Contests, Festing, Reading

Picnicking

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I had a busy (for me) weekend. I’ll talk about Saturday tomorrow (maybe the yarn will be dry by then!). So on to Sunday, when I met lots of bloggers at the Twin Cities Knitters’ Picnic. Tragically, in my efforts to contain my “cargo” to my tiny bicycle bag, I remembered my knitting but forgot my camera… Whoops. Um, so just imagine 25 or so knitters, sitting around on blankets under a tree in the Lake Harriet Rose Garden, knitting and eating and talking and laughing.

Here are the knitbloggers I met:

Kelle of Knits and Giggles
KnittyMama (I met KnittyBaby! And Little Man! And the Husband Who Has No Blog Nickname Yet!)
Christy of Purling Away, owner of the Minnesota Knitters webring (Christy took pictures!)
A new resident of Minnesota, Moraie Knitting (tragically welcomed by the evil hailstorm of last week)
Rina of Rahardjo Knits (Rina took pictures!)
Nancy of Clicking Sticks
Catherine of Yogurt and Granola
Melissa of HyveTyrant
Rebecca of Onspock
Tipper of Daily Fiber Therapy

Hopefully I didn’t miss anybody!

SRP Update
Tool and Die (323 pages) and Nail Biter (260 pages) by Sarah Graves. The two most recent Home Repair Is Homicide mysteries – with a very startling development in Nail Biter! I sure didn’t see that coming…

Jerry is having a contest to test her Random Knitting Theory #1. Deadline is Friday, September 1.

Here’s my entry for the contest: I knit continental, sometimes combination and sometimes using Norwegian purling, depending on the situation. Oh yeah, and it’s awfully hard to take pictures of your own hands!

Chaos could not be reached for comment on today’s blog post.

“….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….”

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity, Those Cats

In which Chaos receives a love letter

51 Comments

Argh! I screwed up the link to Danielle’s contest yesterday… Thanks to Jeanne for letting me know. Here’s the contest info again: Danielle won a big ol’ bag of yarn from Mason-Dixon Knitting and is celebrating by having her first contest! Leave a comment for her, guessing what she’s knitting (toadstools maybe??) before noon on Tuesday, August 29.

Ok, Marina alerted me to one of the most mind-boggling garments ever, as photographed by Susan of therainysisters.com. You’ll scroll down through many lovely pictures of Susan’s award-winning State Fair knitting, but keep going until you just have to stop and say, “WTF?!” You’ll know which picture. I’ll wait……….. Ok, wouldn’t that be fun to wear someplace dressy?? Hee hee. Sock monkey insanity…

Deb and I took Annie Modesitt’s combined knitting class at Creative Fibers last night. (Amy couldn’t make it because she was sick – get better soon, Amy!) So I often knit combined (picking/continental) already – you cannot beat it for speedy seed stitch in the round. Or, as I realized last night, ribbing back and forth. I picked up some tips on combined knitting decreases and we also learned to cable without a cable needle, which is very slick indeed.

But the most exciting part of the class? Getting there. Right as I was about to leave, a mighty storm assaulted Minneapolis. It didn’t look like the sort of weather I should go out into, but darn it, I had a class to get to… Memorable images from the drive include water geysering several feet up out of a storm drain, people with their pant legs rolled up and carrying their shoes wading across streets in knee-deep water (when it’s raining that hard, I’m not sure what the benefit to carrying your shoes is), and having to turn around and take a different route because the water was too deep for my low slung car. No pictures, because I was far too busy clutching the steering wheel and peering out past the flailing wipers, looking out for deep water.

So, you’re probably all curious about the aforementioned love letter. It was sent anonymously, signed only “Miss Kitty,” and reads:

My Dearest Chaos, For some time now I have been reading your blog on-line and each day I fall in love with you a little more. You are so handsome and regal, even when you are subjected to cruel tortures such as modeling bibs for your mommy. I know we can never be together, but I shall always love you from afar. Always, Miss Kitty. P.S. I hope you like the gift. I saw it in the store and of course thought of you.

The gift is a little collar tag that says “PURRfect.”

When asked who this could possibly be from, the Chaos Kitty merely looked coy and a bit smug.

