- A couple of you mentioned that the STR in my last post was extremely pastel for Blue Moon yarn. You're right -- the dyers are just now moving into pastels. Pastels get a bad rap, and I'd hate to have only pastel colors to choose from, but some of my favorite colors are pastels.
- Bezzie -- there were TWO patterns with the yarn, which is called Goody Goody, and while neither was called Two Shoes (although wouldn't that be a great name for a sock pattern?), one is called Gumdrops and the other is called Sweet Tart.
- Saturday, I was the target of a RAOK. When I attempted to pay for my grande non-fat two-pump-hazelnut latte' at the drive-through of the Starbucks at Clearlake and Dirksen in Springfield, IL (the closest Starbucks to my mom's house), I was told it had already been paid for by the woman in the car in front of me. Wow! I can't tell you a thing about her or the car -- I wish I could! Now I owe one...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Three Quick Things
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Pinkness
One of the reasons I joined the Blue Moon Fibers Arts Rockin' Sock Club was to force myself out of my comfort zone color-wise. However, I must say that this month's yarns excites me WAAAY more than any of the previous 3 shipments.
What can I say? It's pretty and girly and has a good dose of pink! It's called Goody Goody (and it's only available to members at this point).
Other recent stash enhancements will further emphasize my love of pink:
Lone Tree Wools Mohair and Wool roving in Peony
It's not quite this intense in real life, but it's the best I could do. Lone Tree Wools is owned by Betty Shreeves, my spinning teaching. She's also married to a co-worker, which means the fact that she has no online presence doesn't really matter -- my orders are hand-delivered!
What can I say? It's pretty and girly and has a good dose of pink! It's called Goody Goody (and it's only available to members at this point).
Other recent stash enhancements will further emphasize my love of pink:
Lone Tree Wools Mohair and Wool roving in Peony
It's not quite this intense in real life, but it's the best I could do. Lone Tree Wools is owned by Betty Shreeves, my spinning teaching. She's also married to a co-worker, which means the fact that she has no online presence doesn't really matter -- my orders are hand-delivered!
And I now have a Flickr tag for pink! I just need to go through my entire photostream and tag all the pink.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
I always need help with blocking
And Harley is always happy to assist.
Specifics:
Pattern: Anne Hanson's Brambler
Yarn: Handmaiden Camelspin (30% camel and 70% silk). I used maybe 2/3 of the 328 yard skein.
Needles: US size 6
Notes: Although this wasn't a hard pattern, I never really got the rhythm down. The yarn is nice -- very soft -- and the fact that it partly camel is interesting, but the color (which I think they call Ivory, although I can't find it on their website) was really much prettier in the skein. This is a gift (very late) for a friend in Houston, and the light and airy texture will be great for what passes as winter there.
ETA because it's not worth a post of its own (plus, it looks like Blogger doesn't understand the border color html, and I'm too tired to figure out why that is):
Okay - this is a very positive description, and I wonder if they all are! But that said, this is pretty much me, or at least part of me (except that I'm not all that crazy about blue in general!). I don't like the word "conservative" in there, except that in the way it's being used here, it really does describe me. I am pretty much the opposite of impulsive, which has worked against me in the past, but is useful in my current work situation. And that sentence about being respected for my opinions? That's something I've only become aware of recently, and it's kind of scary -- apparently, there are people who think I know what I'm doing!
Specifics:
Pattern: Anne Hanson's Brambler
Yarn: Handmaiden Camelspin (30% camel and 70% silk). I used maybe 2/3 of the 328 yard skein.
Needles: US size 6
Notes: Although this wasn't a hard pattern, I never really got the rhythm down. The yarn is nice -- very soft -- and the fact that it partly camel is interesting, but the color (which I think they call Ivory, although I can't find it on their website) was really much prettier in the skein. This is a gift (very late) for a friend in Houston, and the light and airy texture will be great for what passes as winter there.
