A new spring Knitty is up. I only like Clessidra. There's an interesting article on dying yarn but I like the pictures in this tutorial.
Also, a new MagKnits came out at the start of the month.
I worked more on the nightie last night. One other person showed up for knitting and I discussed with her the modifications I want to make on the straps. Rather than having two separate lengths tied at the top of my shoulder, I'd like to have long straps completely sewn down. The problem I foresee with the tie tops is Dollar distracting me with a "Look over there!" shout and then pulling the bows apart. Like someone undoing your shoelaces. He'd do it 24/7 and I'd get tired of it pretty fast. Anyway, I think I'm a mere three or four hours away from finishing. I can't wait to work on something else.
Monday
[amy] Quieter week? I hope?
Last week was kind of a blur. Lots of knitting on the nightie, a Soup Swap, dinner at a friend's, getting a beat-down by my new trainer at the gym, a snow storm, visiting various family members. Whew.
I hope to finish the nightie this week (group knitting night on Wednesday at Panera should help). After that? The angora capelet for my friend, another pair of socks for Dollar, and a breezy knit top for Puerto Rico. That should get me through the next couple of months.
I hope to finish the nightie this week (group knitting night on Wednesday at Panera should help). After that? The angora capelet for my friend, another pair of socks for Dollar, and a breezy knit top for Puerto Rico. That should get me through the next couple of months.
[knitting] Do over
After using up nearly 3 balls of yarn, I decided to rip my Lace Nightie back. All the way. Completely un-doing 15 hours of knitting.
So sad.
I knew my gauge was going to be a little off because I was knitting with larger needles. That combined with knitting the largest size meant I was making something that was clearly too big. I started to look at what I was growing from my needles and thought, "This is... big. Is it too big? It looks really big." I put all the live stitches onto some cotton yarn and "tried it on". I could have hoola-hooped with it. Not sexy.
I got my ball-winder out and was able to un-do the whole thing in 4 minutes. 15 hours of work, gone, in 4 minutes. Dollar sat nearby remarking on how cool and fast my ball-winder is. Then he saw my eyes glittering with tears and decided that consoling me might be a better idea.
So I cast on immediately with a new ball, knit a few rows, realized I made a mistake somewhere and ripped back AGAIN. Dollar watched apprehensively as I gently laid down my needles and yarn, preparing for me to go apeshit or break down or something. I crawled into bed, picked up my comic book and started reading.
Mind you, all of this happened on Saturday.
Sunday morning, I turned on Return of the King, cast on for the smaller size, knit CAREFULLY, and finally got back into the flow of the lace nightie. By Sunday night I was halfway to where I was when I ripped the thing. The knitting is going faster without 4 lace repeats.
Anyway, it's frustrating and sad but I'd rather do the thing right.
So sad.
I knew my gauge was going to be a little off because I was knitting with larger needles. That combined with knitting the largest size meant I was making something that was clearly too big. I started to look at what I was growing from my needles and thought, "This is... big. Is it too big? It looks really big." I put all the live stitches onto some cotton yarn and "tried it on". I could have hoola-hooped with it. Not sexy.
I got my ball-winder out and was able to un-do the whole thing in 4 minutes. 15 hours of work, gone, in 4 minutes. Dollar sat nearby remarking on how cool and fast my ball-winder is. Then he saw my eyes glittering with tears and decided that consoling me might be a better idea.
So I cast on immediately with a new ball, knit a few rows, realized I made a mistake somewhere and ripped back AGAIN. Dollar watched apprehensively as I gently laid down my needles and yarn, preparing for me to go apeshit or break down or something. I crawled into bed, picked up my comic book and started reading.
Mind you, all of this happened on Saturday.
Sunday morning, I turned on Return of the King, cast on for the smaller size, knit CAREFULLY, and finally got back into the flow of the lace nightie. By Sunday night I was halfway to where I was when I ripped the thing. The knitting is going faster without 4 lace repeats.
Anyway, it's frustrating and sad but I'd rather do the thing right.
Thursday
[knitting] Unfinished / Finished / Just Started
I'm trying to sort out one my unfinished projects: Starsky. There it was, languishing on the needles, the back a mere inch or two from being cast off. I recently saw someone had knit the back AND started the fronts in a day. Sigh, just the motivation I needed. Since I still get up really early on weekends but the lump in bed next to me likes to sleep in, I brought the project downstairs, put on the first Lord of the Rings movie, tried to figure out where I was in the pattern, made a few mistakes and eventually cast-off the back. I'll do the fronts and sleeves some day.
I finished Dollar's newest pair of socks. I used all four balls of Mission Falls 100% Merino Superwash. Of the four balls, one ball had a couple (quite close) knotted sections that had to be cut out. I hate having more ends to weave in. I socks are squishy and heavy. Dollar loves them because his feet are flat and the socks add more padding to the soles. Too bad I told him I wasn't going to knit with this yarn again. The yardage isn't great. I prefer using ONE ball of yarn per sock (fewer ends to weave in). That was the case with Lion Brand Wool Ease (though not the greatest yarn) and Lamb's Pride Superwash (a little pricey). For his next pair I will try Cascade 220 Superwash.
After giving so many projects away, I've decided to knit something for me. I cast on for the lace nightie from Interweave Knits! I'm using Valley Yarns Longmeadow that I picked up on Saturday. My sister and I drove down to Webs and while I thought I'd go crazy (Supermarket Sweep style), I held it in. I got five balls of Longmeadow (lilac) and seven skeins of Elizabeth Lavold Angora (white). The Longmeadow is for the nightie, the angora is for my friend's wedding capelet. I'm almost done with the second ball of Longmeadow and the stitches look wonderful- a subtle shine and oh so soft.
I finished Dollar's newest pair of socks. I used all four balls of Mission Falls 100% Merino Superwash. Of the four balls, one ball had a couple (quite close) knotted sections that had to be cut out. I hate having more ends to weave in. I socks are squishy and heavy. Dollar loves them because his feet are flat and the socks add more padding to the soles. Too bad I told him I wasn't going to knit with this yarn again. The yardage isn't great. I prefer using ONE ball of yarn per sock (fewer ends to weave in). That was the case with Lion Brand Wool Ease (though not the greatest yarn) and Lamb's Pride Superwash (a little pricey). For his next pair I will try Cascade 220 Superwash.
