Julie says she feels great, and only pushed about three times. And she sure looks good.
Now I've got to finish those last few rows of the "Mango & Papaya Salad" baby blanket!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
New Day's Resolution
I had a fuit smoothie for breakfast today. Low fat yogurt, frozen blueberries & cherries & blackberries, a squirt of skim milk and a double tablespoon of flax meal. It was tasty, and fast, and portable, and I have no excuse not to do it again regularly. I'm trying to promise myself that I will do it at least 3 days a week, although I'm already negotiating with myself on this. Today's concession: I had a "Special K" breakfast bar (only 90 calories!) with it, to satisfy my craving for crunch and sugar.
Also, it's a beautiful morning and the forecast is for a beautiful day. I passed a guy on a motorcycle, which reminded me of bicycles, which reminded me of my purported interest in biking to work "when the weather gets better." I promissed myself I would bike 5 miles a night, at least 2 nights a week on my stationary bike until I felt comfortable doing so. Then I could reasonably expect to do the 7 miles of hills and valleys between the house and my office without risking the loss of my breakfast. This feels like another internal negotiation already.
Why do I suddenly crave circus peanuts?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
A Bit Uncomfortable
"Oh, it's not cold in here."
"Now lift your chin"
"Hold on here with your left arm"
"Drop your shoulders"
"Pull your hips back a bit"
"Now don't breathe"
"We'll be using the small paddle for spot compressions"
"Now slip that cape off your other shoulder"
"It's really not cold in here."
"This will pinch a bit"
"You're doing great"
"I'll just be a moment"
"Now, don't get dressed until we tell you."
"Now lift your chin"
"Hold on here with your left arm"
"Drop your shoulders"
"Pull your hips back a bit"
"Now don't breathe"
"We'll be using the small paddle for spot compressions"
"Now slip that cape off your other shoulder"
"It's really not cold in here."
"This will pinch a bit"
"You're doing great"
"I'll just be a moment"
"Now, don't get dressed until we tell you."
Isn't it nice to know that I "compress well"?
(The doc says everything is fine.)
P.S. Sorry, Judi!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Post-Weekend Update
Well, Saturday I finally got over the "hump" and started in on the 50th Anniversary shawl. (Also got our taxes done, and managed to convince Luc that losing his W-2 did not excuse him from the responsibility of filing.) I apologize in advance to any non-knitting readers - this post is going to be fiber-heavy in content.
The "tree of life" cable panel which is the center of the shawl is 40 stitches wide, ignoring variations that are part of the cable process. I decided to lead with Ostrich Plume lace stitch at the top and bottom of the tree panel, because the picture I had clipped to it made it look like stalks of wheat. (I'll post actual stitch direction links or something when I finish this project and give the complete recipe.) Ostrich Plume stitch has a 13 stitch repeat, so I picked up 41 stitches along the top of the cable panel for 3 repeats plus one stitch on each side for seaming. After one complete repeat, I figured out that the picture I had clipped to the stitch instructions was apparently wrong, because what I ended up with is more like an eyelet representation of a little fruit tree; but it's not bad, and so I kept going. I'm telling myself the "3 trees" motif repeated in this section could be interpreted as a nod to the 3 kids which were born out of the marriage. (At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) I did 2 rows of this at the top, adding about 5" to the height of the project, and then bound off.
Originally I intended that the lace should radiate out in each direction from the center panel, but since the "3 trees" had such an obvious up and down, I decided a better plan would be to do another 2 repeats x 3 trees as a separate panel, then sew it on below the cable panel right-side-up. This worked fine, except my assembly skills are not the best and I'm not satisfied with how the seam looks on the back. I showed it to my friend Tammy on Sunday morning, and we decided that I may pull that one seam out later in the game and have her re-seam it with her magic crochet hook. (It's good to have friends.)
.
