Crazy train

So, I’ve been productive lately. No, really, I have—just not on here. Last week I got the proverbial kick in the behind, when a not so mini maelstrom of craziness hit my life.

First, my car stalled when I was going 70+ mph down the highway, trying to get home from Easter at my parents’. Somehow I managed to muscle the steering wheel to the right (dead engine means no power steering, yay!) and I coasted to the side of the highway, where my car turned into nothing more than a big hunk of metal. I called my parents, and my dad became the rescuing hero of the day, saying he would come down to help. Although we tried to jump the car and even to replace the battery, the car was toast. Trying to figure out anything else at the side of the highway was dangerous (heck, what we were already doing was dangerous, and not a little scary). So my dad got out his tow rope, hooked my back bumper to his front one, and off we went – going backwards, up an exit ramp, to the parking lot of a gas station. I was in my car attempting to steer and break as needed, and have never been quite so unnerved in my life. My dad tried a few more things as we took a closer look at the engine. Who am I kidding – I know cars run, and the basics of an engine, but beyond that I’m stumped. My dad, too, was bewildered. Once they started putting computers in cars, fixing engines became exponentially more complicated. I know dad gets frustrated not being able to say exactly what the problem may be, since problem A doesn’t necessarily lead to solution A anymore. We called up my brothers for some advice, thinking by now that something was wrong in the fuel system. After the odd suggestion of thumping on the fuel tank came from both of them (thinking I had at some point gotten skunky gas, or there was a buildup of sediment or whatnot on the fuel filter), we tried that . . . and it worked. But I got barely a half mile back down the highway and the car was once again a pretty hunk of ornamental steel. After an expensive tow back to my mechanic, I finally got home to my apartment more than six hours after my car first died. When I finally talked to the mechanic late on Monday, he told me the final verdict: a dead fuel pump and filter . . . and because they were shorthanded that week, I wouldn’t get my car back until Friday.

Let me tell you, I have some awesome friends and coworkers. The moral support alone was amazing and kept me going through the week. There were also immediate volunteers to take me in to work and back home, and other offers to take me for any needed groceries or other supplies. I only missed two half-days of work, as I was able to work from home part of Monday while I was waiting for news, and then on Friday as I was waiting the “it’s done!” call and a handful of other calls.

Some of those other calls? They had to do with the other madness that was going on that week. This coming weekend, an old friend is getting married in Texas. We haven’t been able to see each other in years, but have been keeping up on Facebook and in a fantasy hockey league and I can’t wait to see her again. Originally, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to make the wedding. Things worked out to find a flight, though, so the trip seemed meant to be. My friend had asked if I could do a reading during the ceremony, and now I could actually say yes. Finding that flight turned out to be extraordinary good luck because about a month before the wedding one of her bridesmaids had to unfortunately step down, and I was asked if I’d be willing to step in. There was a flurry of details to think about–not the least was trying to find a dress and shoes and see if they could even arrive in time. Luck was with me, and the shoes were a snap. I was able to find a dress immediately and order it, and it was supposed to come in just before Easter. Well, yeah. That didn’t happen. So while I was waiting anxiously for news about my car, I was just as nervous about the dress. The calls about both came within half an hour of each other. So Friday was definitely starting to look up.

A definite bonus was additional good news from on the wedding front. Another good friend had also been trying to get to the wedding, but life and car troubles were fighting her too. Going into Friday, it seemed like something might just work out for her to make it to Texas. Finally on Saturday everything was settled and we found out we would be flying down and back together! I can’t wait for the trip, it will be great to have a mini vacation, and a great reason to celebrate.

Plus? I get to escape any more weird calls about bills. Both Charter and Sprint (who I dropped at the end of last year in favor of Verizon) have had major problems with their computer systems and think I owe them money. With Charter I was immediately able to prove that they screwed up, but they still couldn’t tell me how it happened or promise that it wouldn’t happen again. With Sprint, who had the nerve to send a collection agency after me, the waters are a bit muddier. Somehow, although the agency managed to get my address right the first time, Sprint somehow never got the message that I moved – even though I changed my address with them! Their two reminder notices about my last bill somehow magically got lost in the mail – neither was forwarded to me nor sent back to them as undeliverable. At the very least, at least that’s settled now, although Heaven help Sprint if that affects my credit rating in the future.

