Oh, dear. Teasecatalog.com takes PayPal . . . .
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
So I lied
I will actually get a picture of my Sodera socks posted sometime soon. I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics after work today to find elastic to keep the socks up (darn you cotton! *shaking fist*) and to buy ribbon. I couldn't choose between the black and red so I ended up buying both colors. Too bad they didn't sell the size I needed by the yard so now I have 2 full spools of it. I am sure I will find a use for them sometime.
I did find elastic but not the kind I expected. I thought I would have to get black elastic because, duh, the socks are black. They did not, however, carry black elastic in 3/8." At first glance they didn't seem to have any 3/8" at all! But then, what should I see in the upper right-hand corner of the elastic section? Why, it is clear elastic in 3/8". That is right, clear! So now I will be able to use it for another pair of knee highs I made a while ago (pre-blog time). I wasn't even aware they made clear elastic. I just hope it has similar qualities to the normal kind of elastic like being stretchy. Small detail with elastic.
I cast on another pair of socks today but these are going to be simple, simple, simple. It will just be my plain vanilla, toe-up sock recipe. I am making them for a friend and, luckily, she has the same shoe size as me. That means I don't have to be crafty and weasle her foot measurements out of her without making her suspicious. They are being made in Austermann Step, Gras. I love the greens! Luckily, I had the foresight (foresight! I know! Who am I and what did I do with Anne?) to have Andi buy 2 skeins of it. One pair for me and one pair for my friend. My love affair with this yarn continues. The toes of the socks are already done and I have an inch knitted on the foot. Socks from this yarn just fly off the needles. Guess it helps that it is plain knitting all the way.
I really do need to get back to the test knitting pattern. I do like it but I think my brain needs a break.
I did find elastic but not the kind I expected. I thought I would have to get black elastic because, duh, the socks are black. They did not, however, carry black elastic in 3/8." At first glance they didn't seem to have any 3/8" at all! But then, what should I see in the upper right-hand corner of the elastic section? Why, it is clear elastic in 3/8". That is right, clear! So now I will be able to use it for another pair of knee highs I made a while ago (pre-blog time). I wasn't even aware they made clear elastic. I just hope it has similar qualities to the normal kind of elastic like being stretchy. Small detail with elastic.
I cast on another pair of socks today but these are going to be simple, simple, simple. It will just be my plain vanilla, toe-up sock recipe. I am making them for a friend and, luckily, she has the same shoe size as me. That means I don't have to be crafty and weasle her foot measurements out of her without making her suspicious. They are being made in Austermann Step, Gras. I love the greens! Luckily, I had the foresight (foresight! I know! Who am I and what did I do with Anne?) to have Andi buy 2 skeins of it. One pair for me and one pair for my friend. My love affair with this yarn continues. The toes of the socks are already done and I have an inch knitted on the foot. Socks from this yarn just fly off the needles. Guess it helps that it is plain knitting all the way.
I really do need to get back to the test knitting pattern. I do like it but I think my brain needs a break.
instructables
I just found this site this morning (thank you library blogs) and have totally become addicted to it. Click on this link to see a totally awesome way to use those old encyclopedia sets.
instructables : A bookshelf made of encyclopedias! YAY!
Searching through this site is going to be fun!
instructables : A bookshelf made of encyclopedias! YAY!
Searching through this site is going to be fun!
Monday, April 02, 2007
Almost finished!
I am sooooo close to being finished with the Södera socks. I am currently working the row where the ribbon is run through. The next step is working 1 inch in 2x2 ribbing and then binding off! I've woven in ends as I went or did Russian joins so I won't have much finishing left to do. Definitely not going to be doing a project in all black anytime soon! It is enough to drive you batty and/or blind. I'll post pictures of the finished products tomorrow though I still need to find ribbon.
I would have been done with these sooner but I decided on Friday to rip out 2-2.5 inches because my first set of increases were wonky. True, other people might not have seen their horrible wonkiness but I would and it would ruin the socks for me. I spent almost all of the car ride to and from Cleveland, the waiting time, and during the Yarn Harlot's speech working on the socks. The next sock is going to have to be something mindless that I can whip out in a couple of days.
