Cast on, Cast off

My blog has moved!

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:06:48 GMT

Come visit me at my new blogger home!

... cast on, cast off ...

... mail call! ....

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 17:49:02 GMT

I found my camera! So, here are some of the pictures that I wanted to show you yesterday ...

ONE:

A postcard from Emily in Texas, the Longhorn Diva! Thanks so much, Emily! I love it! I think that the stitch markers are the best, too!

(Check out what I sent her here!)

TWO:

Another postcard from RheLynn in Paris, TN (I love that), the KnitOwl! I think it's such a great card -- just beautiful! Click here for a view of the back. (And check out -- that's my first pop-up window ever.:) Thanks, RheLynn!

(Check out what I sent her here!)

THREE:

A scrumpti-licious skein of green yarn from Scout, my May Project Spectrum Yarn Swap partner, who has been dyeing up an enormous storm herself lately. I can see why there is a large demand for her yarns ... go check out her brand-new store if you need some for yourself. :) Thanks, Scout!

(Check out what I sent her here!)

Phew. I love nice mail days! Thanks, ladies!

Oh, last but not least, picture number FOUR:

Can you see my left ankle bone starting to peek out? (This is the question I've been asking all my friends, and the Big Sweetie, daily here ... I just thought it'd be worth asking you as well.)

... chit chat ...

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 22:24:46 GMT

A list of things that I need to share ...

One ... In the blogging department ...

I've had it! I'm about to move my blog! Keep your eyes peeled ... I'm making progress on moving my photos to flickr (why have I waited so long to get into flickr??) ... I'm making progress on moving my "bloggy" things to the new blog ... and I'm really pretty tired of blogdrive, and tired of paying to be tired of blogdrive. I'll admit, the whole 'shaving-down-the-budget-a-little-more' thing is definitely one reason behind the move, but I really think it's time to switch from blogdrive. And, I'm not moving to typepad after all. I feel like blogger has everything to offer that I need, so keep your eyes peeled -- my blogdrive account expires shortly, and I hope to make the move before that happens. (That would be nice, right?)

However, no agonizing about what to re-name the blog like I did last year ... I'm keeping the name.

ALSO -- has anybody else seen that Kristin Nicholas has started blogging? I'm so excited to peek into her world.

Two ... In the yarn department ...

When I make the move, I'm going to make a slew of posts about dyeing! What you need, how to dye single-colors, how to dye double-colors, how to dye many colors, and all the little tips and techniques I can think of that I've learned over the last several months of my non-blogged-about-dyeing. In short, it's been great fun! So, you can look forward to that soon.

Also, I'm about to post some kids' clothing on eBay. Next up: the yarn! I'll be sure to announce it here.

Three ... In the Interweave-obsessed department ...

Did you know that you can take a sneak peek at what they've posted in 2005 and 2006? Am I completely out of it, or have people already been blogging about the Fall 2006 KnitScene projects?

Four ... In the local yarn shop department ...

Guess what I just visited today? The grand opening of Mew Mew's yarn shop, right here in my little ol' town! Details to follow in a separate entry, as it deserves an entry unto itself.

Five ... In the post office department ...

I got THREE packages in the mail today ... so an early thanks goes out to Emily, RheLynn, and to Scout ... but I seem to have lost my camera!! So, I will definitely be posting adorable pictures of knitting-related yumminess as soon as I find it.

Five ... in the health department:

My ankle bone has emerged from the swelling, and I actually feel like I might be able to walk normally again! This silly old muscle strain hasn't completely devastated me as much as it's just been so darn inconvenient ... but I'm starting to feel like two weeks into this, I just might be able to ride my bike in about another week or two, and then maybe start running a few weeks after that.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we had some other dramas here in my house last week. Read on if you're interested ...

The Big Sweetie has sort of had some health issues lately, some of them centered on his absolute lack of sleep (and his sleep disorders which I've always told him to get checked out ...); some of them because of "terrible allergies" this season, which he generally doesn't get, and a really terrible persistent cough; and some of them because of the general stress that we have in our household right now. (Tight budget, car issues, both of us finding new jobs ...)

So, he woke up last week and had "chest pains". Yes, so you know what that means ... he called his doctor who told him to go in to the emergency room. Well -- you'll never believe this! -- guess what he was diagnosed with?? Pertussis. Yes, the whooping cough. What, isn't that practically eradicated in this country? Well, there's been an outbreak at his high school, which would explain where he got it. His chest pains? He's been coughing so violently that he pulled a muscle in his chest.

And ... the little boy in the house has been coughing for the last few weeks, so I took him in to get tested as well. (Results aren't back from the state yet.)

But wait! There's more! The Big Sweetie (remember, he's the washed-up former rugby college team captain, super active and always pushing himself physically) decided to go for some celebratory mountain bike rides last weekend. (Celebrating his strong health, that is.) On Saturday, he came home just fine. On Sunday, I got a phone call -- he crashed, broke part of his bike (luckily, easily fixed), and needed me to pick him up ... and we went straight to the Urgent Care room, where dirt and grass were picked out of his leg and arm wounds. After seeing some other photos of road rash online, his isn't quite that bad ... but it's still like something out of a second-rate horror movie.

Phew. How do I ever manage to get knitting squeezed in between the little dramas in my house?