Next, I picked up stitches evenly (after only 4 tries, and gaining a new understanding of picking up stitches in the process) along the left edge, resulting in 140 stitches. A woman's prerogative, and all that - I picked up the Spring '08 Vogue Knitting while we were waiting on the accountant, noticed the "leaf border tank" on page 70 or somesuch, and decided that the "leaf border" was what I wanted for the next segment of the shawl. (I blame Rick, for taking me to a tax preparer which adjoined a Hobby Lobby.) The Vogue leaf stitch has a 17-stitch repeat, so 2 stitches of stockinette on each side for seaming and such. So far, so good - it's one of those lace patterns where the even rows are all "purl across," which means that at least half of the rows are relatively brainless. I worked on it most of Saturday afternoon, while watching some stored up Tivo and the made-for-BBC bio of Stephen Hawking's early years (not bad, although the geek factor was so strong even in his healthy years that I would have expected it to be a greater social impediment that depicted). I need to have this done by the last Sunday in April, especially if Tammy's going to have a bit of finish work on it as well - I'm starting to sweat a bit.
Oh, and I'm still hoping for dimensions large enough to wrap it around two people and have some decent height up their backs. Blocking will help, although I don't want to take a chance on distorting the tree cable panel. I've decided to knit about 19' of lace, about 2" wide, to edge it with (and ask Tammy to attach it. It's good to have friends.) Oh, and I'm either going to embroider around the tree cable panel seam crazy-quilt style or maybe put a little three-dimensional ruffle "frame" around it to soften the dramatic transition between the two colors of yarn. Right now the join looks a little stark, even ignoring that one seam at the bottom.
On Sunday afternoon, Rick and I spent some quality time driving down to the U Pull It in Illinois to scout parts for Tasha's Cellica. I think I got some major brownie points out of this - I bundled up and stood in a junk yard (no rain, but cold wind) for 3 hours or more, putting screws into baggies and carrying newly detached parts from the wrecks to the wheelbarrow which served as our shopping cart. I also found a screwdriver and a 5/8" deepwell socket on the ground, and a golf bag full of clubs in one of the trunks. It was starting to feel like a Tim Burton Easter egg hunt out there, with little prizes tucked between horrific carcasses. But I didn't work on the shawl on the way home (got too dirty), and when we got back the cold and wind and empty house conspired to convince us that a nap was in order. That blew the rest of the usable day, and at 1:00 on Monday morning I find myself wide awake and designing a stream of knitting and/or craft projects in my head.
Now, my experience at the Farmer's Market over the summer and fall of '07 was mostly positive, stalker aside, and especially after attending the Ithaca farmer's market last week I'm starting to consider taking another run at it myself. But if I do it, I'd probably better have booth space of my own this time. And to make that feasible, I need to come up with something a little more unique and marketable. The photography and knitting was reasonably well received, some days, but not really enough on its own to make the effort worthwhile. So, here are some the ideas bouncing around my head while not sleeping:
The "tree of life" cable panel which is the center of the shawl is 40 stitches wide, ignoring variations that are part of the cable process. I decided to lead with Ostrich Plume lace stitch at the top and bottom of the tree panel, because the picture I had clipped to it made it look like stalks of wheat. (I'll post actual stitch direction links or something when I finish this project and give the complete recipe.) Ostrich Plume stitch has a 13 stitch repeat, so I picked up 41 stitches along the top of the cable panel for 3 repeats plus one stitch on each side for seaming. After one complete repeat, I figured out that the picture I had clipped to the stitch instructions was apparently wrong, because what I ended up with is more like an eyelet representation of a little fruit tree; but it's not bad, and so I kept going. I'm telling myself the "3 trees" motif repeated in this section could be interpreted as a nod to the 3 kids which were born out of the marriage. (At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) I did 2 rows of this at the top, adding about 5" to the height of the project, and then bound off.
Originally I intended that the lace should radiate out in each direction from the center panel, but since the "3 trees" had such an obvious up and down, I decided a better plan would be to do another 2 repeats x 3 trees as a separate panel, then sew it on below the cable panel right-side-up. This worked fine, except my assembly skills are not the best and I'm not satisfied with how the seam looks on the back. I showed it to my friend Tammy on Sunday morning, and we decided that I may pull that one seam out later in the game and have her re-seam it with her magic crochet hook. (It's good to have friends.)
