Jacked Up

That's what happened to our house this week...literally. We live in a 1906 four-square that over the years has been modified. One of the modifications, probably done in the early 20th century, was to add a bump out to the dining room (which was probably the original kitchen) and upstairs bedroom. That little addition has slowly sunk about two inches, which caused some cracked plaster, slopey floors, and the windows to not close. We've debated for years whether or not to fix it; we suspected that it was still sinking.

This week, we went for it. The crew came on Monday and started digging. More digging ensued on Tuesday and they installed helical piers. Wednesday, they jacked. Let me tell you that hearing a house (or part of it) get raised is heart-wrenching. It makes the most hideous hissings, poppings, and crackings. The jacking only took about 90 minutes, but those were some of the most stressful 90 minutes of my life. There were a couple of times where I definitely felt like I needed a little lie-down. Either that or a good, stiff drink (at 8:00 in the morning).

Fortunately, nothing bad happened. In addition to raising the house, the workers also fixed the drainage on that side of the house and repaired the addition foundation where it had separated from the main foundation (it had never been tied in). So now we have a level floor, windows that close, an addition that will never sink again. And lots of cracked plaster to repair.

Knitting News
I finished knitting the blanket a week ago so it wasn't delivered to the wee babe, although I did show it to his proud parents. It's been washed and blocked and all that's left to do is the embroidery. I hope to finish that this weekend and mail it next week.

I started the Lace-edged Cardigan from Great Knits for Kids by Debbie Bliss. The sweater designs are gorgeous and this particular design, at least, will be challenging. It has five cable patterns, along with double moss stitch as filler. It's a bit frustrating that the she doesn't state up front just what double moss stitch is. I did a Google search on it and discovered that it is a four-row repeat of k2,p2; p2,k2; p2,k2; k2,p2. I happily swatched on the drive down to Rescue and got gauge, mostly. After starting the sleeve, I realized that her definition of double moss stitch is comprised of a single knit and purl stitch. So, I need to swatch again. But in the meantime, I'm merrily knitting the sleeve (attempt number three), realizing full well that I swatched the wrong stitch pattern and might need to start over again.

Can you tell that I'm in denial? Can you tell that I'm ignoring the fact that perhaps after three or repeats of five cable patterns that I might not feel so enamored of this sweater?

I keep telling myself: I love the process, I love the process, I love the process.

Where Does the Time Go?

Okay, so I posted right after the Knitting Olympics. And I look up and it's already March 20th. How did that happen? Maybe I've been immersed in my job. Maybe I've been heads down trying to get the baby blanket done before next weekend. Maybe I've just been lazy. It's probably a combination of all three.

I usually get home from work between 7:00 and 8:00 in the evening and after having worked on a computer all day, I don't quite feel like logging on at home. That means I'm woefully behind with reading my favorite blogs. But I have been managing to knit about an hour or so before I go to bed, which is wonderfully relaxing.

The baby blanket is almost finished. I've got about 40 rows of seed and stockinette stitch to go, then it's on to weaving in the ends and blocking. I'll post a picture of the blanket after I've finished it.

I've come to realize that I'm a process knitter, not a product knitter. There times, however, when the process drives me batty. I get bored easily, so doing row after long row of stockinette stitch has a tendency to be painful, at least initially. I feel like I'm fighting the knitting. What I found, though, is that at some point something else kicks in and I become fascinated with the way the yarn moves through my hands or the way the light catches and changes the colors. When that happens, the "conflict" goes away and the knitting just flows. My hands are more relaxed; my self is more relaxed. And I hate to see the project end.

Maybe it's because I'm a process knitter that I can't be faithful to only one project. It's taking every ounce of my self-control to not cast on yet another pair of socks (I've got two pairs going now) or the Debbie Bliss sweaters that I want to knit for my little nieces. A little voice in my head says "Just do a gauge swatch. You've got to do one anyway. It won't hurt." Ha! I know me. Once I feel the new yarn and start working on a new pattern, it's all over. The current project(s) will languish indefinitely (see the sidebar of WIPs...they've all been deserted for new projects). The feeling of waiting to start a new project is not unlike having a crush on someone unattainable. The anticipation is bittersweet because I know I can't knit it now. And when the "relationship" does start, there's a good chance it will be fraught with frustration and disappointment.

But then that's part of the process too, isn't it?

Knitting Olympics Wrap-up

Well, Jim, yesterday marked the end of the first Knitting Olympics. The competition was amazing.

You're right, Bob. And here to talk about her Olympic experience is Teri, from Leesburg, Virginia. As you may recall, her entry was a pair of Baltic mittens. Let's see how she did. So, Teri, it seemed that after a strong start, something happened and you lost that competitive fire.

Well, I wouldn't call the start especially strong, Jim. I didn't swatch and I didn't practice the plaiting technique before casting on. That slowed me down, especially when I read the instructions later and realized that I did it wrong. The other thing that slowed me down was my inability to count to five. It seems that I can only count to four.

But after those problems, it looks like you picked up steam and hit your stride. You were well on your way to completing the first mitten of the pair at the end of the first week of competition. What happened then?

You're right, Bob. I was so excited that I was on schedule, with very few tinking incidences. I just knew that success was within my reach. But after my Thursday knitting session, as I was assessing my work, I noticed a dropped stitch five rows earlier. This really threw me for a loop. I wasn't prepared for that level of problem solving and I didn't want to unknit five rows. So I took a rest day and pondered the problem.

What did you finally end up doing?

I tinked five rows early Saturday morning. I was able to pick up and keep knitting, but the fire just went out of me. As you know, half of the competition is psychological. I didn't have it in me to get up early to knit, work all day, then knit until midnight after I got home. I just sort of gave up.

But you completed one mitten, and it looks pretty good. The tension seems to be even, the pattern is pleasing, and the thumb pattern matches the mitten body pattern.



Yes, I completed the mitten on Saturday. But even that was dicey, Jim. After looking at Stephanie's color work and seeing how flat it was, I decided that the mitten was a failure. It was just too puckery. But I forgot about the magic of blocking. All the puckers just sort of steamed away and when all was said and done, I was quite pleased with my work. I'm disappointed, though, that I didn't have the fortitude and courage to push through my doubts and get to a point where I could complete the second mitten.

What are you taking away from your Olympic experience?

I've learned that I can knit things that I never thought I'd be knitting, Bob. When I saw Stephanie's MSF Latvian mittens last year, I was astounded at their beauty and just knew that I would never achieve that level of complexity, at least not any time soon. But after a brief flirtation with two-color knitting at Christmas, I was enchanted and decided to go for it. I've also learned that it is a mistake to listen to that little negative voice in my head.

And what's next for you?

I've got a lot of knitting that was put on hold, Jim. I plan to finish the second mitten. I'm in the process of knitting a baby blanket, which I need to finish. The baby came a little early and he had quite a rough start. He almost didn't make it. I'm happy to report that he's doing fine now and I'd like to finish the blanket by the time I visit them, which hopefully will be at the end of March.

Will you be competing in the next Knitting Olympics?

If they hold them again? Absolutely! It was a wonderful experience and it was very cool to be knitting, albeit virtually, with over 4000 others.

Well, Bob, that wraps it up for the 2006 Knitting Olympics. Many thanks to Stephanie and other members of the International Knitting Olympic Committee for sponsoring the competition. We look forward to the next competition, whenever that may be. Good night, and best wishes to all of the Knitting Olympics contenders.

It Looks Bad for the Baltic Mittens

Despite feeling that I hit my stride, events have conspired against me and the Baltic mittens. I've been merrily knitting along, watching listening to the Olympics, staying up way past my bedtime, just knowing that I was going to blow everyone away with the brilliance and beauty of the Baltic mittens.

Ha!

I was knitting away on Thursday and was in a good position to complete the first mitten on Friday, pretty much on schedule. Then as I was admiring my handiwork, I noticed this little loop sticking out about five or six rows down.

Here's Teri coming down the row....looking good....great form....not too tense...but wait! Oh no, Jim, she's dropped a stitch! What a heartbreaker for this knitting powerhouse from Leesburg, Virginia!

Well, Bill, these are the setbacks that determine the true Olympians. Teri's shown a lot of guts and fortitude in the past, and I think she has what it takes to overcome this.

Bill, I've heard it said that Teri is "small but powerful." Do you think that is going to help her through the second half of the mitten biathalon?

Oh definitely, Jim. This is the time where true Olympians dig down deep and summon the strength to carry on. But you know, Jim, you can train and train, but you can't train for the thrill of actual competition, for the flood of adrenalin that comes as you approach the end of a row.

That's what makes these knitting Olympians great.

What to do? What to do? Do I ignore it and hope it goes away? Do I try to repair it in place? Do I tink back and fix it? Given that it was midnight and I was tired, I did what all good Olympians do...I went to bed.