Tomorrow: the visit to Mew Mew's.

(And I'm off to go find that camera ...)

FO Report: the "Rosy" Bolero

Wed, 31 May 2006 16:43:24 GMT

FO Report: Fiery Bolero (or, in my case, the "Rosy" Bolero)
Designers: Debbie Bliss
Pattern Source: IWK Summer 05
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cathay, about 5.5 balls for size 35"
Needle Size: US 5, 3
Date Completed: May 2006

After writing that list of must-knit-summer items, I gained some focus and decided to attack a bag of Debbie Bliss Cathay that was sitting in my closet. I started this on a Thursday, and finished it on Tuesday -- it was an unbeievably fast knit! I started to lose momentum on Sunday -- especially when I hit the shawl collar -- but I stuck to it, and I'm so glad I did. I looove this knit! I think that this will be the perfect little cover-up over tank tops and t-shirts this summer, and I can even envision wearing it all year long here in our mild Colorado winters.

Two minor caveats:
I'm now left with 4.5 balls of Cathay, or about 500 yards of DK-weight yarn, and I'm agonizing over what sort of a little lacey camisole that I could make with this much yarn. Perhaps the Acorn Camisole? Perhaps the **? Perhaps a similar little number of my own design? We'll see ...

Also, I was sitting and working on this during my little girl's ballet class when another mom asked me what I was working on. I said, "Oh, a little bolero cover-up type of sweater" ... and she responded, "Like the one you're wearing right now?" Yes, I was wearing my little pink Elspeth at the time, and I didn't even realize the similarity! Oh, well, I guess that means that I like this type of sweater and it'll see its share of use ...

more dorky photos ...

Hmm ... now, what to attack next?

... happenings ...

Wed, 31 May 2006 01:20:37 GMT

I feel like I've started every other blog entry with "Sorry I'm such a lame blogger ...", so I guess that I should say -- Sorry I'm such a lame blogger for doing that!

However, I attended a wonderful and wooly fiber fest hosted by Emily a few weeks ago (weeks, already??). Emily planned her get-together as a yarn swap -- and she did a great job!

I know that there have been threats in the local SnB and our local Guild group for quite some time to have a yarn swap. Emily put out an email stating the guidelines that everybody could come with any yarn to bring, and leave with the same amount or less of yarn, with the leftovers going to either charity purposes or to next fall's Knit-Out, which our guild hosts. I thought that those were great guidelines!

When I arrived at her place, I loved seeing the sign of where to go:

And I of course spotted her door immediately:

Emily had lots of baskets with fiber-content signs made up, and people simply sorted their yarns into the baskets. Brilliant!

And here is the lovely Emily herself, enjoying some of the yummy munchies that were there:

I literally did a drop-off-and-pick-up, arriving with more yarn than I left with, but I'll admit that I pretty much just brought all my old crap yarn, whereas most other people brought really nice quality-fiber yarn. So, though I left with less yarn, I really felt like I was leaving with some really nice stuff! I was in a rush because later that hour my son was scheduled for some soccer time:

My son's the redhead kicking the ball.

He had a lot of fun with soccer this spring, and after several years of pee-wee soccer the whole game has really clicked for him. He even scored a goal!
(I'm also a lame mother - I didn't get a photo of that.)

In other happenings, my daughter is getting ready for her "ballet recital" -- though she's just in the "tiny tots" class!

And that's the "beautiful pose."

I can't get enough of these outfits. They're so darn cute! Check out the little ballerinas here:

In other happenings, I hurt my ankle recently -- I actually have a "muscle strain", which is different than an ankle sprain, but I will say that I've had a pretty painful limp over the ten days. Yuck! I'm having to take a minimum of 3 weeks off of running ... and possibly more ... thank goodness for my mountain bike, I guess. (It is mountain bike weather, after all ...)

And in other happenings, the class that I was scheduled to teach (for the salary that we were depending on for grocery money) was cancelled due to low enrollment ... so that means that I'll sort of be thinking of what I can do for some groceries now ... which means that you can keep your eyes peeled on my dyeing progress, as I think I'll actually be posting about that now! (Keep your eyes peeled, also, because I'm really seriously contemplating selling off the stash ... )

And, in yet more news, I've just found a job for the next school year -- teaching Spanish in a 50% (part-time) capacity in a really, really interesting and challenging position -- I'll possibly divulge more details on that later (though I always get a little nervous talking about my professional life in a public blog...) -- but let me just say that it involves establishing a curriculum in an alternative school -- very exciting! I'm really looking forward to this as a tremendous professional opportunity, in which I think I'll really push myself beyond my comfort zone. And, I'll be able to both drop off and pick up my son in school, a huge bonus for me. (And I'm trying to not think about the fact that I'll be paying more in childcare each month than I'll actually be taking home ...)

So, that's it for today .... just an update of the happenings. FO Report to come soon (okay, I'll just tell you already -- I made the Fiery Bolero from last summer's IWK). Keep your eyes peeled!