After giving so many projects away, I've decided to knit something for me. I cast on for the lace nightie from Interweave Knits! I'm using Valley Yarns Longmeadow that I picked up on Saturday. My sister and I drove down to Webs and while I thought I'd go crazy (Supermarket Sweep style), I held it in. I got five balls of Longmeadow (lilac) and seven skeins of Elizabeth Lavold Angora (white). The Longmeadow is for the nightie, the angora is for my friend's wedding capelet. I'm almost done with the second ball of Longmeadow and the stitches look wonderful- a subtle shine and oh so soft.
Friday
[knitting] My picks of recent knitting links
Zipper Installation
New KnitPicks yarn, CotLin? And some Sierra colors at crazy low prices.
Cabled Legwarmers
MagKnits' February Patterns
Bertie Scarf
Helleborus Scarf
Lace Gloves
Lace Nightie
# # #
Dollar and I taking a trip to Puerto Rico in a few months and I would like to knit something for it. Maybe the lace nightie? Maybe a camisole? I'd also like a slouchy and loose cotton cardigan. Or a loose lace cardigan. Bamboo seems to be the yarn of the moment, so that's an option as well. I haven't really done any knitting for warm weather but I find it interesting to shift my train of thought from alpaca and wool to cotton and bamboo. Winter wear is meant to keep you warm while summer wear is meant to keep to cool.
I stopped by my LYS yesterday and got 8 balls of Katia Idea since they were 50% off. She had a sample of a tank top knit with this yarn and all I had to say about it was, "This tank top is... HEAVY. Jeeze, it weighs a ton." I was so glad I learned that because I've decided to knit a sweater out of the worsted weight yarn on 11 (or even 13!) needles, to open the stitches up. I hope that the finished sweater will be loose, breezy and not end up using very much yarn.
I might go back for some of the Berroco Suede at 50% off. I think some of the bikinis in Ashley Paige's Sexy Little Knits use Suede yarn. Shall I stock up and think about all the racy things I can knit from Naughty Needles, Domiknitrix and Knitting Lingerie Style?
New KnitPicks yarn, CotLin? And some Sierra colors at crazy low prices.
Cabled Legwarmers
MagKnits' February Patterns
Bertie Scarf
Helleborus Scarf
Lace Gloves
Lace Nightie
# # #
Dollar and I taking a trip to Puerto Rico in a few months and I would like to knit something for it. Maybe the lace nightie? Maybe a camisole? I'd also like a slouchy and loose cotton cardigan. Or a loose lace cardigan. Bamboo seems to be the yarn of the moment, so that's an option as well. I haven't really done any knitting for warm weather but I find it interesting to shift my train of thought from alpaca and wool to cotton and bamboo. Winter wear is meant to keep you warm while summer wear is meant to keep to cool.
I stopped by my LYS yesterday and got 8 balls of Katia Idea since they were 50% off. She had a sample of a tank top knit with this yarn and all I had to say about it was, "This tank top is... HEAVY. Jeeze, it weighs a ton." I was so glad I learned that because I've decided to knit a sweater out of the worsted weight yarn on 11 (or even 13!) needles, to open the stitches up. I hope that the finished sweater will be loose, breezy and not end up using very much yarn.
I might go back for some of the Berroco Suede at 50% off. I think some of the bikinis in Ashley Paige's Sexy Little Knits use Suede yarn. Shall I stock up and think about all the racy things I can knit from Naughty Needles, Domiknitrix and Knitting Lingerie Style?
Tuesday
[amy] Portraits
AMY: Do you know what I want to do?
DOLLAR: What?
AMY: I want to get some portraits taken of us. To hang up around the house.
DOLLAR: Oh yeah?
AMY: Yeah. I want to get ones like... Um... You know the family portrait in American Pie? Where Jason Biggs and his mom and dad are in front of a fake background, looking off into the distance?
DOLLAR: No.
AMY: You don't remember?
DOLLAR: No. We're not doing that.
AMY: Come on! It would be f-
DOLLAR: No way. No. ... No.
AMY: You can wear a turtleneck, all folded down properly around the neck, with an ugly sweater. And I'll wear a flowery dress with one of those lace doily collars.
DOLLAR: [laughs] Hahahaha. [stops] But still no.
AMY: We can be in front a background with the lasers shooting across.
DOLLAR: [groans] No way. I know exactly what you're talking about and I have too many bad memories of actually having those pictures taken.
AMY: Yeah, me too but this would be... Different. I want to be sitting down and have you stand behind me, with your hand on my shoulder but not with your hand just resting on my shoulder- I want you to be gripping kind of hard so that you can see the fabric of my dress pucker underneath your fingers. And you can be glowering at the camera while I have a look of pensive fear on my face.
DOLLAR: No. It's still a funny idea, but no. I think we should take pictures of the two of us, sure, but not like that.
AMY: All right. [thinking: That's what you think.]
To be continued...
DOLLAR: What?
AMY: I want to get some portraits taken of us. To hang up around the house.
DOLLAR: Oh yeah?
AMY: Yeah. I want to get ones like... Um... You know the family portrait in American Pie? Where Jason Biggs and his mom and dad are in front of a fake background, looking off into the distance?
DOLLAR: No.
AMY: You don't remember?
DOLLAR: No. We're not doing that.
AMY: Come on! It would be f-
DOLLAR: No way. No. ... No.
AMY: You can wear a turtleneck, all folded down properly around the neck, with an ugly sweater. And I'll wear a flowery dress with one of those lace doily collars.
DOLLAR: [laughs] Hahahaha. [stops] But still no.
AMY: We can be in front a background with the lasers shooting across.
DOLLAR: [groans] No way. I know exactly what you're talking about and I have too many bad memories of actually having those pictures taken.
AMY: Yeah, me too but this would be... Different. I want to be sitting down and have you stand behind me, with your hand on my shoulder but not with your hand just resting on my shoulder- I want you to be gripping kind of hard so that you can see the fabric of my dress pucker underneath your fingers. And you can be glowering at the camera while I have a look of pensive fear on my face.
DOLLAR: No. It's still a funny idea, but no. I think we should take pictures of the two of us, sure, but not like that.
