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Knitting Olympics Progress Report
I’m taking a (very!) short break from the cutthroat competition to bring you an update on my progress. The border and the lace edging is complete, and I’m well into the stripes. It’s been a tough battle, what with the knitting injury, a RSI scare, and a serious lack of chocolate and alcohol. I’m pushing through all, however. I want to thank my co-worker, Michelle, for her unflagging support of my endeavor. Even if (gasp!) I fail to make the finish line, it won’t be for lack of a cheering audience!
The color isn’t exactly right in the picture. It’s more oa a dark purple and a plum color. Beautiful, though. Definitely gold medal material! I’m in for a few days of sprinting, but I have faith! Confidence! Michelle!
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Opening Ceremonies Successful
Andrea’s Shawl is cast on. I’ve even knitted at least 10, perhaps 15 minutes on it! So far, two repeats of the border are done, and only 112 to go! You might say I’m on a roll.
I do have an excuse for my pitiful performance in the opening ceremonies, however. I finished one Hippi Sock.
The second one is cast on, and one inch of the cuff is done. Now, to switch to my Olympic event…
Let the games begin continue…
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Knitting Olympics!
Move over NaNoWriMo, I’ve found a new way to make my family (and co-workers, and friends) crazy! During the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, while I won’t be in Vancouver, I will be participating in an alternative Olympic ceremony. I will be casting on my self-chosen Olympic Event – Andrea’s Shawl.
Lovely, eh? (That’s Canadian for "isn’t it?" – or so I’m told) I’m very drawn to the turquoise and black, so I think when I head out to River Knits in awhile to get the yarn those are the colors I’ll aim for. Too late to order it and have it arrive on time. I’ll post pictures of the yarn when I get it.
This will make one whole project, and while I’m slightly behind on my goal, I do have a sock almost half done, and should be finishing the pair by the end of the weekend. Me and the Hippi Sock stopped by Mackey Arena to check out the action.
Not much.
Then a quick trip out to the snow to show you the sock’s true colors, stopping first to look at Ross Ade Pavilion..
The sock takes it’s name from the yarn, called Hippi Hot by Bernat. The stitch, from More Sensational Knitted Socks called Broad Twisted Rib, reminds me of tie dye. Hence, Hippi Socks. They’re fun to knit, and interesting to work on, so I think we’ll be good to finish by the end of the weekend.
UPDATE!
So, not turquoise and black. Heathered purple and dark purple. And a skein of Trekking in Sahara. It called to me. I was helpless in it’s wooly hands. I can’t help it – I’m weak.
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Posted in NaNoWriMo, Purdue, River Knits, knitting, snow, winter, work, yarn, yarn harlot
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WsIP – That’s a plural…
My plan today was going to be organizing the knitting bag. I use the term "knitting bag" very loosely. It’s also a recepticle for whatever doesn’t fit in my purse. At this point, that’s almost everything.
There are two birthday cards, my lunch, knitting notions, my kindle, pattern book, wallet, assorted knitting, pens, paper, etc. – really a lot of junk (except the knitting, of course). Will I sort out all the flotsam and put back only the knitting – probably not. Of the knitting, there are (only) three real projects in the bag.
- Baby Surprise Jacket – soon to be frogged and redone in either orange or yellow with a white stripe. I’m not loving the variagated yarn I’m currently using. Not to be discarded altogether, though. I have made a vow to finish at least one BSJ!
- Anniversary Socks – recently had to tink back too many rows because I lost track of where I was. Now past the first pattern repeat and loving the look. Thinking about moving it to two circs, though. It might be easier going.
- Generic Sock – my first toe up sock. Currently in time out due to bad toe behavior.
This is just a gratuitous dog picture, because Spike is so cute. Especially with his paw up like that. So adorable.
I was reading Abby‘s blog, which led to Toni‘s blog, which made me think about how much yarn and fabric I have. I like her idea of 100 projects for the year, but I have so much going on. I think 100 projects might be a tad ambitious. Those of you who know me will surely understand. This year I’m studying Buddhism and meditation, intending to start yoga again, knitting, sewing, reading a book a week, and then there’s my job as an IT manager. And my blog. The garden…I don’t think I mentioned that.
I think, based on this list, I will attempt 24 projects. That’s two per month. Shall we say one sewing and one knitting project each month? That seems reasonable.
We’ll see.
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The Perfect Book
I know it’s out there. I feel it deep in the pit of my stomach. Within it is the wisdom that will make sense of everything. It will tell me what to do with my life. I’ll find out how to be happy. The mysteries of making my children love me will be revealed. The 60 pounds I need to lose will miraculously disappear. The lessons taught to me by the bad things in my life will be made clear.
I’ll be happy.
I know it’s out there. I spend a significant amount of time on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and in various bookstores searching for it. I know it’s there like I know that the sun will rise tomorrow. Even though I have a better chance of finding that book than seeing the sun in Indiana in January. It’s out there. Somewhere.
I WILL find it.
Supply run at 20 weeks and counting…
Well, not exactly. More like 146 days including travel day. That can also be rendered as:
- 12,614,400 seconds
- 210,240 minutes
- 3504 hours
- 20 weeks (rounded down)
- 4 months, 26 days
In other words, almost right around the corner! I have to decide what knitting to take, what backup knitting to take, what books (knitting and otherwise) to take…and then there’s the non-essentials like camping supplies, clothing, food, etc. So much to do and so little time to do it.
