Monthly Archives: August 2008

Ravelympics Progress 8/13

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So, there’s this little thing called the Ravelympics. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Yeah…so, turns out I’m not exactly the Michael Phelps of the Ravelympics. I’m more like that guy from the Sydney games who could barely swim, and struggled just to finish the race….yeah.

Even though I was home all day yesterday (bliss!) I didn’t get much knitting done. It was worth it, but it still kind of sucks.

There was some progress, though. I’ve gotten down to the toes of sock number 1 of Auntie Jo-Jo’s plain Christmas socks. All I have left to do is Kitchner, which isn’t really as hard as people make it out to be, but still not something I want to be doing at 11:30 pm when I’m falling asleep.

I also started weaving in ends on Tubey. I LOVE Tubey, but let me tell you, there are a LOT of ends on that stupid stripey sweater. So, I hunkered down with some repeats of Without a Trace and made some progress, but it’s slow going. And the blocking of projects (like the scarf) has to wait until a weekend so it has all day to dry on my bed.

And seaming….well, let’s not even talk about seaming. I’m so the non-medal winning tiny country of the Ravelympics.  But hey, at least I’m trying…right?

Right?

Tarot Card of the Day: The Star

Productive Days Off

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I’ve been trying to get rid of my old desk for, oh, about two months now and I could not find anyone to take it. Goodwill considers it office furniture, and the other thrift store near me doesn’t have room. Finally, I was able to get Salvation Army to come take it, but of course I had to be here for that.

So, I took the day off, and while it hasn’t been restful, exactly it has been productive. As part of my massive de-cluttering effort for this year, I’m re-arranging things. After they hauled away the old desk, I moved three of my bookshelves to that wall, then cleaned the floors and moved my table and chairs over there.  It looks great, but now I have piles of stuff that has been displaced that I need to go through.

Sigh…I just keep reminding myself that it’s progress, even if it’s small. As long as I keep working on it, I should have this place looking decent pretty soon, and that will definitely be a first.

Tarot Card of the Day: The Hermit

I Don't Like Mondays…

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Who does? But mine has been especially busy, which means you don’t get the nice, well-thought out update on the Ravelympics.

Instead, you get me wondering why it is I wasn’t going to buy yarn and cast on for new projects again? Sure, I have tons of holiday knitting, and sure,  I have a million UFOs and am trying to pare down my stash, but wouldn’t buying some nice yarn and casting on for Intolerable Cruelty make any Monday better?

I think it would.

Alas, I am attempting to cling to my resolve, but that project is so zooming to the top of my list. We’ll see how long my willpower can hold on.

Tarot Card of the Day: The Emperor

Ravelympics 2008!

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It’s time for the 2008 Ravelympics. Now, I tried to be good. I tried to resist. I tried to remember that I have lots of other things that I need to do.

So of course I caved and signed up.

I was, at least, smart enough to sign up to do WIP Wrestling, and not commit to a new project. I have several things lying around that just need to be seamed/blocked/collars knit up and I figured this would give me the kick in the pants to do those…so, here’s my list of projects.

Lace Ribbon Scarf

Ribbon Scarf

Just needs blocking, shouldn’t be too bad.

Brilliant Retro

Brilliant Retro in pieces

Needs to be sewn up, then the collar needs to be knit and snaps sewn on.

Butterfly

Butterfly Finishing

Need to finish sewing it up, and block it.

Tubey

Tubey almost done

Ends need weaving in, needs to be washed and blocked.

Mabon Sweater

Wheat-Ear Yoke Sweater, take 1

This actually needs to be knit! I don’t expect to finish the whole thing, but I want to at least make a serious dent.

Auntie Jo-Jo’s Christmas Socks (Pair 1)

No picture for these yet, but I’m hoping to at least finish sock the first. If I’m really ambitious, maybe even both socks, but let’s not push it.

That’s it! It seems like a lot, but most of these only need finishing up and/or blocking so I’m hoping that it’s doable.

I did NOT start during the Opening Ceremonies this am, as it was 5 am PST. I did get some work in on the socks before work, and knit along on the Mabon sweater during my train ride so I’m off to a good start. Ravelympics Gold, here I come!

Tarot Card of the Day: The High Priestess

Contemplating the Star

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I’m taking the Science of Tarot class at The Sacred Well, and this month is focusing on the Major Arcana. As part of the class, we have to choose one card and prepare an art project representing it.

My card is the Star.

I was waffling between the Star and the Moon–both are cards I feel very drawn to, yet still have difficulty with–and when I asked the class pretty much everyone instantly said “The Star.” Um, okay. I’m not quite sure where they’re all coming from with that, but I can go with it.