AMY: All right. [thinking: That's what you think.]
To be continued...
[knitting] Tam #3 for 2007
I have completed another tam for my mom. I made her a red one, which she wore every day. She then asked to borrow my blue one for a while because wearing the same thing every day was getting monotonous. She asked me so meekly, like she was asking to take away my child or something. I told her she could have it because I wasn't really wearing it and I only knit it to try a couple new techniques (rolled brim w/ 1x1 ribbing; gored decreases for the crown).
So elated was she that I decided to knit another for her. I was going to have a boring 4-day weekend after getting my wisdom teeth extracted and thought that was plenty of time to complete a tam. I showed her some light heathery green in my stash and she said, "Yeah. I... like it. Maybe the next one can be black? Black goes with everything." I looked in my stash and found 4 small balls of Elann Baby Cashmere in pewter that I originally intended to make gloves with but, let's face it, a tam would be so much easier and faster than gloves.
Pattern: Basic Tam from Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. Rolled brim w/ 1x1 ribbing; spiral crown.
Yarn: Elann Baby Cashmere, Color 9295 Pewter, doubled up, 4 balls
Needles: U.S. #5 16" circ. & dpn
Gauge: 6st/in
Mods: The decreases for the spiral crown say "decrease 6 st every other round". I thought that was strange because for the gored effect you had to decrease 12 st every other round and this seemed like the perfect amount. I knit and knit and decreased 6 st every other round and the crown slooooooooly decreased. So slowly, in fact, that I realized I was knitting my mother a big rasta cap. I ripped back and decided to decrease 6 st EVERY round. That was just right (following a moderately aggressive wash/block).
So elated was she that I decided to knit another for her. I was going to have a boring 4-day weekend after getting my wisdom teeth extracted and thought that was plenty of time to complete a tam. I showed her some light heathery green in my stash and she said, "Yeah. I... like it. Maybe the next one can be black? Black goes with everything." I looked in my stash and found 4 small balls of Elann Baby Cashmere in pewter that I originally intended to make gloves with but, let's face it, a tam would be so much easier and faster than gloves.
Pattern: Basic Tam from Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. Rolled brim w/ 1x1 ribbing; spiral crown.
Yarn: Elann Baby Cashmere, Color 9295 Pewter, doubled up, 4 balls
Needles: U.S. #5 16" circ. & dpn
Gauge: 6st/in
Mods: The decreases for the spiral crown say "decrease 6 st every other round". I thought that was strange because for the gored effect you had to decrease 12 st every other round and this seemed like the perfect amount. I knit and knit and decreased 6 st every other round and the crown slooooooooly decreased. So slowly, in fact, that I realized I was knitting my mother a big rasta cap. I ripped back and decided to decrease 6 st EVERY round. That was just right (following a moderately aggressive wash/block).
[knitting] News
Knitting Nuns on the run.
New Yarn from Lion Brand: Cotton Ease, Organic Cotton, Vanna's Choice.
Apparently you should knit in the back seat, as opposed to the passenger seat.
Dragon scarf
Knitty Winter bonus patterns: Thermal, Dragonfly, Elbac, Mad River Mittens.
How I will be doing my next Knitting Party: Invites, Music, Menu, Drinks, Decorations
Knitting patterns for Valentine's Day
New Yarn from Lion Brand: Cotton Ease, Organic Cotton, Vanna's Choice.
Apparently you should knit in the back seat, as opposed to the passenger seat.
Dragon scarf
Knitty Winter bonus patterns: Thermal, Dragonfly, Elbac, Mad River Mittens.
How I will be doing my next Knitting Party: Invites, Music, Menu, Drinks, Decorations
Knitting patterns for Valentine's Day
Monday
[cooking] Asparagus, Leek, Prosciutto Quiche: First Attempt
I enjoy making quiche. It's easy, versatile, and everyone likes it. I've never met anyone who said, "Quiche? You mean fluffy egg in a flakey crust? With maybe some cheese and meat in the filling? Ew!"
For this one, I threw in some things I had languishing around the fridge: 6 stalks of asparagus, three good-sized leeks, and a few slices of prosciutto. My tried-and-true quiche recipe came out WRONG on many levels.
1. I rinsed the asparagus, sliced them in half and put them into the crust (over a single layer of Swiss cheese). Rookie mistake: they were still a little wet from the rinse. I need to make sure they are dry dry dry next time because the extra water hindered the middle of the quiche setting properly.
2. I used three leeks. THIS WAS TOO MANY. Next time I'll only used one. AND I'll sauté them a little first, to soften them up. They were not palatable even after 50 minutes of baking. AND you know how dirty they can be, so they got a good washing which added more unnecessary water to filling.
3. Prosciutto. Prosciutto is always good but may not be right for this recipe. Everything in a quiche filling tends to be soft but this meat is so salted and sliced so thin, that my ribbon slices were like little strips of leather. I might slice the prosciutto into chiffonade next time and if that doesn't work, I will leave it all together and switch to bacon.
Looks so much better than it tasted.
This was my attempt to make an upscale Ham & Onion quiche. People like a little pretentious food every now and then but this had me saying, "Down with gourmet food! This tastes weird! I want a quiche with cubes of ham and diced yellow onion! What's so wrong with that?" I'll see if I can get this recipe right and then have a taste test to compare it to a simple Ham & Onion quiche. Oh, and once I get it right, I'll post the recipe.
For this one, I threw in some things I had languishing around the fridge: 6 stalks of asparagus, three good-sized leeks, and a few slices of prosciutto. My tried-and-true quiche recipe came out WRONG on many levels.
1. I rinsed the asparagus, sliced them in half and put them into the crust (over a single layer of Swiss cheese). Rookie mistake: they were still a little wet from the rinse. I need to make sure they are dry dry dry next time because the extra water hindered the middle of the quiche setting properly.
2. I used three leeks. THIS WAS TOO MANY. Next time I'll only used one. AND I'll sauté them a little first, to soften them up. They were not palatable even after 50 minutes of baking. AND you know how dirty they can be, so they got a good washing which added more unnecessary water to filling.