.
Next, I picked up stitches evenly (after only 4 tries, and gaining a new understanding of picking up stitches in the process) along the left edge, resulting in 140 stitches. A woman's prerogative, and all that - I picked up the Spring '08 Vogue Knitting while we were waiting on the accountant, noticed the "leaf border tank" on page 70 or somesuch, and decided that the "leaf border" was what I wanted for the next segment of the shawl. (I blame Rick, for taking me to a tax preparer which adjoined a Hobby Lobby.) The Vogue leaf stitch has a 17-stitch repeat, so 2 stitches of stockinette on each side for seaming and such. So far, so good - it's one of those lace patterns where the even rows are all "purl across," which means that at least half of the rows are relatively brainless. I worked on it most of Saturday afternoon, while watching some stored up Tivo and the made-for-BBC bio of Stephen Hawking's early years (not bad, although the geek factor was so strong even in his healthy years that I would have expected it to be a greater social impediment that depicted). I need to have this done by the last Sunday in April, especially if Tammy's going to have a bit of finish work on it as well - I'm starting to sweat a bit.
Oh, and I'm still hoping for dimensions large enough to wrap it around two people and have some decent height up their backs. Blocking will help, although I don't want to take a chance on distorting the tree cable panel. I've decided to knit about 19' of lace, about 2" wide, to edge it with (and ask Tammy to attach it. It's good to have friends.) Oh, and I'm either going to embroider around the tree cable panel seam crazy-quilt style or maybe put a little three-dimensional ruffle "frame" around it to soften the dramatic transition between the two colors of yarn. Right now the join looks a little stark, even ignoring that one seam at the bottom.
On Sunday afternoon, Rick and I spent some quality time driving down to the U Pull It in Illinois to scout parts for Tasha's Cellica. I think I got some major brownie points out of this - I bundled up and stood in a junk yard (no rain, but cold wind) for 3 hours or more, putting screws into baggies and carrying newly detached parts from the wrecks to the wheelbarrow which served as our shopping cart. I also found a screwdriver and a 5/8" deepwell socket on the ground, and a golf bag full of clubs in one of the trunks. It was starting to feel like a Tim Burton Easter egg hunt out there, with little prizes tucked between horrific carcasses. But I didn't work on the shawl on the way home (got too dirty), and when we got back the cold and wind and empty house conspired to convince us that a nap was in order. That blew the rest of the usable day, and at 1:00 on Monday morning I find myself wide awake and designing a stream of knitting and/or craft projects in my head.
Now, my experience at the Farmer's Market over the summer and fall of '07 was mostly positive, stalker aside, and especially after attending the Ithaca farmer's market last week I'm starting to consider taking another run at it myself. But if I do it, I'd probably better have booth space of my own this time. And to make that feasible, I need to come up with something a little more unique and marketable. The photography and knitting was reasonably well received, some days, but not really enough on its own to make the effort worthwhile. So, here are some the ideas bouncing around my head while not sleeping:
- Summer cotton hats. Skull caps and funky little tall-sided berets in all the wild stitches used for fancy dishcloths. I can probably crank one out fast enough to make a $12 - $14 price-point reasonable, but I need to get (or talk Rick into making) a rotating hat display rack of some sort.
- I'd like to try the small photo prints again, but I really, really need a spinning card rack for display. (Rick, Honey?) And I have several larger framed prints, left over from when Stones & Water closed their doors last fall and returned my remaining inventory. Maybe I could borrow Tasha's table easel or something?