FO Report: Cabled Footies

Wed, 24 May 2006 16:27:58 GMT

FO Report: Cabled Footies
Designers: Leigh Radford
Pattern Source: One Skein
Yarn: Handpainted Yarn
Needle Size: US 8
Date Completed: May 2006

It's taken me forever to post about these, but here they are! I didn't quite finish that other present for my mom that I've been working on fooorreeeevveerr ... but I did finish these cabled slippers for her! I gave these to her with a whole little package of "foot spa goodies" -- you know, sloughing lotion (can you believe it's really called that?), foot spritzer, and all kinds of "tools" to make her feet feel smooth and nice.

I loved this pattern, and I really need to make a pair of these for everybody in my family. The yarn was incredibly delicious for this pattern as well -- super, super soft, and just a really great color. (My mom's color, in fact.) It's taking all of my self-restraint to not go directly over and buy some more handpainted loveliness right now ...

I also made her a little "soap cozy".

How did I do it, you ask?

"Soap Cozy" Pattern:
CO 15 stitches on about a size 9. Work in garter stitch until the cozy wraps around the soap. Seam up edges around the soap. Voil�!

I'm hoping that the wool will felt a little as she uses the soap and make an really soft and felted soap rag. I'll have to try this one at home, I guess!

*********************

Meanwhile, in other news, I have another FO report to follow up with this one ... I just couldn't help myself and I had to check one more item off my to-knit list for summertime. Here's a sneak peek:

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention -- my plan to take over the world, or at least to convert every friend into a knitblogger, is working!

Go visit my friend Sydney (that's Sydney of the triathlon inspiration!) at her new knitblog!! Give her a warm welcome into blogland if you get a chance!

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

Mon, 15 May 2006 15:42:12 GMT

I seem to be perpetually behind in posting about events ... but a Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there!

How did I spend my mother's day? In "pre-brunch training" ... for the third year in a row, I finished the Mother's Day Title 9K, hosted by the lovely Title 9 store in Boulder, CO. The past two years I've walked, with a PR (Personal Record) of about 1:45. (It was walking, after all.) This year, I decided to run, and started training in earnest in March. (You know this if you've been reading my blog.) This was, I'll note, my very first experience running in a race!

How did it go? It was a great experience. I've spent the last three weekends running about 6 miles per Sunday, so I felt like this 9K, about 5.5 miles, would just be an extension of those runs ... it was in fact so much more.

Because I've been reading running books like they're about to be yanked off the shelves of my library (my fifth just read was John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield's Marathoning for Mortals, a basic how-to guide on the half-marathon and full marathon), I'd designed a specific "race strategy" for the day ... it went like this: start at the back of the running pack, hold a steady pace until I made it up the two significant hills and hit the halfway mark, then start "picking off" runners ahead of me while increasing my pace.

I was lucky enough that Amy (of "knit-it-yourself", a blog on hiatus) came by and drove with me to the race. Having just given birth a short three months ago (give her a hand, everyone, for making it out!), she was going to walk the course. So, we hung out together with her in the front ranks of the walkers and me in the back ranks of the runners.

9:00 AM struck, the race started, and I took off. I should have mentioned that this was an all-women's event ... so I found it odd when I saw that there was a hot, superfit Boulder kind of guy running in front of me. How did he make it in?, I thought. Then I realized that he was pacing his mother ... a lady in her 70's probably, tall with all-gray hair, and I thought -- wow! What a great son ... I could only hope that my grown children would do something like this with me when I'm that age. Not only was I inspired by the two of them (and, okay, I'll admit it -- the view wasn't bad), but they also were already passing a lot of the 11-minute milers that were running, and so I decided to stick right behind them and I followed them to the "2" mark.

(Note to self: don't read numbers while you're running.) I of course hit the "2" and thought, Wow! Already two miles down and only 3 and 1/2 to go! We hit the first aid station after that, and I slowed to a walk for the first time, feeling really good.

I next found two runners to follow ... they seemed to be holding up well, they had a good pace passing a few people, and they were easy for me to focus on. When we passed the "3" mark, I heard one say ... "Great! It's 9:23 and only 6 more to go!" This of course totally confused me ... until I realized my mistake. The markers were of course for kilometers, as this was a 9-Kilometer race.

(Note to self: don't do any quick math, either.) I did some quick math, and realized that if it took me 23 minutes to get through three kilometers, then it would take me 72 minutes to get to the end. And, because I have a habit of fixating on random goals, I was sort of hoping to finish the 9K in under an hour ... so it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

Rather than being bummed out, though, I kept up my pace until I hit both hills, and once I felt significantly recovered from that, I started creeping up my pace. At this point in my "weekend runs", I think that I've been slowing down ... but in the 9K, as I was looking at my time, I sped up ... and it was just such a different experience. Note that when I say "sped up", I still noticed that there were moms with joggers passing me ... 8-months-pregnant women ahead of me (wow!) ... 11-year-olds with a vendetta to prove against their moms passing me ... so "sped up" was really just relative to my usual running.

When I hit the 6K mark, I asked somebody the time (note to self: bring watch next time!), and it was 9:46. I had 14 minutes left, and 3K to cover ... I wondered if it'd be possible to finish in an hour after all! So, I stepped up my pace even more, and as I came into the last kilometer and I hit the pavement, my knee started hurting ... but I stepped it up even more!