The question now is, what do I do? My first impulse is to knit something, but I don’t know if that’s the way to go. The Star is very ethereal to me, and while I could see a lacy, floaty shawl or scarf working well, I can’t see myself finishing one in time. It is a project to stow away for the future, though–designs from the Tarot? Interesting concept!

Beyond that, I’m stuck. My other thought was a video mash-up, which would work well for some cards (Lovers and The Emperor spring immediately to my mind) but again, too solid for the Star. I’ll have to think about this one, but I imagine it will involve glitter in some way. Yay, sparkles!

Tarot Card of the Day: Temperance

Coincidences and Yarn Pr0n

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I totally forgot to blog about this last week, when it actually happened, but I have a great knitting story! So, I was going to Safeway to buy rice for my lunch, because the Indian place had forgotten mine, and I was standing on the corner of 3rd and King when I noticed a girl staring at me.

Of course, I immediately began trying to figure out how I knew her…was she a new person from work that I’d met once and didn’t recognize? A CAYA person? Someone from the online community meetup I went to the other week? I couldn’t figure it out, so I didn’t say anything.

The light changed, I crossed the street, and suddenly I heard her calling to me, and I stopped. She asked if I’d made my sweater, and I said yes. Turns out, she was the designer!! Yes, I randomly met the designer of Cherie Amour on a street corner in San Francisco–it was awesome. I’ve never had that happen before, but it was so fun to meet her, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to see someone wearing one of your designs. What are the odds, right?

Aside from that, I’ve just been knitting along from this giant box of yarn for Holiday knitting:

Holiday Knitting Yarn

That’s a lot of yarn to knit up…

Tarot Card of the Day: Ten of Pentacles

How did it get to be August?

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When did this happen? Last thing I remember it was May…seriously, where does the time go?

I’ve already started on Holiday Knitting. I went crazy at Knit Picks and ordered up a ton of yarn. It arrived in July, a giant box full o’ yarn-y goodness ready to be turned into presents.

The first one I cast on for was my Dad’s sweater. It’s an aran sweater, and it definitely requires some serious concentration. It’s my weekends only knitting, and I can manage about one repeat of the main pattern per weekend. Yikes! But I’m steadily working on it, and if I keep going at this pace everything should be fine.

I’ve also started on my aunt’s socks. I’m making two pair, and I’ve got one with a patten repeat that requires some attention, plus a plain vanilla sock that bores me out of my skull. But, it’s good for watching TV that I want to actually pay attention to–like In Plain Sight and Army Wives. How sad am I that the summer season is almost over? I’m really blah about fall TV. There are a couple of new shows that might be decent, but really I’m underwhelmed. But at least it’ll provide some good TV watching/knitting time…and I have to admit, there a are a few cliffhangers that I can’t wait to see resolved.

Now, I just have to work on that pile of holiday knitting!

Tarot Card of the Day: Knight of Pentacles

Weekend feast!

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I felt compelled to cook this weekend, and try new recipes.  This is potentially dangerous, since it’s virtually impossible for me to follow a recipe all the way through without changing something along the way.

This time, everything worked out. I made a delicious corn pudding, and some roasted potatoes and roast chicken. The chicken almost did not happen, but at least I didn’t set off the smoke alarms this time.

It seems that lately all the chicken recipes I find involve roasting the chicken for a shorter period of time at a high heat–say, 400 degrees. I’ve tried this, and maybe I’m doing something wrong, but every time I wind up setting off the smoke detectors and finding a chicken that’s cooked well on the outside and raw in the middle. (Yes, my oven is heating correctly. I checked. My old oven actually ran under temperature and this still happened.)

So, I finally found times for cooking a chicken at low heat. Problem solved, right? Except that even after the chicken had sat in my fridge for two days, it hadn’t defrosted! Plus, it was a brand that apparently doesn’t believe in putting the giblets in a bag, so there I was alternating between microwaving and running hot water on a frozen chicken, while trying to chip the giblets out of the inside. I had been watching The X-Files all weekend, and all I could think was that it was like some sort of bizarre chicken necropsy.

(Mulder: Something is freezing these chickens. The aliens must be conducting experiments about the effects of cold.
Scully: Maybe somebody just got fed up with trying to defrost the damn thing…)

Ahem. Where was I? So after finally defrosting the stupid bird, I smooshed herb butter under the skin, shoved a lemon and onion in it, and let it roast for 2 1/2 hours at 300, then 1/2 hour at 325. It worked fantastically, though it did mean I didn’t get to eat dinner until 8….

I’m going to consider this a success however, since  it was all tasty, cooked properly, and made a great harvest-y feast for Lammas weekend.
Tarot Card of the Day: The Emperor