- The basic triangular cotton shawls went over well last summer, once they caught on. But a $40 price tag is too low for $15 in materials and 20 hours of work, obviously. I'm thinking about adjusting the "knit a tube and steek it" recipe I used for the retreat prayer shawl to a more plebian environment. I think a butterfly stitch shawl would be especially pretty, using the doubled Peaches & Creme and size 15 needles as before. Hmmm . . . maybe a price-point of $75 or so, depending on the stitch and the actual time invested. And if I get another order for six shawls at once, I'll space delivery dates out for a less-insane knitting schedule.
- Felted wool water bottle cozies. I finished one for myself in Arizona and got it felted to size
a few days ago, so I've had it in action since Thursday or so. I'm not completely content with the colorwork design - but I was working without a chart and making it up as I went along. The pattern itself seems workable, and I like how the carabiner clip makes it easy to keep the bottle handy. So, about 1.5 - 2 hours of construction time, plus the cost of the clip and left-over bits of wool and cotton (which I have in endless supply). Perhaps a $15 price-point?
- Fiber necklaces. I have some wonderful luxury fibers in orphan skeins rescued from clearance bins, which have just been waiting to tell me what they want to be. Also, several lengths of left-over recycled sari silk yarn. Imagine:
(a) making an I cord with the fabulous yarn of the moment;
(b) using light beading silk or fishing line to sew funky beads in appropriately contrasting colors along the length of such I cord;
(c) tying off both ends securely and sealing them with epoxy or fray check;
(d) cutting two lengths of 14 ga. brass wire about 2" long and bending a loop at one end of each;
(e) working each loop through one end of the fiber cord and the bending it securely closed;
(f) stringing a brass cone over the wire loop and fiber cord end to "dress" them, then flattening the cone between a pair of non-mar blocks, if desired; and
(g) working the remaining ends of the brass wire into a hook and eye clasp.
Neat, eh? I even get to use my beading and metal-working stuff. And the variations are endless. Based on wilder, fatter, more "Maude"-styled accessories I've seen sold in Kohler, and depending on whether I'm using glass, crystal or semi-precious beads, I'm considering a price-point of $25 - $35. (I've got some wonderful silver freshwater pearls, about 15 mm long, that weren't drilled quite large enough for heavy beading silk. This may be their call to glory.)
Oh, and one more think I need to get out of my head before I try to sleep again. The great, wonderful, hysterically funny Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a/k/a The Yarn Harlot) is coming to the Madison Borders Bookstore in two weeks to promote her latest book. I've seen her on YouTube and read her blog obsessively - the woman is not to be missed. So I'm going to take off from work that night like I'm being chased by the hounds of Hell, and an internet knitting friend has offered to save me a seat, and I'm going to see the Harlot. (Doing the little happy dance there for a minute. Please excuse.) Now, many people bring projects to show her - socks, in large part
Do you see why I'm having trouble sleeping?!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Which do you want first?
The good news: Luc and I paid our visit to the District Attorney's office yesterday to discuss the 4 point, $198 ticket he got for "driving too fast for conditions" on the morning of his accident. The DA was sympathetic, and reduced it to a 0 point, $136 ticket. Luc signed off on a "no contest" plea, and we walked out of there much relieved. Also, he passed his psych test even though he apparently misplaced his syllabus and studied the wrong chapters. And we got lucky with someone's cancellation and got Tasha's driving test rescheduled for a better time at a closer DOT office.
The bad news: I don't feel good. They told me this antibiotic might upset my stomach. It does, and it doesn't seem to be working, since I've still got the same symptoms I had on Sunday. Oh, and apparently I have to go back for a closer look after they found some questionable things on my mammogram. And how can I have an ear ache if I've been on antibiotics for 5 days?
But I saw a robin this morning. That's got to be a good sign, right?
.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
My plan to become rich and famous
It's decided: I am going to make safety pins in subtle, matte finishes like "dress slacks grey" and "favorite blouse creme" for use by people who are prone to last-minute wardrobe malfunctions. No more gold pins peaking through fabric in a place where you don't necessarily want to call attention!
I'm just saying, is all.
.
And look what I found in the garden this morning!
.
It's enough to give one hope.
