put together a whole slew of projects that would be appropriate for each yarn. It was pretty nice to see what substitues nicely. It looks like the website also has a couple of 'recommended projects' when you look at the details of the yarn. Very neat!

So since I am on my self imposed YNBA, I must use up what I have at home...Speaking of the YNBA, I have come up with some rules. Since I don't have rooms and rooms of stash, I felt that I needed to address such things as running out of stash! Eek! Could it happen? I don't know, but we better plan for it just in case:

The Rules:
1. No purchasing of yarn, needles, patterns, magazines, books, notions to do with knitting.
2. If a gift of money or giftcard is recieved, it may be used to purchase knitting supplies mentioned above. (My birthay is coming up for crying out loud)
3. If finishing of a knitted item is dependent on a zipper, buttons, etc. then those items may be purchased after the garment has been seamed.
4. For gift knitting- An appropriate gift must first attempt to use stash yarn. If there is not appropriate yarn, yarn may be purchased under the supervision of the husband.
5. If stash is depleated durning YNBA, yarn may be purchased for one project at a time.

Let's see how that works out...

P.S. Alias tonight!! I need a personal trainer to help me get the body of Jennifer Garner (She is HOT!)!!

Back to Work!

Well, not really. I had yesterday off for MLK Day, but I still worked from home. Makes sense right?

And the school semester has officially kicked off. What was I thinking? I am taking 2 8-eight week classes for the first half of the semester and another 2 for the last 8 weeks. It sounded like a really good idea to sign up for the Saturday morning class from 8:30-12 in Naperville. Doesn't sound so great right now. Funny, but the thing I am most worried about is that I will probably need to get on the toll road and I don't have an i-pass. For those of you not keeping up with Illinois politics and highway travel, there is a situation. Our Governor, he's a gem, has decided that the tolls need to double in Illinois. If we buy one of those handy dandy little electronic transponders that we put $$ on (i-pass), the tolls are the old price. I have yet to purchase one of those little i-passes because my mom is buying me one for my birthday--in February. Maybe we can move that gift up....

My finger is much better! So I did some knitting when I wasn't working yesterday. I made some more progress on the elusive "Here and There Cables" scarf. Don't worry, a picture will ensue when the scarf is done. The reason I am working feverishly on the scarf is that, well, it's cold out there!! I heard there is a town in MN that is -52 degrees (F)--that is without windchill. Damn cold! That and I am to the point on the "Thing" where I start color work. That's new and kinda scary. I want to be able to sit down and take my time learning how to do it. Not rush through it because Yoda has to go out right now!

Think warm!!

Brilliant!

That was me last night. I was baking some biscuits for dinner. I had used the potholder to get the cookie sheet out of the oven. I was taking the biscuits off the sheet and they were sticking to to the foil I had put down. So I decided to hold the foil in place on the hot cookie sheet--sans potholder. Um, yeah. I burnt my left index finger. It hurt. It still feels weird. It blistered immediately. So you all know what that means--no knitting.

Brilliant! (said just like those Guiness cartoons...)

Japanese Knitting

In addition to the reason I wanted this book, here are a couple more very cute projects from the Japanese knitting magazine:

Resources

Now obviously I don't speak, read or even look Japanese. So, I am going to need some help. There are a few very good explainations of the charts online. For those of you who might try some Japanese knitting, here they are:
Japanese Pattern Basics

How to Read Japanese Graphical Charts

Japanese-English Knitting Dictionary

Japanese Characters-Kana

SugarCubed's Quick Japanese Pattern Help

Japanese Pattern/Charting Instructions

Free Japanese Patterns

Scarves

Fall/Winter Women's Patterns

More Fall/Winter Women's Pattern's

Kid's and Baby Patterns

Men's Patterns

Knitting of a high Class Patterns

Spring and Summer Women's Sweater Patterns

Spring and Summer Shawl and Stole Patterns

Japanese Dish Scrubbies

It's going to be a long 4 months...

