Contests, Knitting

This post not suitable for those sensitive to Addis in peril

48 Comments

Sorry for anyone who was worried that I didn’t post yesterday! I coughed most of Monday night, so when the alarm went off Tuesday morning, I called work, said I’d be in at noon, and went back to sleep. Much better!

Mim needs a name for her new camisole pattern – if your name is selected, you could win yarn, some soap, and one of Mim’s patterns!

Heather is helping to raise money for books for an impoverished South African school, which is the sister school to the Montessori school Heather’s daughter attends. If you pledge $20, Heather will send you a skein of her hand-dyed All Things Heather sock yarn. If you pledge $25, she will dye special yarn for you. But really, any amount will help. Deadline is March 19.

The polls are open in La’s DeFeet of Cuteness contest. So hard to decide! So many cute feet! Polls close March 9 at 5 pm PST.

I finished my Jailbreak Jaywalkers. True, true, they aren’t quite finished in the pictures, but they’re finished now and waiting for a little bath.

“Those are some pretty crazy socks, Mom!” -M

The sock on the left was knit from the outside of the ball of Opal Zebra. The sock on the right was knit from the center. Who knows if that led to the dramatic difference in the cuffs between the two socks! These socks definitely grew on me as I was knitting them, especially when I discovered the dramatic changes adding a few stitches made – the feet were knit on 72 stitches and I increased to 84 for the cuffs.

“Let me just sneak in here and work my magic on this yarn…” -M
*sound of shooing off-camera*

“Hmph, if you’re going to shoo me away, I’ll go after the ball itself.” -M
*sound of shooing off-camera*

“Sheesh, Mom, you leave me no choice but to go after the needle!” *chomp* -M
*sound of shrieking off-camera*

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

*cough cough cough*

59 Comments

Eve is conducting a comic-reading study and is looking for participants. If you participate by March 31, you could win some yarn! You don’t have to be a knitter to participate – presumably no non-knitters would be forced to take yarn.

I can’t possibly be the only WordPress blogger getting crushed by comment spam, can I?! I swear, I must’ve had 3,000 spam comments in the past week. I have added the Worst Offenders plugin for Akismet to see if that helps make things more manageable – so far, so good. I know a lot of people use Bad Behavior, but when I tried it for a day or two, it blocked many legitimate commenters, so it has been banished. Other than Spam Karma or adding a verification word, do any of you have good tips for fighting comment spam?

Reading Update
Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos, We’ll Always Have Parrots, and Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews. Three more Meg Lanslow mysteries, as our brave blacksmith takes on a Revolutionary War reenactment, a sci-fi convention, and a 30-family yard sale. These are fun, goofy, and well-written; I’m enjoying them!
Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. Think chicklit meets 24. Can a stoic Green Beret and a woman who makes dog food commercials find true love?

Here are a few pictures of our parking lot from inside my car when I finally ventured out into the snowy world on Saturday. Our plowing company is so in trouble.

I have a cold again. Blech. Alas, I can’t take stuff like Airborne, which is not recommended for people who have autoimmune disorders, so I’m toughing it out. Chaos is very unhappy about my cold.

“Mom, you keep sneezing and coughing and you scare me and I have to run away and hide and then it looks like I’m a ‘fraidy cat! Hmph. You’re bad for my image.” -C

“Face it, big kitty, you are a ‘fraidy cat! It’s just coughing and sneezing. What’s the big deal?” -M

Alongs, Contests, Knitting, Project Spectrum

Snow is Project Spectrum, right?!

40 Comments

Margene is celebrating her third blogiversary! Leave her a comment revealing a little secret about yourself and you could win some fibery prizes on March 14.

Sundara is celebrating the first anniversary of Sundara Yarn. Guess how many skeins of yarn she’s dyed in the first year – submit your guesses by March 7 and you could win some very yummy yarn!

It’s very snowy here. That truck hadn’t been parked there more than 60 minutes yesterday when I took this picture. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the snow falling (use the truck as a backdrop). This morning? The cars look like snow banks. I’m working from home again today. 🙂

While I was looking out the window at the snow, I got this cute picture of Mayhem’s little kitty arms:

Awwww…

I started another pair of socks earlier this week, using some Opal Zebra. This yarn is boring me (why is it more interesting in the ball than when knit?!), but at least it fits the Project Spectrum theme (the white). The foot is plain, but I’m knitting the cuffs in the Jaywalker pattern.

“Dum-de-dum-de-dum… oh, look, some yarn on the floor again.” *yawn* -C

I joined FiberFlix. There are two films for March – you can watch Run Lola Run (my personal choice) and/or Logan’s Run. Fitting the theme of motion, I’m knitting the previously mentioned Jaywalkers and will also be starting some RPMs from my first Sundara Sock Club yarn, Lenten Rose (also a very Project Spectrum color – sort of a greyish plum).