I spent the next day pondering the recovery. And Saturday morning, when I examined the mitten, I knew I had but one choice. Tink, and tink some more. And you'd think that with the weekend here, I'd get in some good knitting time, but somehow life interfered. I was hoping to complete the first mitten by the end of the weekend. I'm not there yet. And the more I look at the mitten, the more I'm thinking that I've done a really bad job with the stranded knitting. No matter how much I spread the stitches, the mitten is puckering. It's on the flower part of the design, so it's tempting to say that it's a three-dimensional design element. And the mitten is going to be too big for my hand. And it doesn't look good enough to give as a gift. I'm going to keep working on it, but I'll only have one mitten completed by the time the Olympic flame is extinguished. There's no way I can knit the second mitten in five days and 15 hours.

Folks, stay tuned, we'll be joined shortly by former Russian knitting gold medalist Ivana Nitamiten.

(Knitting commentary playfully provided by Keith last week as I was relating my knitting woes to him.)

And They're Off!

So, the Knitting Olympics have begun! Because I foolishly went to work on Friday (very silly since we didn't get back from Costa Rica until after midnight), I couldn't cast on at 2:00pm. And then after work we went out for drinks with some friends. Finally, after a quick dinner, I gathered up my wool, needles, and pattern and cast on.

It was an inauspicious beginning. After plaiting two rounds, I read the pattern (imagine that) and realized that I did it wrong. So I called in the frogs and undid it all. At that point, it was too late and I was too tired to make a second attempt so off to bed I went.

I got a fresh start on Saturday. The casting on went well, the plaiting went well (but I haven't figured out how to keep the two balls of yarn from twisting together), and despite having to unknit a round or two here and there, the knitting is going well. I think I've hit my stride. But...I haven't gotten to the thumb part yet and I haven't gotten to the decreases in the chart yet. That will be the next hurdle. I'm almost done with the cuff and should start the main mitten pattern later today. If I can keep up the momentum, I have a decent shot at finishing both mittens by the time the Olympic Games end.

I must say that it is a bit thrilling (yes, I know, I'm a bit dorky) to be "competitively" knitting at the same time athletes are ski jumping, downhill racing, luging, figure skating, and speed skating. I feel the thrill of victory after having completed a particularly tricky bit in the pattern without having to tink. I feel the agony of defeat when I reach the end of a round and realize that somewhere I got off in the chart. I get teary-eyed when I see the winners of an event standing on the podium, listening to their national anthem. And knowing that I'm knitting with at least 4000 other Olympic knitters boggles my mind. Who would've thunk it?

Of Birds and Knitting
The trip to Costa Rica was quite nice. After we arrived at Cerro Coyote, we pretty much stayed there, primarily because the roads were so daunting (if you don't have a 4WD vehicle, it's difficult to get around). Getting from place to place is measured not by distance, but by time. And the time is usually measured in hours, not minutes. We didn't want to spend four hours or more on the road every day, so we hung out at the inn and relaxed and ate and knit and ate and relaxed and watched birds.

I added several new birds to my life list: keel-billed toucan, collared trogon, emerald toucan, blue-crowned mot-mot, white-eared ground sparrow, brown jay, common paurauque, black and white warbler, great kiskadee, Eastern meadowlark. My favorite, though, was the blue-crowned mot-mot. It's a gorgeous bird.

I got a fair amount of knitting done, too. I took three projects: Blue Danube socks, kittens baby blanket, and Dream socks. I almost completed the heel on the Blue Danube socks, but left the fifth needle at home so couldn't complete the turning. I knit a couple of rows on the baby blanket, but it was humid and the cotton yarn was being recalcitrant and I didn't make as much progress as I wanted. And the Dream socks were going quite well until I got to the heel. That's what I get for feeling smug about turning a heel and watching "Corpse Bride" at the same time. I managed to not get huge gaps with the yarn over short row, but somehow managed to end up with fewer stitches than I started out with. It's back to Frog Pond with the sock (but not until I finish the Knitting Olympics mittens and the baby blanket).

The hats were well-received by my nephews. Logan loves the earflap hat, according to my mother, and my brother says that Craig likes his hat, too. That makes me feel good. My brother said that I do good work, which is high praise coming from a man who raised two sons mostly on his own, works mega-hours at welding, has made his own fishing nets, and built a major addition to his house, all by himself. My brother impresses the heck out of me.

That's it for now. I might update this entry later with a picture of The Mitten.

Flying Away

Well, Tom and I are off to the mountains of Costa Rica for a week of relaxation, bird-watching, relaxation, cooking classes, relaxation... You get the picture. We'll be at The Inn at Coyote Mountain. It looks nice, but I think getting there will be an adventure.

Yes, there will be knitting. I've packed three knitting projects. Hopefully I'll be able to get some extreme knitting knitting in.

Our friend Brian is house and cat-sitting, the cab is arranged, we're packed. And now? It's off to bed. The plane takes off at 6:11 a.m. Ugh.

Adios, amigos y amigas!

As If I Didn't Have Enough To Do

Well, the Christmas knitting is complete, almost. I have one more hat to knit, but it's cotton and there isn't a deadline. Here are the finished objects.



This is the Fickle Fingers Scarf from the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits, knit with Serendipity (an alpaca/wool blend) from Dancing Fibers Yarn. The yarn was an absolute dream to knit with. Unfortunately, the recipient (a 14-year old girl) seemed singularly underwhelmed with it. Oh, well...



The Rasta Colors hat proved to be quite popular with all ages and I'll be making more of these. This is actually the Heads Up Hat from the Spring 2005 Interweave Knits, but knit with Provence cotton.



The School Colors hat, scarf, and mittens ensemble is finally complete. I completed the scarf late winter last year (it was supposed to be a Christmas gift) and finished the hat and mittens before Christmas this year. Unfortunately, it's been too warm for my nephew to wear them, even though he's going to school in the mountains of southwestern Virginia.



The Bubble Up Hats, knit from kits from KnitKits, are for my youngest nieces. Fun hats, but the bubble yarn was a pain to knit with. Jenna said "I love my hat!" as soon as she saw it. Christine, on the other hand, was very blunt and said "I don't like the hat." Her mother was appalled and took her in the back room for a talking-to.



The last three gifts have not yet been received by the giftees, mainly because I finished them this week. They will go in the mail tomorrow. The earflap hat is also from the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits and is actually the Berry Hat, knit in blue Manos. The other hat is of my own design, borrowing the Fair Isle pattern from the Berry hat. It is knit in Cascade 220. And the socks are the Toe Up Socks from Y2Knit, knit Cascade Fixation. I love knitting with this yarn and the pattern is a nice, easy slip-stitch. If you haven't tried short rows for the heel and toe, this would be a good pattern to start with, as it is easy to see and pick up the wraps.

I have another scarf and a poncho to show, but for some reason, Blogger doesn't seem to want to upload them. I'll try putting them in another post.

Next up to complete is a baby blanket for a special sister-in-law. The baby is due in early March, so if I continue the 5:30 a.m. knitting sessions, I should be able to complete it before, or just after, the baby is born.

Knitting For Me

With all the gifts I've knitted for others, I'm feeling a bit neglected and really want to knit something for me. I'm thinking that I'll knit the Blue Danube socks from Ellen's Half Pint Farm that I picked up at Stitches in September. The yarn is a silk/merino blend that feels absolutely yummy.

Knitting Olympics

And if that isn't enough, I've declared for Team Fair Isle for the Knitting Olympics that the Yarn Harlot is hosting. I'll be knitting the Baltic Mittens from Folk Mittens. It will be a major challenge to knit these mittens in 16 days, given that they are knit on tiny needles and have four colors. In addition, there is a left and right mitten, which increases the risk of the project not being completed. There's a very good chance that I'll knit either two left or two right mittens.

Clearly, I have not recovered from the Christmas knitting delusion euphoria.

Extreme Knitting...Finally!

Warning! This post is very photo-heavy.

At long last, and with profound apologies to all of the intrepid extreme knitters who have sent entries in over the past several months, I present to you the latest in Extreme Knitting!

Stacey is our first entrant today (entry received in November). She is knitting at Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. Acoma Pueblo is also known as Sky City and is a 70-acre pueblo village set atop at 357-foot sandstone mesa. Stacey appears to be knitting a scarf.



Our second entrant is Shirra, who sent entries way back in October, just as I was in the middle of preparing to return to work. She took the opportunity to knit while unicycling...



...and while a climbing tree with her 9-year old, who is also knitting.



I'm duly impressed. I couldn't ride a unicycle even if I wasn't knitting!

I mentioned that Honorable Mentions would go to those who displayed prowess and creativity with Photoshop.

