Monday, March 30, 2009

A Laundry Tale

So, one of the advantages of working from home is the ability to throw a load in in the middle of the workday. My building has two laundry rooms and uses those laundry cards that you can load up.
So, I put a load in and went back up to work. I went back down and was moving my clothes to the dryer, pausing to shake out certain items that get wrinkly. (I read this tip a while back, and while folding things while they are still warm also helps a lot, I have found this helps too.)
So, I'm doing this and I notice a guy eying the machine.He starts talking at me, mentioning that some people really take a lot of time with their stuff and don't properly consider others that are waiting.
I nod and smile. Since I have not responded appropriately, he continues suggesting that if people like me would move their stuff to the tables to sort it through then it would help everyone out and be less inconsiderate.
I respond that I think his bugging me about the three minutes I am taking is equally inconsiderate. Surprisingly, he does not agree.
He continues that they have tables and really with all these people taking all this time it's really very rude, as well as un-pragmatic.
I tell him that I personally am not willing to stick my wet clothes on a random table, but that I am sorry if he feels the now five minutes I took was too long. I also suggest that it might have been faster if he had not been bugging me the entire time. Again, he does not agree.
So, he dumps his stuff in the newly vacated washer and as I am leaving he goes to load up his card and discovers the machine is out of order.
I do think I deserve major points for not asking if it would have been pragmatic for him to load up his card before he dumped his stuff into three separate washers.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

That's One Way

A teenager in the UK saw a program about Google Earth, and decided to mark his (parent's) house. Now, it is unclear (at least from the linked article) if he wanted to really see if what Google Earth was displaying was real time or if it just seemed funny at the time.
A year later, a helicopter flying overhead noticed the image, and notified the family. The parents initially thought it was a joke, but asked their kids, and their son admitted that yes, he had drawn a large phallus on the roof. He has promised to paint over it when he gets back home.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Dear Folks #20

Dear Ginormous Book Store,
I appreciate you looking after my literary needs, but Franz Kafka is dead and has been for quite some time. Therefore any book by him, regardless of cover, packaging, or new editorial notes, is not really new. In fact, Kafka's work is primarily (if not all of it) in the public domain. Thanks again.
Avid Reader

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Shalom

I've had the Shalom Cardigan queued up for a while. So, when the Malabrigo Junkies on Ravelry offered up a knitalong and it just happened I had those 3 skeins from Stitches, well it all seemed meant.
The Shalom cardigan calls for bulky weight, so I used the yarn doubled, which created a neat effect with the variegated yarn. (Attention, pooling haters, here's one solution. I tend not to mind pooling, but also love how this looks.) I decided rather than try to employ, um, math and figure out how much I would need for the) edging (since I was about a skein short) I knit until the Malabrigo worsted until it ran out, and then employed some Manos Cotton Stria that was roaming around my stash for the edging.
After playing around with it, I decided I didn't really like the top button only look on me, so I single chained some strips, and utilized the instructions from Festive (Knitty) to make some frog closures.
Shalom Cardigan 2

Monday, March 23, 2009

The Fish Were Surprising

Researchers in the United Kingdom compiled a list of the top twenty ridiculous complaints lodged by travelers with their travel agent.
I recommend the reading the whole list.
But, my top three are:
The gentleman who felt the aroused elephant he saw in Africa made him feel inadequate.
The traveler who was upset that the three bedroom suites were larger than his one bedroom.
And, the parent who complained that they had not been properly warned that there would be fish in the sea.
Hat tip to Boing Boing for the link.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Start of a Possible Cowl Trend

(For me that is, I do not presume to predict the fashions, knitting or otherwise, of others.)
I received a Curious Creek Fibers Etosha mohair in the Tin man colorway. Since it was a special put up (for the Stitch DC Stash Club), I had just about enough for a cowl, so I made Neal Swain's Limulidae Cowl. Since the yarn was a bit smaller, I added a repeat, but otherwise worked as written. Nice and cozy.
IMG_0689

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Using Quotes to Make a Point

Have you ever noticed how some movie ads use quotes that seem like they may have been taken out of context? I am always particularly suspicious of single word quotes. Sure they say that so-and-so said it was "amazing" but how do I know that so-and-so didn't say, "amazing in it's stupidity"?
Well, one job seeker took an unusual approach to referencing and quoting in his cover letter. It was amazing. (Feel free to quote me.)
Hat tip to ALOTT5MA for the link.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Homespun and Other Yarn

A last minute change in plans meant I got to attend the Homespun Yarn Party. And I picked up a few things.
From Three Irish Girls - Wexford Merino Silk in Aiden.
Aiden
From the Yarn Love side of the table, Charlotte Bronte Worsted in Sweet Tangerine.
Sweet Tangerine
From Woolarina, Lux Sock in a yummy oceanic type colorway.
HP809
And from Treadle to the Metal, some yummy handspun in Iced Hibiscus and Lavender Sunset.
Lavender Sunset and Iced hibiscus
And people said the good stufff would be gone by the time I got there. Mwa-ha-ha.

Monday, March 16, 2009

7 Things: How to Guarantee Arrest

(aka How to Know When People Will Not Find Your Assault Funny)
1. Punch a fuzzy dog mascot that is talking with a bunch of children.
2. Have the fuzzy dog mascot be McGruff the Crime Dog.
3. McGruff the Crime Dog is almost always worn by a police officer.
4. After your "funny" punch, hop back in your work car.
5. Have your work car be a bus.
6. Continue on your route until...
7. You are pulled over a few blocks later.

Monday, March 09, 2009

In Like a Lamb Swap

I received my swap package for the In Like a Lamb swap. It was a combo knitter/spinner swap where knitters (such as myself) sent fiber to spinner and spinners sent handspun yarn to knitters. (It was a round robin swap, so spinners were not sending and receiving to and from the same knitter.)
This is my package from the lovely drangondancer (her nom de Ravelry). A shawl pattern, some candies, and of course lovely hand spun yarn.
Lamb Swap
I'm still deciding which is my favorite.
IMG_0691

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Gigi as a Cowl

I started making another Gigi scarf with my stash club yarn about a year ago. It seemed like a great portable project until I realized that knitting navy blue yarn requires specific lighting conditions that most restaurants, coffee shops and airplanes do not typically have. So, it became at at home project. And then I realized that the beaded yarn was shorter than the non-beaded yarn and I had not accounted for that (I was switching up every two rows, the colors are a smidge off, but in most light you cannot tell at all). It was totally my error and probably I had a plan for this last year, but I have no idea what it was now. So, it sat. And finally I decided - a cowl. So, I did the icord bind off, and then picked up stitches and did a three needle bind off to seam up the ends.
Sparkly Cowl 1
Sparkly Cowl 2