ETA because it's not worth a post of its own (plus, it looks like Blogger doesn't understand the border color html, and I'm too tired to figure out why that is):
#1E90FF |
Your dominant hues are cyan and blue. You like people and enjoy making friends. You're conservative and like to make sure things make sense before you step into them, especially in relationships. You are curious but respected for your opinions by people who you sometimes wouldn't even suspect. Your saturation level is high - you get into life and have a strong personality. Everyone you meet will either love you or hate you - either way, your goal is to get them to change the world with you. You are very hard working and don't have much patience for people without your initiative. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation. |
Okay - this is a very positive description, and I wonder if they all are! But that said, this is pretty much me, or at least part of me (except that I'm not all that crazy about blue in general!). I don't like the word "conservative" in there, except that in the way it's being used here, it really does describe me. I am pretty much the opposite of impulsive, which has worked against me in the past, but is useful in my current work situation. And that sentence about being respected for my opinions? That's something I've only become aware of recently, and it's kind of scary -- apparently, there are people who think I know what I'm doing!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
J is for....
Janna! Actually, when I was growing up, it seemed that J was for everyone! A very high proportion of my childhood friends had names beginning with the letter J -- Jennifer, Joanie, two Julies, Joey, my cousins John and Joe. I thought about using pictures of all of them, but then realized that they probably wouldn't like their high school (or even grade school) pictures broadcast over the internet!
So - J is for me! I hope you enjoy this little trip through my first five years!
If you want a closer look at any of these pictures, click on the mosaic to go to Flickr, then click on the photo name in the caption to go to the individual photo on Flickr.
The upper left photo is the first picture of me that I know of -- it's my mom when she was pregnant with me. This photo's been around a while and is kind of hacked up, but notice the contraption on the left side of the photo -- that's what TVs looked like in the mid-1950s.
Top row middle: that's me at 2 months.
Top row right: Mom, Dad, and me, when I was about 7 months old
Middle left: I love this picture! In spite of the 1960 written in the margin in my grandmother's hand, I think it's more likely this picture was taken in late 1958. The baby on the far right, my cousin Teresa, was born in February 1958. I'm the second little girl from the left -- the unhappy one! The unhappy little boy just right of me is my cousin John. He's a year old than me, and when we were little, I followed him around like a puppy. The older boy with a smirk on his face is John's brother Steve. I suspect he had done something to get us into trouble! The little girl on the far left is my sister Karen and the men are my Grandpa and my Uncle Jerry (who appears to have his pant legs rolled up).
Center: Me, obviously more recently.
Middle right: This one is my favorite. Dad, Karen (left) and me (right). My sister Karen was 11 and a half months younger than me, and was killed in a car accident when I was four and a half and she was three and a half. I actually have a lot of memories of her. I remember (more than once, I think) sitting in the photo booth at the J.C. Penney's where my dad worked. When my dad passed away, we found the top photo in his wallet. A few months later, cousin's wife mailed Mom the other, which my cousin had found with his late mother's belongings. I don't know what happened to the other two photos which would have been in the strip, but I've Photoshopped these two back together.
Bottom left: Me on the left and Karen on the right.
Bottom center: This is the classic 1950s photo -- the subject posed next to a car! I think it was probably taken in the Spring or Summer of 1961, just before I turned 5. I don't know whose car it is, but I know it's in Grandma and Grandpa's lane.*
Bottom right: In front of my grade school, one block from our house, about the time I started kindergarten.
* Lane = long driveway out in the country. Does everyone everywhere call them that?
So - J is for me! I hope you enjoy this little trip through my first five years!
If you want a closer look at any of these pictures, click on the mosaic to go to Flickr, then click on the photo name in the caption to go to the individual photo on Flickr.
The upper left photo is the first picture of me that I know of -- it's my mom when she was pregnant with me. This photo's been around a while and is kind of hacked up, but notice the contraption on the left side of the photo -- that's what TVs looked like in the mid-1950s.
Top row middle: that's me at 2 months.