3. Prosciutto. Prosciutto is always good but may not be right for this recipe. Everything in a quiche filling tends to be soft but this meat is so salted and sliced so thin, that my ribbon slices were like little strips of leather. I might slice the prosciutto into chiffonade next time and if that doesn't work, I will leave it all together and switch to bacon.
Looks so much better than it tasted.
This was my attempt to make an upscale Ham & Onion quiche. People like a little pretentious food every now and then but this had me saying, "Down with gourmet food! This tastes weird! I want a quiche with cubes of ham and diced yellow onion! What's so wrong with that?" I'll see if I can get this recipe right and then have a taste test to compare it to a simple Ham & Onion quiche. Oh, and once I get it right, I'll post the recipe.
Tuesday
[tv] Battlestar Galactica 2.5
Oh my god, can we please talk about Battlestar Galactica for a moment? I saw the miniseries, season 1 and season 2.0 ages ago. I recently aquired and re-watched them all. Now I'm onto season 2.5, which are all NEW episodes to me.
I will admit that I have perhaps too much of myself invested in this show. When I'm watching, I'm not knitting, Dollar's not talking, NOTHING is interrupting my viewing experience. I've been a tad emotional recently so I've been crying pitifully at all the sad parts.
[Season 2.5 SPOILERS past this point]
I have to say, though, I've been disappointed by a few of the early episodes. I think Rosilin's recovery was a 100% cop-out. I had been preparing since the beginning, since the MINISERIES, to see her go, so I was ready. And now baby cylon blood magically cures her cancer? How dare you emotionally rob me like this, BSG writers!
Apollo's starting to piss me off. All the "issues" he having after his death experience. Who's the crying girl from the flashbacks? What's up with getting involved with a prostitute? Who ARE you, Apollo?
And Gaius, while I do commend you for owning up to your dark side a little bit more, freeing that copy of #6 (when you should have killed her) was a mistake (apart from what happened to Admiral Cain) and your little "present" to her proves just how insane you really are.
UPDATE
I've finished the season. New thoughts:
Dee... How could you? Apollo's a great guy but- cough... Excuse me, something in my throat. Cough... CoughBILLYcough... Ahem. I know Apollo has got big arms and he's been promoted but he'll never love you the way someone else did... CoughBILLYcough.
Speaking of Apollo, as I was getting ready for work this morning, I put on my big, quilted, goose down coat and excessively waddled down the hall toward Dollar, saying, "Look at me, my name is Apollo, I gained weight because I haven't been inside the cockpit of a Viper for a year, ha ha ha, ho ho ho". It's only funny because Jamie Bamber was wearing a fat suit. I think we all know how fit he really is.
Starbuck: Get your shit together. For real, girl.
Gaius: Sigh. What a whimpering, simpering little dictator your turned out to be. You disgust me.
Adama, you're even hotter with that 'stash. Rowr. (P.S. I know you're a cylon.)
# # #
All in all, I think there were a few uneven moments during this half season (baby cylon blood can cure cancer- just want to say it again because it's such b.s.) but the last 20 minutes of the last episode made all my concerns go away. I had to look from the tv to Dollar to the tv to Dollar, with my mouth open, like, "Are you SEEING this? This is incredible! Starbuck has got TERRIBLE hair extensions. Oh yeah, and the cylons are back."
I will admit that I have perhaps too much of myself invested in this show. When I'm watching, I'm not knitting, Dollar's not talking, NOTHING is interrupting my viewing experience. I've been a tad emotional recently so I've been crying pitifully at all the sad parts.
[Season 2.5 SPOILERS past this point]
I have to say, though, I've been disappointed by a few of the early episodes. I think Rosilin's recovery was a 100% cop-out. I had been preparing since the beginning, since the MINISERIES, to see her go, so I was ready. And now baby cylon blood magically cures her cancer? How dare you emotionally rob me like this, BSG writers!
Apollo's starting to piss me off. All the "issues" he having after his death experience. Who's the crying girl from the flashbacks? What's up with getting involved with a prostitute? Who ARE you, Apollo?
And Gaius, while I do commend you for owning up to your dark side a little bit more, freeing that copy of #6 (when you should have killed her) was a mistake (apart from what happened to Admiral Cain) and your little "present" to her proves just how insane you really are.
UPDATE
I've finished the season. New thoughts:
Dee... How could you? Apollo's a great guy but- cough... Excuse me, something in my throat. Cough... CoughBILLYcough... Ahem. I know Apollo has got big arms and he's been promoted but he'll never love you the way someone else did... CoughBILLYcough.
Speaking of Apollo, as I was getting ready for work this morning, I put on my big, quilted, goose down coat and excessively waddled down the hall toward Dollar, saying, "Look at me, my name is Apollo, I gained weight because I haven't been inside the cockpit of a Viper for a year, ha ha ha, ho ho ho". It's only funny because Jamie Bamber was wearing a fat suit. I think we all know how fit he really is.
Starbuck: Get your shit together. For real, girl.
Gaius: Sigh. What a whimpering, simpering little dictator your turned out to be. You disgust me.
Adama, you're even hotter with that 'stash. Rowr. (P.S. I know you're a cylon.)
# # #
All in all, I think there were a few uneven moments during this half season (baby cylon blood can cure cancer- just want to say it again because it's such b.s.) but the last 20 minutes of the last episode made all my concerns go away. I had to look from the tv to Dollar to the tv to Dollar, with my mouth open, like, "Are you SEEING this? This is incredible! Starbuck has got TERRIBLE hair extensions. Oh yeah, and the cylons are back."
Monday
[games] Game-tastic weekend
Friday night I played Shadows Over Camelot with Dollar and a couple other people. This was our third attempt at the game with just four people and it must have been a fluke the first time we won together because every game since has been a worse and worse loss. I was the traitor but played it so well that NO ONE suspected me- mostly because I didn't need to do anything traitorous since we were failing all the quests anyway. Hint: the quest for Excalibur is generally "Traitor Land". That's where I went to throw away all my really good cards.