Here’s a picture from one of the morning meetings last year from the website:
Not the most representative picture. I tried to find pictures of firespinning from that gathering but I wasn’t able to. The one here is of a similar fire circle at the Cornstalk Festiva at PSG’s former home of Wisteria (with added graphics, of course).
The fire circles start at dusk and go until the wee hours of the morning, except on the Solstice. That night the fire and drums go all night into the sunrise. It’s magical.
The new location is Camp Zoe in Missouri. It’s also a beautiful place, different from Wisteria, and we’re all still getting the magical feel of the place. Last year we camped on the creek.
This picture doesn’t do it justice, but the panorama shots I took last year haven’t been edited yet. There are a lot of pictures on the web, though.
PSG attracts close to 1000 people, and we call camp together. It’s primitive camping, but no one feels deprived. Everyone shares food, supplies, mead (honey wine), etc. No one has had anything stolen for the three years we’ve been going. It’s an amazing experience. And now there are only 145.8 days left..
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Knitting!
Spurred on by the sheer beauty that is Bitten by Knitting’s BSJ, I had to start one of my own. Since it appears that there are no babies in my foreseeable future, it will go into my cedar chest for future gifting. Of course, my office mate has pondered the possibility of dressing her kitty in one. That would be a great You Tube video!
This is my second attempt at the BSJ (for those of you non-knittinly enlightened, that’s the Baby Surprise Jacket), and I have high hopes this time. It’s not that it is a difficult pattern, just that it’s a kind of free-form knitting thing, and being the techie geek that I am, that’s just crazy to me! Since I’m on a yarn diet and thus had to go stash diving, I am using Plymouth Dreambaby DK in colorways 210 and 114. 114 appears to be discontinued, so the closest on the current color card is 132. Kind of apricotty orange (114) and a bright multicolor (210). I’m just about to begin my increases.
I’m also just starting a project for me. I chose Nancy Bush’s Anniversary Socks, from the Favorite Socks book. The yarn is KnitPicks Gloss Sock Yarn, 70% merino, 30% silk. It’s so soft and delicious. The color is Burgundy. Not expensive, but it feels that way. So far, just the cuff, but I love that part already.
Since I had such success with "We Call Them Pirates," I want to try something stranded for me. I am in love with the Norwegian Lusekofte in blue. It is definitely on my to-do list.
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Vote with your money
I recently watched a disturbing film called Food, Inc. (Yes, if you click on the link you get Amazon – a girl’s gotta make some money some way!) It is about the corporatization of food production. The segments include spots on corn, meat production, genetically modified food and hunger in under-developed countries. If you watch it (Netflix has it on Watch Instantly), be prepared to start questioning your food purchasing and consumption choices.
I had already started purchasing more organics and any fair trade goods availble when possible. You can get a lot of stuff through fair trade. Obviously, you pay a premium – but that’s part of the process. Corporations are making millions while people like the farmers in Mexico have been displaced (a large cause of the illegal immigrant issue) due to corporate farms in the US. US farms are paid a subsidy to produce corn, soybeans, wheat, and other crops for less than it costs to plant them. No independent farmer can compete with that.
Fair trade goods extend from food into products for personal care, clothing, jewelry, home decorations, housewares, etc. There are many websites, just put fair trade into any search engine.
Of particular interest to me (besides coffee for DH) is yarn (knitting blog…duh!). I found some fair trade yarn sites. I was going to pick one, but there are too many to pick from, so here’s a list:
- Ecobutterfly Organics
- Trade Key
- da’vida
- Off the Beaten Path Yarnhouse (Frog Tree Yarns)
- World of Good (ebay site)
There are more, but I’m sure you enterprising knitters (and friends of knitters) will find them.
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Posted in Fair Trade, corporations, food, yarn
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New Years Resolutions
I’m making a few resolutions this year. Some are no brainers. Others, not so much. I wasn’t going to make any resolutions this year, but then I was reading a column by a writer from Vermont, Jessie Raymond, and she made the point that declining to make resolutions implies that you are perfect. I’m hardly perfect. No one is. So, I’ve made a few resolutions that I feel are reasonable, and that I have a possible chance of keeping.
First, I resolve not to kill anyone. I know you’re thinking that shouldn’t be so hard. I’ve never even shoplifted, and I have trouble being mean to pit bulls. You’d be wrong. I’m a victim of poor career choices and biological imperatives. (I’m in IT and a mother of a teenager – and others.) Refraining from doing someone physical harm is a daily struggle. I ameliorate these urges by biting wit and snappy comebacks (mostly sarcasm). And by using big words like "ameliorate."
I resolve to refrain from smoking. "What??" you say? "But you don’t smoke!" Exactly. I needed one I could definitely ace.
I resolve to plant my garden in a timely fashion this year. That means I’ll put it in before June. It was a tad late last year. Oh, and I don’t plant broccoli and cabbage next to the tomatos. That didn’t work well. It turns out that they don’t like each other. I had no idea that they were so exclusive!
I resolve to stop putting my dishes in the sink. While I may feel that’s the appropriate place for dirty dishes, it drives Jeff nuts. Since he does the dishes most of the time, and I don’t want to, I think it’s only right that I should consider his feelings on this matter.
Happy New Year (A little late…)
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Posted in Family, garden, husband
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