Secret Happy Dance

It was a rainy day. Work was drab, morale was down, I was tired from being there since 6:30 am. Trying to make up some time, I was attempting to stay as long as I could.

Frequently through out the day, I check my web mail. Any morsel of non-work news is savored. Much of what comes in is just spam, but occasionally I catch a glimmer of the outside world.

3:30-ish: 'You have 1 new message.'
I check. This is the best sort of mail - someone has left a comment on my blog. Ahhh, yes the boob story. The commentee? Stephanie.

Ok, I know a Steph, she frequents the knit night at B&N. I go and check it out - like I said, ANY distraction is welcome at this time.

Waiting for the page to load...You know, I don't think the Steph I know has a blog, and she has never commented on mine...Maybe someone found me through one of the knitalongs I have joined.

I hover...the poster, the wonderful savior of a boring work day...http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/

My heart beat quickens, my eyes grow wide. Inside my brain it is all I can do to control my joy. No one at my work is as "into" knitting as me. Who could I share my excitement with? Sadly no one. So for the rest of the day, I was forced to celebrate in secret.

All afternoon I did a silent, secret happy dance. (Which is good, because once Hubby came home, I did the real full-out happy dance, and now he just thinks I'm a little more weird than I already was.)

Embarassment

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, its lovely weather, a nice breeze is blowing. This morning Heather is driving into town. She doesn't mind because it is so nice out. The little bit of traffic doesn't even bother her. It is so nice today that she has decided to wear a spring-like white shirt and white sandals.

Heather pulls into the medical center parking lot. She is there to drop off her Holter monitor from the previous day. Just a quick run in, deposit the hardware, and then on her way to work. It is a beautiful day!

Because this medical center is for a heart doctors, many of the patients are of the older generation. Heather sees several of said patients on her way into the center. She smiles and waves, and even says hi to a few. They all look at her...oddly. That is OK, Heather expects that perhaps these people are not in the good mood that she is in, and maybe they don't understand that she is a patient here too. In any case, she remains happy. Quick into the building and drop the monitor into the bin for monitors. Lots of people in the lobby, she smiles at them all. After all it is such a nice day outside!

Walking outside, Heather pauses to look both ways in the parking lot. She looks down to make sure her nice white sandals don't get caught on the curb. And sees...



A GIANT FUZZY ON HER BOOB -- RIGHT OVER HER NIPPLE.



Nice.

Vesper

My order from Knitterly Things arrived. I am in love with the intensity of the colors. I had a little mishap when ordering, which resulted in me not getting the first four colors I had picked out. However, I am not disappointed with the colors I did receive. These are stunning -- Just beautiful! I cannot wait to turn them into socks. If I didn't already have many socks in the pipeline, waiting to get their mates, I would instantly cast on with one of these beauties. However, self control is winning out...for now...

More miters!
#5 -- reminds me of my high school colors


#6 -- Hubby picked colors

Let the madness begin!

I intended to post this last night, but just was too tired.

My mom is going away to Mayo Clinic in June after years of local doctors trying to figure out what is making her ill. Even though her visit is during the summer months, she has lost so much weight that she is perpetually cold all the time. I wanted to make her something that she could take with her...something that would provide comfort and remind her that I am thinking about her. What better project than a blanket/throw.

I wanted something fun, something bright and cheerful. And something fun and quick for me to make. Inspired by Cara I decided on a miter square blanket ala Mason Dixon.

This project requires many many colors...I am using Cascade 220 and have taken advantage of the Webs 33 anniversary sale to get lots of colors.

Last night I sat down...excited after having decided on a project...and cast on for my first square.


And then for my second...
And a third...
And a fourth!To start, I had just picked colors that I liked together. Then as the night got later, I started picking out colors that reminded me of something. #3 --Lime and Violet! #4 Gryffendor -- Of course this means I must make the other Harry Potter house squares.

At this rate, the blanket will be ready in no time! Miters really are very addicting -- fast, simple, fun. After 4 squares I have the pattern memorized and can put the book aside for pure miter joy.

From now on...

I have thought about it...and I have decided to make a commitment to update my blog at least three times a week. I will try for daily...but we will see. Think of it as a very late new years resolution. More later...

Indecision

Lots more colors up at Blue Moon Fiber Arts! Too many nice ones to choose from. I have that 10% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket...But then theres the anniversary sale going on over at Webs too! Gah! Too much yarn -- too little money :(

April Apathy

April is usually the month of apathy...not quite spring, still cold and wet, far from any holiday... But yesterday's main headline made it even more so. I first learned about it at work through my rss news feed. I can't explain my reaction -- something like what I felt during 9/11. Disgusted, worried, saddened. I don't have family there, I don't have friends there, but I still felt an undeniable tremor of horror. Maybe it is because my husband is a professor, maybe because I am pretty recently out of college myself -- in any case, I was, and still am very sad.

only != lead

It has taken me so long to get back into blogging. I think mainly because I just wasn't feeling up to it. Today though, things at the office have me wanting to rant.