Saturday, from 1pm until 11pm, (yes, you read that right- TEN HOURS) I played 2038: Tycoons of the Asteroid Belt with a new group of gamers I joined after Carnage Con. And get this- we didn't even finish the game. Basically it's all about companies and corporations mining resources in space for money and how that money influences the stock of the corporations. The tycoon with the most money in the end wins. I played a fairly consistent game until I saw that I was running one corporation into the ground. Right at the end, I sold all my stock and forced someone else to take over as president. Talk about offloading my troubles onto another player. Anyway, I did a lot of knitting during my down time and the whole thing really only felt like it took a few hours to play. The time did fly. The only downside was that I stopped being nice at about 10pm. I felt grumpy and tired but held it in as best I could. I don't think I'll be partaking in another big game day. [View the session report]
Sunday night I played a desert scenario of Memoir '44 with Dollar. He won. Whatever. Memoir' 44 will never get old to me.
We still have Axis & Allies and Caylus from Christmas to play. We've read the rules to Caylus but still have as yet to play the initial shaky first game. We still need to read all the rules for Axis & Allies. I imagine we'll be playing these games this weekend while I'm on bed rest from getting my wisdom teeth out. I wonder how hard it will be for me to concentrate while on serious pain meds?
Saturday, from 1pm until 11pm, (yes, you read that right- TEN HOURS) I played 2038: Tycoons of the Asteroid Belt with a new group of gamers I joined after Carnage Con. And get this- we didn't even finish the game. Basically it's all about companies and corporations mining resources in space for money and how that money influences the stock of the corporations. The tycoon with the most money in the end wins. I played a fairly consistent game until I saw that I was running one corporation into the ground. Right at the end, I sold all my stock and forced someone else to take over as president. Talk about offloading my troubles onto another player. Anyway, I did a lot of knitting during my down time and the whole thing really only felt like it took a few hours to play. The time did fly. The only downside was that I stopped being nice at about 10pm. I felt grumpy and tired but held it in as best I could. I don't think I'll be partaking in another big game day. [View the session report]
Sunday night I played a desert scenario of Memoir '44 with Dollar. He won. Whatever. Memoir' 44 will never get old to me.
We still have Axis & Allies and Caylus from Christmas to play. We've read the rules to Caylus but still have as yet to play the initial shaky first game. We still need to read all the rules for Axis & Allies. I imagine we'll be playing these games this weekend while I'm on bed rest from getting my wisdom teeth out. I wonder how hard it will be for me to concentrate while on serious pain meds?
Thursday
[knitting] As a reward
My personal trainer is an evil genius. I had a meeting with her after spending way, way, WAY too many days avoiding the gym over the holidays. I told her my goal is:
Monday: cardio, weights
Tuesday: cardio
Wednesday: cardio, weights
Thursday: cardio
Friday: cardio, weights
And sprinkled throughout would be group fitness classes, pilates, yoga, aquafit/aquajog, flexibility training at home, etc...
That's all well and good to say but am I *really* going to make it to the gym EVERY DAY? I told her I need some sort of incentive/reward plan.
"What motivates you?" she asked.
"Yarn," I replied without hesitation.
"Okay, say you don't by any yarn until you complete two full weeks without missing a day."
"Sure... But I've got, like, 500 balls at home so I'll just think, 'Whatever, I don't need to go in, I've got all this yarn at home to play with.'"
"So you set aside your favorite color or something you really want to use and you don't play with THAT until you complete two full weeks."
"Oh," I said, "Uh... Hm."
DAMMIT! She's RIGHT.
SO, I've set aside my most recent yarn purchase- NOT to be handled/knit until I complete TWO FULL WEEKS of stupid poo-poo painful workouts.
Atacama by Araucania - 100% Alpaca, my favorite
Himalayas by Queensland Collection
So let's see, yesterday was Wednesday... If I go today and tomorrow... But I'm getting my wisdom teeth out next Thursday, so that's going to break things up... If I start again on Monday the 5th... Carry the 2, divide by 4... That's means the soonest I could play with these yarns would be the evening of Friday, February 16. Dang, this yarn better be worth it.
Monday: cardio, weights
Tuesday: cardio
Wednesday: cardio, weights
Thursday: cardio
Friday: cardio, weights
And sprinkled throughout would be group fitness classes, pilates, yoga, aquafit/aquajog, flexibility training at home, etc...
That's all well and good to say but am I *really* going to make it to the gym EVERY DAY? I told her I need some sort of incentive/reward plan.
"What motivates you?" she asked.
"Yarn," I replied without hesitation.
"Okay, say you don't by any yarn until you complete two full weeks without missing a day."
"Sure... But I've got, like, 500 balls at home so I'll just think, 'Whatever, I don't need to go in, I've got all this yarn at home to play with.'"
"So you set aside your favorite color or something you really want to use and you don't play with THAT until you complete two full weeks."
"Oh," I said, "Uh... Hm."
DAMMIT! She's RIGHT.
SO, I've set aside my most recent yarn purchase- NOT to be handled/knit until I complete TWO FULL WEEKS of stupid poo-poo painful workouts.
Atacama by Araucania - 100% Alpaca, my favorite
Himalayas by Queensland Collection
So let's see, yesterday was Wednesday... If I go today and tomorrow... But I'm getting my wisdom teeth out next Thursday, so that's going to break things up... If I start again on Monday the 5th... Carry the 2, divide by 4... That's means the soonest I could play with these yarns would be the evening of Friday, February 16. Dang, this yarn better be worth it.
Monday
[knitting] Double Knit Scarf
I started double knitting this past weekend. One thing Dollar said he would change about the Pirates hat is the lining- he would prefer the lining to go all the way up. Essentially, he wants a double-knit hat.
So I read a little about double knitting. I went into my craft room and pulled chunky-weight leftover yarn from my stash. I cast on, tried this whole "double knitting" thing, made some mistakes, ripped, saw that tension really DOES matter, and started over. This is what I was left with Sunday night:
Yeah, my gauge is off a little from color to color but I'm not worried. Either it'll all sort itself out after washing/blocking or it'll add character to what I hope will be a casual, boho/hobo chic scarf.
Progress is slow. It's like doing 1x1 ribbing because the yarns are going front-to-back with every stitch. Still, this renders a fabric that is stockinette on both sides and FLAT. I was thinking, "Hmm... Have I ever seen a flat stockinette scarf? No, because stockinette curls along the edges. But THIS. This is flat. And reversible!"