Tonight, I'm meeting up with some friends from high school most of whom I haven't seen since we graduated 6 (!) years ago. One girl is visiting from Vermont but the other two live in the Columbus area. I guess we are just lazy/ over committed with other activities. It should be a fun evening and definitely outside of the normal scheme of things. I'm house-sitting this week so I would have probably spent my evening zoned out in front of their cable knitting. Instead, I'm tempted to knit at the bar and see what kind of strange looks I would get ;)
I would have been done with these sooner but I decided on Friday to rip out 2-2.5 inches because my first set of increases were wonky. True, other people might not have seen their horrible wonkiness but I would and it would ruin the socks for me. I spent almost all of the car ride to and from Cleveland, the waiting time, and during the Yarn Harlot's speech working on the socks. The next sock is going to have to be something mindless that I can whip out in a couple of days.
Tonight, I'm meeting up with some friends from high school most of whom I haven't seen since we graduated 6 (!) years ago. One girl is visiting from Vermont but the other two live in the Columbus area. I guess we are just lazy/ over committed with other activities. It should be a fun evening and definitely outside of the normal scheme of things. I'm house-sitting this week so I would have probably spent my evening zoned out in front of their cable knitting. Instead, I'm tempted to knit at the bar and see what kind of strange looks I would get ;)
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Some guys really know how to make you feel bad . . .
. . . for waking them up.
When I got out to the barn this afternoon, I found Java asleep in the sun. He was making little grunts which I took to be his version of snoring. It made me really feel bad for waking him up and making him go to work.
Capone decided to get into the action, too. Though he combined lying down with eating. How lazy!
Sam decided he wanted to roll instead of sleep. Lace ignored all of them (and me) and kept eating.
Time to get up!
When I got out to the barn this afternoon, I found Java asleep in the sun. He was making little grunts which I took to be his version of snoring. It made me really feel bad for waking him up and making him go to work.
Capone decided to get into the action, too. Though he combined lying down with eating. How lazy!
Sam decided he wanted to roll instead of sleep. Lace ignored all of them (and me) and kept eating.
Time to get up!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Harlot
You might recognize this lady.
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Mom and I went up to Lyndhurst, OH (suburb of Cleveland) today to hear her speak and get the new book. It was sooooo much fun and she is a really funny speaker. Look at everyone else who thought so, too.
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When Mom and I got to the Joseph-Beth bookstore, almost all of the seats were already occupied. I had Mom grab a copy of the book and purchase it before they ran out. (The store had 90 some copies and those were gone before the talk even began at 2pm. I think the store was slightly surprised no matter what they say.) I ended up sitting on the floor along side the seats where they wanted people to line up for signing after the talk. I sat next to a woman who was working on a Forest Canopy Shawl. She and her friend were very nice and complimented my shawl to no end so they were my new best friends :)
The sock had its picture taken.
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Steph gave a funny speech warning knitters of the dangers of CHOKE. She had some really funny comments that made me wish I could write faster or have a great memory. The question and answer section was really funny because it was "off the cuff" and spontaneous.
My seating location ended up being absolutely great because I was 4th or 5th in line for signing.
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Here are some other people waiting in line for their books to be signed.
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I got my picture taken with the sock and Steph. We both agreed that I was nuts to be making knee highs in black yarn.
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The bookstore's cafe area had some special Yarn Harlot drinks. Click on the picture for a closer look.
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All in all a very fun day :)
In addition, this morning the chiropractor was able to fit in an appointment for me before leaving for Cleveland. My back suddenly had shooting pains in it on Wednesday while I was sitting at work. It felt like someone was had stuck a dagger in my shoulder blade and was ripping it down slowly. The chiropractor said it was caused by a knot pinching a nerve just like what happens to my dad. (Thanks Dad for passing on those characteristics!) My back popped soooo much when the doctor adjusted it. It was kind of disconcerting. He said to keep an eye on it and regular adjustments should make the pain not come back. In hindsight, sitting in a car all day probably undid all of the good work he had done on it. Hmmm, oh, well. I need to get back into doing yoga more reguarly. It always helps my posture and back strength.
OH! And look what I got in the mail from Andi . . .
New sock yarn from Austria. Yummy Austermann Step :) I seriously think my sock yarn stash has now exceeded my ability to knit it up during my lifetime. ;)
The only downside to the day was not getting an email that I was expecting. Don't you hate when that happens? Me with the overactive imagination is now imagining all of the things which could have happened to prevent that. Some of the situations are more plausible than others but that doesn't seem to stop me. *Sigh*
Mom and I went up to Lyndhurst, OH (suburb of Cleveland) today to hear her speak and get the new book. It was sooooo much fun and she is a really funny speaker. Look at everyone else who thought so, too.