All hail this entry (received in January):



This is a photograph of Ed White, knitting during the first spacewalk way back in 1965. Ed said in his email that his wife had requested him to knit during the spacewalk so he did so, mentioning that it took about one minute to knit a single stitch. Because there was no live feed, NASA never found out.

I was suspicious when I received this entry because the sweater looked very familiar. One day a couple of weeks ago, my friend Keith called up and wanted to know if I could meet him for lunch and give my assessment as to whether a sweater from his early childhood was worth repairing. I agreed. The
sweater, knit from fine Virgin Orlon, was in fairly good shape, with the exception of a couple of holes that could easily be repaired with needle and thread. Then I received the above photo and a rather lengthy IM conversation with Keith ensued. Keith eventually 'fessed up, after spinning a yarn about how he and Ed were close childhood friends and had the same sweaters. Keith never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. And no, he does not knit. But his sister-in-law does.

This next entry (submitted in October) is from Elizabeth M., who had the temerity and grit during a root canal.



Elizabeth said that the dentist and his assistant probably thought that she was a little nuts, but it turned out that the visit was surprisingly painless and knitting-productive.

This next entry (submitted in the fall) is from Folkcat, of I Knit Around fame. This is the Yankee Siege Trebuchet:



And this is Folkcat knitting in front of the Yankee Siege Trebuchet:



Looks pretty calm, right? But check out her entry Socks, Pumpkins, and Folkcat's Flying Leap to learn more about what a siege engine can do. It's a long post, but keep reading and you will be amply rewarded.

Cerridwen took a trip to the Tucson
Botanical Garden Magic Butterfly Exhibit:



She said that while it was a bit overwhelming to take her wool knitting into a house full of butterflies and moths, no moths, butterflies, or knitting were harmed. However, when the moth moved, you can be sure that Cerridwen ran!

And the final entry is from Cathy S., who was knitting (a sock?) during a surgical procedure on her toe.



Ouch!

Many, many thanks to all those who entered. The Extreme Knitting button will be on its way to you soon. The Extreme Knitting Challenge is ongoing, so if you are knitting in the extreme, feel free to enter.

Ain't Gonna Happen

So, I've been getting up every day at 5:30 (in the A.M., that is) to continue with the Christmas knitting. Up until yesterday, I entertained the rather deluded opinion that I could knit a scarf, two hats, and a sock by this coming Saturday. I realized that after knitting for an hour or so yesterday morning, I had added about four inches to the scarf and still had twenty inches to go. Do the math. I may be able to finish the scarf tonight, but the hats and the sock aren't going to be close to being completed.

But I'm still delusional optimistic. We plan to drive down to my parents' Friday evening. It will be dark. I'm not a good enough knitter to knit in the dark. So, enter the ultra lightweight Petzl headlamp. Yup, I'm going to don said headlamp and knit on the trip down, unless it interferes with Tom's driving. An alternative is to knit by the light of the navigation system screen. I should be able to do that with a simple rib.

Tonight will be spent finishing and blocking the scarf (and other items), and winding skeins into balls.

I think I'm finally feeling the pressure.

Stayin' Alive

Okay...so I seem to have this problem with work, life, and blog balance. Work is going passably well. Everyone I work with is very nice and very helpful. I feel lost, though, and suspect that it's due to the lack of high drama. The last five years of my working life have been imbued with high drama. So now I have no road map. No one here runs up and down the halls, waving their arms, wailing that the sky is falling. When there is a crisis (a real crisis, like the production system went down and it's going to take several hours to bring it back online), people take notice, roll up their sleeves, and work to solve the problem. It's quite refreshing.

Life is also going passably well. There is a lot of knitting. I'm still not done with the Christmas knitting. But I have finished four hats, a pair of mittens, a scarf, and one sock (not a pair of socks, one sock). I still need to finish the poncho (I'm applying the I-cord now), a sock, and maybe a couple more hats (the rasta colors hat was very popular) and perhaps another scarf. I drew Tom's sister for gift exchange and gave her a gift certificate for the knitted garment of her choice, so we'll see what comes of that. One of my Christmas gifts was a copy of Folk Mittens, which is very good. I can't wait to start knitting mittens with colors and patterns. The only problem is that I can't quite figure out how to read the charts. It's going to require some studying.

And then there's this blog. My poor, neglected blog. And the poor, neglected Extreme Knitting entrants, who I have not forgotten. I think about you every day and feel guiltier and guiltier. The problem, I have figured out, is that it takes me too long to load the photos to Blogger, then incorporate them in an actual blog, instead of having one photo per blog entry. The workflow goes something like this: Upload a photo, mark the blog entry as draft, upload another photo, mark that entry as draft, write the actual blog, go back to the draft entries with the photo links, then copy and paste to the real blog entry, then publish it. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to upload more than one photo per blog entry using Picasa. Someone told me how to do it, but I was still only able to load one measly photo at a time. It's very frustrating and very time-consuming. So there you have it--the true reason I haven't published lately.

And once again, I'm going to apologize for not publishing the Extreme Knitting entries. I really haven't forgotten. And once again, I'm going to drop off the radar so I can finish the Christmas knitting. I will strive to maintain a better work, life, and blog balance after the New Year.

I wish everyone Merry Christmas (a little late), Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, and very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

Too Long Gone

My apologies for being out of the loop for so. Adjusting to the new job has taken more energy than I anticipated. Many thanks to those of you who have continued to submit entries for the Extreme Knitting Challenge. I will post them soon, I promise!!

In the midst of it all, there has been knitting. And there are even finished objects! The School Colors hat and mittens are done, the Rasta Colors hat is done, as is a scarf for a niece. I made the unfortunate mistake of showing what I did to family members at Thanksgiving and they'd all like me to knit something for them or one of their kids. I might be able to eke out another scarf or two but it's going to be tight. Especially since the Fates decided that the Simonds' family Christmas should be held a week before Christmas (and I have to knit a poncho that I haven't started yet). Of course, that's balanced out by the fact that the Hallinger family Christmas will happen sometime in January. Except I think I mentioned something about mailing the kids' Christmas presents. Sigh...

So, I'm going to drop off the radar again. I hope to be able to post the Extreme Knitting entries this weekend. But other than that, it's going to be working and knitting, and knitting and working.

And then? I'll be back.

Knit and Run

Well, it's been quite a while since I last posted. Life sort of got away from me, starting with the Steamtown Marathon. Despite the buckets of rain we got on Friday and Saturday (about five gallons leaked through the sunroom roof), the weather on Sunday (the 9th) was perfect marathoning weather--mid-50s, overcast, with the occasional slight drizzle. Tom ran really well (although he would strongly disagree with me), knocking four minutes off his best marathon time and setting another personal record. I met him at all the viewpoints to cheer him on and even ran with him a little bit at the 17-mile point (he was feeling a bit tired at that point). At mile 20, he was hurting pretty bad, but kept plugging along. At mile 26.2, he was definitely ready to be done and fortunately he was. We walked back to the hotel and he had a snack and a nap, then we walked the streets of Scranton in search of a beer. We found this really nice Irish pub called The Banshee. The band "Old Friends" was playing and the Guinness was good. We had dinner at Carmen's. The food was excellent and the portions gigantic, making an expensive dinner a relatively good value. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at what Scranton had to offer. The people are very friendly and the city has beautiful architecture. And the steam train that runs right past the Radisson is very cool.

Here's a picture of my favorite marathoner close to mile 7:



Job Update
Well, my "sabbatical" is about to end. I received, and accepted, an offer from CGI-AMS and I start work on Monday. Yikes! I don't think I'm ready to get back into the work maelstrom. My challenge will be to stay detached and calm and not get sucked into any potential drama on the project I'll be working on. CGI-AMS is a very big corporation and I haven't worked for one of those for five years. This means that I need a new wardrobe, given that I've been accustomed to wearing jeans to work. Plus I've continued to lose weight and the only business clothes I have that fit are my suits. I spent all of Tuesday at Talbot's revamping my fall wardrobe. Let me tell you, I am amazed. I tried on a pair of low rise boot cut slacks and was stunned, literally stunned. I shed another five or ten pounds and grew about five inches! I shunned boot cut and low rise as too trendy and too young, but now I'm sold. I may never go back to high waisted, pleated front slacks. I do not look like a frump in these clothes. If you ignore my face, lack of boobage, and the fact that I'm 5'2", you might take me for a model. Okay, that's a major stretch. But I do look pretty good. I haven't said that in a very long time.