“Hard to say. Chicks dig me, you know.”
Contests, Reading, Those Cats

The rest of the (bib) story

40 Comments

I survived the switch upgrade, which didn’t finish until 5 am. I didn’t have to work yesterday, but I ended up only getting 3 hours of sleep because I had a plumber coming by at 9 am. At least I got to bed early last night and feel pretty darn good today.

Danielle won a big ol’ bag of yarn from Mason-Dixon Knitting and is celebrating by having her first contest! Leave a comment for her, guessing what she’s knitting (toadstools maybe??) before noon on Tuesday, August 29.

Norma’s gearing us up for the Red Scarf Project 2007, which will have its own blog this time around. Anyone who knits a red scarf to donate to the RSP and posts a picture to the blog will be eligible to win prizes, such as a skein of handdyed yarn from Scout! Both Norma and Scout have great explanations of how to save one of the many button choices to your own server and get it into your sidebar. That was something which completely mystified me when I started blogging, so take advantage of the info!

Cheryl’s having a contest to guess who will win the Wing of Moth shawl knit-off.

SRP Update
Mallets Aforethought by Sarah Graves, 294 pages. Another Home Repair Is Homicide mystery. I enjoy this series, but I’m not making any effort to read them in order – which I would if I felt passionately about them (like the J.D. Robb mysteries… mmmm… Roarke…). Anyway, I think this book had a relatively large “continuity” gap near the end. Hmm.

And now, the rest of the bib story alluded to yesterday…

“I can’t believe I fell for this again! The shame…”

“Nor can I bear to look at this thing… it’s so girly.“

“Watch my fancy footwork as I begin my escape!”

“I am but a blur!”

“Whew, that was tiring…”

“Wait, it’s still there?! Not for long…”

“Ha! I triumph yet again!”
Contests, Festing, Knitting

Bleary

32 Comments

The switch upgrade continues on… *yawn*

Sonja is having a contest to tell her the most creative story about why the Mona Lisa in Lion Brand’s ads is smiling. You have plenty of time to leave her a comment – she’s not selecting the winner until October 1.

Hopefully I’ll make it to the Twin Cities’ Knitters picnic this Sunday. Anyone else going? Here are the details:

The Twin Cities’ Knitters picnic: Sunday August 27, 2006, from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm at the Lake Harriet Rose Gardens in Minneapolis (4125 East Lake Harriet Parkway). “Bring your blanket, your picnic lunch and – of course – your knitting! We’ll meet under the trees behind the Rose Gardens (closer to Kings Highway than Lake Harriet). Visit the Minneapolis Park & Rec Board Rose Garden page for more information and a map to the location.”

Look what I made (Sugar’n’Cream patio pinks, top down) – really, the parents keep raving about how great these bibs are, so what’s a knitter to do?!

Little does Chaos suspect what excitement awaits him…

“Mmmm… sunbeam…”
Knitting, Project Spectrum, Reading

Moderne log catin

39 Comments

I might have to work on a switch upgrade tonight, which means working overnight. I won’t know until later today. But maybe I’ll have the chance to get caught up a bit on bloglines, trying to stay awake.

Thursday evening, I’m taking a class on combination knitting from Annie Modesitt at Creative Fibers. Hopefully I won’t get kicked out of class, since I’m taking the class with notorious troublemakers Amy and Deb!

SRP Update: Love You Madly by Linda Palmer, 307 pages. Book three of this relatively new series about soap opera writer Morgan Tyler continues to be enjoyable… and not just because she has a black kitten. 😉

In addition to the Regia Silk sock, I’ve been plugging away on the Moderne Log Cabin Baby Blanket. I’m about 2/3 done with the pair of intarsia blocks on the right. Then I just have another pair of narrow intarsia blocks (burgundy and olive) to add to the top before I can start the tan edging. Project Spectrum tan!

*sniff sniff* “Hmm, is there something under here?”

*burp*

Festing, Knitting, Randonymity, Reading, See the Sights

Eventing

37 Comments

If you’re in the Twin Cities and you’re planning to attend the Mountain Goats concert at the Triple Rock Social Club on Thursday, September 14, please let me know! Right now I’m going alone.