To end that long and rambling tale of craziness, some happy crafting news: my rainbow-like socks are almost done! They’ve stalled out for the moment, as I needed some soft and fuzzy yarn last week for anti-stress related fiber therapy. But that means I’m working on my first ever adult-sized sweater! I had been going to try for the Anthropologie knockoff, but that seemed a bit complicated for my first sweater. So I’m trying for the much simpler Emerald Sweater, in a heathery green yarn. It has a bit of detailing, with cables at the shoulder, but it’s still a basic cardigan. Spring time appears to finally be here, so I may have to wait awhile to wear the finished project, but I don’t mind that a bit.

I’ve also been doing some sewing, knocking out a pair of pj pants from my favorite pattern. I have another set all cut out and ready to sew too. In the interest of deconstructing in order to construct something new, I’ve begun to sort out some old t-shirts to make a rag rug or something. Due to the heft of the “yarn” I may crochet this rather than knit, but either way something fun is in store. Depending on the range of colors I end up with, I may make a couple of trips to Goodwill to flesh out certain tones. That, however, is a step for the future.

There’s nothing better to end with than a few shots of a recent beautiful sunset, the cats in a rare moment of cuddling, and Spring!!

Finished projects galore!

Somehow a couple of weeks escaped and we’re in mid-March now. How did that happen?

(Long post alert, I have some serious catching up to do!) The Ravelympics really made February speed by, and I realized I never posted that I finished my shawl! It was just in the nick of time, as I cast off just as the closing ceremonies were starting, but it’s finished!

Last night I finally got brave and blocked the shawl. Although I don’t have any blocking wires yet, I have plenty of knitting needles so I improvised away (while trying to keep the cats safely away from the shawl). Usually they keep away from finished projects, but their curiosity can get the best of them – and sharp front claws can do amazing snagging damage. An intrepid catnip mouse even tried to help as Portia was supervising me.

I’m hoping everything will have made it through the day safely and the shawl will be dry by the time I get home today. I didn’t get time to check it this morning, but the protective sheet cocoon was still in place from the night, so odds are good.

All in all, I’m really happy with how the shawl turned out. It was the first lace project I’ve ever done, and I really didn’t know what to expect. The sock yarn was a good choice - it helped with speed, and was wonderfully soft. The pattern was easy, coming both as a chart and written out directions, and memorization came pretty early in the project. Although I got a bit bored towards the end, it was still a fun knit. Plus, I learned a new way to cast on and bind off, which will be handy for future projects.

Now I’m finally getting back to my rainbow socks and thinking about a new first-time project, a sweater for me. The pattern I’d like to tackle is Star Cross’d Love, but with some pretty heavy alterations for sizing and fit. For anyone on Ravelry, the original is here, but I’m going more for a look like this. The first hurdle is figuring out how much yarn I’ll need, for which I’ll have to do some initial math on the pattern upsizing. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I may do a bit more sewing. For Christmas, as a combination birthday and Christmas gift from my parents, I got a sewing machine. The story of why I don’t have my grandmother’s machine is a long and complicated tale. For now this new machine will do wonderfully well, and I'm excited to get to know it better. It’s nothing exotic or complex, just a simple Brother ES-2000. It does all I need, covering the full range of basic stitches and buttonholes, and has a nifty needle threader to boot. The first thing I used it for was to finally hem some curtains and do a bit of decorative stitching on the bedroom curtains (I'll try to post pictures of that soon). Then I tackled two very different projects: a DPN case and a sewing machine cover. The sewing machine cover is a necessity with two so very curious cats (both to project paws and the machine, and to cut down on the buildup of dust and/or cat hair); and the DPN case was becoming a necessity with my rapidly growing collection of DPNs and the about three different places I was stashing them. I could never remember what I had or where it was, but now everything is wonderfully together.

First up: the sewing machine cover. About two months ago I went to the fabric store with some friends, and they helped me pick out two fabrics. I had found this pattern (a PDF of the pattern is in the left sidebar of that page), and wanted two complementary fabrics so I could alternate them in the different panels. I didn’t want to mess with any quilting or piping or anything complicated, so I got some double-sided, iron on interfacing so I could layer the fabrics. Then the cover would be stiff enough to sit over the machine instead of draping over it, and would theoretically be a bit more doable.