So I read a little about double knitting. I went into my craft room and pulled chunky-weight leftover yarn from my stash. I cast on, tried this whole "double knitting" thing, made some mistakes, ripped, saw that tension really DOES matter, and started over. This is what I was left with Sunday night:
Yeah, my gauge is off a little from color to color but I'm not worried. Either it'll all sort itself out after washing/blocking or it'll add character to what I hope will be a casual, boho/hobo chic scarf.
Progress is slow. It's like doing 1x1 ribbing because the yarns are going front-to-back with every stitch. Still, this renders a fabric that is stockinette on both sides and FLAT. I was thinking, "Hmm... Have I ever seen a flat stockinette scarf? No, because stockinette curls along the edges. But THIS. This is flat. And reversible!"
[knitting] We Call Them Pirates
Or, We Call Them Manly Pirates. Or, We Call Them Heavily Modified Pirates.
When I got back from DC, the hat looked like this:
Hemmed brim- so nice and even.
One more skull repeat to go, then decreasing for the crown.
After a couple episodes of Rome and 24, it was done:
All done- Inside
All done- Outside
Pattern: We Call Them Pirates
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, Black & Ash, less than one ball each used (total cost less than $3.98)
Needles: #1 (Black lining), #2 (rest of the hat)
Modifications: Did five pattern repeats. Did an extra row of skulls. Did a provisional cast-on, knit all of lining up to turning row, knit hat as usual up until I wanted to attach the cast on stitches, pulled those stitches free and put them on an extra needle, knit down those stitches along with the pattern stitches. This was way better than "tacking down" the stitches in the end. I did that for the first iteration of this hat (my pink and white one) but it came out uneven because it was hard maintain sight of a row of purl stitches on the wrong side (with all the stranded yarn getting in the way).
When I got back from DC, the hat looked like this:
Hemmed brim- so nice and even.
One more skull repeat to go, then decreasing for the crown.
After a couple episodes of Rome and 24, it was done:
All done- Inside
All done- Outside
Pattern: We Call Them Pirates
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, Black & Ash, less than one ball each used (total cost less than $3.98)
Needles: #1 (Black lining), #2 (rest of the hat)
Modifications: Did five pattern repeats. Did an extra row of skulls. Did a provisional cast-on, knit all of lining up to turning row, knit hat as usual up until I wanted to attach the cast on stitches, pulled those stitches free and put them on an extra needle, knit down those stitches along with the pattern stitches. This was way better than "tacking down" the stitches in the end. I did that for the first iteration of this hat (my pink and white one) but it came out uneven because it was hard maintain sight of a row of purl stitches on the wrong side (with all the stranded yarn getting in the way).
Friday
[cooking] Mediterranean Salsa
Knitting Club met at my place last night and there were seven (SEVEN!) knitters in attendance. Having them over made me realize I need more (a) lamps and (b) ottomans. All seven were forced to snuggle up on two couches and one arm chair. I pulled a wooden dinner chair over and sat on the outskirts, maintaining the flow of food and conversation.
I had out olives, pita chips, a baguette, hummus, endive, sautéed asparagus and snow peas, and some "Mediterranean salsa". I put it in quotes because I'm sure there must be a real word for it but I don't know what call it. Here's my recipe:
# # #
Mediterranean Salsa
5 baby eggplant (or one small/med sized eggplant)
3 plum tomatoes
1 fennel bulb
.25 red onion
salt and pepper
olive oil
Preheat oven to 350.
Peel eggplant and slice into half-inch thick slices. Layer slices on a paper towel or in a colander and generously salt. Give the slices 10-15 minutes to sweat out their bitterness (pat with paper towels).
Dice tomatoes, fennel and red onion. Place in bowl, drizzle in 4-5 tablespoons olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Mix.
Dice eggplant. Add to other ingredients, mix. Pour into baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes, until warmed through and the eggplant is a little soft. Don't overcook or else the vegetables will get mushy (this salsa is best when the onions and fennel are still crunchy).
Spoon onto baguette slices! Yum! This is also very nice to top on fish.
Cold salsa was eaten the next day for lunch- inside a pita pocket spread with a little hummus.
# # #
I wanted to also make a Pissaladiere ("pee-salad-YAIR") from a recipe I saw in Cook's Illustrated. Caramelized onions, anchovies, nicoise olives on a pizza-ish dough? MMMMMM. But there was enough food out and besides, I should try the recipe out on my own before giving it to other people.
I had out olives, pita chips, a baguette, hummus, endive, sautéed asparagus and snow peas, and some "Mediterranean salsa". I put it in quotes because I'm sure there must be a real word for it but I don't know what call it. Here's my recipe:
# # #
Mediterranean Salsa
5 baby eggplant (or one small/med sized eggplant)
3 plum tomatoes
1 fennel bulb
.25 red onion
salt and pepper
olive oil
Preheat oven to 350.
Peel eggplant and slice into half-inch thick slices. Layer slices on a paper towel or in a colander and generously salt. Give the slices 10-15 minutes to sweat out their bitterness (pat with paper towels).
Dice tomatoes, fennel and red onion. Place in bowl, drizzle in 4-5 tablespoons olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Mix.
Dice eggplant. Add to other ingredients, mix. Pour into baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes, until warmed through and the eggplant is a little soft. Don't overcook or else the vegetables will get mushy (this salsa is best when the onions and fennel are still crunchy).
Spoon onto baguette slices! Yum! This is also very nice to top on fish.
Cold salsa was eaten the next day for lunch- inside a pita pocket spread with a little hummus.
# # #
I wanted to also make a Pissaladiere ("pee-salad-YAIR") from a recipe I saw in Cook's Illustrated. Caramelized onions, anchovies, nicoise olives on a pizza-ish dough? MMMMMM. But there was enough food out and besides, I should try the recipe out on my own before giving it to other people.
Wednesday
[amy] Wrapping up knitting projects, Watching Rome
I've been back from DC for nearly a week. I managed to finish knitting Dollar's We Call Them Pirates hat over the weekend- I'll post a picture soon. I only have one (ONE!) unfinished project I want to finish- the Starsky cardigan. Everything else (an unfinished sock, pieces of a bag I began to make when I first started knitting) is going to be ripped back. Then there will be nothing laying around, taunting me, "Ha ha, you haven't finished knitting me yet. I could be so totally awesome and you would love me but you're too lazy to work at this relationship."