When Mom and I got to the Joseph-Beth bookstore, almost all of the seats were already occupied. I had Mom grab a copy of the book and purchase it before they ran out. (The store had 90 some copies and those were gone before the talk even began at 2pm. I think the store was slightly surprised no matter what they say.) I ended up sitting on the floor along side the seats where they wanted people to line up for signing after the talk. I sat next to a woman who was working on a Forest Canopy Shawl. She and her friend were very nice and complimented my shawl to no end so they were my new best friends :)
The sock had its picture taken.
Steph gave a funny speech warning knitters of the dangers of CHOKE. She had some really funny comments that made me wish I could write faster or have a great memory. The question and answer section was really funny because it was "off the cuff" and spontaneous.
My seating location ended up being absolutely great because I was 4th or 5th in line for signing.
Here are some other people waiting in line for their books to be signed.
I got my picture taken with the sock and Steph. We both agreed that I was nuts to be making knee highs in black yarn.
The bookstore's cafe area had some special Yarn Harlot drinks. Click on the picture for a closer look.
All in all a very fun day :)
In addition, this morning the chiropractor was able to fit in an appointment for me before leaving for Cleveland. My back suddenly had shooting pains in it on Wednesday while I was sitting at work. It felt like someone was had stuck a dagger in my shoulder blade and was ripping it down slowly. The chiropractor said it was caused by a knot pinching a nerve just like what happens to my dad. (Thanks Dad for passing on those characteristics!) My back popped soooo much when the doctor adjusted it. It was kind of disconcerting. He said to keep an eye on it and regular adjustments should make the pain not come back. In hindsight, sitting in a car all day probably undid all of the good work he had done on it. Hmmm, oh, well. I need to get back into doing yoga more reguarly. It always helps my posture and back strength.
OH! And look what I got in the mail from Andi . . .
New sock yarn from Austria. Yummy Austermann Step :) I seriously think my sock yarn stash has now exceeded my ability to knit it up during my lifetime. ;)
The only downside to the day was not getting an email that I was expecting. Don't you hate when that happens? Me with the overactive imagination is now imagining all of the things which could have happened to prevent that. Some of the situations are more plausible than others but that doesn't seem to stop me. *Sigh*
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Finished
Look what I finished! This shawl has to be the fastest FO I've done in a long time. I didn't have to keep the pattern with me which was very nice. The color reminds me so much of the new green leaves of spring.
I'm still working on the various socks. Maybe this FO will give me incentive to get them done!
In other news, I got the educational leave from work for my study abroad! It is so exciting! Now I don't have to worry about having to find a job when I get back from England. I'm going to be on cloud 9 the rest of the day! (Can you tell that I am excited by the number of exclamation points I am using?) :)
I'm still working on the various socks. Maybe this FO will give me incentive to get them done!
In other news, I got the educational leave from work for my study abroad! It is so exciting! Now I don't have to worry about having to find a job when I get back from England. I'm going to be on cloud 9 the rest of the day! (Can you tell that I am excited by the number of exclamation points I am using?) :)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Springtime!
I love that in spring everything seems dead one second then suddenly, in the next, it springs to life! The grass is bright green, the sun has finally decided to appear, birds are singing, etc. etc. :) Here are some pictures of the flowers around right now.
In honor of spring and new life, I've started another couple of projects. Well, one is a re-start. I wanted to finish up the Mohair Forest Canopy Shawl that I was making a while ago but had run out of yarn before making the border. There was no way to get more yarn since I bought it off DeStash and it originally came from Italy. My only option was to rip back a pattern repeat making the shawl a little bit smaller but with enough yarn to finish it. Anyone who has ripped out mohair can tell you what a nightmare it is. So this project languished in my knitting basket since (I just had to look it up) the end of November (!). Well, yesterday, I ripped back then started knitting the last couple of rows. To my surprise, working with so many lace sock and lace shawl patterns recently has completely changed my lace technique (for the better, I assure you). The added border would have looked soooooo different that it would not have worked. So I made a drastic decision; rip it all out and start again. That was not fun at all but yesterday and today I have been knitting with a vengence and am far along with the shawl version 2.0.
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I've also been working on a test pattern for a lady from the Socknitters group. She needed testers and I am a sucker for toe-up, cable/lace patterns. I am using up the darker of my two Kool-aid dyed skeins.
I am also still working on the Sodera socks just not as hard as I once was. :( The black yarn, while looking sexy, is hellish to work with when you drop a stitch or are working in poorly lit areas. I'm getting close to the end, though.
Everyone is feeling the excitement of spring. Yesterday, the horses all broke out and ran down the road. The owner of the barn had to go and gather them up. It isn't bad when one gets out because he or she hangs around the barn with the others. When everyone gets out, however, it is time to go wandering! Houdinis!