“You put this yarn by me and you expect me to be good?! As if!” -M

“I mean, look at that tasty yarn cake!” -M

“Mmmm… yarn cake…” -M

I quickly rescued the yarn at that point!

Those Cats

Killing you with the cute

47 Comments

Aw, thank you all so much for the kind words about my refined raglan and yesterday’s self portraits! *blush* Today? Today, even though I am working from home a second time this week because of a little snow, I am brain dead (mocha me, baby!), so I will try to distract you with a whole lot of cuteness – additional entries for La’s contest. Yesterday, I picked up a Daft Catâ„¢ catnip toy made by the Scrub Your Butt Soap Company of Rochester, Minnesota – isn’t that about the best soap company name ever?! You briefly warm this toy up in the microwave – according to the website, “Kitty will love the warmth and the smell of catnip will fill the air!” I couldn’t smell it, but Chaos and May sure could.

“I must rub this toy over my entire body and then hug it!” -M

“Mmmmmm…. nippy.” -M

“Well, not nippy as in chilly, because it’s really quite warm and nice…” -M

“Maybe just a little nap…” -M

Chaos got in on the Daft Catâ„¢ action, too – he’s taking a little break in this picture:

And simply because May’s paws haven’t been featured before on the blog, while Chaos’ have – here are May’s cute fuzzy little paws, first the fronts and then the backs:

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Nothing says “dork” like trying to take a self-portrait

69 Comments

La’s having a contest – post pictures of the cute little feet in your life (furbaby or otherwise) over the next week and you could win some La-made stitchmarkers. (Here’s my entry, La!)

Reading Update
Delete All Suspects by Donna Andrews. This mystery series feature artificial intelligence Turing Hopper, who helps a human private investigator solve crimes. I guess this would be classified as a “techno-cozy” mystery – really, mystery niches are amazing, aren’t they?!
Murder with Puffins and Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews. These were the first Meg Langslow mysteries I’d read and I enjoyed them much more than I expected – they’re very silly and feel a bit like reading a comedic melodrama. Definitely a nice break from 24! Anyway, Meg works as a blacksmith, making ornamental items – what was I just saying about mystery niches?!? And yes, the titles are all bird-themed, although none of the characters is an ornithologist.

Refined Raglan Photos
Ok, bowing to peer pressure, here you go – me modeling the refined raglan. Don’t I look thrilled? If you’ve been reading for ages and ages, you might notice that this sweater looks awfully similar to something… (You will need to click on the picture to see the cable detail.)

In an attempt to make pictures of a black sweater more interesting, here’s Mayhem! (My baby is all grown up! *sniff*)

“Did you see it?! I was just sitting there in the previous photo, minding my own business when I was rudely snatched up!” -M

And Chaos!

“Why is that thing clicking and beeping and flashing at us?! Obviously we’re running out of time and we’re all going to die!!” -C

Knitting

Refinanced raglan

51 Comments

At last! The refined raglan is finished. I really like how this turned out – I’m wearing it right now!

I did make a few modifications to the pattern:

  • I knit the body and sleeves longer.
  • I changed the sleeves to be standard tapered sleeves, not bell sleeves. Bell sleeves drive me nuts. 🙂
  • I shortened the funnel neck. I look like a dork in a funnel neck – it only took me three tries to realize that and change the neck.
  • I added a few short rows to the upper back so that the front of the sweater wouldn’t give me that slightly strangled feeling. I should’ve added a few more short rows.
  • I used a three-needle bind-off to fasten down the neck instead of sewing it down later.

I can see myself adding some cables to the raglan shaping in future projects. Here’s a little cabley detail:

Chaos and May eagerly awaited blocking. (Please excuse the blurry shot.)

“I can just tell something’s going to happen!” -M
“Hopefully something good involving tuna.” -C

“Big kitty, I don’t know why you ran away when the iron came out! It isn’t very scary to me.” -M

“And see? With me here, Mom doesn’t even need the iron.” -M

Knitting, Project Spectrum, Randonymity

Let it FO! Let it FO! Let it FO!

48 Comments

Limedragon is having a contest – give Trekking XXL color #76 a better name and you could win a skein of sock yarn! Submit your suggestions by midnight CST on February 28.

Guess how many books Chappysmom has read since January 1, 1996, and you could win some Koigu. Leave a comment with your guess by February 28.

We had a little snow over the weekend… This picture doesn’t show the final accumulation. See the Beetle? By the time the snow stopped falling, that Beetle had snow nearly to the top of its tires!

I did finish two projects over the weekend, although I didn’t finish my refined raglan (after I redid the neckline for the third time, we needed some time apart…). I finished the stripey gift socks, made from Cascade’s new Sassy Stripes yarn, using the stitch pattern from Kristi’s Gentleman’s Socks. I’ll definitely use that stitch pattern again.