Another Year Goes By
Tossed into the marathon and job mix was a birthday. I celebrated my 47th year last Friday (the 14th, in case anyone is wondering). I received beautiful cards from my parents and mother-in-law. My running partner Lorrie and I went for a 6-mile birthday run, followed by a light "brunch" at South Street Under. I worked on some Christmas knitting. My friend Beth gave me a gift card from Capitol Yarns and Leigh and Tom and I went out for drinks. On Saturday, Tom and I had a very good dinner at Tuscarora Mill, aka Tuskie's. All in all, a very good birthday!

Knitting Progress
The Christmas knitting is progressing. One sock is completed, the School Colors Hat only needs the topper to be finished, and I've purchased the yarn for the Rasta Colors Hat. I think I'm going to purchase this bag as my main purse, primarily so I can get in a little knitting time at lunch at work. Any thoughts on that?

Extreme Knitting
No pictures today, but I've got three entries that I'll post tomorrow. They are good!

Don't Leave Home Without It

Your knitting, that is. You never know when that nice smooth traffic flow is going to come to a screeching halt, leaving you mired in creeping, crawling traffic for hours.

Paranoid? I think not.

That was the scenario on Tuesday as I was heading south to Richmond to meet the client for the current job-on-the-burner. I left at 10:00, with the intent to be in Richmond in plenty of time for a 1:00 meeting. Well, as I hit the outskirts of Falmouth on Rt.17S, traffic slowed. Then it stopped. It inched forward. And stopped again. And inched forward. And stopped. After about an hour, I could see the entrance ramp to I-95S. It was blocked by a sheriff's car. The traffic on I-95 wasn't moving. I whipped out the map, looked for an alternate route, then whipped out my knitting, as it was clear that it was going to take another hour to get through Falmouth proper and Fredericksburg. So I had the experience of knitting while driving, which might qualify for Extreme Knitting, but I didn't have a camera with me. So what was the problem? It turned out that a couple of tractor trailers and some cars had the audacity to get intimate with each other, causing two lanes to be shut down.

Grrr. I arrived at the meeting around 2:45. My body felt like it was tied in knots, I was hungry (no time to eat), and jazzed from a trip that took twice as long as it should. What was supposed to be a "meet-and-greet" turned into an interview and I don't think I answered their questions very well. The people from the company looking to hire me did an excellent job of supporting me. But I'm not optimistic. The recruiter called on Wednesday to my impression of how it went. I haven't heard anything since then.

In knitting news, I came close to finishing one of Mom's socks while sitting in traffic. My main focus has been on the baby blanket. The yellow yarn finally came in, so I decided to see how it all goes together. I've almost completed the first kitten panel. It's looking pretty good, although the tension on the left side of each kitten is wonky. The stitches seem loose, even though I'm trying to get the tension as tight as I can. I'm hoping (Ha! Hope springs eternal!) that everything will even out in the washing and blocking.

What's that you say? The baby isn't due until March? What about all the Christmas knitting? Not to worry! After I complete the first kitten panel, I'll set the blanket aside and start working on the Christmas knitting. I've done some swatching and wrote out the pattern for one hat. The gauge for that hat will serve at the gauge for the mittens, so I'm almost done, right? And if this job doesn't come through, I'll have plenty of time!

This weekend will also afford some good, enforced knitting time. Tom is running in the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Sunday. The sock will go with me and so will the hat. Who knows? Maybe I'll have some FOs by Monday!

Time to check the bucket in sunroom. It's raining like there's no tomorrow and the roof is leaking. So is the basement. What's with the rain this year? It's either non-existent or else when it rains, it's a veritable deluge. Why can't we get a nice, gentle rain that lasts all day?

The Lives of the Cowboys

As I was driving back from Y2Knit this evening, I happened to catch A Prairie Home Companion and the episode of The Lives of the Cowboys on the local public radio station. And guess what? Those cowboys were knittin'. You could even hear the clack of the needles in the background. From the sound of it, they weren't very good knitters because the sound wasn't very rythmic. But the dialogue was spot on for a group of people knitting. I thought about reaching for my knitting needles and settling in for a knit and chat session, but then I remembered that I was driving. Bad idea. If you can, try to catch the repeat on your public radio station on Sunday. If not, you can listen to tonight's show after Monday here.

So, I spent the last five days in a yarn shop! It was a great experience! I got to help people choose yarn, I had some time to knit, and I got to open shipments that came in. Thursday was help day. At least four people came in wanting help with their projects. Unfortunately, I couldn't help all of them and had to ask them to come back when Susan was there. One was a lace project and I'm terrible at reading lace and fixing problems (hence the lifeline every other row in Fern Leaf) and the other was a sleeve that had been set aside for too long. I was embarrassed that I couldn't help the woman figure out where she was in the pattern and in the increases. The lesson that I learned was that I need to become more proficient with knitting before opening my own shop.

I did enjoy the work and it was fun to meet all the different people. It wasn't difficult to remain patient with those folks who just weren't getting what I was saying; the problem was most likely in how I was communicating. However, I was totally exhausted by the time the shop closed on Thursday. That surprised me, because I didn't feel that the work was that hard.

In other job news, it appears that I'm again a top candidate for a position in Fairfax. I need to meet the client on Tuesday and if they like me, I might get an offer letter. Apparently, meeting the client is a formality. The other position that was looking good fell through; that company imposed a hiring freeze the day I was supposed to interview, so the interview was canceled. And the Red Cross called this week, too. They wanted me to deploy today, which I couldn't because I was working at the shop.

Extreme Knitting
Carla H. (who I think is blogless) sent in this photo for the Extreme Knitting Challenge. All I can say is "Poor sock!"



Has anyone else taken their sock to get a mammogram?

Extreme Knitting--and Lots of It!

Well, after a relatively dry spell, the Extreme Knitting entries are beginning to roll in again. Two of the entries (from Folkcat and Celia) are aging like fine wine. Jenna's is brand new. And I have it on good authority that another will be winging its way to me soon. What fun!

Folkcat has taken the Extreme Knitting Challenge to an entirely different level. She writes:

Since I wrote to you with the "11 Bridges in 140 Minutes", I have changed a lot about my blogs. Five of them, including Folkcat's Fiber Crafts where the "Bridges" photos were published, have officially been retired and folded into a single new blog. You might want to check it out - the theme is all your fault, really! I've taken to calling what I'm doing with the Extreme Knitting "Knitting Around", and so the title of the new blog is I Knit Around. ... [Y]our Extreme Knitting challenge is at least having an influence on my life! I want to thank you for having issued that challenge, and for getting me to see my knitting - and its place in my life - in a whole different way.

Here is one photo from the "11 Bridges in 140 Minutes" adventure. This is the Old Intervale Bridge, built in about 1916:



Here are the links for the entire adventure. Give them read; I found them to be quite interesting. And it's wonderful to see all the different types of bridges.

Bridges Part I
Bridges Part II
Bridges Part III
Bridges Part IV

The next entry is from Celia. She participated in the San Francisco Fringe Festival in a movement theater show called Shiftings. Here she is, knitting on stage:



You can read more about her experience here.

And for our final Extreme Knitting entry today, I present Jenna:



She's knitting in the Shenadoah Mountains in the George Washington National Forest on the Buzzards Rock Trail. On the way back, they snapped this photo:



Motorcycle knitting! That's a first for the Extreme Knitting Challenge. Jenna did say that the motorcycle knitting shots were a bit treacherous to take. I can only imagine. I feel like I'm in a very precarious position whenever I'm sitting on a moving motorcyle, which (thankfully) isn't very often.

Thanks to everyone for all the good Extreme Knitting entries! I'm sorry it took me so long to get them posted.

Parting Shot



I couldn't resist. This is Kim's new puppy, as of yet unnamed. Isn't she sweet?

Sensory Overload

Oh. My. God.

What else can I say about the expo at Stitches East? And how cool is it that Stitches East is going to be at the Baltimore Convention Center next year, November 2-5? I think Baltimore is a much better city for Stitches than Atlantic City. Lots of good restaurants, lots of activities in the Inner Harbor, and it doesn't have the aura of...well...sleaziness (my apologies to the fine residents of Atlantic City).

I was up at 5:30 and out the door at 6:35 for the drive to Towson to meet the gambling bus. I arrived in plenty of time, given that rush hour traffic wasn't as hideous as I thought it was going to be. My friend Gina arrived and one of the gambling buses arrived. As we were getting ready to board (the driver didn't have our reservation listed), another bus arrived. This one had the rest of our group on it. We boarded, I tried to get a picture of everyone but the camera decided to not cooperate, so there are no pictures of our intrepid knitters.

The gambling bus is an excellent deal. It costs $25, but they give you a voucher for $20 for gambling (redeemable for actual cash) and a $10 food voucher. The $5 "profit" pays for your entrance into the expo, if you have the $2 discount card.

Most of us had some knitting with us. I took Mom's sock and made good progress, although I had to knit and unknit the heel about three times because I just can't knit and talk or listen at the same time.