About 100 feet before the finish line, I was running so fast that I came up on my husband and my two kids -- and I was so fast (bear with me here) that they didn't even see me! Okay, we'll just say that they were looking around at the excitement, but as I approached, all that I had the energy to say was, "Hey!", and they looked up to me blazing away from them. (This really is the imagery that I'm going to keep in my mind, realistic or not.) They cheered me on, and as I approached the finish line ... I saw my time: "1.01.35." (If the official time is more, then it's only because there was an enormous line of runners turning in their little tags, and it took me a minute or so to do that ... but I know my time as I crossed, so that's what I'm going to keep in my mind.)

So, I was a minute over my original goal ... did I go too slow in the beginning? Could I have beat an hour if I'd just stepped up my pace a little? In the end, that time that I was shooting for was just a random number I chose because of its roundness. I felt really pleased about the 9K for a lot of different reasons, but mostly because I started running 8 weeks ago, and I was able to run -- strong! -- for an entire hour and one minute. Plus, next year I'll be able to trim off two minutes ... just you watch. :)

As for the mandatory Mother's Day knitting content, I'll update on that next ... I made my own mom something special, and it turned out great!

FO Report: A Good Bias Shrug

Sat, 13 May 2006 14:49:08 GMT

FO Report: A Good Bias Shrug
Designers: Lisa Daehlin
Pattern Source: IWK Spring 05
Yarn: Bernat Cotton-Tots
Needle Size: US 8
Date Completed: May 2006

Once I'd made a list of everything that I wanted to make this summer (see yesterday's post), I realized that I hadn't posted an FO since March ... Two Whole Months? Now, what kind of an FO ho do I pretend to be? So I immediately dug into my stash and whipped up a project that I'd been intending to make since Katy started her knitalong last spring ...

Nice, don't you think? This is the kind of garment that makes me want to use 8th-grade spelling: I looooooooove wearing this. Seriously. I actually finished it a week ago, and I believe that I've worn it practically every day since then. Who doesn't love that kind of an FO? The lace pattern took about three tries before I cracked it, but once I got it, I whipped through the rest of the pattern. It was a really fun lace knit.

Notes on the pattern: I made a few modifications, mainly because I didn't want the sleeves to be too long or the back too droopy. (Thank goodness for blogland, or I never would have thought to change these.)

1. I knit the sleeve portion repeat (rows #1-6) a total of 13 times, not the 14 total times.

2. I knit the increasing rows, and then the repeat (rows #1-6 again) a total of 8 more times, not the ten times recommended.

More goofy picts:

This is why I don't usually do the usual knitblog poses ... I don't quite manage to pull them off.

And, a final photo showing that IWK was right: wearing this shrug really will make you smile more while chopping fruits and vegetables.

... proving once again that I'm one of the lamer bloggers in blogland! ...

Fri, 12 May 2006 19:49:02 GMT

Has it really been two weeks?? Allow me to catch up a little ...

1. My spring semester has ended and while I'd like to blame the "must-not-blog-until-grades-are-in" urge that I had, I also must say that I've just been too tired to spend much time on the computer. However, I've opened my bloglines list again and I'm going to make an effort to get caught up with the blog world.

2. Tired ... because through an exhausting effort, we finally sold our Blazer! Not after the Blazer gave us a final farewell (or, as one friend so eloquently put it, a final "middle finger") and made us take it in, on the day we sold it, to have yet one more thing fixed on it (a $400 kind of thing). The days of unpredictable car-fixings are hopefully behind us now! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

3. Tired ... because I've been running a lot! I've just finished three weeks in a row of 6 mile days, which I must say impresses me (but I am easily impressed). Two went great, and one not so well -- my knee started really hurting on mile 5 and I had to walk the rest of the way. Lesson learned: Don't leave home without the ibuprofen. I've now read four books on running, and I think that I can admit that I'm becoming just a *little bit* hooked. (What, an obsessive personality, me?)

If you're wondering about the books: 1) The Courage to Start, recommended by my running hero, and a wonderful, wonderful first running book to read, in which the author John Bingham equates himself to a penguin in how he runs, and how he finds joy in that; 2) No Need for Speed, by the same author as #1, and a general guide of how to start running; 3) Complete Book of Running for Women, not a bad read for us ladies -- certainly informational, but definitely slightly less inspiring; 4) Marathon -- The Ultimate Training Guide, by Hal Higdon, famous for his online training guides, but also an amazing man -- the book was both inspiration and informational. Loved it! (Not like I'm thinking of running a marathon or anything ...)

4. Tired ... because I made a list of all of the projects I'd like to knit this summer:

And this is why I'm essentially a tortured soul. (What, an obsessive personality, me??)

(Come back tomorrow to see what I've checked off on it so far!)

5. Tired ... because this is what my yard looks like:

The dead lawn.

The dead front garden.

The not-yet-planted herb garden.

The dead garden in the back yard.

The other dead garden in the back yard. (In case one wasn't enough.)

I show you the photos because of the hopes that a reveal-all (� la Body-for-Life before-photo) will inspire me to make my yard look much nicer this summer. Come back in August for the after-photos, okay?

The good news: sleeping about ten hours per night seems to be catching me up, so keep your eyes peeled for a few more entries in the future ...

... practically peeing my pants ...

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:29:14 GMT

Sorry for that graphic title, but it's true ... I'm practically peeing my pants with excitement over some recent sitings of finished T Twist Tees.