We get this e-mail today about business cards. The rule at our company says that lead programmers can have business cards printed. I am not a lead programmer, therefore I do not get business cards. Which is fine with me, but determining that I am not a lead programmer is quite a problem!

I am the only programmer working on my project. One would think, if there are no other programmers, then, I would have to be the lead. However, this is not the case. My lead programmer does no programming at all. Projects that have more than one programmer assigned have a lead programmer that actually does programming. So one cannot assume that the lead programmer is never writing code. Then, to make matters even more confusing, there are projects where the only programmer is considered to be the lead.

At my company, everyone is given the title: Application Developer. Which could mean that you are the lead or not. There is no formal distinction. The only way you can determine your place is if you ask. And asking makes you look like an ass...so no one asks...except me of course because I don't care.

Meh!

Cardiology

Not a real post, just a quick update today. My family doctor doesn't know what to do, so he is sending me to a cardiologist -- for my neurological problem -- we will see how that goes. I can just imagine:

Dr. Heart Man: Why are you here?
Me: Mr. Dr. Man sent me for NMH.
Dr. Heart Man: Well, I have heard of what you have, but it really is a neurological problem, not a problem with your heart.
Me: I know.
Dr. Heart Man: OK, well, I'm going to send you to a neurologist, but to make it worth your time, let's do a bunch of unnecessary tests first.
Me: Yeah, whatever.

Despite the negative sounding post, I do not blame Mr. Dr. Man. He is a good guy, and a nice Dr. Man. I just hope whatever he is thinking about is correct, and hopefully my time is not wasted. There is nothing like prolonging a condition unnecessarily. Let's also hope that Dr. Heart Man is just as nice.

Happy Birthday

...to me.

I am not a big fan of birthday celebrations. And this year is no exception. I don't want a party, I don't want a special outting. I just want it to be any day like any other day. If people want to give me money or presents, that is their choice but definitely not a requirement. --Except for Hubby, and he already gave me my present...Wii!!!

Why haven't I been attending knitting night?

In high school I was diagnosed with Neurally Mediated Hypotension. It is something that I have learned to live with over the years. Through college I was able to precisely predict episodes and prevent them. Recently however, I have been having trouble again. I am doing all the same things that have helped me during the last 10 years, but for some reason, it isn't helping as much as it should. This week I went to the doctor, had blood drawn, wore a heart monitor for 24 hours, and struggled at work. Next Monday, I go back to the doctor and find out (hopefully) what has been making me worse lately. Until then, I just have to deal with feeling bad.

Sitting for a long period at knit night just isn't a possibility right now. I would either have to keep getting up, or lay down. And there is a chance that I still won't feel well enough to be a happy, cheerful knitter. So, until this gets cleared up, or until I have a better Thursday, I will have to keep my knitting to myself -- at home, where I can lay down when I need to, and complain to my very understanding Hubby.

Socks...again

Yes, another posting about socks...but there's other stuff too I promise!!

First, I finished the Tapestry scarf. I am still meh about the yarn -- I like the silky feeling, but I still hate the hairy-ness. If it could only be silky without the hair. I will probably gift this, not sure yet to whom. Because after complaining about the hair, how can I push it off on some poor unsuspecting recipient?

In the spirit of recent-stitch-marker-making, I completed a set of fabulous green stars. And here is what my findings box looks like now.


I also made another set of binary stitch markers using purple and clear beads. This time I used up all four bead spots and went to 15. I have the materials to finish the first set, but have been, quite frankly, too lazy.

For the hubby, I frogged the Saffron Cables blanket...I just didn't like spending so much time per row. I love cables - I really do - I just don't love them in giant blanket form. Instead I have promised him a different blanket. One with manageable pieces. One that takes very little thought to work. Of course I decided it also needed more color...So I bought two more colors to compliment the green and TADA:


The Hubby Log Cabin is planned and started. Five center green squares are already completed, and now I just need to wait on mister mailman to bring me more yummy yarn.

What about the socks?!? Well, in anticipation of the first shipment for the Rockin' Sock Club -- I ordered yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts!


From left to right, Lemongrass, Rose Quartz, Lover's Leap, and Little Bunny Foo Foo. I LOVE them all!!!