The photo doesn't do justice to the stitch pattern or the color.

Gina brought a sock and a sweater, Nancy brought her very cool lime green bag, and Emily brought a scarf. I don't know what Stephanie brought, and Margo, poor thing, didn't bring any knitting.

After an uneventful trip (except for passing a hellatious car fire on the interstate), we arrived at Trump Plaza and went to redeem our vouchers. The casino reeked of smoke and there were some rather interesting-looking people playing the slots. I found the whole casino atmosphere to be rather depressing. The people didn't look happy; most had glazed expressions on their faces. The noise, the mirrors, and flashing lights were enough to drive me crazy, had we not beat a fast retreat to head over to the convention center.

My main goal for the expo (besides not spending a ton of money) was to find the Yarn Harlot, which was accomplished in short order. The Yarn Barn of Kansas was conventiently placed at the front of the expo hall and I nearly tripped over Stephanie before realizing I was in the right spot. She graciously signed both bookbookbooks, although she may have thought it strange that I was kneeling in front of her. No, I wasn't doing homage (although the thought had crossed my mind). I just felt like I was towering over her while she was sitting. I'm barely 5'2". I typically don't tower over people; I'm usually the toweree. But there you have it. I also felt like a blithering idiot or at least a blithering groupie. She was witty and funny and I was...well...dull.

Gina and I visited most of the booths there. There was lots of yarn. There was lots of buttons. There was lots of beads. There was lots of books. Did I mention there was lots of yarn? Now, you must remember that I'm a relatively new knitter. I've never been to Stitches and I've never been to Maryland Sheep and Wool (shame on me!). So to have this much yarn in one place was overwhelming to say the least. I touched, I admired, I fondled. I especially the fondled the cashmere. Poor Yarn Harlot. Her second book signing of the day was right smack next to the largest amount of pure cashmere I've ever seen. She wisely turned her back on it, muttering something about it being a slippery slope and a mortgage payment.

Despite my vow that I wasn't going to buy anything (what planet did I think I was living on?), I bought a couple of items. There was a cute little pattern for making tiny baby booties and hats out of scrap sock yarn that would be perfect for the niece or nephew who will be arriving this winter (late winter, I might add). I bought two hat kits to make up for two of my nieces (tres expensive, but the kits included the needles). But my favorite purchase was a sock kit with silk/merino yarn in it (oh happy feet!), and 8 ounces of a gorgeous light brown baby alpaca fleece to spin. See?



I forced let Yarn Harlot touch the alpaca. It is like touching a puff of warm, soft, silky air. I hope my spinning can do it justice.

The others in our happy band of knitters did a little bit of buying, too. Gina had the most stash enhancement, with yarn for socks, a sweater kit of Colinette yarns, skeins and skeins of yarn for a scarf made out of the most stunning mix of novelty yarns, couple of books, and two balls of qivuit. Nancy and Stephanie both scored with a kit for a cashmere something for only $60. They also each bought a very nice poncho kit from Philosopher's Wool.

I'll have Extreme Knitting content tomorrow. I promise. Now I have to go wash the kitchen floor. The cat is beginning to stick to it. I'd rather be knitting, though. I'm still on a yarn high!

Cherry Crumb Pie and Vanilla Ice Cream

Yes, it's another boring post, sans pictures. Will there ever be any pictures of knitting again? Will I ever post the two most recent entries for Extreme Knitting? The answer is yes. Right now I'm finding it hard to find the energy to go through the machinations of taking pictures, loading them to the laptop, then uploading them to Blogger. Some would call it lazy.

I completed all of the required Red Cross disaster services training and now am available to be deployed to the Katrina disaster area, or to where Rita is going to hit. It's entirely possible they may keep me here to do family service work. Loudoun County has several hundred evacuees from the New Orleans area. In any case, I've decided that deployment or no, I'll become a Disaster Action Team member. The DAT deals with local disasters like floods, fires, and gas leaks. I've always felt guilty for not becoming a volunteer with the fire department, but it really wouldn't be a good fit. Work with the DAT will help allay some of that guilt.

I'm off to Stitches East in Atlantic City tomorrow. Up at 5 a.m, drive to Townson to meet Gina and Nancy and hop on a gambling bus, spend all day fondling yarn, and hopefully meeting the Yarn Harlot, then back to Towson by 8:30 then drive home. Yawn! I'm getting sleepy just thinking about it.

The sock is still progressing and will continue to progress tomorrow on the bus ride up and back. I got Mom's foot length so will be able to gauge when to start working the heel short rows. I also cast on for the baby blanket and managed to work ten rows in...well, we won't say how long it took. Let's just say it's going to take me a very, very long time to finish it.

So what's with the cherry crumb pie and vanilla ice cream? Well, I seem to continue to lose weight even after hitting my goal weight. I'm now six pounds lighter than my goal weight. Without even trying. This is scary, especially since it took so long to lose those last five pounds. I have several theories:

I'm not drinking enough water and it's all water weight

I enjoy not working and I'm not indulging in stress eating

I've eaten dinner around 5:00 the last three nights and my body is metabolising dinner much better than eating and going right to bed

I have a terminal disease whose main symptom is effortless weight loss (just kidding! I feel wonderful)

The small slice of cherry crumb pie and meager scoop of Edy's Vanilla Bean ice cream every evening is doing the trick

So, what do you think?

Hopefully I'll see some of you at Stitches tomorrow! Ciao!

Oh Dear...

Bad news. Today's the day that Tom took the Westy to be inspected. It's not pretty, not pretty at all. First, the power windows don't work. Nor do the backup lights and a parking light or turn signal. The headlight harness is loose and the shop can't figure out why. A transmission bracket is rubbing on an axle. The shop isn't a VW speciality shop, so they can't find parts for an '87. It's going to be expensive. Well, I don't know that, but mostly when you take your car in to be fixed, it's easily $200 for one small thing. We have several small things and some large things. I don't have a job. I'm trying really, really hard to not participate in stash enhancement and not to buy knitting books.

It's not working well. When I found out that the Yarn Harlot was going to be at Stitches next week on exactly the same day I was going to be there...well, I just had to order her new bookbookbook. And since I only had to spend $15 more to get free supersaver shipping, I just had to get Sensational Knitted Socks. And while I think I can exercise extreme self-control and not buy anything at Stitches on Friday, I'm a little worried I might get caught up in the heat of the moment and come home with bags of cashmere yarn and silk boucle.

Socks
And speaking of socks, I really, really, really love working with Cascade Fixation. The knitting is easy and smooth and peaceful, just like knitting should be. The Toe-up sock pattern that I'm working from knits up relatively quickly and has a short row heel and toe. I'm working it in a solid color and the stitch pattern shows up better than with a multi-colored yarn. In short, I love these socks!

Extreme Knitting
I do have some Extreme Knitting entries waiting to be posted. I will try to post those tomorrow. Yes, I know. I'm a bad blogger. But right now, I need to go fix something to eat so I can get to the Red Cross Family Services training. The class runs from 6:00 to 10:00, which is a bit inconvenient, given that we normally eat around 7:00. However, it's for a good cause.

Shiver Me Timbers!
It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day, matey! Arrr, I hope ye've been astonishin' ye're mates and striking fear in the hearts of ye're enemies by talkin' like a pirate. Arrr...

New Arrival

It's been an eventful weekend chez Knitting Libran. I was up at 4:30am Friday morning to take Tom to the airport to catch a flight to Atlanta to pick up this:



It's a 1987 VW Westfalia camper van. Tom has been searching for one ever since he sold his to his nephew at Christmas. He finally found one on eBay that looked like it was in decent shape and was a reasonable price. As it turned out, he was the high bidder. So down to Atlanta he flew to complete the purchase and drive it back. He arrived home around 1am Saturday morning. Fortunately, the van runs well. It seems to have more power than his other van. Unfortunately, it's not in as good a shape as he thought, although he doesn't think the seller misrepresented the condition of the van. It belonged to a smoker and the interior is yellow with nicotene. Blech.

So, we donned rubber gloves, filled buckets with a TSP solution, and armed with that and Goof-Off, we proceeded to clean every surface of the van. I washed all the curtains (some are missing) and then laundered the mattress upholstery. Tom lined the drawers and shelves with cork. It's looking much better now. But there's still work to do. We need to get the stove, sink, and refrigerator working. Tom would like to put larger wheels in. The carpet in the cockpit needs replacing and so might the upholstery on the seats (they have holes from cigarette burns). We'd like to find a faux Oriental rug for the back. Ultimate renovations include putting a new Subaru engine in (165hp instead of 90hp) and replacing the interior door panels with wood paneling. The front electric windows don't work and need to be fixed.