First of all reluctantMANGO has just recently completed her tee. Go check it out! She did a marvelous job, using many ingenious substitutions, in addition to convincing me that I Must Buy Brooks Fiber Farm Yarn Now. I can maybe restrain myself until Estes this year ... we'll see. If you have concerns over the "poof" created at the base of the front and back decreases, here's a great solution to that.

Next, Sydney, of the inspirational triathlon fame, just completed a tee as well. I'm not sure what yarn Sydney used, but I'm guessing it's maybe Bernat Cotton-Tots in that light blue color? Is that right? (Sydney just told me she bought some cotton at hobby lobby.) [Edit: it's Lily Sugar n Cream. Doesn't it look nice?] I think it turned out great! Here it is:

(Proving once agan that Sydney needs to start a knitting blog ... )

New LYS -- the LambShoppe (say it out loud to get how clever it is)

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:53:04 GMT

Yes, I visited our new LYS in town -- the LambShoppe!

Cute, huh? Nice windows, good light ...

I don't know exactly why I fell in love with this store, but I did. It was perhaps just the neighborhood ... it's located in a really cool and groovy older neighborhood in Denver -- the kind that I wish I lived in, rather than my boring suburb of Boulder. After seeing LambShoppe, I have to say that if I were looking to purchase a house, that neighborhood would get a thumb's up simply for the proximity to such a nice LYS.

The kind of LYS that makes you wish your closet looked like this ... or is that just me?

Perhaps, however, it was the towering shelves of yarn in the store ... with every line of Debbie Bliss, in every color ... organized in such a manner that made me wish I lived there. Plus, the ... the Jo Sharp ... Nashua ... Br Sheep ... Mtn Colors ... Ozark Handspun ... so many nice, fun yarns that I couldn't decide what to walk away with. Sure, they didn't carry Rowan, Koigu or Lorna's Laces ... but they had enough fine yarns that I will definitely make the drive to visit in the future.

And perhaps it was the fabulous way they arranged the store ... they have a coffee bar in the center of the store. Today (Weds., 4/26) they will be opening the coffee bar, but on the day I was there the owners were praticing their barista skills and they handed me a free latte. A free latte. Enough said.

(A NOTE ON TODAY (Weds., 4/26): They also have Debbie Stoller in their store tonight to sign her new crochet book ... if I weren't working I'd so be there!)

Plus, they had tons of sample garments hanging around, including this sweater:

I happen to have enough yarn in my stash for this. I had feared that the bottom was a little too angular in the photo, but after trying on the sweater, I can proclaim that this will be on my fall to-knit list.

In case all of this weren't enough, the owner also told me that she was thinking of offering Saturday morning babysitting for moms!!!!! (That really does deserve five explanation marks.) If that's the case, my credit card is in serious trouble.

I finally escaped with some chunky Misti Alpaca, and two skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed (a new experience for me to use both of these yarns). The chunky alpaca will become legwarmers for my daughter to use in ballet class (let's not point out that I might have considered making these before the weather turned cold). The Silky Tweed was going to be a OSW ... but I'm now wondering if I knit it double strand with something else, if there'd be enough for a light tank. We'll see.

(Did I mention yet that I was recognized in the store from my blog? In a "You must be Jenifer from your blog!" And when I signed up for customer info, the owner said, "And you spell your name with one N, right?" That was so cool. Not like that's the reason I blog or anything ...)

My kids were (almost) perfectly behaved ...

... which was more due to the bribe of ice cream afterwards than my parenting skills. I think that the perfect location for a yarn store is right next to either an ice cream store (shown here, the Daily Scoop), or a candy store, to give the parents who enter the yarn store ammunition for their bribes. One stop shopping, right?

I loved the store. My vote: Worth the trip!

... coming up for air ...

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:20:10 GMT

The progress in photos:

Kiri decided to drop about 50 stitches off my needle while hanging out in my purse ... it's perhaps time to either put her on a circular needle, or to get a knitting bag with divided pockets. (Or, perhaps, both?)

I've dyed a bunch of roving lately ... I haven't been blogging much about my dyeing adventures, but I'm having a lot of adventures with WashFast Acid Dyes. In short, they're almost as easy as Kool-Aid and they give you sooo much more control.

I spun up some of this roving ... it's going to be my "homemade Kureyon." (Colors inspired by everyone's favorite Project Spectrum.)

After spinning that up, however, I switched to the Afghan Project ... and check out that dyed streak on there! (It's the red on the white yarn.) There was residual dye on my fingers from the roving that I'd been spinning. Guess I didn't wash all of the dye out of the roving, huh? Ah, the learning process ...

I promise I'll give full disclosure on my dyeing adventures one of these days. (Go check out Michaele at the Knitty Professor if you're dying for a hint ... )

Meanwhile, I "conveniently" went through central Denver yesterday on my way to my mom's house to check out a new LYS in town. (That was, if you don't know me, sarcastic ... I live in NW Denver, and my mom is W of Denver ... so I had to go completely east to get there. And no, I don't have a yarn problem.)

Photos on that to come tomorrow! Happy Monday ...

Priceless.