In honor of spring and new life, I've started another couple of projects. Well, one is a re-start. I wanted to finish up the Mohair Forest Canopy Shawl that I was making a while ago but had run out of yarn before making the border. There was no way to get more yarn since I bought it off DeStash and it originally came from Italy. My only option was to rip back a pattern repeat making the shawl a little bit smaller but with enough yarn to finish it. Anyone who has ripped out mohair can tell you what a nightmare it is. So this project languished in my knitting basket since (I just had to look it up) the end of November (!). Well, yesterday, I ripped back then started knitting the last couple of rows. To my surprise, working with so many lace sock and lace shawl patterns recently has completely changed my lace technique (for the better, I assure you). The added border would have looked soooooo different that it would not have worked. So I made a drastic decision; rip it all out and start again. That was not fun at all but yesterday and today I have been knitting with a vengence and am far along with the shawl version 2.0.
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I've also been working on a test pattern for a lady from the Socknitters group. She needed testers and I am a sucker for toe-up, cable/lace patterns. I am using up the darker of my two Kool-aid dyed skeins.
I am also still working on the Sodera socks just not as hard as I once was. :( The black yarn, while looking sexy, is hellish to work with when you drop a stitch or are working in poorly lit areas. I'm getting close to the end, though.
Everyone is feeling the excitement of spring. Yesterday, the horses all broke out and ran down the road. The owner of the barn had to go and gather them up. It isn't bad when one gets out because he or she hangs around the barn with the others. When everyone gets out, however, it is time to go wandering! Houdinis!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Södera
I just got more yarn so I can keep working on them! Have I said that I love this lace pattern?
Monday, March 19, 2007
Oops
I am working on the Sodera lace knee high socks right now. I LOVE the lace design because it is so easy to memorize and looks great! The pattern is a little difficult to take a picture of because it is in black yarn. They are going to be very nice ;) I still need to decide between a black, red or green satin ribbon for the top of the socks. Leaning black right now but the red would be striking . . . .
The only problem that I am having with these socks is that I will definitely not have enough yarn to make knee highs. Oops, guess I should have looked at the ball band to see the yardage of the skein. So I'll need to stop by Kim's to get more black on Wednesday when I work another short day.
I'll post a picture of them a little later.
The only problem that I am having with these socks is that I will definitely not have enough yarn to make knee highs. Oops, guess I should have looked at the ball band to see the yardage of the skein. So I'll need to stop by Kim's to get more black on Wednesday when I work another short day.
I'll post a picture of them a little later.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Dublin Bay socks
Finished these this morning. I love the purple colour!
I cast them on 3/8 but didn't work on them till this weekend. For some reason, they just seemed to fly off the needles once I seriously started working on them! I used the Dublin Bay lace pattern for them but tweaked it a little. I didn't feel like making a cuff-down sock so turned it into a toe-up instead. It probably made the lace pattern slant a different direction but I am happy how it turned out. The pattern was really easy.
See the little bit of yarn to the right of the socks? Yeah, that is all that I have left. Another reason to do toe-up socks; Koigu doesn't have a whole lot of yarn per skein.
Next up: Sodera :) I can't wait to get started on these lace knee-highs! Mainly, because after I finish them, I will start working on the Clessidra knee-highs.
I cast them on 3/8 but didn't work on them till this weekend. For some reason, they just seemed to fly off the needles once I seriously started working on them! I used the Dublin Bay lace pattern for them but tweaked it a little. I didn't feel like making a cuff-down sock so turned it into a toe-up instead. It probably made the lace pattern slant a different direction but I am happy how it turned out. The pattern was really easy.
See the little bit of yarn to the right of the socks? Yeah, that is all that I have left. Another reason to do toe-up socks; Koigu doesn't have a whole lot of yarn per skein.
Next up: Sodera :) I can't wait to get started on these lace knee-highs! Mainly, because after I finish them, I will start working on the Clessidra knee-highs.
!!!!!
I got into the study abroad program for which I applied! I am going to be doing a graduate level class in London for a couple of weeks during July. The class is worth 6 credit hours which hopefully will transfer entirely to my MLIS program. If it does, I only need to have 2 more classes then I would be done! I can't wait to go travelling again!
6 weird things
This meme has done the rounds of the blogosphere many times over. I've been thinking of it for a while and finally came up with 6 weird things about me. (Note: I am sure there are more but am not aware of them!)
1. Whenever I eat snacks like M&Ms, chips, jelly beans, etc, I have to eat an even number of them. If I grab an uneven number, I will bite the odd one in half so it is even. This applies to colours, too. I like having even numbers of the same colour and will bite the odd ones in half, too. I know this sounds a little OCD.