Knitting Night is taking place this Thursday at my home. Dollar will be away playing poker. I think he fears being around 10 women armed with wooden stakes- as though we discuss how awful men are and how we should probably start crucifying them one by one.
Speaking of crucifying people, I've been getting Season One of HBO's Rome via Netflix. I've seen only the first two disks but YAWN. It's so boring. There is lots of sex and violence thrown in but it seems gratuitous ("Oh look, more torture. Oh look, more breasts... More torture... More naked women..."). There are, though, aspects of the show I like: References to the Gods people worship and are constantly reverent of. All of the actors are top notch- Kevin McKidd plays a stoic Lucius Vorenus, Ray Stevenson plays a loyal and affable Titus Pullo, Polly Walker plays one of those EVIL woman you love to hate (think Melinda Clark as Julie on The O.C.). I'll finish out the season but for now I feel as though the story is all pomp without substance. [Not that I abide by sexist statements like this but I heard the show described as a "male" show (whatever that means). Perhaps that's why there's so much violence and female nudity?]
Knitting Night is taking place this Thursday at my home. Dollar will be away playing poker. I think he fears being around 10 women armed with wooden stakes- as though we discuss how awful men are and how we should probably start crucifying them one by one.
Speaking of crucifying people, I've been getting Season One of HBO's Rome via Netflix. I've seen only the first two disks but YAWN. It's so boring. There is lots of sex and violence thrown in but it seems gratuitous ("Oh look, more torture. Oh look, more breasts... More torture... More naked women..."). There are, though, aspects of the show I like: References to the Gods people worship and are constantly reverent of. All of the actors are top notch- Kevin McKidd plays a stoic Lucius Vorenus, Ray Stevenson plays a loyal and affable Titus Pullo, Polly Walker plays one of those EVIL woman you love to hate (think Melinda Clark as Julie on The O.C.). I'll finish out the season but for now I feel as though the story is all pomp without substance. [Not that I abide by sexist statements like this but I heard the show described as a "male" show (whatever that means). Perhaps that's why there's so much violence and female nudity?]
Thursday
[travel] The United States Botanic Garden
Made a quick trip down to Botanic Garden. I didn't stop to read all the names of the plants or "take my time" or whatever- I basically ran through and took lots of pictures. Here are lots of pictures and no words...
Wednesday
[travel] Shopping in DC
I took the metro to Stitch DC at Capitol Hill. This was such a great and trendy yarn store. I loved all their samples and several were knit from free patterns online. I fell in love with one shawl hanging on a mannequin and asked how many balls of yarn it took. She said she didn't know but would find out from the free pattern for it online. She found it and even printed it out for me. What customer service!
I ended up getting four balls of Mission Falls Superwash Wool to potentially be made into a pair of socks depending on how a swatch of it machine washes and dries. And two balls of On Line Supersocke 100. I plan on using the Supersocke with a solid color and a Fair Isle motif to get a stained glass effect. I can't explain it but I'll post a picture if I find one showing what I'm talking about.
I also went to a little hole-in-the-wall shop in Chinatown to get some souvenirs. I found the place when I was here last year and got cute dishes and tea/candy. This year I got:
Left to right, from top: Flower's Kiss Candy (Contains no actual flowers. Bummer.), eye glasses case, piggy dish, bad-ass forked toothpicks, ginger candy, 100 bags of bad-ass Korean Ginseng Tea
Slippers for me and my sister
And since the best gifts are usually free, here are some little guys for Dollar:
I got these for free at a booth at the conference. See, this is the benefit of going to a conference that the military is going to be at. All I could think when I saw a helmet full of these guys was, "Oh. My. God. Those would be SOOOO perfect for Memoir. For realz. I have to take one. Oh my god, they're all different! I'll take two. Okay, three. Do they see me taking these? Can I take one more? Am I being greedy? I see a rifleman! I want it! I'm- Oh shit, here they come- Run!"
I ended up getting four balls of Mission Falls Superwash Wool to potentially be made into a pair of socks depending on how a swatch of it machine washes and dries. And two balls of On Line Supersocke 100. I plan on using the Supersocke with a solid color and a Fair Isle motif to get a stained glass effect. I can't explain it but I'll post a picture if I find one showing what I'm talking about.
I also went to a little hole-in-the-wall shop in Chinatown to get some souvenirs. I found the place when I was here last year and got cute dishes and tea/candy. This year I got:
Left to right, from top: Flower's Kiss Candy (Contains no actual flowers. Bummer.), eye glasses case, piggy dish, bad-ass forked toothpicks, ginger candy, 100 bags of bad-ass Korean Ginseng Tea
Slippers for me and my sister
And since the best gifts are usually free, here are some little guys for Dollar:
I got these for free at a booth at the conference. See, this is the benefit of going to a conference that the military is going to be at. All I could think when I saw a helmet full of these guys was, "Oh. My. God. Those would be SOOOO perfect for Memoir. For realz. I have to take one. Oh my god, they're all different! I'll take two. Okay, three. Do they see me taking these? Can I take one more? Am I being greedy? I see a rifleman! I want it! I'm- Oh shit, here they come- Run!"
[travel] On getting to DC
I am in DC and the weather is colder here than it is at home. I'm meeting lots of people, shaking hands, doing the blah blah talk. But enough about that.
I was able to get a lot of knitting done on the flight down:
I want to say that the flight down was shitty but I'm trying to be more Zen and stuff. So, I'm saying that the flight down was fine and I had a good time. Even though the plane was small (I've only been on two smaller planes in my life and one of them was a Cessna). It was a United Express and the seats were like ONE on one side of the plane and TWO on the other side of the aisle. I had an aisle seat on the two-seat side and I got everyone's bag/butt/hip pushed into my face when they walked past.
But I'm Zen. I'm calm. Things like that don't bother me anymore. I mean, the kid sitting behind me with the really wet cough could have covered her mouth but, hey, it's a kid. I understand.
And the baby on my right front with a shriek like a sharp blade drawn across a blackboard wasn't so bad. The guy right next to me who fell asleep and, I think, died and released his bowels didn't upset me. Nope. The kissy couple in front of me didn't make me feel bad that I had to leave my boyfriend for a week and who knows if I'll die during my trip so I may never see him again- so what? I'm cool.