Roadblocks
You wouldn't think something like this would be intimidating. I mean, you're looking at some 
luscious wool, all paid for and ready to rock, which is intended to be the anniversary prayer shawl. The buttery yellow is being used for the center panel (already done) and strips of embossed leaves on each of the ends; the fun variegated stuff will be the leaf lace in between.
.
But I keep worrying that the panels will pucker when I join them, whether that's done by picking up stitches or seaming the individual pieces. And I found the leaf lace pattern to be just frustrating enough during the swatch process that I keep putting it off until I can give it my full attention. And in the
interim, I keep making dishcloths. I don't need dishcloths right now, although somewhere in about the middle of the third one I rationalized that I could send them to camp with Tasha this summer. And I'm using a yarn that, along with a solid red, made a beautiful "tomato plant" colored shawl last summer. (Trust me; it was pretty. The lady who bought it liked it so much that she came back to the booth two weeks later and asked me to duplicate it for her friend, who otherwise was threatening to steal the original.) But without the strong red undertones from the accompanying plain red yarn, it's pretty wild stuff that would probably stand out in most settings. (Okay - stand on the furniture jumping up and down and screaming.)
.
Anyway, I've finished three cloths in various basic patterns, and have promised myself that I will not start a fourth until the shawl is done. (It's due in 3 1/2 weeks!) I have choir tonight, but should be able to get a good start on it after work on Thursday. I'll keep you posted.
.
And under the category of "Rick Appreciation": Luc's replacement car is now on the road. I'd show you a picture, but Luc was off with it to work the morning after we flew in, and has driven it to class or work every day since. It still desperately needs an alignment, but I believe Luc is planning to dedicate his next paycheck to that. I had a quiet conversation with him this morning to remind him to take his time, be safe, file a flightplan, etc. Hopefully this one will last him a good long time.
And on to the next one: Tasha's Celica is now officially in work. Rick is a bit grumpy that Tasha hasn't been appreciating his efforts enthusiastically enough. I mentioned to her last night (and
luscious wool, all paid for and ready to rock, which is intended to be the anniversary prayer shawl. The buttery yellow is being used for the center panel (already done) and strips of embossed leaves on each of the ends; the fun variegated stuff will be the leaf lace in between..
But I keep worrying that the panels will pucker when I join them, whether that's done by picking up stitches or seaming the individual pieces. And I found the leaf lace pattern to be just frustrating enough during the swatch process that I keep putting it off until I can give it my full attention. And in the
interim, I keep making dishcloths. I don't need dishcloths right now, although somewhere in about the middle of the third one I rationalized that I could send them to camp with Tasha this summer. And I'm using a yarn that, along with a solid red, made a beautiful "tomato plant" colored shawl last summer. (Trust me; it was pretty. The lady who bought it liked it so much that she came back to the booth two weeks later and asked me to duplicate it for her friend, who otherwise was threatening to steal the original.) But without the strong red undertones from the accompanying plain red yarn, it's pretty wild stuff that would probably stand out in most settings. (Okay - stand on the furniture jumping up and down and screaming.).
Anyway, I've finished three cloths in various basic patterns, and have promised myself that I will not start a fourth until the shawl is done. (It's due in 3 1/2 weeks!) I have choir tonight, but should be able to get a good start on it after work on Thursday. I'll keep you posted.
.
And under the category of "Rick Appreciation": Luc's replacement car is now on the road. I'd show you a picture, but Luc was off with it to work the morning after we flew in, and has driven it to class or work every day since. It still desperately needs an alignment, but I believe Luc is planning to dedicate his next paycheck to that. I had a quiet conversation with him this morning to remind him to take his time, be safe, file a flightplan, etc. Hopefully this one will last him a good long time.
And on to the next one: Tasha's Celica is now officially in work. Rick is a bit grumpy that Tasha hasn't been appreciating his efforts enthusiastically enough. I mentioned to her last night (and
she agreed) that regular doses of brownies and freshly-brewed iced tea should be administered throughout this process.
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