Monday post....Sigh.
There's nothing going on... I'm still feeling icky. Turns out I have pleurisy. A mild case. Pleurisy is a viral infection of the lining of the lungs. It aches. It feels like bronchitis without the cough... and all I get to do is take Advil for pain and wait it out - goody.
This is dragging me down, so I'm not blogging more today. I'm vegging out for a while. Playing with some pixels, maybe. Playing my video games. Resting. Not singing :-(
Be back Wednesday.
Secret Pal 4 questionnaireI was going to make a fuller post today - but I feel icky. (It feels like someone punched me in the chest. As I get tireder, it hurts more. If I was coughing, I'd think bronchitis... as it is, I have no idea - but I'm taking it easy.)But, since I got my secret pal name, and a wonderful email from mine I thought it would be a good idea to fill this out!
1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
I'm a fiber snob - but not for natural fibers. I'm a snob for yarns that feel good. I'm highly attracted to yarns that feel yummy. Doesn't matter the fiber content, its all in the feel. I'm also sensitive to many wools - they make me itch.
2. Do you spin? Crochet?I have been known to spin. Badly - but I do own a wheel. And a couple drop spindles. I also have recently learned to crochet.
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)I'm very sensitive to perfumes. I avoid them as much as I can, or get migraines. Many wools make me itch as well. I'm fine with the merino wools, though :-)
4. How long have you been knitting? 10 years.
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?Yes, I have a wish list at Amazon.
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)I avoid scents (see above). I do prefer light florals and light citrus scents - they need to be very light, or I can't deal.
7. Do you have a sweet tooth?Yes. Oh, yes. I love chocolate. I'm not a chocolate snob... my current favorite candy is Milky Way Carmels. And Oreos - double stuff... yum.
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?Not many. I used to cross-stitch, but can't anymore. I sew from time to time. For everthing else, I'm fickle - right now I'm fascinated by book-making. I was interested in scrapbooking for about 2 weeks. Knitting is my constant craft.
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)Hmmm. I'm somewhat eclectic. I love showtunes. (Wicked is on high rotation on my iPod) I love Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morrisette, Matchbox 20, REM, U2... I don't like country, rap, hip hop.
I listen to almost all music through my iPod - so I'm very MP3 friendly.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Purple is my favorite color. I like most jewel tones - deep blues, deep greens, deep reds. I wear a lot of black. I dislike pinks and most oranges. (rusty colors are fine, though). I really don't like most pastels.
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I live in Minnesota with my husband and our 2 daughters, 11 and 2 (almost 3). We have 1 dog and 2 cats.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) 13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?I love Koigu KPPPM and Kersti. Most of the smooth merinos in general - I usually navigate more toward solids than multis. I'm enjoying knitting with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, but am worrying about its longevity.
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I'm not big on eyelash yarns. Harsh acrylics. Stiff yarns.
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?I'm always knitting baby gifts. I keep trying to finish a sweater for myself :-)
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Don't really have one. I get captured by ideas in an item... I like to start projects.
17. What are you knitting right now?1. Debbie Bliss Matinee Jacket from Baby Cashmerino book
2. Lara from Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk
3. Ribby Raglan (from Purl Stitch book) in Koigu Kersti.
4. Natalya gauntles from Cashmerino Aran
Next up - Blaze from Knitty fall 2004.
18. What do you think about ponchos?I like them. I knit a Charlotte Poncho, and liked it. (the colors ended up wrong for me, and I gave it to my mom. I'm intending to knit another one)
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?Circular all the way. Straight needles put too much stress on my wrists.
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?Depends somewhat on the yarn, but I'm big on my Turbos.
21. Are you a sock knitter?No. I've started 4 or 5 socks... from different pairs. I've yet to finish one, much less a pair. I think this means I don't knit socks.
22. How did you learn to knit? One of my co-workers at a job in Seattle was an amazing knitter (she was knitting one of the Kunzel lace patterns as a shawl). I expressed interest, and she taught me.
As an aside I picked out a sweater for my the project I started (a baby sweater for my little girl). Well.. the yarn I picked didn't match the gauge listed. The stitch pattern was difficult, so we substitiuted an easier one...she showed me how to rework the pattern to match what I had. So the very first sweater I tried had all the caluclations for changing yarn and such. I've never been afraid of swapping things out...
23. How old is your oldest UFO? 10 years. Note the story above - that sweater was never finished.
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?I love Tigger. And Dragons. And Rubber Duckies.
25. What is your favorite holiday? Hmm. Don't really have one - I suppose Christmas.
26. Is there anything that you collect?Rubber Duckies. And Dragons, to a lesser extent.
Recent Purchase!
Well, here is my
Artfibers treasure trove!
The Kyoto and Tryst came home with complete bags of the stuff... should be enough to do something substantial with them. I have 2 skeins of Origami and 3 of Tai Chi, but only 1 of Golden Chai. However, I may be calling them to get more of the Chai yarn to make a
Clapotis scarf. Maybe....