But the coolest thing about the van is there is a lot of storage space (or so it seems right now). I envsion a cedar-lined storage area that can be used to store a small travelling stash for extended road trips. I asked Tom if he would do that and he almost said yes. How cool would that be?

Tagged
Well, I got my very first tag, from msubulldog. So, here goes...

Ten years ago: I was living in Paris, France, working as a technical support representative for a software company, doing telephone technical support in French (and I wasn't fluent). I was also in the throes of making preparations to return to the States in October so I could focus on wedding plans.

Five years ago: We (read Tom) began renovating our 1906 house in earnest, which meant removing all the paint from the exterior, repainting, fixing the windows, and removing the asphalt shingles from the attic dormers and replacing them with wood siding. I was support staff, and did the front porch. I was also working for a startup and was building a testing and technical writing team. There was sporadic knitting.

One year ago: I was working for a different startup and was approaching major burnout. I was also knitting a lot more and I think that helped me keep my sanity.

Five snacks: Hmmm...dark chocolate, potato chips, dark chocolate, french fries, dark chocolate (I really don't snack much)

Five songs I know all the words to: That's a hard one. I mostly listen to instrumental music. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme; Anachie Gordon; Ballad of Mary Magdalene; All in Green Went My Love Riding; My Father

Five things I would do with $100 million: Buy a farm and raise sheep and alpacas; put my nieces and nephews through college; do good works; travel (assuming I can find someone to take care of the sheep and alpacas); help my brothers and parents however I can

Five places to run away to: France, Rocky Mountains (US and Canada), New Mexico, Pacific Northwest, Abacos

Five things I would never wear: anything polyester, makeup (well, almost never), 60s- and 70s-style clothing, high heels, a bikini

Five favorite TV shows: I don't watch TV often, but when I do watch I watch Good Eats with Alton Brown, Nature, Frontline, Iron Chef America, BBQ with Bobby Flay

Five biggest joys: My family, Tom, my cat, my friends, my knitting

Five favorite toys: knitting tools, spinning tools, cooking tools, laptop, books

Five people to pass this on to: Cerridwen, Mia, Margene...hmmm, I have to come up with two others.

Knitting Progress
The kitten blanket swatching is going slowly (which doesn't bode well the knitting the entire blanket). I'm at the point where I'm knitting the kittens, but they don't look like much at this point. I've started another pair of toe-up socks (for Mom this time) using Cascade Fixation. I love knitting with that yarn, maybe because the cotton feels so soft. I haven't knit on Fern Leaf at all. I'm screwing up my courage to correct my errors yet again. And no spinning progress either. The free wool forlornly sits next to my wheel.

Extreme Knitting
Okay, the picture finally loaded. Here is Folkcat, knitting on stage at her local theatre, the Wilton Town Hall Theatre:



The theatre looks a bit empty, but there are people there. And I doubt highly that many people have gone on stage solely intending to knit. Follow the link above to read more about the theatre and Folkcat's knitting.

Politics
I was very dismayed to see this article on the front page of the Washington Post this morning. The Pentagon is drafting a revised doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons, which includes using nuclear arms to preempt an attack by another country or by terrorist group (who would be using weapons of mass destruction). It also provides the option to use nuclear weapons to destroy known enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. What gives us the right to use weapons of mass destruction on another country who has the same weapons that we have (regardless of their "enemy" status). That seems to be damned arrogant and hypocritical to me. Didn't we learn anything after dropping the bomb on Japan in WWII? And if it's okay for us to do it, doesn't it follow that our enemies, fearing a preemptive strike us, would consider okay to make their own preemptive strike?

Chilling.

Batty

We had a little excitement chez Knitting Libran last night. I was engrossed in the pithy sidebar content over at Kerstin's when I noticed something fluttering overhead. "Moth" I thought, casually glancing up from the computer. Yikes, that's no moth! That's a bat!

I yelled for Tom and there we were, crouched on the floor, ducking as this beautiful brown bat was swooping around the kitchen (I hope it was eating some bugs). Tom tried guiding it out the door with a broom, but that didn't work. After what seemed like an eternity (during which the cat came in and was very interested in the bat), the bat found the exit and flew out. I have no idea how it got in. But they are perfectly silent little fliers. One of our favorite things to do in the spring and summer is to sit on the deck in the evening and wait for the bats to come out and then watch them as they flit about the yard. We had bats living behind the shutters on the upper level of our house and I could see them fly under there in the early morning to roost during the day. They are very fascinating creatures.

Volunteer
I heard from the Red Cross and will go through a volunteer orientation next Tuesday. I told them I wanted to be deployed but need to go through the shelter operations class before that happens. All of the current classes are full and they need to schedule more. It will be an interesting and, I hope, rewarding experience.

/Begin rant/ I am so frustrated with the Administration right now and their seeming insincerity. I mean, I'm very sorry that Trent Lott lost his beautiful old mansion. But he has the means to rebuild. Most of the people down there lost everything and don't have the means to rebuild (they couldn't even afford to leave). I'd rather see W. offer to help rebuild their houses and sit on their front porches instead of Lott's. That would show more compassion than simply telling the citizens of this nation to provide a tidal wave of compassion for the survivors of Katrina. That man, and his cronies, need to walk the walk. /End rant/

Knitting
The socks are done. See?



I'm rather pleased with the way they turned out, even though they are about an inch too short for his foot. I got the stripes to match up, except for bind-off on the toe. The Trekking XXL felt stiff to work with, but washed up very well; the socks are actually quite soft and fluffy now. It was a little chilly this morning and Tom wore the socks all morning. That made me feel good. The next socks are going to be made using Fortissima Colori (Socka Color) in what Tom calls Tibetan colors.

I've started swatching the baby blanket. I'm using Cascade Sierra on size 10 needles, but am unsure about the resulting fabric. I think it feels good, but it looks too...well...holey. Loose. Maybe I'll swatch on a size 9 and see what that looks like. I knit the nephew's scarf (also with Cascade Sierra) on size 7 needles and the stitch gauge is about the same. Go figure.

Job Update
I'm still unemployed and the more I think on it, the more I think I want to get out of the software business. I've come to the realization that technology doesn't excite me anymore. What does? Working with people. I get more excited about enabling people to do their jobs better or motivating them or coaching them than I do about writing and executing software test cases or writing technical documentation. I'm not happy with the trends that I'm seeing in the software industry. The thought of working mega-hours to get a product out the door in order to provide some amount of testing (but not nearly enough to know what the problems might be) and then turning around and doing it all again, well, makes my stomach turn. But what to do? So what can I do that capitalizes on my ability to work with people? Some of the areas that I've been turning over in my head (and need to research because it will involve additional education) is massage or physical therapy, nutrition, personal training, life coaching, or something dealing with fiber and people (yarn store, teaching?). Fortunately, I know people who either do each of these things or know people who know people who do them. It will be an interesting journey.

Extreme Knitting
The Extreme Knitting challenge is still going on, although folks have been awfully quiet lately. I was going to post another entry today but network problems prevented the photos from being uploaded. I'll try again with the next post.

Heartsick

The recent events in the South have made me heartsick. Heartsick and angry. I cannot even begin to imagine the horror and despair and grief the hurricane victims are suffering. I'm angry because the federal government was so slow to respond. It's been a week and they are now reaching New Orleans. Surely the USA can do better than that! I'm angry that the people who couldn't evacuate were too poor or too infirm to do so and no one helped them.

I'm scared about what this is going to do to the economy. How do we take care of a million newly homeless people when we can't or don't take care of the homeless we already have? The skyrocketing gas prices are going to effect all parts of the economy--anything that gets shipped is going to cost more, whether it's something bought through mail order or something as basic as food. How is that going to affect the poor? Where is the money going to come from to help rebuild? This country is already running a huge deficit because of the war in Iraq. And Katrina has just added to that deficit (and the national debt).

Apparently a lot of funding was cut from FEMA in order to help protect the country from terrorists. The levee projects that New Orleans needed were never fully funded. I'm afraid that we might now be in a situation where our country could be more vulnerable to a major terrorist attack.

Since I'm still unemployed (I didn't get the job in Rockville), I've contacted the local Red Cross chapter to see if they need volunteers. I might as well put my time to a very good use, if they'll have me. Tom has put his name on the volunteer list for Habitat for Humanity for when it's time to start rebuilding.

Knitting News
As predicted, I got some good knitting time in while visiting my parents. We were glued to CNN most of the time, watching the disaster unfold. I got more good knitting in yesterday and today while I was working at Y2Knit. That has got to be my all-time favorite LYS. If you live in the Northern Virginia area or near Frederick or Hagerstown, take some time to visit Susan in Funkstown, Maryland. She has a very interesting selection of yarns and patterns, including a lot of handpainted yarns and yarns that are produced in the mid-Atlantic region. As an incentive to get all you locals out there, she's having a sale on September 17 from 9-5. I'll be there!

