There seems to be much to report...

I don't know that I can do it all in one sitting. We'll see. I'm only writing during the commercial breaks of The West Wing. I don't want to miss a minute. I need to buy some more seasons on DVD because I'm really going to miss this show next year - especially considering how great this season's shows have been.

First, my fabulous Friday night. I stayed up until midnight on Thursday night to finish the orange cabled vest. It fits just as I had hoped! And I was too close to being done at 11pm to stop. That left me tired on Friday, but knowing that I was going to get to meeting the famous Yarn Harlot herself that evening kept me going. I met my friend Erin on the bus and we got to the shop pretty early. Stephanie was still getting a tour of the shop when we arrived, but I'm not nearly outgoing enough to go speak to her while she was speaking to the shop owner. I did try to hang out by the baby yarn and the cashmere while she and the yarn shop owner were chatting nearby. :-)

We browsed for a bit and picked up our copies of "Knitting Rules", and found pretty good seats by the Cascade 220. Stephanie was marvelous! I could kind of tell that she was a little nervous when she began, but within 10 minutes or so she was totally relaxed and on a roll. She was funny and clever, and I even laughed out loud at things I had already read just because her delivery was so good. My favorite part was the discussion of the Knitting Olympics.

I was a little dissappointed in myself for not coming up with a good question for her - it seemed like the Q&A questions were a little light, but I hadn't even considered that we'd get the chance. This was my first lecture and book signing. (Of course I came up with a good question today. Did she plan the content for all three book in advance or did she think of the next one as she finished the previous one?)

The signing wasn't quite as organized as they have planned, but it seemed to help things go smoother, since not everyone got into line at once. I'm pleased to note that the Yarn Harlot noticed my handknit vest almost immediately and complemented me on it (she was the only one other than Erin to say anything all night.) She even wrote "Nice vest" in my book. She's so lovely!

I read the first couple of chapters last night, and so far it's a great book, too.

Other enjoyment this weekend was getting to see the Reds on TV. I watched most of the game Thursday night while I worked on the vest. (During CSI, I switched the game during commercials) Saturday I watched the game while cleaning and chatting with my parents. And today I watched the game while cleaning until I had to leave for a meeting. I'm happy to report that the Reds won 3 of 4 games this weekend against the Pirates. For the Pirates sake, I'm glad they finally won a game...they are hosting the All-Star Game this year, so we don't want them to have the worst record in the league by July!

I didn't pay much attention to baseball last year. I hope to improve that this year. The Reds definitely have some great offense again this year. If they're pitching can hold up, maybe they have a chance for a good season. I'd be happy with a season in the running where they end up over .500. They're coming to Pittsburgh in mid-May and the last three games of the season. I hope to make it to a few, if not all of them.

In other news, I spent much of the weekend cleaning. The kind of cleaning that one does a couple of times a year. Dusting all of the woodwork, dusting each and every knickknack, cleaning the inside of the windows, vacuuming all areas of the carpeting in multiple directions (and moving most of the furniture). I got the first floor done and I started hanging the dining room curtains. Monday and Wednesday night's cleaning work will need to get the bathrooms clean first, and then the upstairs vacuuming, and then whatever else I can get done. I'm ready for spring cleaning to be done enough that I can focus on my room. Oh, and company comes on Thursday night. :-)

Just a few knitting photos. I'll do the rest soon.

First, the Mexican socks I mentioned the other day...
















And here are the three hats I've made for the Dulaan Project. One with Ken's Hat Pattern, one with Norma's Hat Pattern and one is the hat from my Fair Isle Class.










And here is a long overdue picture, of the scarf I made for myself and have worn all fall, winter and spring. This is the one reason that I will be just a little bit sad to see the warm weather arrive. This is one of my favorite things that I've ever made. The pattern is the Short Row Rib Scarf from magknits.com and the yarn is a Japanese Merino. (can't remember the brand name at the moment)

Oh, and I just got email saying that the Spring Knitty is up! Woohoo!

Woot!

New curtains just arrived!

I probably won't put them up tonight though, since I'm hoping to finish (finally!) the orange cabled vest to wear for the Yarn Harlot's book signing on Friday. I picked up and knit around the neckline last night, and I re-sewed the side seams (although I didn't cut anything yet). I started the first armhole on the bus this morning. We'll see if I make it.

Knitting to Appease Crankiness

At the moment I have officially run out of things to do at work. This makes me cranky. The person who can assign me something else to do is at lunch. So it seemed like the right time to take my lunch, too. Don't misunderstand, there is a lot of work to be done sitting around on my desk. But it is all for projects that are currently on hold. Meaning that I can't even work on them for a few minutes because we can't bill the client for them right now. I really enjoy my job, but it is rather annoying to have lots of work that I *can't* do and *no* work that I can do. So I will distract myself with photos of my knitting, and then spend the rest of my lunchtime working on the second cherry hill sock (the foot of the first is done).

First, here are the Mexian socks. I call them that because the majority of them were knitted on the beach in Mexico and on the plane to and from Mexico. The fact that they were finished in Bradford, PA is not important. The most enjoyable story about them is that while working on them on the flight to Cancun, I dropped a dpn...during takeoff...and we were in the last row. :-P With a little help from the nice man sitting on the aisle, the dpn was rescued and a near tragedy was averted...

The cable pattern on the socks was designed by me, and maybe someday I'll write it down for others (this would be one of my major failings as an aspiring knitwear designer). I used #2 bamboo dpns and they are knit with Wildfoote by Brown Sheep.

*sigh*

For some reasons my pictures aren't loading, even though I'm doing the same thing I did at home last night. And someone just brought me work to do. Guess the knitting photos will have to wait until later...

p.s. Click on ShadesofK's blog and wish her a Happy 30th Birthday! ;-)

Curtains, V.1

Our Bedroom

My Office

Our "Dressing" Room

Guest Room

There will be a V.2 once the next batch arrive in the mail. All of the curtains above are from Country Curtains - in Carrie Stripe and Colleen Floral.

Tomorrow - knitting photos!

Turnover

Looks like there will be a new coffee shop moving into my building in a couple of weeks, to replace the one that just closed. I will have to wait and see if they sell good chai and good tea, but at least it will be a convenient choice when I want *something*.

Other stuff:

- Can't wait for the spring Knitty to be published!

- T-minus 3 days, 4 1/2 hours until the Harlot!

- Tonight is carpeting class. I'm told we'll be making a mat we get to bring home.

- I'm in the process of cleaning off my work computer and gathering files to be moved to my new system or archived. I get the new computer on Monday - woohoo!

- I desperately need a haircut, but I keep forgetting to call for an appointment at a reasonable hour.

- Wondering if I have a big head? I bought some new headbands yesterday. They are the first ones in my life that aren't feeling tight and uncomfortable after 6-7 hours of wear. Don't know if the manufacturers finally learned that they don't have to squeeze the blood out of your head to stay in place or if I have a bigger than average head and finally found oversized headbands. Random, I know.

Garlic Mustard and more to come

Saturday morning, R and I went to the park to remove an invasive plant species called garlic mustard. Though we didn't really want to get up early, it was a nice morning in the park. Not too hot and not too cold. And we had a great turnout of volunteers.

This is Garlic Mustard.

This is me pulling it out by the roots.

I've spent the evening downloading a bunch of pictures of knitting and curtains, but now it is too late to post them all in a newsy blog post. But with the groundwork laid, it will happen soon.

I'll need a new morning routine

I just found out that the coffee shop in my building is closing next week. This is the most-conveniently located (duh) non-Starbucks place where I can get tea, chai, flavored coffee or a latte - depending on my mood and craving.

There is a deli where I can get flavored coffee, and they might have tea. There is a bagel place where I can get chai. And there is an out-of-my-way-more-than-Starbucks place where I can get chai and latte, and maybe tea.

At least I had the most convenient place during the coldest part of winter.

In other news...

1 - I just found out that I'm getting a new computer at work in the next couple of weeks! Woohoo! That should mean that I will *finally* have a copy of Photoshop at my desk and I'll be able to run the new 3D drawing program without crashes!

2 - I'm 4 repeats into the straight section of Clapotis. It's a nice pattern. I wish I would have purled the drop stitches instead of using markers. But I am afraid to change to that technique now since I know I purl looser than I knit. Dropping columns of stitches is fun. :-)

3 - I've started a pair of socks with the Cherry Tree Hill superwash merino I bought in OH last week. Lovely stuff so far. I'm trying to make a pair of socks like the ones that Grumperina posted a picture of on her blog (the berry colored ones). She hasn't posted the pattern yet, so I'm making it up based on how I think she made them. So far I like them, so even if the pattern is a little different, it's getting the right idea across.

