April 5, 2006 at 1:32 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
You heard it here first: I crochet.
Behold:
I bought the Happy Hooker book, but the whole technique thing escaped me until Patti showed me double and triple crochet in person. (I had already managed to do a single crochet edge, so that wasn’t as tough.) Best of all, she made me understand the elusive chain-and-turn thing. Before I knew it, I was well on the way to finishing a “washcloth.”
My confidence boosted, I tackled the instructions for making a crocheted circle. Then I decided to try a shell stitch, courtesy of the aforementioned book:
I’ve decided I love me some crochet, and you’ll soon be able to feast your eyes on more of my creations. Not that I’m neglecting my knits, mind you. I still have Tubey and Jaywalkers on the needles, and I promise they’re getting attention.
March 26, 2006 at 8:48 am · Filed under family
My mom has stage 1 breast cancer. Way stage 1, so I’m really confident that she’s going to be fine, and she feels the same way. My dad, on the other hand, is pretty freaked out. We went through this last year with Pete’s mom, and thank goodness that turned out out as well as it did. I’m calmer this time, I think.
Here’s how it played out: my mom was at a DAR meeting (yes, she’s in the DAR, which means I’m eligible, too – wahooey!) and the guest speaker was a doctor. His topic was women’s health, and he talked about mammograms, and how often to get them, and my mom thought, “Huh. I think it’s been a while.” In my opinion, that was one of her spirit guides tapping her on the shoulder. She went in, had an abnormal reading, and went back for a second one. Then a needle biopsy. The cancer is very tiny — microscopic — and not growing, so a lumpectomy ought to take care of it. I seriously doubt they’ll recommend chemo, and we’ll see if they talk about radiation. Of course I’ll be there when she’s having surgery.
She described the needle biopsy as no big deal, and she thought it was amusing how the nurse was patting her shoulder and trying to prepare her for it. “After the mental illness when I was young, being straightjacketed and having shock treatments at 23, a needle prick isn’t going to do me in.”
If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger, right? I’m glad I wasn’t born yet when she was having the ’50s-era psychiatric help, but I’m also glad that she hasn’t kept it a secret from me. In case I haven’t said so lately, I think she’s a remarkable woman.
March 18, 2006 at 4:15 pm · Filed under blather
This is fascinating. I just spent a fairly big chunk of time checking out the name of every relative I could come up with.
March 17, 2006 at 5:48 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Absolutely! (Oh, and by the way, my name is official. I went to court first thing this morning, then the Social Security office, then the DMV and the credit union. Wahoo!)
First, a project that has been on hold for months.
It’s Sitcom Chic from knitty.com. Fun pattern, with one of my favorite yarns — the discontinued Cotton-Ease by Lion Brand. Most of the Cotton-Ease I’ve knitted with has been a dream, but the red had knots and split like crazy. I stuck it out, but I kept putting the sweater aside for other projects. It feels good to be finished.
Here’s the detail of the front. It’s not blocked (how do you block cotton blends, anyway?). I picked out the chunky wood button when I was shopping at Sow’s Ear a few weeks ago. I was actually after a set of size 1 DPNs, which is another story. Currently on those needles is a Jaywalker sock, and I’ve discovered that knitting on size 1 needles goes a heck of a lot slower than it does on size 2s. I’m hanging in there, but don’t expect to see a finished pair of socks any time soon. Good thing I didn’t attempt this during the Knitting Olympics, or I’d have never won my gold medal.
My other recent FO is this hooded capelet from Teva Durham’s Loop-d-Loop book. Moon and Peter’s reaction when I first tried it on: “No.”
Apparently I’m not enough of a wood nymph to pull this off, so I thought I’d better at least go outdoors for the picture.
Much of the knitting for this piece took place at the IRS office. Did I mention that we received a letter from them last week? Just days before the fender bender? Our friends at the IRS think that we owe an additional $23,000 from our 2004 taxes, a notion which made me laugh heartily. It’s a mistake. (Duh.) I didn’t even bother calling; I just showed up Tuesday morning and took my place in line. Naturally, the computers were down because of a power outage in the building the night before. The good news is that I had plenty of time to knit before my turn at the one service window. The helpful rep took my information and asked me to fax last year’s W-2s. Which I totally planned on doing, except the IRS fax machines were down, too. (I went back the next day and begged the 12 people in line for a chance to just hand the paper to someone on the other side.)