Top row right: Mom, Dad, and me, when I was about 7 months old
Middle left: I love this picture! In spite of the 1960 written in the margin in my grandmother's hand, I think it's more likely this picture was taken in late 1958. The baby on the far right, my cousin Teresa, was born in February 1958. I'm the second little girl from the left -- the unhappy one! The unhappy little boy just right of me is my cousin John. He's a year old than me, and when we were little, I followed him around like a puppy. The older boy with a smirk on his face is John's brother Steve. I suspect he had done something to get us into trouble! The little girl on the far left is my sister Karen and the men are my Grandpa and my Uncle Jerry (who appears to have his pant legs rolled up).
Center: Me, obviously more recently.
Middle right: This one is my favorite. Dad, Karen (left) and me (right). My sister Karen was 11 and a half months younger than me, and was killed in a car accident when I was four and a half and she was three and a half. I actually have a lot of memories of her. I remember (more than once, I think) sitting in the photo booth at the J.C. Penney's where my dad worked. When my dad passed away, we found the top photo in his wallet. A few months later, cousin's wife mailed Mom the other, which my cousin had found with his late mother's belongings. I don't know what happened to the other two photos which would have been in the strip, but I've Photoshopped these two back together.
Bottom left: Me on the left and Karen on the right.
Bottom center: This is the classic 1950s photo -- the subject posed next to a car! I think it was probably taken in the Spring or Summer of 1961, just before I turned 5. I don't know whose car it is, but I know it's in Grandma and Grandpa's lane.*
Bottom right: In front of my grade school, one block from our house, about the time I started kindergarten.
* Lane = long driveway out in the country. Does everyone everywhere call them that?
Monday, July 14, 2008
Just a little fiber-related content
As I mentioned before, I'm taking a spinning class. Let me just say that I am not the star pupil! However, I'm getting better, I think.
That's wool that I hand-carded myself to spin. I think I find the "fluff" that hand-carding produces to be a whole lot easier to spin than roving. However, maybe it's because I'm finally getting the way spinning is supposed to feel. Tomorrow night is our last class, but I think I can keep the wheel until the next class series begins in September. If that's the case, I'll buy some roving in some pretty color and work on it a while.
On the knitting front, despite that fact that I'm pretty sure she knows I'm one of the world's slowest knitters, Helen is letting me test knit Daedelus for her. I've barely begun.
Sorry about the blurry picture - and I think I see a mistake over on the left side. Uh, oh....
One of my co-workers is greatly amused by the idea of test knitting. Today, he was trying to decide what kind of uniform test knitters should wear -- jumpsuits, with lots of patches, and Raybans, like test pilots? We finally decided that a hand-knit sweater and socks would be more appropriate!
That's wool that I hand-carded myself to spin. I think I find the "fluff" that hand-carding produces to be a whole lot easier to spin than roving. However, maybe it's because I'm finally getting the way spinning is supposed to feel. Tomorrow night is our last class, but I think I can keep the wheel until the next class series begins in September. If that's the case, I'll buy some roving in some pretty color and work on it a while.
On the knitting front, despite that fact that I'm pretty sure she knows I'm one of the world's slowest knitters, Helen is letting me test knit Daedelus for her. I've barely begun.
Sorry about the blurry picture - and I think I see a mistake over on the left side. Uh, oh....
One of my co-workers is greatly amused by the idea of test knitting. Today, he was trying to decide what kind of uniform test knitters should wear -- jumpsuits, with lots of patches, and Raybans, like test pilots? We finally decided that a hand-knit sweater and socks would be more appropriate!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
I is for....
(ETA: I keep thinking of people I should have included below. But I think I could edit forever, so, if you're not listed, don't take it personally!)
My loss of knitting and blogging mojo (which is not a complete loss -- I am still knitting several times a week and am reading blogs) coincided with a lot of turmoil in my life. First I was out of town for weeks in May (two conferences back to back), and then after a week or so back, the floods began. Although I was not directly affected -- my house and work are both fine -- you can't live in this area without being affected.
Although I haven't been posting very much, I've been writing lots of posts in my head. So - I'm going to attempt to actually get some of them up here!
I'm so far behind the ABCalong that I had almost decided to give up. But then I had a sudden inspiration for I! I wasn't excited about my previous ideas, Iowa or Illinois, but suddenly the perfect I came to me, although it doesn't lend itself to pictures.