I
love Kyoto. It just glows... the picture doesn't do it justice.
Knitting Progress
Here is my progress on the baby sweater. The more discerning readers amongst you may have right away noticed that I have 2 right fronts of this sweater. The rest of you can now gawk at my "amazing abilities". Impressive, right? I didn't notice until I was setting up the picture. (I guess I was more interested in that football game than I thought!) Fortunately, since I had just finished knitting, I hadn't yet cut the pice away from the rest of the skein. The second front has already been ripped back and I should have it done tonight. Then, sleeves!
A bit more has happened on Lara, but not enough to take a picture. Kersti Ribby is stalled again, mostly because I have to ball another skein of yarn, and I'm being lazy.
Mini Update
Since I got strong feedback on this gadget, I'll expound a bit more on the wondrousness that is the Mini. My husband connected the Mini up to the TV (40 inch Samsung DLP). It ran it at full resolution, and looked pretty darn good. We hooked up a Bluetooth adapter, and could run the computer from across the room with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. With a cheap miniplug to RCA adapter, we hooked up the speaker system as well (the computer has a mini-plug for audio out, or you can get a USB speaker set for audio. The internal speaker is pretty lame). Not too bad. The computer is now back on my desk where it belongs, though :-)
Question from previous post
Hollyo asked about my purse. I love my purse! I got it at a local gift shop called
Bibelot. (Great store. I've gotten a bunch of cool things there). But, back to the purse. Its from
Koie Products. Specifically, its the
Derby purse from the Airlie collection. It is not only a great shape (I'm a big fan of the handles), its a well built purse. The purse is slightly padded, with a rubber bottom, very sturdy. The inside has a webbing pocket on one side, and a set of organizer pockets on the other. There is a PDA pocket perfect for my T|3 (removing the need for me to carry it around in a hard case). Outside has a cell-pocket (cute, but worthless for me), and a zipper pocket at an angle. Just a great purse all around.
Stuff
I got the Philip Roth book for the Readalong, haven't started it yet. Nor have I gotten in gear and gotten myself added to the ring. (on my list for this week). I'm thinking up a good yarn idea for a scarf for the
Red Scarf project - which I think is a great idea.
And, I had a scare the last 2 nights. The first night, I heard a boom. I explained that one away by thinking the roof had shifted in the cold, or snow had fallen in a large clump, or something. But, then last night I could have sworn I heard an animal in the attic space above my head. Freaked me out... I was convinced something had gotten in the night before. Called up my husband, he hear nothing I didn't sleep well, but also didn't hear any more noises, either. Wish me better luck tonight!
In Technolust...I'm in technolust today... no knitting content. In fact, no content of anything except my new toy -
And, for scale
Yes, this is my purse.... they're the same size!
Excuse me while I succumb to terminal cuteness!
Just a quick update:
Had a good week in California - but had no time to post. Had a wonderful time around the Grass Valley area with my friend (and co-worker), met her alpacas (I have wool from one of them to spin up one of these days), and got sick. If you're going to get sick away from home, its much better to be sick at a friend's house than in a hotel. Sandy and her family (along with my husband and our other co-worker also) were wonderful.
It did take until Tuesday for me to feel all the way normal, but some of that was probably me being really tired as well as sick.
On Wednesday I got 2 treats - I got to wander around the Mac World Expo, basking in the glow of all that Apple hardware. I got to touch both a Mac Mini, and a iPod Shuffle. And, wandered around and played and had fun. Then, I snuck out and wandered .5 miles away to
Artfibers. Yep - Artfibers. This store is SO WONDERFUL. So much wonderful yarn. So soft, so pretty. I brought home some Kyoto, and some Tryst, and some Golden Silk, and some others. (somehow, even got it all into my already-rather full suitcase... not quite sure how). Pictures to come... I met Kira, friend to
Rachael. And, I had one of those "really, really small world" moments.
I had been imagining and trying to decide on which yarns were coming home with me, when a group of 3 come in. One of the ladies said (somewhat announced, but not rudely), that they had just come from MacWorld, and her sister-in-law wanted to see the store. I (feeling somewhat more social than some other times), turned and said that I had just come from MacWorld as well. The lady was very nice, we talked briefly, then she told me her sis-in-law was visiting from Minnesota, and had wanted to see 2 things - MacWorld and Artfibers. I almost fell over... and when I told her I was from MN, so did she. Not only that, but it turned out the knitter was on the same flight home I was. (just to complete the weirdness, I ended up sitting right behind her on the plane.) She doesn't blog, though. That would have been too much.
I did come home with a bunch of yarn - its waiting for me to finish either the baby sweater, or Lara, or my Kersti Ribby.
Update - Baby sweater - back is finished. 1 front is finished. Second front is up almost 3 inches.