Anyway, back to the knits. I’m looking toward the future here, and I want to make a Cotton-Ease Tubey in the worst way. Thing is, I need 3-4 skeins of black, or rather, “Licorice.” I might have to come up with something else in the meantime.
March 16, 2006 at 9:15 pm · Filed under family
Yeah, so tomorrow morning I’m going to court to make my new name all official and everything. I kind of forgot to write about what it was like to tell my parents about this, but a few weeks ago I decided I absolutely had to talk to my mom immediately. I called her while I was on the way to visit my friend Theresa, who lives almost an hour away. Big news on a cell phone (while driving, sorry about that!).
I started out by chatting about some other stuff, and then said, “Listen, there’s something I need to talk to you about, but I’m a little nervous about it. I’m worried about what you’ll think.” She told me to just go ahead, and I told her, “I know this is a little weird, but I’m going to change my name.”
She was relieved, actually, because she was ready for me to tell her I had cancer or something. I think there’s a lesson here: if you have scary news to break to someone, make it seem like it’s going to be something way worse than it really is.
We went on to talk about lots of other stuff, because her acceptance just opened me right up. It was awesome.
A week ago, we went to a birthday party for my dad, and my parents made sure to tell their friends about my new name. I told them that they have parental privilege, which means they can call me whatever the heck they want to call me. But it was kind of fun explaining it to the older folks. They seemed to think that I was honoring my dad with the Irishness of it all.
Anyway, court tomorrow. If I have time, I’m going to hit the social security office and the DMV, too. Big fun!
March 16, 2006 at 5:26 pm · Filed under blather
Saturday morning, when Pete was driving me to a women’s retreat day, an out-of-towner spotted a Wendy’s out of the corner of his eye and all his Pavlovian reflexes kicked in. He wheeled toward the beckoning drive-thru entrance and apparently ignored the fact that our Prius was momentarily blocking it.
As we careened to the right, my first thought was: Someone in that vehicle had a heart attack. Or a seizure. Or is drunk.
But the guy wasn’t drunk, just hungry. We followed the guy into Wendy’s and called the cops. He admitted fault (rightly so, I might add) and was issued a citation. (Which sounds like a reward. Like: A citation for excellence!) Then the hijinks began. The insurance company doesn’t work directly with the Toyota dealer, but we weren’t willing to go elsewhere because of the whole hybrid thing. That meant a few extra days of waiting, since a claims agent would need to come out for an assessment. Remember, we’re a one-car family.
Metal was scraping the pavement as we drove, so we wanted a rental car ASAP. So we parked the car at the Toyota place and put our keys in the after-hours box for the body shop. Then we waited for a pickup from the rental place. Somehow it took another hour before we were able to drive away in the shiny Jetta we rented. That’s how I happened to be three hours late for the retreat. Lunch was good.
The Jetta has many bells and whistles that our own car lacks. It’s always beeping and buzzing because of something or other. Peter immediately found all the hidden cubbies and figured out how to program the radio. He and Moon like the extra leg room, but we’re all a little irritated by how complex the locks seem to be. I miss our little green machine.
We’re getting a check from our insurance company, but we still have to pay the $500 deductible. Then I guess the two insurance companies have to duke it out. (At least the guy was insured.) Apparently, there’s this shared-fault thing going on in Wisconsin, so our insurance guy thinks it’s unlikely that our erratically-driving Wendy’s fan will be responsible for 100% of the damages.
“But what about the police report?” you may ask. According to our agent, “Sometimes they take that into consideration.” To that, I say: WTF?
Ironically, the guy drove off without even getting anything to eat.
February 25, 2006 at 9:00 am · Filed under knit/crochet
Definitely my personal best! I love these socks. I can’t believe it only took me two weeks to make them, start to finish.