A while ago, I asked if anyone was going to be at the Taos Wool Festival (October 7-8), as it will be one of my stops on the Knitblogger’s Fall Tour I have planned for myself. If you are on the path between Minneapolis and Albuquerque and going to be around from September 30 – roughly October 15 or so, please leave me a comment or send an email to chris at this domain. I’m trying to get my exact schedule and route figured out – currently, I have stops planned in Ft Collins, Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, and Taos (for the festival), although not specific dates yet.

SRP Update
He Huffed and He Puffed (250 pages), Good King Sauerkraut (214 pages), and You Have the Right To Remain Silent (249 pages) by Barbara Paul. These were the second, third, and fourth NYPD Lt Marian Larch mysteries. The second and third Marian Larch mysteries are described on the covers as “mysteries with Marian Larch” – she is definitely not the main character. In fact, in He Huffed and He Puffed, I wasn’t sure it was a Marian Larch book for the longest time! You Have the Right To Remain Silent is the first book in which Marian Larch is as important as the crime she’s investigating. This book could also be described as The Apostrophe Thief, part one.
Love Is Murder by Linda Palmer, 275 pages. This is the first Morgan Tyler (soap opera writer) mystery and even though I have absolutely no interest in daytime drama, I’m definitely enjoying this series (which I am unfortunately reading out of order). I’m about to start the third book in the series, which I hope will feature the black kitten she acquired in book 2. 🙂

Belated Saturday Sky… So belated that I took the picture Sunday evening! This is a view of downtown Minneapolis from the south shore of Lake Calhoun.

And to prove that I actually do knit sometimes, here’s my charcoal grey Regia Silk waffle sock for Project Spectrum – now with more cat butt than ever!

Knitting, Reading, Reviewettes, Tales of the Neighborhood

Eye Candy Friday with Random Bits

48 Comments

Ok, although I’m not officially a part of Eye Candy Friday, I thought this overgrown motorcycle in our alley was pretty cool. It reminds me of a Charles de Lint story, maybe something from the Borderland…

SRP Update
The Renewable Virgin by Barbara Paul, 215 pages. The first Marian Larch mystery (1984)! Bless the Minneapolis Public Library system for maintaining mystery series integrity. (Yes, Cute Library Guy was there, but I was too shy to talk to him… I know, I’m a dork.)

I’m liking the charcoal Regia Silk in the waffle pattern (two rounds of knit 2, purl 2 ribbing, then two plain rounds). Hopefully I make a lot of progress on it over the weekend so that it seems worth photographing. This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but my Cabernet Adamas shawl is still a ball of yarn and likely to remain that way for a while, so no more Amazing Lace for me. And I still need to knit some Bitchin’ (baby) Mittens – yikes! Oh well, at least I finished the TrekAlong, right?!

In other personal knitting news, I had a pattern accepted by MagKnits for the December issue! All I’m going to say about it is that you can make the project from a single ball of Kureyon…

I still have a few more local purple architectural features to take pictures of, but to tide me over until I get around to it, Trek sent me this purple house from New Jersey. We should all forgive her for the slightly illegal action she took to get this photo, becase I love this house. Thanks, Trek!

And how could we end the week without a little Chaos, looking ever-so-sweet after his shenanigans of a few days ago… Have a great weekend, everyone!

“Whatever do you mean, Mom? I am the very soul of sweetness and innocence!”
Knitting, Reading

Pretend this is a clever title…

56 Comments

I’m glad to hear that so many of you are enjoying the contest links! I like providing them for several different reasons. First, contests are just fun. Second, I think it’s an enjoyable way to discover new-to-you blogs. The only thing about blogging that makes me sad is that there are so many great blogs with only a few readers. I do my darnedest to comment on as many blogs as I can, but alas, I am only one blogger with a finite amount of time. So keep sending me your contest links, and keep checking out new-to-you blogs!