4 - I might give up on the bamboo yarn I have for socks. It's *very* splitty and doesn't have a lot of give (like cotton). So starting from the toe up was aggravating and I get annoyed when I look three rows back and see a tiny ply sticking out. I think this yarn is likely to become a spring scarf. Maybe a lighter neck warmer for the office to battle the AC.

5 - I have a vague notion of wanting to wear the orange cabled vest for the Yarn Harlot's visit. Must work on it this weekend if that is going to happen. Maybe I'll start by doing the neckline, since that won't change from the alterations to be done to the sides.

6 - I'm still tired, but I'm getting through okay. I ordered curtains the other day, which gave me as much pep as half a cup of coffee. :-) They are for the foyer, kitchen and dining room. So the first and second floor will be fully curtained, except for the bathroom, which I am still debating.

7 - I'm hosting the next knitting GTG. There are a few things I'd like to get done between now and then, so I need to find some motivation this weekend if any of it is going to happen. I'm not going to list those things, because I don't need the pressure. At the very least, we need to rehang the door to our bedroom, but I'm not committing to anything more than that!

There is probably more, but it's not coming to me. 6 1/2 hours until the weekend, when I can go out and enjoy this really nice weather for a little bit! (Although it might be stormy by the time I'm done with work...)

Trying to figure out why

I'm warning you now, this is a long, potentially ranty post. I just need to get it all out, I think. And then we shall never speak of this again. :-)

I read an article in the paper today that aggravated me. I am aware that part of the reason is emotional and perhaps unfair, and I'm trying to figure out if there is really any reason for me to be annoyed at all. Or am I just being totally ridiculous. I will try to be circumspect in my description to avoid just being crass and mean about the whole situation, because that isn't my intention really. I mostly want to know why this is bothering me as much as it is and how to let it all go.

A friend of mine became the drama club director for a local high school last year. (Now, when I say local, I mean that it is in this county and near where he lives...but in reality it's at least 45 minutes from my house.) He asked me to be the set designer for the spring musical and said that I could do the design and just show up a couple of times to oversee the process but not have to be in charge of seeing the thing constructed and painted. Before agreeing, I explained that I would only be able to come out to the school once or twice to see how things were going, but that I would be happy to answer questions via phone and email as needed.

I spent my free time over the course of about 2 months designing the sets - which included ground plans for every scene and paint elevations of every built piece. It had been several years since I worked on a set where I wasn't around for construction and been the primary painter, so it was a bigger set of drawings than I had done in a long time. I underestimated the time it would take, so I had to use colored pencil on the elevations instead of paint, but I thought the drawings were very legible and I added notes where I thought they weren't.

I went to the school to see progress once. While I was there I commented on several things that weren't painted like my elevations, and was told that fixing them wouldn't be a problem. I answered some questions, but didn't see any big problems with what had been done so far. The line work in the painting was a bit sloppy and there wasn't a lot of detail on the facades, but the line work issues wasn't a big deal when you took a few steps back and I was given the impression that more detail would be added.

I got one question from the director/TD during the process. It was a question about the number and length of benches. I said that whatever worked for the choreography was fine with me, as long as they fit in the general area of the room created by the walls being built. I told him at that time and several times via email when I was available and that he should let me know what evening it would make the most sense for me to come visit and help paint. He never told me to come.

I got a few calls from the parent who was painting the drops, mostly about technique for painting drops that big. I answered his questions and again told him when I was available to come and that he should let me know when would be best. He never told me when to come.

I was a little worried about not hearing much in the last few weeks before the show opened, but I was happy to not have to make the trek out there. In hindsight, I probably should have been more insistent about going one or two more times.

When we went to see the show, there was not one piece of the set that was exactly as I had designed it. Okay, the drops were painted as I had designed them, but since I had been given the wrong dimension for the proscenium they were 10' to tall and 1/3 of the design was rolled up on the floor... Some piece of every set had been changed and there were things I had designed that weren't on stage at all.

Now, I understand that things change during the process of putting a show up. I'm totally willing to accept that. What I *don't* understand is why I got a phone call about changing the benches, one of the most insignificant aspects of the set design (purely functional) and not a single call about the items that were cut or changed or altered. And why did no one call me when the drops were too tall? To top it all off, the show was pretty painful to sit through and I felt especially bad for the four people who came to see it with me.

So fast forward to this year. I wasn't totally disappointed when I wasn't asked to design the set again, but at the same time it did annoy me. I have the feeling that the parents who were involved didn't think much of me since I wasn't there for the process (I don't know this for a fact, it's just a vibe I was getting) and that's why I wasn't asked again. Or maybe they all thought they could do a better job without having to pay me. Or...I don't even know what.

The article that caused all of this ranting is a full-length review in the local paper. Which specifically mentions the sets, including the full stage painted drops (my drops could only be 15' wide because of cost, although if I had the right height dimension I might have been able to afford wider ones.)

All I can come up with is that when I was involved, it was a crappy experience that resulted in much bitterness and negative feelings, and it was a show that no one bothered to review. Quite honestly, I never said much to the director, figuring that I could bring it up if he asked me again and knowing that being upset with him wouldn't really fix the problems of the past. I realize that I could have been more proactive, but I was trying to enjoy the gig I was promised - that didn't involve me needing to be around that much, and letting my drawings speak for themselves. But this year, it sounds like it was a great experience. And really I get jealous every time a set is mentioned in a review because it happens so rarely. Some of my best work (IMO and the opinion of the director I work with most often) hasn't gotten any comments.

On one hand, I'm totally accepting of the fact that theater critics have very little space to review a production with many facets and that a successful set shouldn't be so overwhelming that it overpowers the show. But at the same time there are definitely designers in this town (and in some cases directors who dictate the set design) who get mentions a lot more often than the norm. (I get similarly annoyed at articles about new buildings that don't credit the architect who designed them.)

I also find it sad because I *love* musicals. And I would love to find a regular gig where I could design musicals on a regular basis. But the size of theater companies that I work with just don't do them on a regular basis, and they are really much more prominent around here in the high schools anyway.

I don't know. I think maybe venting in this forum might help me feel better. And if anyone has any wisdom for me, I'm listening. It's really moot since I don't think I'll ever be offered a set design job at this school again (and I don't really know that I would want one without a TD), but the whole thing still feels unresolved and irritating. Maybe it wouldn't bother me so much if I had a nearby outlet for designing sets for musicals or a faraway place to design them for that could be trusted to build my design as drawn (or at least communicate to me about changes).

Rant over.

How my day is going

During lunch I catapulted a ravioli covered in sauce onto myself. It hit my sweater in two places and landed on my right thigh.

15 minutes in the restroom got all of the sauce and oregano off, but there are still big wet spots and little bits of paper towel stuck to my clothes.

I'm glad that I only plan to leave my desk for some tea later...

Long Day

The alarm clock went off at 4:20 this morning and I got home at 8:50
this evening.

I'll post something more interesting when I've had more sleep.

But, I do want to add that I've started a Clapotis out of Cascade Quarto
and that I'm super psyched that the Yarn Harlot is coming to Pittsburgh
next week! Woohoo!

Ummmm...

I really did expect to make a nice long blog post this weekend (or several) with pictures of my finished striped trekking socks, a progress photo of the fair isle bag and a nice picture of all of the yarn I bought in the past two weeks. (I've been to three yarn shops in the past week and a half.) :-)

But I unexpectedly spent most of yesterday on the computer working on something totally different and with a knitting gtg this afternoon and the usual Sunday stuff to do afterward, it doesn't look like my expectations will be met.

You can see some of what I did yesterday here: snsalumni.blogspot.com

Must do dishes and go to bed soon.

Holding on for the weekend

There will be some posting this weekend - I promise.

At the moment, I'm tired and I'm trying to get some work done since I was out of the office yesterday (in Wooster, Ohio). There will be talk of yarn shopping, drywall and striped socks to look forward to, and maybe even a few photos.

Also, thankfully, my joann.com order arrived. Ordered on March 8th and arrived on March 24th. It doesn't speak well for free shipping, huh?

The orange cabled vest

So I realized that there is one knitting aspect of this past weekend that I didn't mention. While R and I watched HP3, I finally wove in the ends and sewed the sides together of the vest. In the past, I've finished an item of clothing right before bed and tried it on...only to find a major problem, which keeps my brain awake for a while. I've learned my lesson. :-)

So I tried it on Sunday afternoon. It's too big now.

sigh.