Here’s the pattern. I’m so pleased with them that I want to keep making more socks and trying other patterns, but I think I need a rest from the tiny needles. Time to go back to Sitcom Chic for a while. (Almost time to start the sleeves.)
Now for a close-up of the toes. I just so dig my own toes.
It’ll be strange watching the closing ceremonies without my DPNs in hand.
February 22, 2006 at 12:05 pm · Filed under astrology
Because last week was so rough.
When just starting out on a new journey, Aine, it’s only natural to feel vulnerable. After all, it may seem that you have much to lose. But may I remind you that never again, at any other point in the same journey, will you have so much to gain?
I’ll take that as a “yes.”
Tallyho,
The Universe
Yesterday’s horoscope made me smile.
The opportunity to increase your income could spur you on to channel more energy and inspiration than usual into career matters, Aine. Some vivid and intense dreams could reveal a lot about yourself and your own motivations, which might increase your self-awareness and thus make everything easier for you. The drive to succeed, both in material and spiritual matters, is likely to play a powerful role in everything you do. Onward and upward!
I had coffee with my fellow feng shui practitioner MJ, and it was exactly what I needed. Oh, and I have a court date for my name change: March 17! Is that cool, or what?
February 16, 2006 at 10:13 am · Filed under knit/crochet
I finished my goal! Never did I think I could finish a sock in five days, and now I have my eyes on the gold medal — a pair of socks! Yep, I’m casting on sock #2 today, and I’ve got my eyes on the winner’s stand.
This is the same pattern I used for the orange Koigu socks I posted earlier. This time, I kept the ribbing over the front and started with 50 rounds of ribbing instead of 35.
In other news, there’s a blizzard outside. I’m supposed to be at a trade show today, but right now I’m wondering if I can even get out of my driveway. Oh, and there’s lightning.
February 11, 2006 at 1:32 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
I finished a set of moebius baskets for Moon. She selected the colors to match the decor in her room. There’s still Cascade 220 left over from the two skeins I bought for these!
Here’s the “before” shot. Pretty floppy!
And here’s the “after.” I like how the fair isle pattern pulled the center of the baskets in a bit, so that they ended up more cylindrical. I still have yarn leftovers from the two skeins I started with. I might be able to dig up enough green yarn to make a basket for Peter. (He wants the blue one, but Moon said no.)
February 11, 2006 at 10:19 am · Filed under knit/crochet
I’ve cast on my Knitting Olympics project, and I’m on my way to having a new pair of socks by the end of the games.
So here are my shout-outs to my teammates!
(…if they’ll have me! I was a little late finding my homestate-ies)
Now, off to knit!
February 5, 2006 at 5:04 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Fo’ sure.
First off, a long-overdue photo of the bag I finished right before my feng shui week. It started off as a moebius scarf knitted from Noro Kureyon, but after making the overly-shrunken swirl bag I really wanted to do one for myself — and having a pre-finished strap was a huge shortcut.
I pulled out some Lamb’s Pride leftovers, and followed Cat Bordhi’s directions for doing an afterthought pouch. I had enough yarn to make a small pocket, too. I love this bag. It’s very pettable. It was perfect for carrying my notes, pencils and lip balm up and down the stairs at the bed-and-breakfast.
After I returned from my week away, I was eager to do another moebius project. So I made a felted basket to give to my mom as kind of a belated birthday present. It was a super fast and easy knit, but of course I forgot to actually tell my mom about it while she and my dad were visiting last week. I’ll have to fill it with something good and bring it with me next time we’re near their house.
There are definitely more baskets in my future. Moon went with me to Lakeside Fibers and picked out several colors of Cascade 220 that went with her new room decor. She’s pretty good at color selection … too bad she’s not interested in learning to knit.
Finally, my most recent finished object: my second-ever pair of socks. They’re far from perfect, but I couldn’t wait to get them on my feet! This is the first time I’ve made something with Koigu, and wow, all the stuff I’ve heard about that yarn is true. It’s so pretty, and feels so nice, and is pleasant to work with.
I have two more balls of Koigu that will be transforming into another pair of socks soon. I’ve joined the Knitting Olympics and I’ll be knitting with Team DPN. My goal is to finish one sock … that will be challenging enough for me during that time period. Moon, however, thinks I should go for the pair. I don’t know, I may not be able to do that without steroids.