Before I go any further – I would never, ever do this the same way again. Nice idea, the pattern itself is wonderful and looks great done, but it was a real PITA to do. The first step, ironing the layers together, went beautifully. I had to do some careful cutting and positioning of the interfacing, because I got two yards of it – which came in a two yarn long strip, and my fabrics were each a yard square. I also had to do some repositioning and removing of a cat or two doing the process, and that slowed things up a bit. Melted whiskers (and Portia’s a pro at that, as all lit candles, hot tea, etc., must be investigated closely) are not a fun thing to smell or deal with.

Cutting the pieces out was a snap. I made some templates from newspaper, used an old soap sliver to do a quick outline, and presto – five double sided pieces ready for sewing. Then, oh then, came the sewing. I should have stopped immediately when I read the giant warning on the interfacing that said this shouldn’t be used with fabrics that will be sewn. I should have stopped again when the machine started groaning at the first few stitches as it realized that it could go through all those layers, but it really, totally didn’t want to. Then I really should have stopped when the thread broke about three times before I had the first two pieces sewn together. But I don’t have German blood for nothing. That sucker got sewn together. The seams got ironed so it would actually sit square, and thank goodness, it actually fit the machine perfectly. (Yes, I measured first, but with my luck that day it would have ended up barely big enough to cover the toaster.) I do have to say that I really like the finished cover, and eventually I may get some bias tape to finish off the bottom edge, but only if I find my fabric glue first.

The problems during sewing had mainly to do with the thickness of the interfacing. It was thick and sticky and there was a constant buildup of gunk on the needle, which then caught at the thread but wouldn’t let it feed easily from the bobbin or spool, so the thread kept breaking. Plus, I was going through six layers – two layers of interfacing and four of cotton. The combination caused a consistent use of, shall we saw, power words, along with grim determination and rapidly thinning patience. Isn’t sewing supposed to be a soothing experience?

This post is getting a little ridiculously long, so the DPN case will have to wait until next time! (And thankfully it was a much easier project, which wouldn't have taken much!)

Knitting fiend

I’ve been a knitting fiend lately. Every spare minute after work has been taken up by yarn. I need to keep knitting, as fast as possible, because I have 5 days left to finish this current project. Why 5? Because I need to finish before the end of the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

When I started following the Yarn Harlot and read a bit about the Knitting Olympics, I was inspired (as I frequently am after reading her posts). After joining Ravelry, that event continued to be in the back of my mind. I wasn’t sure if the Knitting Olympics would be a go again for Vancouver, but I knew that the Ravelympics were in the planning stages. Here was the perfect opportunity to take a break and knit something for myself while also challenging me a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I love making things for other people, but being a bit selfish once in awhile is okay too!

First I found the yarn – Malabrigo sock yarn in the Solis colorway, a great mix of blues, greens, and teal. Then came the project, or at the least an idea for one. I wanted to do some kind of wrap – maybe lace, maybe not – in the form of something shawl-like. Triangular shawls don’t really appeal to me, for whatever reason, so that took a lot of patterns out of the running. Originally I was going to try for the Candle Flame Shawl. The idea of doing a flame pattern in a blue-green yarn just really appealed to me. But a free copy of the pattern was elusive and in the end I would have to alter too much (the edging, style of ends, etc) to suit me, especially considering this would be my first lace-style pattern. I knew I had to do something that didn’t specifically need lace-weight yarn, both because I had already picked up the Malabrigo, and because I wanted something with a bit more heft than normal lace.

Finally I found the Leaf Lace Scarf pattern and I was hooked. I made a minor alteration, repeating the pattern five times so I would get a wider, wrap-sized piece. Needle size I kept the same – 4 – because after a quick swatch (training for my event!) that seemed to be giving me the size I was looking for. Gauge really isn’t an issue; I just wanted to be sure I was getting the right width with five repeats.

So now, here I am, a member of Team Tardis and entered in the Short Track Shawl event for the Ravelympics. Right now I’m just over 60% done and hoping that I’ll finish just in time – it’s going to be a close one. The catch? I want to watch as much Olympic coverage as possible. The winter games are my favorite, and I’ll watch pretty much anything from curling to skiing to, of course, hockey. Although I can’t technically do both at once – I have never mastered the ability to knit without watching what I’m doing – I’m very used to listening really well and looking up at the important parts of TV shows, movies, and now Olympic events. I love watching athletes come out of nowhere and win medals, sometimes the first for their countries; or athletes who have no real chance of winning – but compete with such hope and joy that you’d never know it. I’ve been cheering for Georgians, Latvians, Slovenians, and Jamaicans right along with the Americans. My heart breaks for the Dutch speedskater who listened to his coach and was DQed from a gold medal, and for the Canadian figure skater who just lost her mother. I’m a sucker for the stories and for the competition.