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:58:27 GMT

Rosita, the little pink iPod: $180.00

Brooks, my new running shoes: $95.00

Sparkly purple elastic laces that really do make me run faster: $5.00

Frozen water in a Dixie cup: $.04

Feeling strong and getting in shape:

Priceless.

Sorry about the goofy Mastercard spoof ... I couldn't help myself. However, it's true -- I'm getting strong, in shape and I've been running! I started "walk/jogging" last May, when the Big Sweetie gifted me my little Rosita. Then, along came Cathi, and her impressive adventures in running. Next, my friend Sydney in Houston went and did a Triathlon -- go read all about it, and you'll see how very inspirational she is!! (Leave her a comment, too, if you get a chance!)

So, I sort of thought I'd just try to train for the Mother's Day Title 9K, a run/walk race that I've walked for the past two years. I started out about a month ago upping my walk/jogs to mostly running ... and I'm amazed at how fast I was able to transition to little to no walking. By the end of the first week, I was able to run two whole miles without stopping! For somebody who hasn't been much of a runner ever in her life, that feels like a pretty big accomplishment.

Guess what? Since then I've been upping my weekend runs, and I just completed a five mile run this week. Five miles! Almost a whole hour of all running, with only about two stops!

So, when Sydney emailed me that she is thinking of coming up to Colorado next fall and she was wondering if I would be interested in committing to the Crossroads Half-Marathon ... how could I say no?

So, I'm committing! Me ... Sydney ... next fall ... the Poudre River bike path in Fort Collins ... It's a date. The only thing that makes me nervous are my somewhat-unreliable knees ... but with the overzealous use of my Dixie Cup Friends (up above), I think I can manage it.

Okay ... and to bring it back to knitting content, I leave you with a photo of a sweater that Sydney made for her son earlier this fall. (Hope you don't mind that I'm blogging about it, Syd!)

Sydney is a great knitter, too! Now if I can only get her to start blogging about her knitting more ... (I won't rest until every knitting friend that I know knitblogs as well ...)

Happy day to you today!

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:01:11 GMT

I still feel to busy to be blogging consistently, so let me at least share a few photos of what's been going on in my knitting life ...

The Kiri shawl is growing. I'm officially through the first ball of KSH, and while I still love love love this yarn and love love love this pattern (it has a lace repeat that I seem to be able to remember, it's that simple) ... I'm at that point where I don't feel I can keep up my pace of one repeat a day. I'll keep working at it ... and hopefully have it done by Mother's Day, or perhaps Father's Day, or perhaps even Labor Day. :)

Regarding my needles (Leslie R asked about them) -- I'm using my INOX metal (?) straight needles right now. After making a Kiri shawlette last summer out of Alpaca Cloud (remember? ... the Addi Turbos were WAY too slippery, and the bamboos caught the yarn on the joins, which led to many, many mistakes), I discovered Inox needles. I now love love love Inox needles, especially for knitting lace. The ends are very pointy, the yarn doesn't seem to catch or glide too quickly, and they're just perfect.

I also mentioned before that I'd gone afghan-crazy. I've owned the first 100 Afghan Squares for some time now ... and for some reason, I didn't realize that every single square is truly interchangeable, and that you can knit everything at different weights if you should so choose. I sort of thought that a particular pattern could take only a sportweight yarn, or a dk-weight yarn. Since then, I've bought the 100 More Afghan Squares book ... and I'm so excited by them. Inspired by Amy (of Knit It Yourself fame) and the afghan she made for her son, I've taken on the task of making the "Afternoon Tea" afghan for my daughter, for her birthday in August. I planned out the afghan, with 7 squares in each column and row, for a total of 49 squares:

I'm using Sinfonia, a 100% mercerized sport-weight cotton, mainly because I can use my Hobby Lobby coupons to buy a ball or two at a time. (Knitpicks Shine would be so nice, too, though.) Amy once again came through with her knitting brilliance by suggesting that I bind off each square, then pick up stitches for the next square, thus reducing my seaming-together time. Brilliant!

I'm through the first column ... only six more to go! (But I have three more squares already completed.)

Later, I'll share with you yet another afghan from this same book that I've cast on for as well ... (insanity!)

My mom pointed out to me that I had a few errors on a previous blog entry, so let me clarify on those ...

Remember our new Toyota RAV4? It's actually a year 2000, not a 1990. (You can tell which decade I'm permanently stuck in!) I've also decided on a name for the Toyota ... "Greenie," which refers to not only her color, but also the color of our Colorado plates here, and the nickname that other people in nearby states have given Coloradoans when we come to visit. (That's per the information our friends in Montana have told us. I don't really know!)

And, remember our new Mac computer, the one my mother gave us when she upgraded her own Mac? It's not really four years old, it's only three years old. Practically new! And definitely an enormous improvement over our last one ... I'm loving being on a Mac again. Her name? Goose. Or, maybe Goosie. (Because she has a flexible "gooseneck".)

(Please don't judge me because I love to name the inanimate objects in my life that are dear to me. It's the sort of thing that makes life worthwhile for me.)

I have exciting news to share regarding my running progress, and a commitment I've made ... but I'll have to save that for later, as well. Because for now, these little inanimate guys at our house would like to wish you a happy day today!

(Sort of in line with Project Spectrum, right?)

(Chloe meanwhile just wants to get that mean squirrel outside.)