So, I saw on the Mariah knit-a-long that KnitPicks has some new yarns--their own line. They have merino wool, Puruvian wool, silk/wool/cashmere blends, alpaca...The list goes on and on. The best part--the price. They are very, very reasonable!! For example 110 yards of Puruvian Wool is $1.79. Huh?! Is that legal?!? So, for all of you that can shop, here is the link to KnitPicks' Yarn

Because it always seems like a good idea to pass someone on a two lane road in the country (for those of you in the city, it is much darker in the country) in dense fog... That was my drive to work. This, as we say in the IT world, ID10T (that is said eye-dee-ten-tee and error is usually thrown in there) tried passing a guy in the fog on a dark country two lane road this morning while there was massive oncoming traffic. I just about wet myself and the car. I was driving behind this genius when he jumped out into the left lane and decided to pass this other car. Um, I saw headlights through the fog before he jumped out there. Luckily, no one was hurt. But man, the adrenaline was pumping!!

Last night I went to Fringe to meet up with Monica to get my Japanese Knitting Magazine. I had a good time hanging out and talking. I couldn't stay all that long since Yoda was in her kennel again. She needs to be out sometime, right?

I didn't get to scan any pictures of the patterns in this book, but I was very impressed. There are over 60 numbered patterns and if there is a hat or bag also pictured, you get that pattern as well. All in all it cost $16, and I also gave Monica some Richesse et Soie and the Glorious Gloves pattern as a thank you.

For those of you who are wondering how I am going to figure out the directions, because I am obviously not Japanese and don't read it, I am going to rely on the help here. If not I have a friend in the Army that was learning Japanese....wonder if he would have any free time to translate?

What happens when you are still bored at work....

I saw this on Kate's blog and since I am bored decided to play along:
Grooming Products
Shampoo--Pantene, Herbal Essence
Moisturizer--Oil of Olay (body) & Cetaphil
Cologne--Emporio by Armani
Razor--Venus
Toothpaste--Colgate Total
Electronics
Cell phone--Motorola flip phone
Computer--Dell, Home grown, 2 dell laptops (work)
Television--57 inch HD Sony
Stereo--Yamaha receiver, JBL speakers
Home
Sheets-- Eddie Bauer
Coffee-maker--um, not a fan of coffee
Car--Land Rover Freelander
Stationery-- sheet of computer paper (would love some crane's)
Beverages
Bottled water--Ice Mountain
Coffee--again, yuck
Vodka--had a bad experience once with some absolute once....
Beer--Amstel Light
Wine -- Riesling (most brands are pretty good)
Clothes
Jeans--Levi's
T-shirt--old college/sorority shirts
Briefcase or tote--it was a CAT bag until the tomato soup episode
Sneakers--Adidas
Watch--Ann Klein
Favorite Places
Home, The Parthenon Restaurant, anywhere but work!
Necessary Extravagance
Dog grooming, new carpet, technical gadgets

Kill that boredom and the stash!

What does one do when in "wait" mode? I am currently waiting on several people to get stuff to me for work. So, pretty much I am bored out of my mind. I did the internet thing-still bored. I did the IM thing-still bored. Oh what can kill this boredom?

For a geek, it all involves a pda, excel, and a yarn stash. I started going through my yarn stash, my needle stash (omg), my notions stash, my books, patterns, and magazines and putting them into an excel spreadsheet. Right now I am just going from memory with a little help from Amazon. With the yarn, I am also specifying the project for which it was originally purchased or what project for which it should be used. I am getting quite a good understanding of what is going to keep me busy for the next four months.

Now, I don't have the stash that some people do...mine is confined to a large Pier 1 basket. But I have enough yarn to try some new things and to get some sweaters done. Then it is purchase a project at a time and knit that--nothing to distract me! Good plan, right? We'll see...

(Free) Knitting pattern of the day: Knit Bunny

I can do it!