But for now, before coverage starts again tonight? Must keep knitting . . .

Old t-shirts, your days are numbered!

I tend to be a keeper. As a part-time historian (I say that because my interests in lit and history are usually 50/50), I keep anything that has a memory attached to it - because stuff has a history behind it and I honor that history.

But this backfires, frequently. I have stashes of pictures and postcards, touristy type guidebooks and drink coasters from several different countries, t-shirts from trips taken and groups I've been in and - almost a category of its own - things from my undergrad university. All this stuff is mixed in with the plethora of things and hand-me-down furniture from my family, mementos from childhood, stashes of crafting materials . . . I could go on and on. Over the past couple of years, closely tied in with a couple of moves, I've truly tried to pare things down. As I was talking with a friend the other night, however, somethings will be with me until I die. Mostly this has to do with books - favorite books and series are like old friends. Unless my apartment complex burns down, these are going nowhere. There are certain small things from relatives, particularly from my mom's side of the family, that may be all I ever have to remember them by. Those mementos, too, are with me for the long haul.

Then I come to things like t-shirts. There are so many old groups, vacation spots, friends, etc., that I have t-shirts from. The shirts don't fit anymore, are dingy from repeated trips through the wash, and now languish in the bottom of my dresser and an old steamer trunk. What is the purpose of that? Keeping them in that state doesn't help preserve the original memories associated with each shirt. I have pictures and old journals for that. I've seen patterns for t-shirt quilts, but I have enough blankets and quilts to last me a long time. Today, stumbling across this site - a rag knitting tutorial from cocoknits - I finally have a good solution. Old t-shirts - your days are officially numbered. One more item on a long list of stuff is taken care of, and another cluttered corner is cleaned up.

Happy and colorful feet are in my future

I went to the yarn store yesterday at lunch, and a couple of things just happened to follow me out and come home with me:
While my wallet is a bit lighter, they are so worth it. The green, or Zauberball from Schoppel Wolle in colorway 1966 ombre, first caught my eye in a yarn shop across the state. I had investigated Ravelry to see if anyone was swapping or selling some of these magic balls (the translation from German), but then I stumbled across some in the yarn store here and snagged one right away. The picture is a bit dark - the green is pretty lively, with variations from light to dark - and I can't wait to play it up with a fun sock pattern. There was another ball in slate blue that might also sneak into my stash once I see how this knits up.

The blue makes my heart sing (cheesy, but true). It caught my eye from the bottom of a pile of sock yarns, and the skein just jumped up and stuck to my hand like glue. I had to play a bit with the color tones in this picture, in order to really show what a vibrant cobalt this yarn is; this is I think the closest I'll get. It's Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock Yarn, in color 5636, and will also need a fun pattern.

First on the needles though is this:

Here, because the colors vary so much I'm sticking to a plain and simple pattern - Wendy Johnson's Slip Stitch Heel Basic Sock (Ravelry link here). I just got Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up and this is my first attempt at socks that are both toe-up and being knit two-at-a-time. The two at a time is a bit of a challenge and I had a few false starts casting on; but I'm used to the magic loop method and this is basically taking that one giant step up (I hope - this is optimistic, pre-heel talk). So far so good though, and I'm hoping to be mostly done in time for the Ravelympics cast on. I can't wait for all of these colorful socks!

Winter

Today I’m trapped with a blistering headache that won’t go away and isn’t letting me work (darn weather systems and bad ex-dentists – my ongoing battle with a bad root canal and crown from my old dentist is a snarky post for a different day). So I’m hoping that if I post the partial inspiration that I had yesterday, it may chase some of today’s cobwebs and craziness away and let me get going on what I should be doing.

