Friday, November 28, 2008

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

FPSA

As we enter the holiday season, I want to talk a little about a group that is often forgotten. The poor, lonely yarn.
Some are skeins, some are balls. Some have traveled long distances, some have been stretched, pulled, tugged and even dyed.
They are sent to foster homes, where some watch their siblings get sold off while they get left behind. They huddle together each night, telling themselves that tomorrow will be the day they get to find a real home.
So, please, think of the lonely yarn. Adopt one today.

Monday, November 24, 2008

And More Yarn

I also picked up this gorgeous Brooks Farm Yarn - Ellie, a thick and thin blend.
Brooks Farm Ellie
And some Storm Moon Knits Twilight Sock Yarn.
Twilight Sock

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Inaugural Excitment

Having lived in DC and it's surrounding areas for most of my life, I have been hear here for approximately eight presidential inaugurations. I do not recall this level of excitement. The only thing approaching it is my recollection of the first Reagan inauguration, but that is in part because that was the first one that my mother and her friends decided to take their kids down to and while I sort of remember the parade, I remember that the crowds were nuts afterwords and we got separated from one of the families and ended up trying to find our way home via bus (the metro was not as robust at that time.)
So, all of this is build up to say that I don't know if the 24 hour news cycle has increased the perception of the hype, but that anticipation is nuts. Nuts. My friend has about four family members coming to crash in her one bedroom apartment because hotels from Frostburg, MD to York, PA are booked. Booked solid. People are renting out their apartments and couches for crazy amounts of money. It makes me simultaneously thrilled and ready to hibernate for January.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

More Yarn

Also picked these up at Stitches East.
I could not resist this yummy yarn from The Sanguine Gryphon. I was, ahem, talked into getting two skeins so as not to limit my options.
Gaia Lace

And this gorgeous Malabrigo worsted.
Malabrigo Worsted

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Think of it as Cosbyesque

I purchased some Noro Taiyo, a yummy cotton blend that I loved immediately. It's a bulky yarn and, as it happens, I had the Abrazo pattern queued up. The Taiyo knits up a bit smaller, so I put more stitches between the cables and followed the instructions for a larger size.
I also shifted the cables just a smidge in the chestal region in what was originally an attempt to place them a little wider, but actually I think creates a slimming effect. (And if it doesn't don't tell me. La, la, la.)
The lighting in these photos is not the best, but I am too lazy to fix that right now.
At one point, possibly later than I should have been knitting, I discovered I had screwed up one cable on the left side. A few cables ago.
Bad Cable 1
So, I did this:
Taiyo Cable error.
And re-crossed it and knitted back up with the help of some DPNs.
But the end result was worth it.
Taiyo Vest 1

Taiyo Vest 2

Monday, November 17, 2008

Yarn

Yeah, so, deep into the writing now...


So, I brought you yarn. These are from Stitches East (last one in Baltimore, at least for now) purchases.
Aruacania's Ranco Yarn never ceases to thrill me. I love the variegated (or multy as they call it.)
Ranco Multi
And the solids (which are what I would call semi-solids).
Ranco Solid

Friday, November 14, 2008

Fun with Web Filters

So my company uses a web filter. They block things like blogs*, pRon, and social networking sites. And now - yarn. Why yarn? Okay, well it's not all yarn, but the other day I was trying to get to Three Irish Girls** and got this:

I am so highly amused by this. I can't decide if some sort of trigger word on the site has caused this or some web person somewhere decided all sites with girls in the name must be about sex or how this has happened. I am tempted to contact them and tell them that while really nice yarn, in my opinion, it is just yarn. The pictures - yarn. But perhaps there are undiscovered yarnies in my company and the bandwidth got to be too much. Let's hope this isn't a trend.

*Thank goodness for pre-posting abilities.
** Yes, I know, ideally I wouldn't be on yarn sites at work. As soon as my job stops interfering with my nights and weekends, I'll work on that.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I'm a Katherine

Saw this quiz over at the Chaliceblog.

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Katharine!


You are a Katharine -- "I am happy and open to new things"


Katharines are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Seen on the Street

I was headed toward Columbia Heights last night and passed a condo building that has an enclosed grassy area often in use by various dogs and their owners. A woman was in their with two dogs, who were bounding around off leash. A woman and her dog were walking by on the sidewalk when one of the dogs in the fenced in area decided to assert his territory running over and barking at the dog walking by. It sufficiently concerned the walking by dog such that he* decided the other side of the street was a better place to be. Unfortunately he was going fast and hard enough that he yanked the leash out of his walker's hands before bounding across the street right as a car turned from the main road onto the street. Fortunately the car noticed either the dog or the distraught walker and stopped immediately and the dog and walker were reunited. The person with the barking dog had grabbed collars on both her dogs and apologized (I thought rather nicely, especially considering it was fairly normal dog behavior on all sides.) So, a happy ending for all.

*I did not make any effort to properly determine the gender of any of the dogs.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Habitat Hat

I got this yarn and pattern from my lovely rubberswapping pal and cast on pretty quickly for it. I ended up ripping back because I ignored a crucial three rows of the chart, but after that things progressed pretty. The pattern is challenging enough that it's not a great choice for knitting and talking, but works well for when you are half-watching a show.
The yarn is a bit scratchy, but a head test determined that it was not bad when worn.
Habitat 1
The color is closer to the second picture, but the cables are more visible in the first.
Habitat 2
Pattern by Jared Flood
Needles - 8
Yarn - Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed

Flat Stanley and the President-Elect

I have spoken of my love for Flat Stanley before. That is part of the reason I find the story of the letter a child got about Flat Stanley's adventures with now President-Elect Obama so lovely.

Hat tip to Chalice Chick for the link.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

No Lines

I voted. (Yay me!) And since I had a new phone to play with, a stocked ipod and a knitting project to assist me through any delays, there were none. Of course it helped that I arrived at 2:30 - post-lunch pre-most folks after work times - even the various folks out to last minute badger me were mostly gone or on their cells. (One guy made a suggestion which I ignored, although he was very polite about it. Sorry, dude.)
One election worker was too shy to tell another voter to remove her button, but another worker stepped in and did it.(The voter had forgotten it was there, and happily placed it in her bag.)
DC has machines this year, though I opted for the handy dandy pencil version. (Hey, if it's good enough for "Eureka"...)
In case you haven't heard, donuts, coffee and ice cream are available today if you mention voting specials. Yum.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Fabulous Realities

The book we used for our high school creative writing class encouraged the search for what it called fabulous realities as an exercise to open the writerly side of the brain.
Since I am NaNo-ing again, here goes.
I was listening to the Halloween edition of "This American Life" while driving down the highway. One story featured a woman attacked by a raccoon who they ended up having to, shall we say, take care of. And as they are describing this, I notice the road is looking bloody. In fact an animal had been hit (sadly, some time ago from the, um, spread) and the road was now coated with remains.
It added quite the touch to the story.