January 29, 2006 at 10:05 pm · Filed under mememe!
Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. reporter
2. WW leader
3. communications director
4. water aerobics instructor
Four movies you would watch over and over again:
1. Strictly Ballroom
2. The Matrix
3. School of Rock
4. Much Ado About Nothing
Four places you have lived:
1. Rockford, IL
2. Peoria, IL
3. DeKalb, IL
4. Madison, WI
Four T.V. shows you love to watch:
1. American Idol
2. The Simpsons
3. Reunion (damn you, Fox network!)
4. SNL
Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Niagara Falls, Ontario
2. Chattanooga, Tennessee
3. San Diego, California
4. Outer Banks, North Carolina
Three web-sites I visit daily:
1. Metafilter
2. Salon
3. Bloglines
Four of my favorite foods:
1. onion rings
2. pizza
3. Michael’s frozen custard
4. samosas
Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. Right now? Here is just fine. (Not that I’d refuse a luxury vacation or anything.)
January 28, 2006 at 8:41 pm · Filed under spiritual
Okay, we’re pretty settled now, and we’ve just been doing various touches … you know, crystals and lights, stuff like that.
There’s another transformation that started during my week away, and this one is more personal. I’m changing my name. Just my first name. And I’m not totally giving it up, just shifting it to the middle.
The thing is, I’ve never really felt 100% at home with my name. I was always messing with it when I was growing up, and it rarely seemed to fit. But in adulthood I kind of got to the point where I just let it be. Even though I know quite a few people who have modified their names as adults, I felt like I was too old to be thinking about that sort of thing.
During my week of learning and introspection, I kept receiving little signs that it wasn’t too late. As my classmate said to me at one point, “You have tattoos and a nose ring, and you think that you’re not radical enough to change your name?”
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January 23, 2006 at 3:23 pm · Filed under family
So, the bedroom idea met with much more enthusiasm than I ever dreamed. Another big change happened first, though: Peter had a haircut. A major haircut. It was his idea, of course, and I think he enjoyed thoroughly shocking everyone who had become used to seeing his mop-head.
He was the one who suggested doing the big move the very next day. Pete and I gave up the huge basement bedroom in order to get back into the master bedroom (Peter’s room — located in the relationship gua of our house). Peter went into Moon’s former bedroom, and Moon snagged the basement bedroom. Because all teenagers long to live in the basement, right?
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January 19, 2006 at 9:27 pm · Filed under spiritual
I know I haven’t said much since I returned from my training almost a week ago, but I guess I’m still processing. All I can say is that it was a wonderful experience, and life-changing in many ways.
My challenge now is to hang on to the energy that I felt during that week, now that I’m back in “ordinary time.” Having someone else take care of the schedule, the meals, and so forth liberated me to be able to pay attention to my inner stuff.
Of course, there were practical lessons as well. Feng shui is a fascinating art/science, and it was incredibly interesting learning about it. I had already been studying on my own for years, but that didn’t compare with having real-life experience working with clients and having a mentor to clarify the material.
My family had kidded me about coming home and changing everything around, but they weren’t prepared for what I ended up proposing: that we all switch bedrooms. Not one of them welcomed the idea when they first heard it, but it obviously grew on them … because the day after I returned, we made the move.
More about that later.
January 9, 2006 at 11:07 pm · Filed under knit/crochet, spiritual
I’m supposed to be on a media break this week, but I don’t think this counts. My teacher knows I have my laptop (although the wireless connection is a bit of a surprise — what would the original tenants of this Victorian mansion think?). Anyway, I’m in intensive training for feng shui certification. Day Two has flown by, and now the information is whirling around in my brain. I’m processing.
It’s strange being away from my family all week. When I left, Peter dashed outside and ran alongside the car, waving to me until the car turned the corner. I’m thankful for the cell phone, because at least I’ve been able to fulfill my motherly role of nagging about homework.
As for the accommodations, can you say, “delicious, aesthetically pleasing vegetarian meals, prepared by someone other than me”? And “in-room whirlpool bath”? I could definitely get used to this sort of thing.