(And thanks on the tips of how to re-size photos in iPhoto ... it works! I can do it!)

Blogging is so cool.

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 22:31:55 GMT

We, of course, know that. But I just thought I'd make a public mention of my thanks for all the nice comments and emails that you've sent my way with my *published* pattern in Knitty. I really feel like that t-shirt is a pretty simple design, compared to some of the really intricate and complex patterns in there ... but I love it for its simplicity, and those are really the kind of patterns I'm attracted to more and more.

Getting back to my point, I just wanted to say how cool blogging really is ... I was thinking this weekend about how there's a core group of knitters that I know so well because they take the time to blog about their finished projects, their adventures, their ups and downs ... I can't believe it, but I think I've met at least twenty bloggers in person now! And that doesn't include the many bloggers with whom I've corresponded over the internet who I would really count as friends, who I'd recognize in a heartbeat in a yarn store, and who I'd go out of my way to meet. Unfortunately, I've been a bad lately in keeping up with my bloglines list ... but in any case, I love these bloggers and I love to read their blogs.

Having said all that, I would like to introduce you all to three more bloggers...

... Diane came to my house recently, and she finally succombed to the peer pressure and started her own blog ... go over to Speedy Knittin' Mama to give her a welcome to blogland if you get a chance. Diane is an insanely talented knitter, and it really is so much fun to watch her projects unfold.

... Emily is someone that I met through the Boulder SnB and Guild, and she is another very talented knitter ... she's also a very fun and witty person, which means that her blog will be loaded full of charm and personality. Go swing by her blog at The Good Sheep ... you'll be met with a lot of fun entries.

... Anne is a blogger with whom I've corresonded but haven't yet met ... she's been a longtime blogger (she's the owner of Paper Tiger Knits), but has just recently moved to Boulder. She's also interested in running the upcoming Title 9K (are you still interested, Anne?), and she has all kinds of fun things going on at her blog, including two adorable orange kitties. Go say hi, if you get a chance!

I think it's so much fun that even if I don' really get to have a real social life, I can have an immensely rewarding virtual knitting social life!

One more story ...

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 14:31:28 GMT

That's me in yesterday's photo, and I have a funny story to tell: when I first submitted the photos of myself as the model, Amy S. delicately responded saying she loved the tee-shirt, but she was wondering if I could find somebody who 'filled out the shirt a little better' (I'm paraphrasing). So, I went around asking random people that in my life, "Excuse me, do you have a 38" chest?," which really just garnered odd stares. When I clarified that it would be to take photos to be posted on the internet, I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that the odd stares changed to repulsive eye-rollings.

Luckily, I ran into fellow Boulder-SnB-er Erica at the Denver Creative Festival, and she informed me that she fit my requirements, and that she would love to be my model! (She of course, being a knitter, understands the whole Knitty-thing.)

The moral of the story is, once again in my knitting life, I really need to learn to make garments that aren't too big for me!

And, if you're going for this pattern, a little "negative chest ease" is a good thing ...

Thanks again, Erica, for helping out!

It's sort of like my birthday, all over again!

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:47:12 GMT

Presenting my little T Twist Tee! (Click there for the link to the pattern on knitty.com)

(That's me in this photo -- Thanks again to supermodel Erica for helping me out with the modeling in Knitty! I'll tell that story tomorrow ...)

If you're wondering about the location of the photos in Knitty, we took them at the Boulder Teahouse. It has a really interesting history -- over three years, artisans from Tajikstan were brought to its sister city, Boulder, to construct an authentic teahouse. You can read more about it here.

If you're thinking of making the shirt, I suggest that you find a yarn that blocks well -- the front and back decreases create a little "poof" in the fabric at the point where 3 sts become one. If you find a yarn that blocks well, you can block out the "poof" -- I'd be a little worried about something that was 100% acrylic, or perhaps even all-cotton.

Here are just a few yarns that you could substitute for the Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora:

Knitpicks' Main Line
Knitpicks' Andean Silk
Lion Wool-Ease
Lion Cashmere Blend
Artyarns Supermerino
Artyarns Serenade
Brooks Fiber Farm Four play
Cascade Indulgence
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Filatura di Crosa Zarella
Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran and Aran Tweed

Please let me know if you make this pattern, and I'll post your photo, and/or share your link!

Meanwhile, go check out these finished Tees that I've seen ...

reluctantMANGO made her tee out of Brooks Fiber Farm Fourplay. She made hers a little longer, and she used two single-stitch decreases at the center front and back, to avoid the poof. Brilliant!

The Kidsilk Haze Addiction

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:38:49 GMT

I took myself recently to a LYS (at least, local to where I work) with a little babysitting cash in hand. What could I not resist? Three skens of Kidsilk Crack in "Meadow," a super-cheery-springy color.

I cast on this week for a Kiri, and I'm already through four of the twelve repeats ... of course, we all know that it's all downhill in terms of quick progress from here on out, but still. I'm so in love with this yarn! This is so far superior to the Plassard Pichenette that I've used in the past. It must be the silk content, which just makes this yarn sooo yummy to watch go through your fingers. Really, I'm just scheming about how I can manage to collect more of these colors ...