So, the sock is almost finished. Everyone who sees it loves the yarn and the color. I'm beginning to like it a little more. Certainly the second sock has knitted up a little faster, more relaxed, and dare I say it, in a more zen-like manner than the first sock. The yarn over short rows are just happening, very fluid and relaxed. And the stitches are not leaping off the needles like lemmings leaping into the sea. I'll finish it tomorrow and will have pictures of the pair posted soon.

Fern Leaf, on the other hand, is still giving me fits presenting a challenge. However, I'm not going to get worked up over it. I'm going to set it aside and pick it up a little later and analyze what went wrong.

I found a baby blanket pattern and will start swatching so I understand the pattern, which will hopefully make the knitting up go a little faster. And I've got a couple more pairs of socks to make, as well as a hat and mittens for The Nephew, and all of the other Christmas knitting that I decided to do.

And I got a gift of wool! Sometimes Brown Sheep tosses in a bag of unspun wool as packing material and Susan gave it to me. So I've got about 12 ounces of wool to play with. I'll use it to work on my spinning technique. Woo hooo!

Speed Record

Ha! Not in knitting. On Wednesday, I cooked up an Indian feast in less than three hours. This is an all-time record; usually it takes me all day. Of course, it helped that I found pre-made panir, so I could dispense with making my own cheese. And even though I mixed the dough for the chapatis, I didn't actually make them (the dough is in the freezer and I'll make them at some later time). What was for dinner?

Panir with peas in a minty tomato sauce (matar panir)

Spiced green beans (masala barbatti sabji)

Simple yellow rice (haldi chaval)

Shredded carrot, coconut, and radish salad (mooli nariyal kachamber)

Vanilla ice cream with sliced mango

The salad was a bit dry and benefited from adding a little yogurt. And I discovered that the rice (cooked with all sorts of spices) works well in the rice cooker. All recipes are from what I consider to be the most comprehensive Indian cookbook in the world, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking, by Yamuna Devi. It's 800 pages and includes all types of dishes, from rices and dals to breads and snacks, to drinks and desserts (the ras malai is to die for!).

Fern Leaf and the Sock
I'm slowly making progress here. I've almost finished the center motif, with only four rows to go, followed by three repeats of the edge motif and six rows of plain knitting. Fortunately, I haven't had to tink much lately, but it takes knitting in absolute silence. I can forget knitting with the radio on because I get sucked into the music or the commentary and whoops! I insert mistakes. I predict that the shawl should be finished sometime soon after next weekend.

We're off to Annapolis this afternoon so Tom can run in the Annapolis 10-Miler tomorrow. Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a bit rainy, which will make running (and spectating) not so much fun. I should be able to get in some sock knitting on this trip.

I predict that the second sock will be complete by the end of next week. I'm going to take three days and go visit my parents. It's been a while since I took a trip down there and in addition to having a good time (and good food), there's always some good knitting time to be had. I'll get to visit with my grandmother and see my nieces and nephews. And, there's one more little niece or nephew who will make an appearance in February or March. I need to figure out soon what to knit, so I don't end up giving the gift a couple of years later.

That's it for now. Have a great weekend!

Still Waiting...

Well, no word on the job in Rockville. The hiring manager was able to go on vacation this week after all (his dog recovered from an allergic reaction to some vaccinations) so the company has postponed making a decision until next Monday. I'm trying very hard to maintain my cool and not read all sorts of bad things into it. Mostly I'm succeeding. But there's a little part of me that's saying that I'm not going to get the job and he didn't want to go on vacation having just delivered bad news. Of course, it can work the other way, too. He didn't want to enter into salary negotiations just before going on vacation. See, I'm trying to remain balanced!

I had a fun day yesterday with my friend Pam, who is also jobless at this time. We had lunch at this yummy Vietnamese restaurant, A Taste of Vietnam, in Sterling. Pam had never eaten there and really enjoyed it. After lunch, we went back to her house and had tiramisu for dessert. I had made the tiramisu last Friday. Tom didn't like it (it was a bit soggy) and it would be a very bad thing for me to eat it all myself. So I shared with Pam. Fortunately, it has gotten less soggy over time and is actually quite edible now. Then I whipped out a ball of yarn and some knitting needles and proceeded to teach Pam how to knit.

It was an interesting teaching experience, not because Pam wasn't an apt student (she was), but because it forced me to deconstruct how I knit. Teaching the long-tail cast on was the hardest. I could cast on correctly. I could guide Pam's hands through the correct sequence, but it just wasn't working for us. We kept getting an extra loop of yarn on the needle. I finally figured out that thumb placement is key. Dropping the thumb that holds the yarn causes a twist; holding the thumb closer to the index finger doesn't cause a twist. We then moved on to the knit stitch. This was much easier and within a few minutes, Pam was happily knitting away. Her tension looked great, even though she was knitting with LP Cotton Fleece on slippery aluminum needles. Every now and then, she'd make a mistake and I would demonstrate how to fix it, then recreate the mistake and let her fix it. She was thrilled that she was creating fabric with string and two pointy sticks! We'll get back together in a couple of weeks for a purl stitch lesson. And yes, I'm teaching the continental method.

I didn't get home until almost 6:00, which meant that I missed going to the Loudoun Knitters meeting. I've never been and really feel a need to connect with local knitters. Fortunately they meet twice a month, so I'll go next time.

More Extreme Knitting Entries
It's interesting how there seems to be a theme for some of the entries that I get. For example, knitting while climbing rocks or knitting while doing work-related activities or knitting while on or in the water. Today's entries involve bridges (and suspension...more on that later).

Celia decided to take her knitting on a little sightseeing trip. While showing off the sights of San Francisco to a visiting East Coaster, Celia and crew decided to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, creating the perfect photo opportunity for some extreme knitting:



Celia is definitely knitting on the edge there. And here is a photo the captures the majesty of the bridge:



Folkcat also chose a bridge for her extreme knitting. In this case, it is an old bridge (Savage Bridge) near Milford, New Hampshire, that spans the Souhegan River.



Folkcat not only took her knitting to the edge, she took herself too, by precariously perching on the railing:



Remember, no knitter or knitting is to be harmed during the challenge. And that brings us to the final entry today and a review of the rules.

In the interest of being open to diversity, but also in the interest of not alienating this blog's audience, I'll mention the activity, but not post the photos. Alice, in the UK, submitted an entry that documented the combination of her love of knitting with her love of...um...body modification. (The squeamish and faint-of-heart will want to stop reading now.) Alice was photographed knitting a lovely garter stitch scarf while suspended from two hooks in her back. While it looked extremely painful, she appeared to be quite content and peaceful. (I may have to go have a lie-down now. Whew!)

I have to admit that this is by far the most extreme entry thus far. Unfortunately, it is also the most questionable. I debated long and hard about whether or not I should even mention this entry and in the end, decided to include it as an example of what isn't appropriate, extreme though it may be. As a reminder, the rules are:

All contenders should submit a picture of themselves (or their knitting) knitting where no (wo)man has knit before. Knitting while skydiving, scuba diving, bicycling, rock climbing, on rooftops, up a tree, etc. are all examples. It isn't necessary for the knitting activity to take place in the great outdoors, either. The key is to be imaginative (while keeping it clean!) and not harming the knitter or the knitting in the process (safety first!). While Alice clearly consented to the modification, I would classify that activity as a knitter being harmed. In the future, entries such as Alice's will be returned to the contestant and will not be posted or mentioned.

I also received a question if it's possible be a serial extreme knitter and enter more than once. The answer to that is absolutely! The only caveat is that you must follow the rules. So enter early and enter often!

On A Lighter Note
It's a gorgeous day today, slightly breezy and in the low 80s, just perfect for knitting outside. So Jez and I are going to do just that. With any luck, I'll get one or two more rows completed on the Fern Lace Shawl before it's time to start dinner, which tonight will have an Indian theme. Details on the next posting!

Silly Me

The weekend was pretty quiet; I spent most of it cooking (more on that later). But the highlight of the weekend was watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on DVD Saturday night. For some reason, we missed seeing it in the theatre when it was released. Tom got everything set up for an 8:00 showtime and I wandered in, sock knitting in hand. Tom was incredulous. "You're going to knit while watching Harry Potter?!" "Sure," said I, "I can knit and watch a movie at the same time."

Silly me. I knit not one stitch on that sock. The movie was so engrossing and, as always, so visually rich that I didn't want to miss one little bit of it.