“Hello! I’m lying here, May. Quit walking across me!!” -C

“Mmmm…. socks….” -M

(Although it may occasionally look like May is nearly Chaos’ size, that’s all illusion. She’s about 8 lbs; he’s about 15 lbs and looking trim! Yesterday, I noticed that one of his paws can entirely cover her eyes, nose, and mouth. Alas, I did not get a picture.)

I also finished my Project Spectrum socks. The stripes matched up pretty well between socks, until I bound off the second sock… See the little white blop? Grrr…

I decided I had to fix that, so I gathered my tools.

Voila!

Much better. (My toe-up bind off always looks wonky until the socks are washed.)

“This cat bed certainly lacks in cushiness, Mom. Why did you put those boards in it? Do you think I need more back support when I sleep?” -M

Contests, Randonymity

*yawn*

31 Comments

The online knitting magazine For the Love of Yarn is having a contest – leave a short comment about who taught you to knit and you could win a Yarn Safaris sock knitting kit.

Have you checked out Good Yarn Karma yet? It’s an intriguing idea to move along some yarn or fiber that just isn’t working for you and perhaps find new inspiration in someone else’s unloved yarn or fiber.

Vicki Knitorious is going to be in the Twin Cities this weekend! If you’re in the area and you’re interested in getting together with Vicki, Deb, Jeanne, and I to knit and chat Sunday afternoon, please let me know.
Update: We’ll be meeting at D’Amico & Sons at 2210 Hennepin Avenue South at about 4 pm on Sunday, February 25. We should be easy to spot – I look exactly like my little icon in my sidebar (although the cats won’t be with me!).
Update the Second 2/24/07: CANCELED! Vicki had car trouble, plus the weather is crappy. She will reschedule. We will not be meeting at D’Amico on Sunday.

Thank you all so much for your supportive comments yesterday! I don’t have much to say today other than TGIF – it’s one of those sleepy mornings and I’m already thinking I need a second soy mocha. 🙂 Hopefully by Monday I’ll have an FO or two to show you – I have less than an inch left on the second Project Spectrum sock and maybe 20 rounds left until I finish the neck of the refined raglan.

Here’s a picture of Chaos and May checking out the snow a few weeks ago. Suddenly it’s much warmer here (+50°F on Wednesday) and most of the snow in this picture is gone – although it sounds like we could get more snow later today and over the weekend.

“I know you think that white stuff looks like birds falling out of the sky, May, but trust me, it isn’t.” -C

“You’ve got to come down sometime, May – and then look out! Bwah-ha-ha!” -C

Knitting, Randonymity

The muffin incident

78 Comments

Shall we start with some foreshadowing? Last week, Leah was nearly run down by an impatient driver in a Whole Foods parking lot; the driver then proceeded to scream at her. In her post, she commented “it amazes me how horrible we can treat each other just because we are strangers.”

*insert ominous music*

A few days ago, I stopped in my neigborhood co-op on my way home from work and was delighted to discover that it was gluten-free cherry almond muffin day and there were muffins remaining. (The muffin schedule varies monthly and seasonally. There’s a gluten-free muffin every day, but usually they are long gone by the time I get to the co-op. It’s been at least six months since gluten-free cherry almond muffins were on the schedule.) I carefully placed the last five muffins in a bakery bag (the muffins freeze really well).

This guy walked up to me and asked if I planned on taking all of the gluten-free muffins. Um, yes, since I just put them into the bag… He freaked out and called me a jerk, then a bitch, then an asshole, then started saying things like “You look like a nice person, but you’re obviously a nasty bitch!” WTF?! He continued stomping around and shooting me nasty glances and saying crap like that as I took my cart and walked down the next aisle. A few minutes later, I happened to look up as I was getting something out of the freezer and he was standing at the end of the aisle, flipping me off and yelling, “Bitch!!!!” I flipped him off in return, grabbed the last few things I needed, and got in a checkout line.

I was really quite freaked out by then and kept darting nervous glances around as I paid for my groceries and headed out of the store. I would not have been at all surprised if the guy had darted out, pushed me down, and taken my bag of muffins! Fortunately, that did not happen – I got in my car, drove home, froze the muffins, and sat down to write Tuesday’s list of things that make me happy. Like Leah, I had a strong urge to “accentuate the positive” and not dwell on the incident.

I’m writing about it now because I can see the utter surreality of the situation. Since the muffin incident, I have been observing people more closely, seeing how easily we lash out when angry or impatient instead of dealing with it, or excusing ourselves, or apologizing, or just being kind to the people around us. I can see where I do the same thing sometimes (although certainly not to the degree of the muffin man), and I’m resolving to be more patient and more aware of others.

Related to being aware of others and accentuating the positive, I knitted a few pieces for the Blanket of Hope that Rebekah’s putting together from some yarn I dyed last summer. Hopefully Rebekah will be able to use these for fill-in bits throughout the blanket.

Besides knitting, some other positives…

*purrrrrrrrr* -C & M

Art journaling, reading, knitting, and cat parenting. It's a wild life.