I is for....
my Imaginary/Internet friends! Yes, that would be you! You're the group that I depended on, even though you may not have known it, to get me through my move last year and to provide some continuity in my life at a time when everything was changing.
Now, all of my Internet friends aren't really Imaginary. An awful lot of you -- Susan, Kim, Amy, Mary, David, Courtney, the other Kim, Michelle, Enid, Bezzie, Eileen -- either live in San Antonio or used to live there. And there are other San Antonio knitters who I stay in touch with through the SA knitters Yahoo! list -- I can't bring myself to 'unjoin' it. And I'll include Steven in this group -- he's in Austin, but I knew him IRL before we started blogging.
There are also some of you whom I met after I began reading your blogs: Christine, Caro, Julia, Hedgie, and, most recently, Helen.
And then there's the huge list of those of you who I feel I know, even though we've never met. And this is where Imaginary, and maybe even a little weird, comes in! Some of the folks on this list definitely know who I am, but others, if they were to see this, would probably wonder who this crazy woman is! There's Chris, of course (I think Chris might be everyone's favorite Imaginary Friend!), and Risa, Rachael, Cari, Ashley, Theresa, Rebecca, Marguerite, not to mention people like Stephanie and Laurie (they both signed books for me - does that count?), Wendy and Wendy, Lorette, Kay and Ann, Annie, Cathy-Cate, Franklin, Norma, Cara, and the 100 or so other people on my bloglines. Oh, and the group of former co-workers whose emails I look forward to (at least once a week, we share a Dilbert and reminisce about the not-so-good-old-days that were pretty fun nonetheless).
Even if you don't know me, all of you are special to me!
My loss of knitting and blogging mojo (which is not a complete loss -- I am still knitting several times a week and am reading blogs) coincided with a lot of turmoil in my life. First I was out of town for weeks in May (two conferences back to back), and then after a week or so back, the floods began. Although I was not directly affected -- my house and work are both fine -- you can't live in this area without being affected.
Although I haven't been posting very much, I've been writing lots of posts in my head. So - I'm going to attempt to actually get some of them up here!
I'm so far behind the ABCalong that I had almost decided to give up. But then I had a sudden inspiration for I! I wasn't excited about my previous ideas, Iowa or Illinois, but suddenly the perfect I came to me, although it doesn't lend itself to pictures.
I is for....
my Imaginary/Internet friends! Yes, that would be you! You're the group that I depended on, even though you may not have known it, to get me through my move last year and to provide some continuity in my life at a time when everything was changing.
Now, all of my Internet friends aren't really Imaginary. An awful lot of you -- Susan, Kim, Amy, Mary, David, Courtney, the other Kim, Michelle, Enid, Bezzie, Eileen -- either live in San Antonio or used to live there. And there are other San Antonio knitters who I stay in touch with through the SA knitters Yahoo! list -- I can't bring myself to 'unjoin' it. And I'll include Steven in this group -- he's in Austin, but I knew him IRL before we started blogging.
There are also some of you whom I met after I began reading your blogs: Christine, Caro, Julia, Hedgie, and, most recently, Helen.
And then there's the huge list of those of you who I feel I know, even though we've never met. And this is where Imaginary, and maybe even a little weird, comes in! Some of the folks on this list definitely know who I am, but others, if they were to see this, would probably wonder who this crazy woman is! There's Chris, of course (I think Chris might be everyone's favorite Imaginary Friend!), and Risa, Rachael, Cari, Ashley, Theresa, Rebecca, Marguerite, not to mention people like Stephanie and Laurie (they both signed books for me - does that count?), Wendy and Wendy, Lorette, Kay and Ann, Annie, Cathy-Cate, Franklin, Norma, Cara, and the 100 or so other people on my bloglines. Oh, and the group of former co-workers whose emails I look forward to (at least once a week, we share a Dilbert and reminisce about the not-so-good-old-days that were pretty fun nonetheless).
Even if you don't know me, all of you are special to me!
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