I think I know what I did. In addition to adding cables repeats (4, because it is symmetrical around the center) I also changed 6 cables columns to a cable that lies flatter than the twisted cable. I think if I would have done one or the other of these things, it would fit...but both was too much.

Really, it isn't horrible. I could wear it as it is. But it is just not as fitted as I would like. And someday, when I lose weight, I would be swimming in it.

So I'm going to try a steeking operation. I'm going to sew up the sides to "delete" two cable columns and once I've "reinforced" that seam, I'll be able to cut out the extra fabric. Not the best use of the yarn, but there is no way that I'm knitting the whole thing again. I can't do it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Exercising, waiting, socks and Dulaan

The past three weeks R and I have made it to the gym three times. I think the last time I had a record that good was January 2005. This week is a little tricky and busy for us both, so though I will aim for three trips, I will be happy with two. Work comes first and Friday night is a sad night to go to the gym. It's nice because it isn't busy, but it just feels sad somehow. And with possible social plans on Friday night, it would make it sadder to be at the gym if we could be hanging out with friends instead.

On March 10th, I placed a small order with Joann.com. It shipped that evening. And according to the tracking page, it arrived in a local zip code on the 15th. I still don't have the package... I realize that standard shipping is 7-12 business days and that this is business day 7, but it is still rather annoying to know it is so close but not in my hands yet. I guess I now understand the downside of free shipping from joann.com.

I started the second trekking sock last night. I'm really happy with the striping and the fit. These will not be my last pair of trekking socks!

I was inspired by knitting blogger Norma and decided to spend Friday night doing charity knitting. I made a red and white hat using Ken's Dulaan Hat pattern and started a blue hat using Norma's pattern . I finished the blue hat before the weekend was out - knitting a few rows here and there, and finishing it during Sunday evening's watching of some of the HP3 DVD extras. Lion Brand Homespun seemed well-suited for these patterns, especially the double thick hat. With partial skeins of various colors in my stash, I think the Homespun will be my primary charity knitting yarn for a while - more hats and more afghan squares. I have already decided that the next hat will be another Ken pattern, but stranded to make it thicker and warmer.

For those not familiar, the hats will be donated to the Dulaan Project once I get a few more done. I'm trying to come up with a good way to inspire some local knitters to make a few things, too...

TV

Lately I've been pretty resistant to getting into new shows. I think this is for two reasons. Number 1 - a few years ago I found myself watching (what I considered to be) WAY too much TV. I had at least one show every night and a few nights with several, and with all of the taping and everything, it was just out of hand. Number 2 - most of the networks tend to give shows a couple of months, and if they don't do well they are gone. Yes, there are a few exceptions to this when shows get some critical acclaim (e.g. Arrested Development, The Office), but I'm just not interested in spending the time getting interested in a show to have the network pull it away from me. I've been burned in the past (e.g. Brooklyn Bridge, Homefront, Firefly).

I purposefully resisted the three hot shows on ABC right now. Admittedly, R and I have started watching LOST here and there, and it seems possible that we'll rent the first season this summer to see what we missed. But I'm still resisting Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. I'm not really sure why, especially for DH because I love Teri Hatcher. I think part of it is that Grey's conflicts with Crossing Jordan and if I watched DH I'd have 3 solid hours of TV watching on Sunday night. Maybe once The West Wing is gone next season I'll give DH a chance.

And West Wing's impending series finale is what is making me think about TV for next season. Last season I lost Judging Amy, this season CSI: Miami has been super annoying, and I also stopped taping CSI: New York and Without a Trace. Leaving my only "tape-worthy" show for next season as CSI, although I've been enjoying "How I Met your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" enough that I will probably start taping them.

Still, even if I start taping CSI: New York again, that's only 3 hours a week. Nothing to be ashamed of. But add in the 5 hours that R tapes, and things are getting dicey. I realize that I'm totally over thinking this...but that's what I do. :-) Besides, TV time is knitting time, so I'm not going to be a "fool" and give up TV totally. I just want to prevent myself from getting sucked in too far, to the point where I have to spend all of my free weekend time catching up on my TV from the week.

Sunshine

I will now distract you all with cute photos of kitties enjoying the sunshine. I took the photos of Nora and Stewart and R took the one of Effie. These were taken on Saturday, but similar sights were seen on Sunday, too. :-)

Discussion of Past Works - Day 1

I realize that there are a number of knitted items in my gallery that I have never written about, because they were made before I started blogging. And, there are a number of items that I've made while blogging but never posted pictures because they were gifts (Christmas, baby shower, etc.) So on days when I don't have anything else exciting to post, I'll dig back into the knitting archives.

The trekking sock continues and I'm four rows in on a fair isle bag. Nothing really worthwhile to blog about and nothing photo worthy at the moment.

The Diamond Shawl was my first attempt at lace, just a couple of months after I learned to knit. I had knit, purl, k2tog, p2tog and yo down without a problem, but there were a few stitches in the pattern that I didn't know and I hadn't really learned to recognize all of the stitches yet. I started this thing over at least 6 times. Each attempt I got a little further into the pattern and I learned a lot from the process.

The pattern is a free one from the Lion Brand website and it was worked with 2 strands of Wool-Ease, each a different shade of pink. I now prefer Encore over Wool-Ease, but I was generally happy with how it turned out and I have been told that the recipient, my cousin Sara, wears it a lot. (She gets cold easily.) Given that she was 7 for Christmas 2004, an acrylic blend was the best option for washability (and that was early enough in my knitting career that I might not have heard of superwash yet).

These two bags were made for two of my aunts for Christmas 2004. Having made Zeebie's bag from the first SnB book, I decided to try my own design changes. I ribbed the left and right edges so that when the bag is empty it will have a smaller profile, but it can expand to hold more than it seems. I also used a ribbon yarn to accent the top edge and single handle. The main yarn was a wool from Arucania. I love the variation in the color and it was a nice wool to work with. I've been disappointed that the LYS near my office doesn't seem to offer as many colors in this yarn anymore.

I finished the pieces of these bags well in advance of Christmas, but made the mistake of leaving the sewing until late December. The unexpectedly large snowfall in western Ohio delayed our trip and helped me get all of the presents done that year (I finished the last one 5 minutes before arriving at my grandparents on the 26th...). I stayed up late sewing them together the night of the 23rd, watching bad Christmas movies, like the one where Michael Keaton turns into a snowman. I knew it was time to give up for the night when I sewed one side on backwards...

K.I.P.

Yesterday, R was forced to listen to me talk knitting quite a bit. He seemed to have survived, which is a plus for both of us I think. :-)

At the end of our gym visit, I was working on a sock in the waiting area. (The striped trekking sock) And I was peppered with questions from a woman who was also on her way out. I tried to help as best I could, and in the end I suggested she go for lessons at the shop I went to earlier in the week. Sounds like she made a hat and purse in a class, but that too much was done by the teacher. She asked easy questions, but seemed impressed by my knowledge.

Then we met up with some friends at our local coffee shop. We haven't seen them in a while and they are trying to find an apartment to rent in our neighborhood. Turns out that the female of the pair has taken up knitting. :-) We managed to talk about yarn and patterns for a while before R changed the subject to languages. It sounds like she's not afraid of a challenge, which was refreshing, so I will try to include her in future GTGers if possible.

Lastly, while we were at the shop, a woman came up to ask me what I was knitting (I was still working on the sock, turning the heel) and she was amazed at my tiny size 1 needles and the whole working in the round concept. She wants to make a hat and has had trouble getting the circular thing working. So she gave me her email, and at some point I'll meet up with her to help out. She also mentioned that she has a group of 7-8 ladies who have met once or twice to knit and were talking about moving the GTG to the coffee shop. At which point I mentioned that through the neighborhood list a friend had found a similar sized group interested in the same thing. So we'll see if we can get all of these people connected and set up a neighborhood knitting group.

(I have no problem having two knitting groups. Sometimes once a month is just not enough. Besides, the neighborhood one would be more convenient than my existing one that can potentially be all over the city...)

It's amazing was a little public knitting can do.

Oh the Irony

I took yesterday off sick. I just woke up feeling blah and very tired, and I knew that with this busy week I wouldn't be able to "catch up" until the weekend. With nothing pressing to do at work, I decided that it made a lot of sense to take the day so I could go back to sleep. And I had a great morning nap until almost 11, and then I spent the afternoon doing a chunk of the housecleaning that needed to be done before Sunday.