January 7, 2006 at 11:07 am · Filed under knit/crochet
About my perfect feng shui bag. I swear I followed the adult-sized pattern in the Second Treasury of Magical Knitting book. It looked suitably huge and seemed to have plenty of leeway for felting. So I didn’t pay attention to the felting time. I just threw the bag in the washer with a towel (dumb idea, BTW) in hot water, and let it rip.
Check out what happened. (The pen is there for comparison.) Worn diagonally across my chest, the bag now barely clears my boob, which definitely isn’t feng shui. My niece Ambria is going to be 5 this month, and I think this is going to become an auxiliary birthday present. Hope she doesn’t mind the green and blue, because she’s more of a pink and purple kind of gal. Pete says the bag is very girly and ought to suit her, though. It’ll be interesting to see if the bag actually fits. I don’t have any five-year-olds around here to test it.
This was an amazingly fun knit, though. There were directions in the book for adding a pouch to a moebius strip after the fact, and now I’m eyeing the moebius scarf I made last fall and wondering what it would look like as a felted strap. It’s even longer than the swirl purse strap was, and if I’m careful with the felting it might actually fit me.
In other knitting-and-fitting news, I finally photographed my Banff sweater which I had finished a while back. Although I was very proud about the completion of my first long-sleeved sweater, I wasn’t so happy about how it looked on me. It’s pretty huge, which would be cute if I was my previous dainty self, but not so cute now. I do like its warmth and color, so I’m thinking about frogging it and re-knitting it into a poncho/wrap that I saw in Weekend Knitting (the twist stitch it uses was one of the first things I learned when I taught myself to knit).
January 5, 2006 at 10:46 pm · Filed under fitness, spiritual
Yep, I have a few plans for 2006. It’s got to be better than 2005.
First, my fitness goals:
- Attend step aerobics at 6 a.m. Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and miss as few classes as possible.
- Get butt out of bed on Tuesday/Thursday and do some time on the elliptical trainer at the Y.
- No more bedtime snacks. Stop eating past 8 p.m.
- More fruit, less sugar.
- Do the Five Tibetan Rites that we learned about at a wellness workshop last night (at church of all places).
Next, my life as a crafter:
- Learn the basics of sewing, with an eye toward recycling unwanted clothing into cool new stuff.
- Knit at least one pair of socks.
- Make a moebius basket, and continue to knit every day, even if it’s just a row or two.
- Plan family meals and teach cooking skills to the kids.
- Install closet organizer and turn part of closet into craft storage area.
- Finish doing the scrapbook pages about the vacation we took three years ago.
- Take out long-abandoned cross stitch and calligraphy supplies, and find out if doing that stuff is still fun. (I’m going to bet that it is.)
- Make at least one outfit for the Blythes, knitted or sewn. Take pictures.
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January 5, 2006 at 12:48 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Okay, so I haven’t posted my New Year’s list yet. I’ve been busy knitting.
Yes, I finished Moon’s poncho on New Year’s Day. She put it on when we went on family walkies with Foxxi. It’s sooo soft and warm, and I’m wearing it as I write this. The poncho was supposed to be a coat substitute, because Moon doesn’t use her locker at school (not enough time, too far away, lost the key to the lock) and the kids can’t wear overcoats in class. I mean, they might be concealing an AK-47 in there or something. But ponchos are fine, although I’m thinking a lot of contraband could be hidden underneath. It might be that ponchos are worn mainly by females, and the school district might not consider girls to be a threat.
Anyway, Moon’s not planning to wear it unless it’s really cold, because the classrooms are kept rather toasty. But it’s perfect for wearing in the house, especially when IM-ing and doing other important computer tasks. Which tells you something about our energy conservation practices.
In other news, I cast on a new project from a book I received for Christmas, using brand-new needles which were also a gift. I had some leftover Cascade 220 yarn that was perfect for the pattern. It’s a sling bag, and although I already have two awesome bags, it totally caught my eye. Next week I’ll be away getting feng shui certification, and the bag just seems very feng shui to me. Yes, there will be pictures, but for now you’ll have to look at my cute family.
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