Also in this order, two hanks for hubby in the very manly Obsidian. He has watched me fawn over Socks that Rock for many months now, and decided that he needed a pair. -- I also received the first shipment of the club, but I will leave that for a later post -- no spoilers here!

Binary Stitch Markers

Recently I have been wanting to make some stitch markers. David from Sticks & String podcast had a great tutorial on a set of binary ones. Since I am a computer scientist, I thought this was fitting! The picture is hard to see...For the zeros I used clear beads. For the ones I used pink Swarovski crystals. I only had enough beads to go to ten. Maybe today I will run out to the store and grab some more...at least enough to go to 15. These are going to be great for counting. And the thin wires makes them perfect for any type of needle, and especially great for lace work.

February is for FO's

I have a couple of FO's to post about! February was a pretty productive month for me. I decided that I would tackle my UFOs in the order of percentage already completed. This enabled me to finish more projects...which I then promptly cast on a few new ones!

Firstly, I finished and blocked the Swallowtail shawl. I think it turned out lovely -- I hope Aunt Dorothy likes it!


I finished the Lorna's Laces socks for my sister...you know, the ones that have been 95% complete for about 6 months...






Also completed are my Dreidel Jaywalkers.










For the hubby I have one sock done! I also ordered him some yummy Socks that Rock in the Obsidian color...so next up, more socks for him.












What did I start? Well, I just love the Whiskey yarns from Reynolds...so I started a fair-isle sweater from their new Contemporary Collection.

I also started a new pair of socks for me with SWTC Tofutsies yarn. Let me tell you, I LOVE this yarn. It is very light, a good summer sock yarn. Something about it makes it just wonderful.

Pictures, pictures, Pictures!!!

To make up for the severe lack of posting recently, I have a huge amount of pictures today. So lets see, what have I been up to? First, update on Sapporo: I have about 3-3.5 inches of the body completed...and I haven't worked on it for over a week. Miles and miles of plain stockinette to go before the interesting patterning starts.

In rebellion against doing miles and miles of plain stockinette, I have started a few scarves. I don't know why, but I had the unquellible urge to knit some scarves. Here we have a bias scarf in Rowan Tapestry, and a Ruffles from Scarf style in Sarah's Yarns' dk cashmere. My comments on the yarns? I don't really care for Tapestry. It is very pretty, but it is a bit more hairy than I thought it would be. The soy in it gives it a sort of silky feel, but the wool content is VERY hairy. I don't have any other words to describe it, its not scratchy or halo-y, its just ... the scarf feel reminds me of a hairy man leg...eww

Speaking of man legs -- I got some new yarns, one DH has approved for his first sock request (the middle one). The one he liked is various blues, and its wool with bamboo. Other sock yarns I received (because you can't just order one!) More Trekking, and TOFUtsies!

Going back to Sarah's Yarns, I had also purchased two cones of Jagger Zephyr for some lace knitting. The first project: Swallowtail shawl from fall 2006 Interweave Knits. I love this pattern, especially after some clever nupp strategies. My method for nupps: Using a size 0 dpn, transfer the five stitches from the left needle, to the dpn. Now purl into all five. This way is a bit tedious because of the transfer, but it is MUCH easier than trying to purl all five from the original needle. Even with the size 0, it is still hard for me to get much of the right needle through all five loops. This shawl is destined to be gifted to Aunt Dorothy -- the one person I know adores my handknits.

I finished one Pomatomus sock! Here it is in all its Pucks Mischief Beauty. The Rockin' Sock Club is almost ready to start so I better get working on this mate! The second Dreidel Jaywalker is almost completed as well.












To carry it all, I splurged on a Namaste messenger bag! This thing is huge, it stores all my needles, notions and several projects. Notice in the picture my CrippenWorks dpn case. Mom gave this to me for Christmas, but I forgot to post about it.

Interweave Knits Spring '07

I wanted to write a little bit about the new issue. The layout has changed, and while I understand the reasons for the change, it is going to take a bit to get used to it. Basically, they have moved the instructions for the patterns to the back, while leaving pictures in the front.

Other knitting magazines do this currently, but I don't know that this is what I prefer. Something about having the instructions with the first picture is nice, convenient and makes it more like an article rather than instructions.

When the instructions were located in the front, I felt there was more of an emphasis on the designer and description, and I liked that. Each pattern felt like a feature rather than mere instructions.

Also, I feel it's a waste to have to flip back and forth in the magazine to see all the available pictures of the pattern. Only a few pages divide the section of pictures vs. instruction, and so it seems a bit of a waste to have them separate. If the magazine its self had more content in between I could see how it would possibly be more logical.