But last night, I couldn't get to sleep. Really, I laid there for hours. Maybe some poor combination of sleeping in, evening exercise and chai and tea after 8pm was the problem? I have no clue. I didn't feel horrible when I woke up this morning, but I'm guessing that it will be more difficult tomorrow. With my trim carpentry class this evening, I won't be able to go to bed super early because I don't know that I will get home before 10. Oh well. It was a nice try anyway.

Good gym news - we're now up to seven trips in a row. Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday. It can be hard to find the motivation to go on a Friday night, but I think we can do it to keep our streak alive!

More about knitting later...

Lovin' the Fair Isle

I made this tonight! The teacher was great. Unfortunately, I was the only one in the class. But I learned what I went there to learn, and I took some Cascade 220 home with me. :-)

Found out that the shop has a charity knitting GTG on Sundays. From 1 to 4, they provide the yarn for knitting items for charity. Knitters just need to bring themselves and their needles.




Here is the famous made in one day baby hat (modeled by heidifred).




And here is the matching cardigan, a modified version of the garter stitch cardigan in "Weekend Knitting" by Melanie Malick.



Here is my current bus knitting. The sock yarn is from trekking - I'm liking the way that it is striping.

A hat in a day

I cast on a hat yesterday with the leftovers from the baby cardigan. At lunchtime I decided to check to see if it would be big enough, and the answer was no. (gotta love google) So I frogged and cast on with 40 more stitches and knit one row before lunch was over. I worked on it on the bus and when I got home Nora insisted on keeping my lap warm so I kept going. By the time Nora left I was close enough to finishing (and any motivation I had previously had for doing anything else was gone) that I just kept going. Even with a little frogging as I worked out how I wanted the top of the hat to look and how best to use my limited yarn resources...I finished the hat by 10:50.

Will have to force myself to do something productive when I get home from the knitting class tonight, or the busy week might see us run out of dishes or run out of time to clean the house for our company on Sunday.

Speaking of the knitting class, is it time to go yet?! I can't wait! :-)

No excuses

I have no good reason for not posting since Wednesday. I think I was so caught up in the euphoria of finally posting some relevant pictures that I gave myself Thursday and Friday off. And I didn't spend much time on my computer this weekend.

I'm trying to cultivate a strong case of "finish-itis" in myself. This would be the antidote to "start-itis", which I've had in full force for years. :-)

1 - Except for buttons, I finished the baby cardigan. I love it. Even R thinks it is cute. I have some leftover Baby Ull (lovely to work with, BTW), so I started a hat on the bus this morning. (I realize that this is another "start" of something...but it is so I can "finish" the present to send it and so I can "finish" off the yarn, so I'm not looking on it as a problem.)

2 - I got caught up on my "special needs" clothing - everything that is hand wash or dry clean only or which has some other special need that prevents it from going in the main laundry baskets. I then, of course, wore a hand wash sweater on Sunday. :-P

3 - Several weeks ago when I rearranged the living room furniture, I also brought out a number of pictures I wanted to hang on the walls. And I set the out around the first floor. This weekend, I got most of them hung. I put in the masonry screws for the largest one and got picture wire yesterday. So it should go up tonight. I also chose some to hang upstairs, and they might go up tonight as well.

4 - I made a template for installing the new hardware for the kitchen cabinets and drawers.

Oh, and on Friday night I went stash diving, to find yarn for my knitting homework. I knew I had a lot of yarn...but I have a LOT of yarn. :-) I reorganized it by fiber content. I'm really going to have to try to come up with a way to use up some of the acrylic. I'm pondering the idea of hosting a charity knitting GTG this spring/summer and letting the attendees use up some of my acrylic stash. There are a number of charities like "Newborns in Need" and "The Dulaan Project" that accept warm clothing donations year round. And I would assume they would prefer machine washable stuff. I tend to lean toward Dulaan because I don't know that enough of my acrylics are soft enough for newborns.

Just a thought that's drifting around.

A real knitting update

For once I am going to post about knitting with photos. Don't faint, this probably won't happen all the time. Mostly because it is hard to talk good knitting photos without sun...which I only get to see at home on weekends. So the photography is a little annoying. Although the photos turned out better than I thought from looking at the viewfinder.

First, a finished object. The grey alpaca socks in the River Rapid pattern from sockbug. The close-up is blurry, sorry. I'll try to get a sunny picture this weekend.





Next, the progress on the famous orange cabled vest. Initially based on the Veste Everest from IK, but gauge and cables changed to protect the innocent...and to keep my interested. :-)















Third, the progress on the baby cardigan. The dark purple is the sleeves, the big lavender piece is the back and the smaller lavender piece is the left front. You can see on the back piece how I messed up - the arm decreases are on the opposite side from the neck decreases. I realized this when I was nearly finished with the back. So those are decreases are going to become side slits. :-)
















And lastly, the pink pullover from Vogue Knitting (Fall 05 I think). The stitch holders and circular needle make it hard to see the overall shape, but the important part of this is the band of ribbing that goes below the chest. From holding it up to myself, I think it will hit the right spot.



Not exactly the yarn harlot...but it's a start!

Knitting Homework

I just registered for my first knitting class! Woohoo!

I'm taking a class in Fair Isle next Tuesday at Knit One (www.knitone.biz). When I registered I got my "homework" assignment for the class and the materials I need to bring with me. I'm sure I have enough worsted weight yarn in the old stash, it will just be a matter of finding 2-3 "strongly contrasting colors" that I like together. I have a number of Plymouth Encore leftovers from Christmas that I think will come in handy. I also have to make sure that the size 7 and 9 needles and the short circular connector from my interchangeable needles are available for use.

In sock news, I went a little too far on the grey socks, so my bus ride home will involve some tinking. But after that I will just have the toes to finish! I've been wanting to finish *something*, so it looks like I will get my wish very soon.

A successful experiment

Spice both sides of pork tenderloin with dill, thyme, salt, pepper and
dijon mustard. Put in casserole with a layer of water and a little
lemon juice. Cook covered at 375 for 30 minutes and uncovered for 10
more. (If time, cook longer at a lower temperature to keep moist.

Hmmmm

I've been drawing in 3D all day, so I think it's a good day for a list. Don't feel like putting paragraphs together with coherent transitions (assuming that this is something I usually accomplish).

1) I'm proud of R and I. We went to the gym three times last week, and I was able to build up enough weight and sets on the weight machines that my arms are sore today. My legs are even a little sore from the cardio. I unfortunately have a lot of Thursday things in March. Hopefully that won't impede our good progress.

2) I haven't touched the orange vest since last Sunday. I was going to start weaving in ends during the Oscars, but putting away the laundry and washing "hand wash" things took too long. But we're caught up on dishes and laundry (one last load to put away), so a few more delicate things to wash in the sink and the piles can start accumulating again.

3) I watched the Oscars, as I always do. I thought that Jon Stewart did a good job, but the audience seemed totally dead. There were several times that I laughed and the audience didn't. Don't know if they had something against a TV personality or if too few of them had a cocktail in the limo.

4) I liked more Oscar dresses than usual and I thought the set was very nice. I was glad that Reese and Ang won, and I'm pleased that three "Memoirs of a Geisha" designers won - 'cause Rob Marshall is from Pittsburgh and I can only hope he'll make more musicals if he gets the chance. Although really all that the studios care about is income, so inspiring Oscar winning work in his designers is probably not sufficient for the studios to give him more trust.

5) I finished the back of the baby cardigan and started the left front. I made a mistake I don't want to rip out back at the first armhole of the back and I'm still deciding where I'm going to add the dark purple accents...so this thing is being reworked as I go. Should be interesting. :-)

6) Stewart is back on his kick of sleeping as close to my head as he can. I don't actually wake when he gets there, but I wake up when my body is in need of a different position and I can't move a shoulder and arm. I can't stress enough how adorable he is...but my sleep is important to me, and each time Effie has been nearby, so there hasn't be a place to move him to really. My first attempt is to try to change my position without making him move too far, but this usually means that I get my shoulder out, but my arm remains pinned. Saturday and/or Sunday I managed to dose in position #2, but it wasn't a long-term solution.
The funniest was this morning. I moved into a new position, and Stewart took this to mean that he could find a new position for himself, too. He then draped himself across my neck, like a big furry necklace. I appreciate that he wants to be close, but there was no way that was going to work! I was less patient this morning, since it was a workday and once Effie hissed at him he just decided to leave. We've been playing with him more lately, so I'm wondering if that is why he seems to be sleeping with us longer at night...