The Loudoun Road Runners' annual picnic was scheduled for Sunday. Given that all of the runs would be finished by about 10:30, I figured some kind of brunch food would be appropriate. So I spent Saturday making homemade cinnamon rolls and a quiche. We showed up at Market Station at 7:00 (that's AM) on Sunday and only one person was there. Eventually, another person wandered in, but certainly not nearly enough people to have a picnic. Tom, Mike, and Sarah headed off for their run. They run a lot faster than I do (even more so now that my running is mostly not happening), so I opted to not run. I invited them back to the house for a post-run snack of the picnic fare, cached water for Tom, and scurried back to the house to do a little straightening. Of course, no one came. But the cinnamon rolls and quiche were quite tasty.

If you like spicy Thai food, here's a recipe that I developed that you might enjoy. I used grilled catfish, but it would work equally well with other white fish, chicken, shrimp, or even tofu.

Catfish Thai Red Curry
2 catfish fillets (more if you are serving more than 2 people)
1-2 Tablespoons of canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon Thai red curry paste (I use A Taste of Thai brand)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar (or to taste)
3/4 Cup unsweetened coconut milk (approximately)
juice of one-half to one lime (or to taste)
chopped cilantro or basil
sliced or chopped mango
steamed rice

Rinse and pat dry the catfish fillets. Season with salt and pepper. Grill over a medium hot fire until done (about 6 minutes per side). Remove and set aside. Alternatively, you can pan fry the catfish (or chicken) before sauteeing the onions.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and sautee until soft and translucent. Add the red curry paste and blend with the onions, then add the brown sugar and coconut milk. Blend thoroughly. (You may need to lower the heat at this point; I've found that if coconut milk gets too hot, it has a tendency to "splurp" up like molten lava.) Add the lime juice. Cut the catfish into bite-size chunks and add to the curry sauce. If you are using shrimp or tofu, add them now. Heat thoroughly. Serve over hot steamed rice and sprinkle chopped cilantro or basil over top with a side of mango.

Note that this dish is very spicy hot. You might want to decrease the amount of red curry paste. The mango makes nice accompaniment and helps cool the heat.

Knitting Content
Thanks to everyone who offered advice to improve my counting skills. Believe it or not, I do use stitch markers to mark the lace repeats. But the shawl is triangular; how do you account for a two-stitch increase every other row if you place stitch markers every 10 stitches? Wouldn't the number of stitches between the stitch markers be greater than or less than 10? (Of course, I could try it myself and see what happens...duh!). I do use stitch markers when casting on a large number of stitches. It definitely keeps me honest.

I managed to knit about four rows on Fern Leaf yesterday. And characteristically, I had to tink part of the two pattern rows that I knit. I missed a yarn over on one row and had an extra yarn over on another row. After a bit of reflecting, I realized that this is probably an exercise assigned by the Universe to help me become more mindful. When my mind wanders, I make mistakes.

Parting Shot

I snapped a quick picture of this little guy, hanging out on our deck:



Other than the great pose, I found this squirrel to be very interesting. If you look closely, you'll see that fur on his jaw and front paws is a deep brown, which is not characteristic of the grey squirrel. At first I thought he might be diseased, but after looking at him through binoculars, determined that, yes indeed, that's the color of his fur. But then I noticed a black walnut on the deck, still in the hull. The squirrel has been eating walnuts, which dyed his fur a nice brown. Unfortunately, I don't think we get enough walnuts from our tree for dyeing wool.

And finally, I should find out today whether or not I get the job in Rockville. I don't know anything about the other candidate's background, so I have no sense of which way the decision will go. Oh, the suspense!

Let Me Count...

Not only am I math-challenged, I appear to be counting-challenged as well. While being math-impaired creates challenges for knitting, I don't feel too embarrassed asking for help. After all, I'm a relatively new knitter and haven't learned all of the tricks of the trade. Asking for help with counting, on the other hand, is highly embarrassing.

What's so difficult about counting? It's not that I can't count; it's that I never seem to come up with the same number each time I count. I take to heart the carpenter's maxim "Measure twice, cut once." "Count twice, start the next row." It goes like this:

"Whew! I'm glad I finished that pattern row. Let's count...should have 113 stitches."
"2, 4, 6...110. Grrr...that's not right. Let's count again."
"2, 4, 6...114. Aargh! That's still not right. Let's check the knitting against the pattern."
"Everything's okay with the knitting. Let's count it again."
"2, 4, 6...113. Hmmm...let's count again just to make sure."
"2, 4, 6...113. Okay, let's go to the next row."

Now, I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent person. I graduated from college with good GPA; I can grasp complex concepts. But the conversation above illustrates how I spend my mornings with the Fern Leaf Shawl. I've taken to putting lifelines in every other row. I count, and count again. This morning, I counted (after having ripped back to the lifeline because it looked liked a couple of yarn overs disappeared), knit the next row, moved the lifeline, and at the end of the pattern row I was short one stitch. How did that stitch go missing?!

It's enough to put a girl off knitting lace.

More Extreme Knitting

Emily submitted this photo for the Extreme Knitting Challenge:



The location is the Ansel Adams wilderness of the Sierra Nevada. But wait, you say, she's not knitting. Yes, she is. But when one is solo backpacking, one can't knit and snap a photo at the same time. Emily is knitting the Norsk Strikkedesign sweater sleeve at a high pass (10,000 feet altitude). You can read about Emily's (and her faithful dog, Tiko's) adventure here. Frankly, I'd be terrified of meeting up with a bear, even with a bear canister. And Emily? Nice spork!

Busted!

Having a blog is a mixed blessing. It provides an excellent opportunity to improve one's writing skills and is a good way to document progress on knitting projects. It allows friends and family to stay up-to-date on what is happening in one's life. And that's where I got busted by my mother (Hi, Mom!).

Tom and I typically spend the first week in August with his family in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We also typically stop by my parents' house for a quick visit on the way down and back. Well, this year we didn't stop. Even worse than that, I didn't even call to let my family know that I was going. A few days ago, my mother calls and says "It's a good thing you have a blog so I know what you've been up to. How come you went to the beach and didn't stop by?" Oops. No excuses, I was a bad daughter. I hadn't called in a couple of weeks (I usually call every week). I didn't stop by on the way to the beach. I felt horrible. So, I'm going to try to get down there during the week (perfect, since I have no job responsibilities) either this week or next. It will be good to visit. I'll give you a call, Mom, and let you know when I'll be coming!


Employment News
The second interview with the company in Rockville went well. I'm one of two top contenders. They should be making a decision early next week. A friend gave me another job lead that sounds like it could be promising...it's closer to home, working for a non-profit, and sounds like it could be more structured and less hectic than my previous jobs. So we'll see where that ends up.

I spend Friday afternoon working with my friend Susan at Y2Knit. And that got me to thinking. How many yarn shops can a geographical area support? There are four that I would consider to be relatively local, although they all at least 20 miles away (which to me isn't very local). Could my town support a yarn shop? What would it take for a yarn shop to be successful? Can I earn a living wage after it's established?

Having a yarn shop would certainly meet the need for wanting to earn a living by doing fiber things. But would I enjoy it? I know that I'd get less knitting done than I do now. Susan recommended developing a business plan, so that's what I'm going to do. I think it also means that I need to visit a lot of yarn shops (oh, the torture!) to see how they differ from each other.

Extreme Knitting
And last, but not least, there are three Extreme Knitting entries today. And they are linked by a common theme. All of them were taken while working!

Emily had this photo taken while in full clerical garb. She says:

I don't have a book tour like the Harlot. I live in Oklahoma, so nowhere near mountains. I am, however, an Episcopal priest, and it occured to me I could at least put on appropriate Sunday garb to knit.

(Please note the vestments include a chasuble, stole, and alb, plus microphone and Sunday best including plastic "clericool" collar underneath.)



I don't know, Emily, a plastic "clericool" collar doesn't sound like it would be cool or comfortable. And knitting in all those garments is definitely extreme. Bonus points will be awarded if the air conditioning wasn't on in the church.

Andrea interpreted extreme knitting in a slightly different way. She...um...took her knitting to...(dare I say it?)...er...Hooters:



I can't do Andrea's story justice, so you have to read about it in her own words. Andrea, your post mysteriously mentions a skiing injury. After you heal and are cleared by your doctor for more extreme sports, I expect to see a picture of you knitting while on skis!

The third entry is amazing. Kris took her knitting to an amusement park. On a roller coaster. And she knit while plummeting down very steep hills very fast:



Notice the contented smile (if that was me, I'd have a look of stark terror on my face). For the roller coaster lovers among us, the ride is Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain and she's knitting the Soleil tank. Kris has additional pictures of the adventure here.

Thanks for the great entries!

I'll be sending the button soon (it's finished!). I've also got the gallery framework set up and should have the gallery linked in the sidebar in the next week or so.