... which brings me to Jannette's Rare Yarns, shown on the screen in yesterday's post. You might have known that she offers KSH for $10.50, or $12.00 for the KS Night, with free shipping. I knew this, too. But now that I've actually worked with KSH, I am absolutely compelled to make myself a Butterfly from last summer's Rowan as well. Oh, the colors ... the choices ... what shall I decide??

Chloe, meanwhile, says ...

Have a nice weekend!

(P.S., if you've noticed that my photos are huge in size, then I have to blame it on the new computer and using iPhoto, as I can't seem to figure out how to resize photos there. Sorry! I'll work on that this weekend.)

... still ... no ... time ... to ... blog ...

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:37:43 GMT

I've been so busy lately! Is it really Friday already? I've taken some time off of Friday bargains, because I've been pretty busy with other stuff. Blogging, in general, just has not been a part of my days lately ... so, what has kept me so busy?

1. Shopping for a new car.

Next question: What shall I name her?

Check it out! We're so excited. Our '95 Blazer (with only 88K mi on it, I'll add) has been in the shop multiple times over the last two years, with about five times in the last six months, and has been a really serious drain on our banking account. We finally decided that we'd be better off buying a newer used car with lower miles, and hopefully one that would be slightly more reliable with the auto repairs, and this is what we came up with! It's a 1990 Toyota RAV4, with 58K, a CD player and a sunroof. Of course, those last two items were the ones that sold me on it. For the first time in my life, I'll be driving a manual rather than an automatic car ... but I'm doing okay with it, and I'm just so psyched that we got this car at a good price.

(Okay, if you want to hear about how we got the car, here's the details: there's a big auction of used vehicles in Denver, and that's where most of the dealerships around get their used car inventories. We found out about a friend of a friend who is retired but on the side buys these cars for other people at the auction price, plus his brokerage fee. By browsing Craig's List and the local car lots, we figured that we saved $2-3,000 on the vehicle by using this gentleman. Score! I love it when I feel like I'm getting a bargain, and somehow manipulating back this manipulative, capitalist system we live in.)

Anyone want to buy a 95 Blazer, by the way? It's got low miles ...

2. Setting up a new computer.

Can you see what I was obsessing over when I took the photo?

Check it out! My mom, in one of her extremely generous motions, totally helped us out when my husband's school computer broke down by deciding that she really needed to upgrade her G4 to an Intel Mac. Luckily, we were the recipients of her old Mac, which is of course for us an enormous boost and upgrade from our old computer. Whew ... it's so good to be back on a Mac.

(I'm trying not to focus on what that says about my life when a six-year-old-car is a "new car" and when a five-year-old-computer brings us much further into the technology age. As I think I've mentioned before, I'm so over the trying-to-stay-home-with-the-kids-on-a-teacher's-salary thing. I really think that I'll be returning to work next year, and I'm looking at being completely broke as not a negative thing, but as something that is helping me to see going back to work in a slightly more positive light.)

3. Looking for a new job.

It's true! Don't you love how I segued into this topic in my last paragraph? But I've been spending a ton of time 1) trying to renew my teaching license with the Colorado Department of Education; 2) updating my r�sum�; 3) filling out applications. (Okay, that should read "application" as I'm really only looking for a job in my kid's school district.)

4. Starting up a new blog.

It's true, too! I've just about had it with blogdrive, and I took the plunge and opened a typepad account. I think that once I get everything set up, and once I get used to the system, I'll be happy to have switched. In the meantime, I'm not really used to typepad and it's taking me some time to move everything. I wish I weren't such a perfectionist with this blogging thing! But I'd like to have everything all set up when I eventually announce my move. So, no move for now ... but keep your eyes peeled. The move is imminent.

5. Thinking of some Summer Knitty designs.

I obviously can't blog about them, but I might need to do a little super-secret-corresponding with a few friends to get some feedback on what are my better ideas, as I have about five design ideas I'd like to try to make and submit by ... May 1?? Better get cracking ...

6. Obsessing over Kidsilk Haze and how I can possibly get my hands on more of this addicting stuff. More on that tomorrow. (Really! I promise!)

Oh, and I forgot to mention ...

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:28:15 GMT

... that I've also been busy organizing the yarn stash (yes, again).

So, this is what I've come up with as an organizational system for the yarn. I'll have three categories:
     Category 1: The Yarn Closet. Yarn that is enough to make a large garment out of, i.e. sweaters, cardigans, or at least tee-shirts will be separately bagged and saved.
     Category 2: The Yarn Chest. Categorized into the four large drawers as: 1) Noro; 2) Sock- and Lace-weight yarns; 3) Worsted wools with 200-500 yards; 4) Cottons and Bulky yarns.
     Category 3: Yarn Spectrum. Divided into six categories of colors, this is where all of my random scraps will go, or odd amounts under about 200 yards. (I haven't quite decided where to put this yet ....)

And, I've been going nutso on the craft-alongs. I've signed up for the April Project Spectrum Postcard Swap ...

... and I'll be sending something to Emily in TX. I have to admit, I'm not very scrapbook-y, and so I hope that I can come up with something that is half-decent. We'll see ...

And, I've also signed up for the Project Spectrum Hand-Dyed Yarn Swap ... I'll be sending yarn to Suzy in MA.

And, I've signed up for the Knitting Vacation Swap to be held this summer. It's still not too late to get in on the action!