7) One minor coworker vent. I'm happy to help with a project, but when I tell you that I need x, y and z before I can begin and a week passes without you giving me any of those things, you really shouldn't be surprised that I haven't made any progress on the project a week later. Duh.

Don't you hate it...

...when you have too much Beeswax and not enough Dill Pickle?

Yeah, in another life, I want to name paint colors for a living. I bet I could knit while I did it, too.

so close

After years of asking for a copy of Photoshop at my desk, I was given a copy of Elements today.

Only to have the installation fail because I don't have Windows XP. :-(

Maybe someday...

Missed Anniversary

I just realized today that I neglected to celebrate a milestone last month. February 12th was the second anniversary of my licensure as an architect. Time certainly flies...

I still question whether I would be qualified to work out on my own, but that has as much to do with my limited business knowledge as not being a great detailer.

On the knitting front - the orange cabled vest was trying to kick my butt...but I won in the end. I think it is the most mistakes I've ever made on a project - the most I've ever had to unknit and reknit in one item. Although I find I'm making lots of little mistakes while working on my gray, alpaca socks, so maybe I am just not paying enough attention in general. Maybe my brain is looking for some plain garter or stockinette for a bit.

The back and front of the vest are done, and the shoulders are knitted together. I still need to weave in ends, sew up the side seams and then knit around the neck and armholes. Still some work to go, but I feel like I've passed a major obstacle on this one.

I should be starting the heel of a grey sock tomorrow and I need to work on the baby cardigan since it is now March and the baby is due in April!

Focus Issues

I have a lot to look forward to this weekend.

I've borrowed a movie from a friend that I've wanted to see for a long time (Love Actually), I have tickets to see "Wicked" tomorrow afternoon with dinner plans afterwards, and Sunday is a knitting get together. I'm also looking forward to sleeping in, because we got home past our bedtime last night (a 3+ hour dinner will do that).

I'm ready for it to be 5pm so I can get home and get my weekend started.

But I am still enjoying learning the 3D modeling software. It is frustrating at times, but when I figure stuff out it looks really cool. I'm hopefully that I can find some exhilaration in it today to help the day move by quicker.

I apparently forgot to turn off my iPod the last time I finished using it, and it ran the battery down before shutting off by itself. :-( So listening to "Wicked" is not a possible way to make the day go quicker.

Knitting - I've been forcing myself to stay focused on the orange cabled vest. Even though I'm getting a little bored with it, I'm telling myself to keep working on it in the spirit of the Knitting Olympics. I'm only about 40 rows from the front armholes, at which point the decreases will provide some interest and make each row go faster. And this week has been a week of wearing new clothes, so hopefully I can finish the vest about the time that the novelty of the new purchased clothes wears off...

Four

I've seen this in a couple of places lately, and thought it would make for an easy Thursday post. I'll try to include some things that aren't obvious where possible. :-)

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Blockbuster Music Customer Service Representative
2. Babysitter
3. CMU tourguide (Office of Admission)
4. Alumni House job calling CMU alums to ask for money

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Soapdish
2. Pleasantville
3. Ever After
4. Back to the Future
(I could come up with many more for this one...)

Four places you have lived:
1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Dayton, OH
3. Buffalo, NY
4. Valencia, Spain

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2. Family Ties
3. The West Wing
4. What Not to Wear

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. St. Lucia
2. Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
3. Wilmington, N.C.
4. Grand Cayman

Four websites I visit daily:
1. talk.thenest.com
2. www.yarnharlot.com
3. www.post-gazette.com/ae/
4. www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/

Four of my favorite foods:
1. shrimp
2. Sushi
3. pasta
4. mushrooms

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. home with the kitties and R
2. on a beach
3. anywhere knitting
4. visiting friends who don't live in Pittsburgh

Not much to say

I realize that it's been a week since I've posted....but I don't know that ya'll are missing out on any information.

Thursday night we had a community meeting. It seemed like lots of people had lots to say. The organization itself isn't doing a whole lot at the moment, but there is a lot going on politically and in the schools. I'm hopeful that someone will run against our local state rep - he's too entrenched in the state political machine. He voted for the 2am pay raise, he took the raise and he's against reducing the size of the legislature.

Friday night we talked about going to a movie, but our only option was 9:40, and that just seemed too late.

Saturday was spent with a knitting friend. We went to two yarn shops - one I had been to before and where I had a gift certificate to spend and another that has been open for 6 months but this was my first visit. They're both really nice, but the new one is *huge*. They have a great selection and a lot of room to spread it out in. I bought some bamboo yarn for socks - we will see whether this is a good sock fiber - at the new shop. At the other I bought two books, both having fair isle patterns and directions, which is one of the next skills I want to learn. The new shop is supposed to have a class in fair isle sometime in march.

Sunday I got out my cello to see if I can handle the cello gig I was offered. Not surprisingly, I'm very rusty. I know that I *can* do it, it is just a question of how much time I really want to spend practicing in the next month. A knitting friend has a husband who is a cellist. I've passed the offer along to him as a way of avoiding actually making the decision myself.

Otherwise, I've just been trying to take care of things that have been sitting around in "to do" piles for much too long. I finally mailed some christmas pictures this week and am updating our address spreadsheet so that I can throw envelopes from christmas cards away.

I've started the front of the orange cabled vest (that I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about) and I'm a few rows from finishing cuff #1 of the gray alpaca socks.

Oh, and at work I'm learning some 3D modeling software. I think the software is pretty good, it's just been a long time since I've learned a program from scratch and it is a little frustrating at times. But I know it is good experience.

Clarification

In case any non-knitters thought I was crazy when they read my Monday morning post, there really is an organized Knitting Olympics. And there are 4048 knitters participating. (There are only 2500 athletes in Turino, although the knit-letes don't have to qualify to participate).

www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/olympics2006.html

There was even a brief mention of it in TIME magazine...although the article calls it crochet in the opening paragraph and refers to the knitters as "couch potatoes", so the article didn't really induce any pride or do anything for the general impression of knitters. (In my world, a couch potato does not do anything other than eat while being lump-like and watching TV. A knitter burns more calories, not many but more, and is using more cognitive function to do two things at once.)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1158953,00.html

Successful Dinner

In skillet, heat up olive oil and pine nuts with medium-high heat. When pine nuts begin to brown, add chicken and season with celery salt, pepper and basil. (add additional olive oil if necessary) After 5 minutes (or until chicken is approximately half cooked), turn and season second side. After just a few minutes add canned stewed tomatoes (or fresh) and several layers of baby spinach. Cover and cook to wilt spinach, warm tomatoes and finish cooking chicken. At end cover with parmesan cheese and let simmer until it is melted. Serve with rice.

Not bad for making it up as I go...

Playa del Carmen

My plans for a weekend blog post about our trip didn't happen. Quite frankly I didn't want to do much of anything that I should/could have been doing this weekend. R and I are lucky I found the motivation to do some laundry and that he found some for emptying the dishwasher.

I suggest you check Spargelkohl's blog for photo links and his descriptions of what we did. I will just add a few thoughts.

To give R credit, I didn't know that we were flying to Cancun until the Black & Gold festooned United employee checked us in and wished me an early happy birthday. The rest of the details were a well-kept secret until we were sitting at the gate, and even then, knowing very little about Mexico, I didn't know what to expect until we arrived.

The fact that I knew we were going to Mexico did allow for some Spanish practice during the week and it meant that I brought my mini-dictionary - which was pretty helpful for words I couldn't remember. In most cases I found that words popped right into my head or they just wouldn't come at all. Having the dictionary to refresh my memory was fun, and overall I was pretty happy with my ability to remember the Spanish I used to know. My response time to Spanish questions was pretty slow...but better than when I first arrived in Spain in 1998, so I haven't totally regressed. :-) Must find a way to practice from time to time...

The main "excitement" on the flight was when I nearly lost a double pointed needle. Which, if I had 5 wouldn't have been a big deal. But I already broke one, so only having three would have made it impossible to work on my socks and I had only brought one non-sock project on the trip with me. Being in the last row made it tricky to retrieve since I dropped it during takeoff...but the guy in the aisle seat didn't look at me like I was too crazy for almost getting my arm stuck between the seats and even volunteered to try to reach it for me. Success! (Let's not think of this trip without the ability to knit...I might have experimented with toothpick knitting...)