I don't know, maybe it is just me, but it will just take me some time to get used to it. I will keep my eyes on the blogs to see how others feel about the change.

As for the patterns themselves, I have a few in mind that I might like to knit, but overall, I enjoyed my long awaited winter issue much more. Maybe this is only because I had to wait so long for it, or maybe the patterns were just more appealing.

Other events in my knitting world seem to have slowed down. I think it is because of the cold weather. Friends have grown quiet in both blog land as well as in email -- And I am no exception! While work has kept me very busy, I just haven't been in the mood to write or communicate much.

Perhaps we humans still have some instinctual process similar to hibernation. The holidays provided us with the over indulgence in food needed to sustain us through the long winter months. Then we stay at home surrounded by familiar comforts where it is unnecessary to communicate with the outside world. Tucked away in our cubbies, we knit, and dream of warmer weather.

Nupps!

I am very happy! My Interweave Knits Spring 2007 came in the mail today. It was a very nice surprise during a very busy week.

Tomorrow I will have pictures of my various WIP, including my almost finished Swallowtail shawl.

New Blogger!

Finally I was able to transfer my blog to the new Blogger! I love it so far. The biggest change is with the template, I will have to learn about how they are doing that so I can convert to the new way without loosing my buttons and images etc.

It has been quite a while since I posted last. I have been so busy; work, contract work, and illness have kept me away from the fun stuff on the computer. But the good news is, I have gotten a new antibiotic and hopefully this is the last time I will be sick this winter.

Another change for the new year: No more Verizon! I am sooooo happy to be back with Cingular/AT&T. It has been nothing but headaches with Verizon: bad customer service, bad phones, bad prices. The first night of the phone number port there was some weirdness happening, but the very kind customer service people of Cingular were most helpful, and got everything straightened out. The customer service really is the most important part of providing any type of service.

As for knitting, I have started on my Sapporo 2007 sweater! It is turning out really nicely. Knit on size 2's it will take quite a bit of time, but it will be well worth it. Also on the needles is a pair of Pomotamus socks and the second Jaywalker sock. I have turned the heel on the Jaywalker and am on the foot of the Pomotamus.

Weekend Sock

This weekend, DH took the PS3 back to the store. But then...bought a new one...but found this deal where you can trade in your old ps2 and get $100+ dollars back toward the purchase of the ps3! So that is what we did. It was a good deal, but I still don't see him getting to into it, especially now that school is starting up again.

In knitting news, I completed the seal rock socks that rock for my sister-in-law. Those are waiting to be gifted. I wanted to finish up a few more projects, but got too excited about socks. In one day, I finished an entire jaywalker! The color way is Dreidel from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, of course. I decided to go top down, and try out a picot edging (all of the cool kids are doing it). But I think with the way the jaywalker zigzags, it probably isn't the best choice. It is pretty thick and the turning makes the edge want to roll over. Other than that small problem, I just love the way the yarn worked up. The striping is perfect and there was no pooling at all.

Here you can see Mr. Sharky thinks they are yummy! I have already cast on for the second and should definitely have the pair completed in a few days.




I found a group doing Dale of Norway projects starting the 20th of January. And so, I have decided to give that a go. My choice is Sapporo, which is the 2007 Norwegian Ski Team sweater. I received my booklet and zipper and just have to decide on what colors I want to make it. It is worked in Daletta, which I have never used before. I want to carry Dale of Norway at the store, so I also consider this project research.

Happy New Year!

Lots of pictures for you this posting. I was away for the holidays, and came back with a sinus infection but lots of gifts. First, from the Lancaster Stitch 'N' Bitch: My secret santa was too kind! Becky got me a stitchonary, some tools, a cute ornament, a cookie cutter, and personalized hand dyed yarn!

How awesome is that!!! Its named after me, "Heather's Twilight".






From the family I got several knitting books and even some yarn! My family doesn't understand my obsession one bit, so the yarn and books were really hard for them to feel good about giving. Most notably, here are the skeins of Socks that Rock from my mom. Yummmmmm!! I can't wait to start knitting more socks!









Speaking of knitting. Over the break I was on a color mission. I am almost finished with one endpaper mitt, and about half way through one legwarmer. The mitts seem a bit small...but I think they will stretch...The leg warmer is turning out pretty nicely, very spring-like.









Not Christmas related, my husband was able to pick up one of these:









Not sure if we are going to keep it or not. There doesn't seem to be that much incentive at this point. Only one real game that he's interested in that isn't available for the 360, so maybe he will return it until there are more games. Who knows...

Uh Oh, Who's that, um, guy?

Hey, who's that messing with my center-pulls? :(