SRP Update
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, 310 pages. I read Atkinson’s novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum quite a while ago for book club and remember it being compelling, powerful, and disturbing. Case Histories is all that, too. Atkinson skillfully weaves together the past and the present in this novel about PI Jackson Brodie who is working on multiple “cold cases.” (Jeanne, you can borrow my copy if this interests you!)
This Pen for Hire: A Jaine Austen Mystery by Laura Levine, 203 pages. A fun, very lightweight mystery about Jaine Austen (“no relation”), who writes brochures, letters, and personal ads for people. I liked the smart alecky style, so I’ll probably pick up the next book in the series.

Knitting
I started a sock from charcoal Regia Silk (so Project Spectrum), but, after three inches of sock, decided I didn’t like the lace pattern I was using. Now I’m back to one inch of sock in a comfortably boring waffle stitch (and it’s far too dull to take a picture of yet). I’m also plodding along on my MDK moderne log cabin baby blanket. Has anyone else knit this? The directions for squares 9 and 10 (knit simultaneously using intarsia) are not correct (you would end up with a trapesoid instead of a rectangle), but I didn’t see it on the MDK errata page. Where the pattern says to pick up two sets of 54 stitches, you actually need to pick up two sets of 63 stitches.

Naughtiness
I came home from work the other night to a fair amount of feline attitude.

“Remember, this is my place and I only let you live here because you have opposable thumbs and can open those darn cans.”

Further inspection revealed that something terrible had happened on top of the cd rack. The sort of neatly stacked books in front of the rack are part of my “to read” pile – the litter of cds, books, and “Girlfriend” is not how the living room floor usually looks.

Hmmm…

“Why are you looking at me like that? I wouldn’t do something so naughty! Besides, it’s my place, remember?!”
Contests, Randonymity

Wednesday, randomly

43 Comments

I’m a little slow this morning. Damned migraine. Feeling better now (bless the Imitrex), but I’ll have that slow, slightlly groggy feeling all day. Onward to our regularly scheduled program!

Just a Knit Wit is having a contest, collecting Las Vegas-themed songs to make a mix for an upcoming trip.

Gromit is having a contest to guess the number of WIPs/UFOs she has. Send her an email with your guess by 8 pm Eastern, Thursday, August 17.

And Kristin of Yarn and Order is having a contest. Leave a comment before midnight CST, Thursday, August 17, to participate.

Sign ups for Craftlilly’s KnitFlix swap end at midnight tonight!

Remember that retro black cat fabric I have? Well, Trek and I worked out a swap and I sent her the fabric to make me a DPN holder and a sock bag. They arrived yesterday, along with a cool little notebook for me and some catnip for Chaos! Thanks, Trek!

Chaos was definitely interested in the nip…

*sniff sniff* “Hurry up and get this into a mouse for me, Mom!!”

…but he was also very interested in the other things that Trek sent.

“Whatever could this be? It’s not quite what I would expect for a cat bed.”

“I know what this is – it’s a place for me to hide! I am such a good hider. They won’t see me here, either!”

“Wait, why are you all still there?”
Alongs, Knitting

What a long weird TrekAlong it’s been

40 Comments

I’m happy to hear that people are enjoying the “contest clearinghouse!” Remember, if you have a contest and would like me to mention it (because sometimes I get so behind in bloglines I don’t discover contests until they’re done), please send me an email (chris at this domain). Thanks!

Over the weekend, I finally finished my Trekking 78 socks, although my camera insists on making them more blue and less purple than they really are.

Can you spot the cat in this picture?!

“Hee hee – at last, they cannot see me! I am totally invisible, perfectly hidden!”

Last week I mentioned that TB was having a contest to show her pictures of the weird things we have displayed in our homes. This is what I sent:

“Um, Mom? I think he needs to be neutered…”

Currently, I store this in my closet, since Chaos would chew up the chopsticks… You can tell that he isn’t exactly sure what to think of it!! This is from a drink I had at a Japanese restaurant in Orlando when I was 17. I’ve lugged it around everywhere I’ve lived in the intervening 23 years. It’s the only memento I have of that time in my life. I suspect this little critter is modeled on a fertility diety or something, because of his, um, rather visible genitalia… Strangely, boyfriends that I’ve lived with have found him rather disturbing. Hee hee.

“The colorful chopsticks taste the best. Don’t knock it until you try it!”

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