On Day two, we saw a bit of the shopping opportunities in Playa del Carmen. We heard a few other people talk excitedly about what was available, but I didn't see anything that made me wish we had made time to shop. (Being my birthday weekend, I had the power to set the schedule, so I could have requested shopping if I wanted...) Not sure if my "shopping gene" wasn't paying attention or if we just didn't hit the right part of town. Of course, if it would have been my bag that stayed in DC, we would have gone shopping as soon as we arrived at the resort!

On Sunday, be sure to take note of my "Hombres de Acero" t-shirt. It's the first time I've gotten to wear in a Spanish-speaking place. And so timely, too. :-)

Getting up to try to see the sunrise on my birthday probably marks the earliest I've ever gotten up on my birthday...I think.

Lastly, I'll add that when we returned home it was not only cold but it was also snowing! Talk about a harsh plunge back into reality... Oh, and Dulles stinks. Will be avoided in the future.

unofficially knitting in the Olympics?

So part of the reason that I wasn't participating in the Olympics was because I didn't have a project I was psyched about to start on Friday...

When I got home from work, I compared the ill-fitting orange cabled vest to an existing sweater that fits well, but a little loosely. After a variety of rearrangements and consideration of strategies, I frogged it. I restarted in the next bigger size, added a few alternate cables in three of the central columns, I made the "regular" cables a little taller *and* I decided to alternate the cable length as called for in the original pattern. I'm using a heavy DK weight instead of a worsted, and it was just making cables that were too thick, so instead of cabling every 8 rows, I'm cabling every 10 and 12 rows. The fabric is lying flatter, but it will still have some stretch to accentuate my curves. :-)

As of the end of the bus ride this morning, I have 11" of the back knit. Part of me thinks I should count this as Olympic knitting since I started on Friday, and the other part of me thinks that with two more weekends until the Olympics are over, this is much too easy for an Olympic challenge.

And then I start to think of a real challenge...and I think about trying to finish everything I have on the needles before the flame goes out. (Advantage - I have a knitting GTG on the afternoon of the 26th - so there's a good 4 hours I'll get on the last day...) But then I think it's crazy and wonder if I really want to spend that much time knitting over the next couple of weeks when there are plenty of things I want to do around the house.

Maybe I'll just make it my goal to not start anything new before the 26th and try to finish what I can. Can you tell I'm being wishy-washy about this whole Knitting Olympics thing? I'm not really sure why. It could be that I'm really enjoying a period of my life with no outside-of-work deadlines.

On the needles:
- Orange Cabled Vest (11" of back done)
- Pink Vogue Pullover (back done, in the midst of armholes on front)
- Grey Alpaca socks (1 cuff 75% done)
- Lavender Baby Cardigan (2 sleeves done, 3" of back done)

Not bad, but a lot for 14 days...especially if I want to have a life. ;-)

I finished the rust colored socks. They are a little long, but I'm very pleased with them. The cabling is just what I wanted and they are comfy (not scratchy at all). They are not super warm, but that just means that they aren't the socks to put on when it's below 40 outside.

Unusual Offer

I just got a call with an offer of a cello gig. You read that right, a cello gig.

It's for a high school musical, so the pressure isn't high. I'm sure that I'm *really* rusty. But I have so few opportunities to play with an orchestra anymore (read: none), that it seems like a shame to pass it up.

I'm actually a little impressed that my friend remembered that I play the cello, since I don't think he's ever heard me play...

Back in town

I'm greatly relieved that there is not much on the calendar this weekend. I have two suitcases to unpack (from my two different trips), a number of phone calls and emails to return from the lovely people who wished me a wonderful birthday. And I have a pile of mail to go through. Not to mention the need for some sleep and straightening up in various parts of the house, and I'm sure there will be laundry. I'm very glad that I got us caught up on dishes before we left.

I'm not complaining. I don't feel the need for a ton of relaxation because we certainly got a lot of that in Mexico. But wednesday was a 14 hour workday and thursday was nearly 10, and only having one workday at the office during the week is a bit unmotivating. It feels like the week should already be over and it isn't 2pm yet. (And in the disrupted state of my "things", I forgot my iPod today...so there is really no way to make the day feel like it will go any faster.

And I've decided that I'm not participating in the knitting olympics. With the travel of late, I haven't had time to "train" (swatch, adjust a pattern, etc.) and I'm really into socks at the moment and don't want to stop them for a sweater. I thought about trying to knit 3 pairs of socks in the 16 days, but then realized that I'm just really not into the pressure at the moment. I'm in a nice post-vacation mood and I have nothing else putting pressure on me this weekend or next week...and I don't want to impart any deadlines right now. But I do think it's an awesome concept and I will take my own oath that every time I sit down to watch the olympics for the next 16 days, I will knit in support of those in the knitting olympics. :-)

While we're on the subject, a knitting update.
- Before we left for Mexico, I pinned up the pink pullover in progress and it seems like it will fit well. I haven't finished the front yet, but what I have done seems to fit as desired. I will do a full pinning of the sides when I finish the front to make sure I'm not kidding myself.
- the orange cabled vest is too small. :-( Not only do I think it will be too tight around my tummy, but I was also brain-damaged enough to start the armhole shaping several inches before I should have. (I think I was being impatient at the time). So the whole thing it too short. I *had* the back done and I was nearing the armhole shaping on the front. The difficulty of the sizing is that to keep things symmetric, it can be made bigger by adding 4 cable columns, which I think will be too many. So I am hoping that I can just frog the back to the armholes and frog the front and add 2 cable columns to that on the next attempt. This would save about 1/3 (or more) of the knitting I've already done and still hopefully keep it from being too big.
Of course, two cable columns might not be enough and I might have to frog it all. So I didn't start this process before vacation the thought of it made me pretty mad at myself. I think I have calmed now.
- I finished the rust colored socks yesterday on the return trip from Bradford. I got a lot of work done on them in Mexico. I'm really happy with the cable pattern I made up. The foot is a little long, but one less repeat might have made them too short, so I'm not overly concerned. I do hope the yarn softens a little with washing.
- I started a pink, lacy shawl in Mexico. It's a diamond mesh pattern and my first lace with lace weight yarn. I had to start three times, but as long as I totally pay attention (no looking away during the purl rows) it isn't too hard.
- I started a pair of gray, alpaca socks on the return trip from Bradford when I finished the rust ones. The pattern is "River Rapid Socks" from sockbug. I plan to employ the same technique I used for the rust socks - when I finish the cuff of #1, I'll knit the cuff of #2, etc. No second sock syndrome here!
- I haven't worked on the baby cardigan at all this week.

I *plan* to write about Mexico this weekend. ;-)

Last thoughts (4 days)

There is a part of my that is a little happy that we won't be in
Pittsburgh during the Superbowl *and* that we won't be around for the
two days after. Now, certainly, we could be missing out on some fun
times and a general euphoria in the city (assuming that the Steelers
will win). But things have gotten so crazy that I really don't want to
see first hand how the city is going to react either way. I don't think
anything dangerous will happen...I'm just tired of the hype and seeing
black and gold everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, if we can watch the game I will be rooting for the
Steelers. I'm just glad I won't have to spend my birthday listening to
a rehash of the game. :-)

5 days - cute kitty

I know, I know. I'm sure that those of you who aren't cat people are tired of "cute kitty" stories. But it's my blog, so that's too bad isn't it. ;-)

Stewart tried to wake me at 4:45 and 5:45 this morning. (This is only cute because I can quickly fall back to sleep.) After his second attempt failed, he curled up in the crook of my arm. Aaaawwww. The only difficulty this morning was that he curled up on the outside arm instead of the inside arm. So when my alarm went off it took a bit of maneuvering to get to it, because he was between me and the alarm clock *and* because he was weighing down the edge of the bedclothes. And even then, I practically trapped him while I was doing it. I could only reach the snooze button, and when I laid back down for a few more minutes he curled up again. Aaaawwww. I tried to rouse him two minutes before the alarm went off again, but he just kept purring and staring at me with big "why do you want to move?" eyes. I had to pick him up and move him when the alarm went off again. So then he sat on my pillow, happily accepting attention until I reluctantly left to start my day.

It is a little frustrating to have to maneuver a 13 lb cat to get up, but since a purring cat is one of the best ways to wake up that I've ever found, I can deal. :-)

(Disclaimer - our other two cats are adorable and loveable, and just a few days ago all three curled up with us when we went to bed (totally adorable) and all three were back by the time we woke up (cute and warm). But, since we lost The Destroyer, Stewart is the only one to provide affection and wake-up assistance without simultaneously demanding food and/or water. They each have their own great traits, though. Nora is most likely to curl up on my lap and is usually first to greet me when I get home. And Effie is most likely to act like a teddy bear or sleep under the covers.)