The most interesting event of my flight occurred between me and a young woman across the aisle from me, in the single seat. Before we took off, she looked around the plane and said to me, "This is a SMALL plane" with a look of pure terror painted across her face. I nodded and kept knitting. Before takeoff, the pilot said it would be a choppy ascent but the flight would smooth out once we reached our altitude. During the ascent, the plane goes through a fair bit of turbulence and with each bump, the woman has small full-body spasm and grips her arm-rests with white knuckle strength.
One big bump later and her hand lashes out and grabs my forearm. Instead of saying, "Bitch, do you WANT me to drop a stitch?" I say, "Uh..." She asks if it's all right to hold my hand. [sigh] All right. I hold her hand while she tells me she's afraid of fly. She has to change in DC to get on ANOTHER plane for Albuquerque. Oh no. I joke to her that flight attendants should regularly pass out Valium for people like her. She tells me that she has some muscle relaxants and is thinking of taking one just before she gets on her next flight. I tell her I think that's a good idea.
Tired of my sweaty palm, she says she's all right and I go back to knitting (while we both surreptitiously wipe our mutually damp palms down our pant legs). She freaked out a couple more times over the next thirty minutes and then dug into her bag for something.
Now, I didn't actually SEE her take the pill(s) but I know she must have. When we began our descent, I turned to her to check out how she was doing. She swung her head around to me, tried to focus on my face, and gave me a crooked smile. She said she was fine, slurring her words a little.
I hope she made it to her connection all right but I get the feeling she ended up somewhere else. Maybe the wrong terminal, maybe the wrong city. Maybe she's wandering around Dulles runways at this very moment, terrified of the planes, taking more pills, getting more lost.
I was able to get a lot of knitting done on the flight down:
I want to say that the flight down was shitty but I'm trying to be more Zen and stuff. So, I'm saying that the flight down was fine and I had a good time. Even though the plane was small (I've only been on two smaller planes in my life and one of them was a Cessna). It was a United Express and the seats were like ONE on one side of the plane and TWO on the other side of the aisle. I had an aisle seat on the two-seat side and I got everyone's bag/butt/hip pushed into my face when they walked past.
But I'm Zen. I'm calm. Things like that don't bother me anymore. I mean, the kid sitting behind me with the really wet cough could have covered her mouth but, hey, it's a kid. I understand.
And the baby on my right front with a shriek like a sharp blade drawn across a blackboard wasn't so bad. The guy right next to me who fell asleep and, I think, died and released his bowels didn't upset me. Nope. The kissy couple in front of me didn't make me feel bad that I had to leave my boyfriend for a week and who knows if I'll die during my trip so I may never see him again- so what? I'm cool.
The most interesting event of my flight occurred between me and a young woman across the aisle from me, in the single seat. Before we took off, she looked around the plane and said to me, "This is a SMALL plane" with a look of pure terror painted across her face. I nodded and kept knitting. Before takeoff, the pilot said it would be a choppy ascent but the flight would smooth out once we reached our altitude. During the ascent, the plane goes through a fair bit of turbulence and with each bump, the woman has small full-body spasm and grips her arm-rests with white knuckle strength.
One big bump later and her hand lashes out and grabs my forearm. Instead of saying, "Bitch, do you WANT me to drop a stitch?" I say, "Uh..." She asks if it's all right to hold my hand. [sigh] All right. I hold her hand while she tells me she's afraid of fly. She has to change in DC to get on ANOTHER plane for Albuquerque. Oh no. I joke to her that flight attendants should regularly pass out Valium for people like her. She tells me that she has some muscle relaxants and is thinking of taking one just before she gets on her next flight. I tell her I think that's a good idea.
Tired of my sweaty palm, she says she's all right and I go back to knitting (while we both surreptitiously wipe our mutually damp palms down our pant legs). She freaked out a couple more times over the next thirty minutes and then dug into her bag for something.
Now, I didn't actually SEE her take the pill(s) but I know she must have. When we began our descent, I turned to her to check out how she was doing. She swung her head around to me, tried to focus on my face, and gave me a crooked smile. She said she was fine, slurring her words a little.
I hope she made it to her connection all right but I get the feeling she ended up somewhere else. Maybe the wrong terminal, maybe the wrong city. Maybe she's wandering around Dulles runways at this very moment, terrified of the planes, taking more pills, getting more lost.
Friday
[knitting] Two Tams
Finally some pictures. I got a new camera over the Holidays and it takes some crazy good (but crazy big) pictures. Mom said she wanted a tam so I ran right out to get some yarn to make her one. I got 3 skeins of Classic Elite Inca Marl in color #1174 (I ended up using only 1.5 skeins for the whole thing).
I used The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns, giving her tam a 1 x 1 ribbed brim and subtle, concentric circle decreases on the crown. She loves it and says she likes how light-weight it is.
Pleased with the result (and how quickly it knit up), I made one for myself.
Same pattern but I chose a different brim and decreases. Oh, and bulkier yarn (I used the uber squishy/soft Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky in color #560. I bought two skeins of this and barely used any of the second skein. So more leftovers.
I'm working hard (and hardly working) on Dollar's Pirate hat. I've finished the inside brim and even introduced the second color of yarn at Knitting Club Wednesday night. The next Knitting Club is going to be at my place in a couple weeks but before that, I'll be gone to D.C. all next week for work, so I hope to get a LOT of knitting done on planes and in my hotel room.
I used The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns, giving her tam a 1 x 1 ribbed brim and subtle, concentric circle decreases on the crown. She loves it and says she likes how light-weight it is.
Pleased with the result (and how quickly it knit up), I made one for myself.
Same pattern but I chose a different brim and decreases. Oh, and bulkier yarn (I used the uber squishy/soft Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky in color #560. I bought two skeins of this and barely used any of the second skein. So more leftovers.
I'm working hard (and hardly working) on Dollar's Pirate hat. I've finished the inside brim and even introduced the second color of yarn at Knitting Club Wednesday night. The next Knitting Club is going to be at my place in a couple weeks but before that, I'll be gone to D.C. all next week for work, so I hope to get a LOT of knitting done on planes and in my hotel room.
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