After my little episode at Barnes & Noble last week, I needed to do something to curb my addiction. So after thinking about it, I came up with a plan...Most of you have probably noticed the little button to my right by now. Yes, a Yarn Non-Buying Agreement. Only I am going a little further with this. I am going to extend this to all knitting books, magazines, patterns, supplies, etc. Monica was nice enough to order a Japanese knitting magazine for me, but after that--no more until April. I have enough. I really do. I can keep myself occupied for four months on the supplies I have. Not only that, my time is going to be severly restricted since I am beginning school in the next week or so. SO, I can can do it....and anyone else that wants to jump on the band wagon is more than welcome!

Peer Pressure

Aside: What do you get when you have a blogger who spent 30
minutes putting together a post and a temperamental Blogger software? I'll tell
you--an eaten post. I have been thinking about changing services lately,
but I just am not sure if I want to take on that task right now. But be
prepared! It might happen sometime.

So now, I'll try to recreate my post!

After visiting Amie's blog yesterday, and reading all about the finished projects and knit-a-longs from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, I decided a trip to the book store was needed. Now, I don't know why there aren't ankle bracelets for people like me. I am addicted to books. I cannot leave the bookstore without buying something or lots of somethings. (This little problem was all the fault of my mother. When my sister and I were young, she would buy us anything we wanted from the bookstore. I guess she thought there were way worse things to be buying. I then became on of those children who was reading War and Peace in fourth grade. I kid you not.) So after spending some time in the knitting section, I decided on these books:

   

Buster N Me is where I was inspired to purchase the toy book. She knit the monkey. He is too cute! I have always wanted a pet monkey...

Now, I just don't understand why the bookstore needs to tempt me by putting the sewing books next to the knitting books! I picked this one up because it was inexpensive ($14.95) and had tons of cool ideas:

But, wait, my bookstore adventure is not complete! I headed over to the magazines! Oh, darn, we all know where the is heading...

This one is in conjunction with Lion Brand Yarns. There was an article on felting, which I found very odd. Unless Lion Brand has come out with some new yarn, the only one that I know of that felts well is the Fisherman's Wool. There actually were some advanced looking patterns as well. I really didn't get a chance to look at it in depth last   night. Oh, and the ponchos were not the reason I bought it!! Will they every go away?

Now, I normally don't stray from IK, FCEK, and Vogue knitting magazines (or a derivative thereof), but I flipped through Creative Knitting and found two reasons to buy it...

Here are the reasons:

Yes, those are dog booties and a scarf. I told you she is a princess spoiled. There were some wraps and stoles that looks pretty, but I didn't have a chance to look through this one in depth, either. But, you can view all the projects on their site.

As I said, I have no self control when it comes to books. Well, reading materials.

Glorious Gloves

Thanks to everyone that complemented me on the  Glorious Gloves. To answer Eilene's question about how tedious they are to knit. Honestly, they really aren't tedious. My problem was that this was my first pair of gloves and I was obsessing about getting the fingers to work (without holes in between). But, like I said, I was starting to figure it out by the end. I also learned a lot while doing these gloves. So, if you are contemplating them, go ahead and give them a try!!

Just in time for snow and cold...

...Glorious Gloves! Yes, they are finally complete. I started to get the hang of the fingers by number 8 or 9--a little late, huh. I guess I'll do better the next time. Which won't be too soon--I'll try mittens and fingerless gloves next!

Here are the palms...

And on my hand. I tried taking a picture of the right hand, but damn if that didn't work!

My how the "thing" is growing!! I have thus far completed the garter stitch; the stockinette; K1,P1 rib; twisted rib; and K2,P2 rib. I believe the next section is going to be color! Guess I have to go looking for some in my basket.

Yoda says, "Hi" to all you bloggers as she takes a break from her bone chewing. Note: those are thow pillows that go on my bed--not Yoda pillows!

"Thing" Update

Here is the first section I have completed on my Sweater Workshop sampler (aka: Thing). This shows seven rows of garter stitch and ten rows of stockinette. I am using Red Hart yarn in the color Linen. I have heard people say that the feeling of acrylic is very much like plastic. I never understood that--until now. I only am using this stuff since it was $2 for 8 oz and no one is wearing it. I would never wear anything knit out of this crap(?). I am very glad that the baby acrylic is much, much softer.

Here is the next section of K1,P1 rib. Now on to twisted rib....