6 days

It is Effie's fault that I wasn't productive last night. I came home motivated to do laundry and maybe hang a few pictures, but when I was sitting on the couch putting my knitting patterns in plastic sleeves she *demanded* to sit in my lap. And if you think I'm exaggerating then you've never had a cat demand anything of you. By the time she left my motivation had vanished.

I was trapped without any knitting, so I had filled the time with the TV and the computer. When I was able to pull out my socks, I discovered that they were not as snug as I would like. I was willing to let this go, until I noticed that I had messed up the cable patterns, in two places. So I spent the rest of the evening ripping back to the toe increases and getting them back on the needles. I suppose I could have frogged the whole thing, but I find the toe increases to be kind of annoying, so I wanted to at least salvage that work.

My wonderful husband is taking me on a trip to celebrate my birthday, so there will probably be a longer pause between posts than usual. I'll try to be verbose before we leave to make up for it. :-)

News in Brief

Vivian is adorable.

I keep talking myself out of starting another pair of socks until I at least finish one of the four projects I have in progress. (Who knew I had such self-control.)

The walk from the bus to Vivian's house last night in the snow made me glad that we don't live in the hilly part of town.

I had my review at work this week, and it went very well.

I have been having trouble getting up all week. My eyes don't want to stay open. Seems like I need to make time for a nap or two this weekend.

11 days. ;-)

12 Days

Old items, just cause I want to feel caught up, although i won't really be because I can't post pictures at the moment. Maybe I will make time for such things when I get home tonight from meeting Vivian (yeah!).

2) Our new curtains
They look lovely inside and out and just make the house feel more "grown up", if that makes any sense. It makes me excited about doing some more painting, but I still haven't removed the wallpaper in the dressing room. We have curtains for all four bedrooms on the second floor and in a few months we will get the three sets for the first floor. I also need to consider what to put in the 2nd floor bath, what to put on the third floor and if we should put something over the glass panels in the front and back doors.

7) House master plan and furniture rearranging
There will be a lot to do in our house for a long time, just like any other house, although certainly the fact that our house is 100 years old adds to the issues. I have been mentally working on a master plan for the house (how to use each room, what to change, etc.) and mentally rearranging furniture. I find that I want a change in the living room and at some point I want to think about buying a few new things instead of just using what we've always had. Considering that we have *plenty* of space, I see us using some of our apartment stuff on the third floor to make space for more fitting stuff on the first floor. A good example of this is the IKEA two-seater couch in the living room. It's there so that we have plenty of seating, but it just doesn't go at all. R and I both know this and have always known it, but until we save the money to buy a couple of chairs to take its place, it has been needed in the living room. It will work great on the third floor for all of the room uses we're considering up there.

* Broken dishes
Again, a photo is needed here, and I'll save the description of broken dish #1 for the photo posting. Broken dish #2 was a glass knocked off the kitchen counter by Nora, which leads us to the next item...

* Aluminum Foil on the counters
The foil actually does prevent the cats from jumping onto the counters, but now we have to figure out how to get rid of the foil without having cats return to the kitchen counters...

* Fetch
As I think I've posted before, Stewart likes to play fetch. And we've discovered that it isn't just something he likes to do while we're in bed. He's up for it anytime. He will chase just about anything you throw, but the only thing he will regularly bring back are the plastic rings from milk jugs. Although I'm not proclaiming that he does it 100% of the time, but certainly more often than any other cat I've known. It's pretty cute and it's the easiest way for me to play with him while knitting or working on the computer. That is, as long as he brings the ring back. Sometimes he just looks at you with that "do it again" expression, even though the ring is still sitting in the room where you threw it.

* Seeing the floors again (rooms feel bigger)
My room (office, studio, whatever you want to call it) is as straight as it has been for a long time, and it's clean. I don't remember the last time I cleaned the floor and rug in there (scary but true), and I did so two weekends ago. I also moved the piles to the far edges of the room, so that when you look in from the hallway it looks deceptively clean. Being able to see so much of the floor at a glance makes the room seem twice as big. It's a nice change.

Knitting update - I did a lot of knitting over the weekend. In celebration of the fact that I didn't have to work, I did very little other than knit and watch TV all weekend. I finished my first pair of two-at-once, toe-up socks. Saturday I turned both heels and started the cuff and on Sunday I worked the cuff (mostly during the Steelers game). Saturday night I also finished my Broad Street Mittens - finishing the second mitten top and weaving in all of the ends. I still need to find good buttons for them, but I wore them for the first time today. *And* I started a cardigan for a friend who is due in April. I finished the second sleeve on the bus this morning, so it is going pretty quickly. Baby Ull is lovely to work with, although a little splitty when fixing mistakes.

While knitting, I watched the first two Harry Potter movies and all of the extras that aren't aimed at kids. The second movie definitely had better stuff than the first, but the "magical knitting" in the second movie was worse than I remembered. The needles make the correct motion, but no stitches get moved from one needle to another.

Sorry for the super long post. I'll try to get in the habit of posting more often to avoid such length...

18 days

Things have been too busy at work to really enjoy the whole countdown, but for those college friends who remember my (probably annoying) need to count down every day until my birthday - here you go.

Having a deadline extended and being shuffled to another project have made this week busier than expected...but since both deadlines are on Friday, it is my expectation that I will *not* be working this weekend.

In other news, Christmas is now officially taken down at our house. The boxes still need to go up to the third floor, but by the time I finished taking down the tree and indoor decor I was ready to call it quits for the night. If I can make time to vacuum the first floor before the weekend, that's one less thing I'll need to do during the weekend. Fingers crossed that I leave on time tonight.

>From my previous published list...

1) Phantom - I saw it last weekend at the Saturday matinee (before going to work for 6 hours). It's not a bad show. The sets, the costumes and, in general, the songs are very nice. The cast that we saw (at least the 3 leads) were very good singers, although they might have been trying a little too hard with the acting and some of the Raoul/Christine blocking seemed ridiculous, but that's not their fault (I hope). I still have trouble understanding why this show is *so* popular, but I suppose the same thing could be said for "Cats". (Although Cats doesn't really even try to have a plot, and POA tries but it is wispfully thin.) Honestly, the only time the show made me "feel" anything was in the last 10 minutes. I think I realized that it is because in many instances the songs don't really move the plot along. They talk about love, but except for "The Music of the Night" they don't provide a lot of insight or character development. But maybe that is more an issue of lack of plot than anything else.

I'm sorry if I sound mean about this. It's just that there are so many shows that make me feel so much - even some of the "popular" ones, and this one just really does nothing for me. Yes, there are enough enjoyable songs that I will probably buy the CD at some point. But I'm not running out to get it. There are just other things I would rather have first.

The next show in the subscription is "Wicked". Can't wait!

3, 6, 11) 35 hours of overtime in 11 days. And that's 11 calendar days, not 11 work days. Blah! Thankfully, I think the worst has past.

4) Cabled vest - In my dementia caused by working too many hours I didn't actually make the cables called for in my vest pattern. The pattern calls for alternating 6 row and 8 row cables, for a nice subtle change. After the first 7 rows of the pattern I just knitted on my merry way and repeated 6 row cables over and over. It still looks nice, and I didn't figure it out until I was practically done with the back, so I'm not changing it. I finished the back and cast on the front, so I have put it aside for now. It will be a great project for my knitting GTG on the 29th - it will be easy to talk and knit, with a cable row every now and then for interest.

5) Two at once, toe-up socks - I'm trying my first pair. In my urgency to start, I purchased the only somewhat acceptable needle at the show across from my office. The needle is the right size, its metal and it has a good flexible cord. But, it's not an addi, so the join isn't fabulous (though it isn't annoying) and she only had a 30" pair, instead of the 47" that the pattern calls for. I am due for a trip to the LYS I have a gift certificate to and the new one I haven't visited yet. The somewhat acceptable pair was only $6, and I decided it was a reasonable investment considering that I could hate magic loop, so I wouldn't want the addi anyway. So far I'm not opposed to magic loop, and I think I'll like it more with a longer cord. This doesn't mean I'm throwing away my dpns, it just means I'm open to my available options. The only annoying thing about "two at once" is that the boring parts take twice as long, but it does seem like it will be nice to finish both socks at once. And since I am making the pair from a 200 yard skein, this is the only way to get the longest socks possible without running out of yarn...