Lara - right band is attached (I've ripped parts of Lara out twice in the last 2 weeks. Ick). I'm on the 4000 stitches to make the right front. That'll take a while)
Kersti - halfway up 1 sleeve.
Again, pics of (at least some) coming...
Thank you everyone for leaving Sabrina birthday wishes! Her face lit up when reading them!
Just a quick post today... I'm packing up and leaving for a week. Taking the little one to her Grandma's house, the big one will be here with her Grandpa going to school... and my husband and I are flying to California for a week of meetings (and warmer temps than here. Boy, do I need that right now.) We're flying into Sacremento tonight, visiting a friend in that area on Sunday, and then driving down to San Jose Monday morning.
While we're mostly doing meetings next week, we are hoping to head up to San Francisco for a day to wander the MacWorld Expo. I haven't been to one of these in YEARS. (I'm betting its smaller than I remember...)
I've been meaning to get my template edited this week to add in buttons for the Knit One, Read Too readalong hosted by
Cara, and adding this:
. Soon. Not today, as I have lots of packing to do.
Oh, and there has been very little knitting happening. I'm hoping the 2 2-hour drives today, and the airplane trip this evening mean I get a bunch of knitting done!
Sabrina is 11!
I need to start by saying I have NO idea how I came to have an 11 year old. None. It seems like just yesterday she was born.
Sabrina was born at 4:10 in the morning, after a long labor, and 3.5 weeks early. It had been a nervy pregnancy - I had been on bed rest for a month prior. But she came, fully formed and healthy.
We brought her home into an amazingly cold week in Des Moines - temps in the 10's and 20's below zero - actual temperature. I went nuts the first week, not having been out of the apartment for weeks anyways.
When she was 5 months old, we moved to Redmond, WA. I love the Seattle area. I learned to knit while living there. She learned to crawl and walk while living there.
When she was 1.5, we moved to Cupertino, CA. She learned so much in the 2 years here - went from baby to child. We had a great daycare while there - Barbara was amazing.
When she was 2, she looked like this:
This is while her hair, no matter how long it got, stayed curled right up next to her head. You'd be amazed at how long her hair was... (Side note - this was taken with our first digital camera... a QuickTake 100. Yes, we're geeks)
When she was 3, we moved back to Minnesota. Her grandparents rejoiced. The best part of being back in the Midwest is the relationships my children have with their family (past Mom and Dad). Winter is still the worst part of living here....
She looked like this on her 4th birthday:
Today, she turns 11. She has come from a sweet, loving, intelligent child to a sweet, loving, intelligent girl teetering on the edge of young-ladyhood. She is creative, articulate, and artistic. Sensitive. And a Knitter! One of my former co-workers called her the most centered child he had ever met - she was (and is) very aware of herself and the world around her. She truly marches to the beat of her own drummer...I'm SO proud of her.
We had a small celebration. I had a great fun time wrapping her presents - I love wrapping birthday presents.
She requested Joe's Crab Shack for dinner, as she adores crab legs. And, she requested strawberry-rhubarb pie as birthday dessert.
Leave her a birthday wish! She'd love that! (Look back through the archives to see some of her knitting!)
Looking back at 2004:
FinishedPanda Sweater
Circular Baby Blanket
Baby Bonnet
couple three pair of Duck Feet
Waves Baby Blanket
Fish Blanket (sewing up... knitting was done in 2003)
Sass Baby Blanket
Charlotte Shawl
Charlotte Poncho
Baby Hat
Mitchell Baby Blanket
Heart Hat
Cashmerino Aran Scarf
Started, yet to complete: (in no particular order)Booga Bag
Long Neglected Toe Up socks (I was working on these last New Year's)
Adult Duck Feet
Panda Hood/Shrug
Blaze (started is a bit of a stretch... I have a partial swatch of this one.)
Lara
Kersti Ribby
Kersti Wrist Warmers
Baby Sweater
Abandonded for now.
Potholder Loom-like blanket
Liv from Viking Knits
Joanna bag
I think Blogging is good for me finishing projects. (granted, I think I said that last year). Look at all that stuff I finished! Granted, out of all that stuff, only one thing is at my house. My Charlotte - because I was a nice daughter, and gave my mom the Charlotte Poncho.
My mom asked for a Charlotte poncho. While she was in Italy, she said, she was looking for a neat poncho like mine, and couldn't find one she liked half so well. So, I let her pick out some colors. .. then thought for a while. OH, I also let her borrow my poncho for a couple days. It looked wonderful on her - the blue-green near her face made it glow, and the bright colors suited her. So, I called her and asked if she'd like to keep that one, and I could make myself another one. In purples :-) She was thrilled - and so the Charlotte Poncho is in a happy home.
As a New Year's Resolution, I'm trying to post on a regular basis- MWF. We'll see how long THAT lasts.
And, Secret Pal 4 is starting up, and a new KnitBlogger's reading club, and, and... well - I have to have something to say on Wednesday, don't I?