Other knitting:

I said yesterday that I am finishing up some of the projects on my sidebar. I didn't want to take partially finished pictures, but the gloves are almost there--two more fingers. Then the fixing of holes. I will finally be done--and none too soon. The weather map shows crazy snow for the next three days. It was just 60 degrees (F)!! Gotta love Illinois weather. I always say you can get every season in one day, and then some!

I haven't looked at the other projects sitting there--partially so I could focus on the Evil Glorious Gloves. If I don't complete them before Mariah begins, I will only work on those until they are done. Then I can think about Klaralund and anything else that tickles my fancy (I'm dreaming of cables--lots of them).

Yoda:

I don't know how we got so lucky to have such a well behaved dog. And so cute. Heather, you can babysit anytime...you just need to find a way to Illinois!

Well, the second day of work is harder than the first. I am already exhausted! That's what I get for gettin so much rest over my vacation!! Good luck to everyone on their first or second days back!

What are you doing?!

I'm not sure what Yoda was up to, but I don't think it can be good...

Nope! I don't think she found what she was looking for. She's still cute, though.

Well, I am back to work. As you can see it is 5:30 am and I am blogging. I should be more regular with my posts now that I am on a schedule again. That whole "I have nothing to do so I am not going to do anything" sure doesn't work for me. I need structure or things don't get done.

As you can see on my side bar I have joined a "thing" knit along. This is to make the sampler from Jacqueline Fee's book The Sweater Workshop. It is based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's ideas. The sampler has all the techniques you'll use to create a sweater. I have been meaning to begin mine for quite some time, and the knit along gets my butt in gear. If you are interested, pick up the book (or dust it off) and join on in!! Learn something new...

I also have one month until Mariah begins, so I am finishing up the stuff that has been languishing on my sidebar. I also began a new project--a scarf for myself. I felt so left out at Christmas when everyone opened a hat or scarf or both and I had no gift of warmth, so I pulled some yarn from the stash and went to work. Jeremy challeneged me to try and finish it before he beats his new LOTR Xbox game...I think I am winning.

I hope everyone has a good day.

Family Circle Easy Knitting

The new issue is out and I stumbled upon it New Year's Eve while picking up some groceries... There is a simple cabled turtleneck pattern that I like and this cardigan:

Still a lot of ponchos being shown--are they going away yet?

It's Complete

It's complete!! I finally sewed the zipper in the way I like it. The trick was to use the zipper foot for the sewing machine!! What a genius I am. I guess it was practice for Mariah!


Project notes:

Yarn: Elann's Highland Puruvian Wool in (3075) Antique Blue and (294) Chocolate

Needles used: Denise Interchangeables

Gauge: 19 sts/ 24 rows over 4” Stockinette Stitch using #7 / 4.5mm needles

Pattern: Chicknits Ribby Cardi by Bonnie Marie

Music Meme 2005

1. Total amount of music files on your computer?
I think I have no songs left on my computer. When I got my DVD burner, I put them all on a DVD--about 2 GB. When I had a computer at work that could play the DVD, I listened to them at work. Now I can't because my laptop doesn't play DVDs. I don't own an sort of MP3 player, either.


2. CD you last bought?
The last CD I bought was with a gift certificate--Jet. I used to belong to BMG and bought CDs like they were going out of style. Guess they are...

3. Last song you listened to before reading this message?
The last song I heard on the radio was "Breath" by Anna Nalick. It was the first time I heard the song, so thank goodness for those displays on the radios!

4. 5 songs you often listen to, or which mean a lot to you?
About 5 years ago I think this would have been an easy question for me to answer. I barely listen to more than a couple of artists now voluntarily (not on the radio).
a."At Last" by Etta James (Our Wedding Song...even if the DJ screwed it up!)
b."Dream a Little Dream of Me" done by Chicago. (I swear they did this song. I can't find it anywhere, but I know I heard it!!)
c.Anything from Matchbox 20
d.Just about anything by Bush
e."Eine Kleine Nacht Muzik" by Mozart (I think Mozart was one of the first Classical Composers I really liked)