8) At the time I was making the list I had to move from the first floor to the second because the music coming from the basement was so loud that I couldn't hear the TV, 4 feet away from me. I acknowledge that the speakers were directly below me, but still...

9) I had a massage on Saturday before the show. It was lovely. Misty asked me several times if I was warm enough because my feet and hands were cold to the touch. I was fine, but when she left at the end she immediately bumped up the thermostat in my room. :-)

10) I'm not having any anxiety over the fact that I'm turning 30. A single friend claims that it's because I'm married, which I don't really believe, but I know where she's coming from. Maybe it's because my parents didn't start to get gray hair until their 50's. Maybe it's because I'm just glad to be past my mid-twenties. Maybe it's because in high school I was mistaken for a graduate student and I don't really feel much different now that I did then (other than probably having more self-confidence). Maybe it's because the majority of people I work with are over 40 and my husband is 6 1/2 years older, so I am generally made to feel pretty young on a regular basis. Whatever the reason, it doesn't really concern me. We'll see what happens at 31. :-)

My lunch hour is winding down, and several of the items left need pictures to go with them, so I'm signing off for now.

Forgot a few

* Broken dishes
* Aluminum Foil on the counters
* Fetch
* Seeing the floors again (rooms feel bigger)

Things I want to post about...

1) Phantom of the Opera
2) Our new curtains
3) Working too many hours
4) Making the wrong cables on my vest, but it's okay
5) Trying two-at-once, toe-up socks
6) Working too many hours
7) House master plan and furniture rearranging
8) Wondering how soon my husband will destroy his hearing
9) Lovely massages
10) Turning 30 (soon)
and
11) Working too many hours

Hopefully I can come back to these thoughts later in the week.

Online Shopping

I don't know what I like better.

a) The ability to shop and browse while sitting on the couch in my pjs.
b) The ability to shop at the moment I remember that I need/want something instead of waiting the weekend to go to a store.
c) The day that your purchase that you had kind of put to the back of your mind arrives and you get the thrill of actually having the new item in your possession.

I was able to do some online shopping in the week after Christmas. A few days ago I got a couple of new CDs that I'm now enjoying on my iPod and the three Harry Potter DVDs that I hope to watch a bit of this weekend...maybe. Today, the rest of the curtains for the second floor came. I'm excited to get them put up to help our house feel more "put together" and to inspire me to do some more painting. The fact that I'm not expecting to work on a show until this summer makes me hopeful that I can spend some time working on the house this spring. (At the moment, the only thing really preventing this is too many late nights at work...but this should lighten up next week and be more sporadic through the rest of winter.)

If there are any long distance friends reading this, and you're thinking of planning a trip to our area this year, I reccommend you be here the weekend of June 17th. And keep Saturday night free. :-)

Familiar Faces

>From today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The day came to a close with Tori Spelling promoting "So Notorious," her upcoming VH1 scripted single-camera comedy about her life after "Beverly Hills, 90210." She brought her dog, Mimi LaRue, a 7-year-old pug, who she said has no acting training, but has hit her mark on "So Notorious," where she, too, plays an ever-so-slightly fictionalized version of herself. The series also features three actors who graduated from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University: James Carpinello ('97), Zachary Quinto ('99) and Brennan Hesser ('03).

*********************************

Normally, the thought of a Tori Spelling-centric television show would have me clicking past VHI faster than I click past Kirk Cameron on the Evangelical Christian Network, but I had personal contact with two of the three CMU gentlemen, so I will probably tune in at least once. There is something kind of eerie and cool about seeing someone you "know" on TV. I put know in quotes because some of the people I see most often are not people who would remember me, but whom I had limited contact with. The best example being the CMU grad who is now on "The West Wing" (and who has been on at least two of the CSI shows). We had a number of friends in common and I know that we spoke several times, but he was the kind of actor who only really made a point of "knowing" people in the drama department. I don't think this makes him an awful person, but he did have a reputation for being self-involved despite his charming demeanor. He's a good actor and he brings some diversity to the TV shows he's on, so I have no complaints.

But the two actors in Tori's show at least knew me by name once. For one, I was the assistant stage manager for a musical he was in and the other was a fellow employee of the Office of Admissions. We gave a tour together at least once, maybe a handful of times.

This train of thought reminds me that I need to finish watching "Angels in America" and rent "Phantom of the Opera" for a further Patrick Wilson fix. He was a senior when I was a freshman, so I sadly never met him. But I can tell from the programs in my possession that I saw him star in "Cabaret". :-)

Lots to do

And not enough hours in the day.

Good progress is being made at work, but there is always more to do. And it feels fairly impossible to stay focused on one task for more than a few minutes before I get interrupted by something else. I realize that this is not unusual, and in many ways not really news-worthy...but I can only allow myself to stop working for a few minutes to type this, and it is just easiest to let my writing flow with what is at hand.

I finally called VVA to come pick up our donation of clothes, etc. Now all we need to do is load up the car with the bags of paper recycling and the foyer will be uncluttered again. At least now Stewart's favorite means of climbing onto the porch of the dollhouse is gone. :-)

I found a pattern for that cabled vest, and so far I like it. Maybe this will finally be a project for which I will post pictures of something before it's done. Or maybe it will be a project that I make for myself and actually take pictures of it...

Work calls.

Brief Distraction

I took a momentary break from working (yes, I'm at work on a Saturday) and found a quiz in a friend's bio. So I took it. It seems pretty accurate to me. :-)


You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

***************************

Before coming to work I met up with a neighborhood friend to help her with a couple of knitting patterns she was interested in trying. She needed some help with some stitches she had never tried before and just some general guidance. I swear I could talk about knitting all day. :-)

But now I must return to my HVAC ducts...

Welcome Vivian!

The baby for whom the Baby Bobbi Bear, Bright Baby Cardigan, Bright Baby Hat and Aqua Bib were made arrived into the world today at 1:43 pm. Even though Vivian Paige was almost two weeks early, she weighed in at 8 lbs, 14 oz and measured 20 inches long. She clearly didn't need another two weeks of growth!

Mom and baby are doing well. Congratulations to the new mommy and daddy!

I know that Mommy is happy to have Vivian here, but she was supposed to wait until Monday to come so that her mom could have us over to knit and see the nursery on Sunday. Hopefully she will be better at following the schedule in the future! Yeah. Right. ;-)

Proud and busy

I'm proud because (a) I didn't gain any weight in 2005. Yes, it would be better if I had lost weight, but when you consider that in 2002, 2003, and 2004 I had an average net gain of 10 lbs, I'm pretty happy with staying at the status quo for a year. And (b) we went to the gym once last week and twice (so far) this week. Last night it actually felt good and invigorating, so motivation for the next trip will be easier.

I'm busy at work. A proposal that needs to be mailed on the 13th and we're printing 80% construction documents on the 17th. I foresee some work this weekend unfortunately. But, I'm meeting friends to knit on Sunday, so it's not all bad. :-)

On the knitting front, I'm making the broad street mittens from knitty. There was a bit of trial and error to get them the right size (apparently the designer has big hands), but the first glove is done and I'm onto the second. But I am saving the mitten tops for last. I don't totally understand the directions, so that part will be saved for a "quiet" time when I can be focused.

Oh, and I'm looking for a good cabled vest pattern for a DK/light worsted weight yarn for my next project if anyone knows of one...

Happy New Year!

I'm not posting to list any new years resolutions. I do think there is something nice about the "clean slate" provided by the new year...but I don't need that clean slate to make improvements to my life. I can make those as time and perspective make them clearly the right choice for me.

I will take this opportunity to look back at 2005 and realize that I did too much. This shouldn't really come as a surprise, but somehow it seems so much more obvious in hindsight. It's not that I was doing too many things at once (usually), but more that I had too many things one after another and too many meetings for some of the neighborhood things I was doing. Meetings can be a nice social event, but they can also suck up lots of time. :-)

The List:
Designed set for "Guys & Dolls" - Jan/Feb
Helped friend design her cabin - March/April
Decorating the bedroom - March, April, June, October, November
Strategic Planning for neighborhood community group - Jan thru June
Designed set for "Recent Tragic Events" - June/July
House Tour planning committee - April thru Oct 1

The last three months of the year were filled with knitted baby shower gifts & christmas presents, and finishing up the bedroom (mostly).

It will be interesting to see what 2006 has in store, especially now that I have my compound mitre saw. :-)