I used to have a lot of fun writing. Whether that writing turned into short stories or ideas for longer stories or even the odd poem here and there, inspiration used to be bubbling away. Then in college a lot of that energy was used up trying to finish term papers for classes and generally keeping up with studying and life. Creativity took a big hit and got transferred to other things like knitting and armor making (that’s also a story for later). Now that grad school is done and I seem to be finding that elusive fantasy of free time again, I’m exploring all the fun reading I had set aside and also finally recognizing the glimmers of ideas for writing again.

Yesterday morning on my way to work it was snowing, the wind was blowing like crazy, and it seemed like the coldest day yet of winter. I had a line stuck in my head when I sat down at my desk, and I was idly playing around with all the w words that came to mind. From a few lines sprung this quick and still rather awkward poem:

The winter wind is wildly whistling,
it wails and whines while we whimper for warmth.
Woeful we wait when winter is whirling;
whiskey’s not warming and walks only weakening -
willing us weary, the white warden is watching.
Yet suddenly silent, the sun sweeps skyward.
Spring sallies forth! Sweet smells spring anew.
Sweeping and singing, the sunshine she strengthens,
soft shadows swaying - summery solaces swell.
Too soon tides are turning, temperatures tumble;
trees are transforming and tricksters tramp through.
Thanks truly told temper the twilight,
where a winter welcome waits to awaken again.

Can you tell that winter holds court here for a while? I love living in a region that really shows the four seasons, and for the most part I appreciate winters and the crisp cleanness they bring. But some days the wind and the cold get to me and all I want are sunshine and even just the illusion of warmth.

Yet one of the great things about winter is curling up at night under a blanket with a cat or two for company and then either reading or knitting until it’s time for bed. This year one of my goals is to keep track of what I’m reading and how many books I’m making it through – leading up to the goal of finally reading a lot of the books I already own and that so far have only served to take up room on my bookshelves. If I finish the two books I’m in the middle of right now, at the end of January I’ll be at 18 books – far more than I ever thought I’d get through in the first month. Granted, more than half of those are from a series I reread and the list is comprised of a lot of fun fiction, but I was stunned when I added up the page count and it came to just over 5000. I’m looking forward to an interesting year of books!

FO: Evenstar Fingerless Gloves

So, I should be working right now, but it’s almost lunch and it’s Monday and my brain is fried. Last night was a long night of untangling some yarn and some thoughts, and today I’m playing an unfortunate catch-up game with consciousness. So blogging it is =)

One of my last catch-up FOs are these awesome fingerless gloves, made to help a friend stay a bit warmer in her freezing apartment.

Pattern: Evenstar Fingerless Gloves (Ravelry link here – if you haven’t joined, you should!)

Needles: US4 Boye DPNs (pattern calls for 3, but since my friend and I are healthy sized humans, I went up a size)

Yarn: Good old Caron Simply Soft, in Dark Country Blue. I love this yarn because it’s wonderfully soft, easy to work with, and fabulously cheap. I have enough left over after the pair of gloves to make probably another singular glove and still have a bit left over.

This pattern is great, and really clearly written. However, remember me saying that I’m a literal pattern reader? Yup, still had to make some modifications to give my brain an easier time finishing these puppies. I realized when I had to take out the first glove twice that (well, the first time was to realize I needed to go up a needle size, then because of pattern difficulties). The original pattern is written with the main cable pattern written out, and then additional notes on what stitches to add to needle one and then what to distribute among the other two DPNs – which you need to change up a bit as you switch from the initial ribbing to the main cable pattern (MC). This was not working for my brain, and I couldn’t remember which rounds to also remember to cable on the other two needles (small cables also trail up the underside of the arm, until you get to the palm area). So I did a minor modification. I changed the pattern to read what to do for needle one, meaning I added a P2 to each side of each row of the MC instructions; then I starred each main cable row that also had to be cabled on needles 2 & 3. Simple, easy, and helped the gloves just fly by.

This was also my first experience with Elizabeth Zimmerman’s thumb trick, and I think it turned out pretty well. There was plenty of room in the thumb, even for those of us with bigger hands. The only thing I might change is to add maybe one more stitch along the palm side of the thumb. On one glove I ended up with a bit of a hole, because of the yarn being a bit more stretchy there – a lot of tension gets put on one picked up stitch. When I was weaving in yarn ends I went back to that pseudo hole and did a bit of reinforcing, and I’m really glad I did. In the finished glove there’s no sign of a hole, and in the long run the gloves should wear better.