2. I forget I am holding things and will drop whatever I am holding. I've dropped more cups than I can count which is especially annoying in bars. It also makes picnics or potlucks interesting. When I pick black raspberries in the summer, I have to make sure I don't drop the carton with the berries. All of that work for nothing!
3. I get the colors orange and yellow confused. Now, I am not colorblind. I know the difference between the two. No, when I see the color orange I will say "yellow." I might be thinking "orange" but will say "yellow." This only happens once in a while with yellow but almost always happens with orange.
4. I can't stand the noise from electronics. The noise of computers and TVs (when the sound is off) drives me crazy.
5. Horroscopes are my guilty pleasure. I probably read 4 or 5 a day. (Yeah, I have too much free time at work.)
6. (This last weird thing was really hard because I kept thinking of things and then forgetting them. I know I thought of the perfect one but can I remember what it was? Of course not! So you are going to get this lame one and, if I can remember, it will get changed.) I can't stand messy tables at restaurants. I will basically bus my own table during the meal. You know, stacking all of the finished plates and utensils together. Wiping up condensation from the glasses or any spilled liquid. That kind of thing.
I'm sure no one else can think of any weird things about me! *Snort of laughter*
1. Whenever I eat snacks like M&Ms, chips, jelly beans, etc, I have to eat an even number of them. If I grab an uneven number, I will bite the odd one in half so it is even. This applies to colours, too. I like having even numbers of the same colour and will bite the odd ones in half, too. I know this sounds a little OCD.
2. I forget I am holding things and will drop whatever I am holding. I've dropped more cups than I can count which is especially annoying in bars. It also makes picnics or potlucks interesting. When I pick black raspberries in the summer, I have to make sure I don't drop the carton with the berries. All of that work for nothing!
3. I get the colors orange and yellow confused. Now, I am not colorblind. I know the difference between the two. No, when I see the color orange I will say "yellow." I might be thinking "orange" but will say "yellow." This only happens once in a while with yellow but almost always happens with orange.
4. I can't stand the noise from electronics. The noise of computers and TVs (when the sound is off) drives me crazy.
5. Horroscopes are my guilty pleasure. I probably read 4 or 5 a day. (Yeah, I have too much free time at work.)
6. (This last weird thing was really hard because I kept thinking of things and then forgetting them. I know I thought of the perfect one but can I remember what it was? Of course not! So you are going to get this lame one and, if I can remember, it will get changed.) I can't stand messy tables at restaurants. I will basically bus my own table during the meal. You know, stacking all of the finished plates and utensils together. Wiping up condensation from the glasses or any spilled liquid. That kind of thing.
I'm sure no one else can think of any weird things about me! *Snort of laughter*
Saturday, March 10, 2007
A play within a play
Do you ever feel like you have a conversation within a conversation but are not sure if that conversation is really happening or if it is just in your head? And you definitely can't ask the other person because it might be all in your head and they will look at you like you are nuts. Frustrating.
Friday, March 09, 2007
PS Socks finished
I finally Kitchnered the sock heels together and weaved in the ends! They've only been finished for 2 weeks!
Here is a closer look at the afterthought heel.
On to the yarn store to add to my sock stash!
Here is a closer look at the afterthought heel.
On to the yarn store to add to my sock stash!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Drooooooool
The new issue of Knitty is out (yea!) and I so want to make this pair of socks! Love, thy name is Clessidra. <3
So what have I been up to recently? Frogging, tweaking a pattern, casting on, frogging again, casting on again (all on the same project) and with a little bit of knitting thrown in there, too. I'm working on the Grecian Plait spring sweater also from Knitty (waaaaay too many nice patterns!). I finished this sweater a number of months ago but never sewed it together because I hate finishing up projects and weaving in ends. Secretly, I think I realized that there is no way that I would have fit into the size of sweater that I had made. See, I did do a gauge swatch but apparently I have no idea what size I am.
Anyway, I decided to make that sweater again because it is grey (perfect for Project Spectrum), I want a cute sweater for spring, and I really did like the look of the pattern. Well, sort of. You see, it still had that pesky problem of sewing the back, front and sleeves together. So I decided to re-write the pattern so that I could do it on a circular needle and have no side seams. This might work well in theory and not so much in real life. We'll have to wait and see.
So I frogged the first attempt and wound the yarn back into balls. Then I cast on and knitted a couple of rows. Unfortunately, at this point, I started to actually look at what I was making and decided that the plaits weren't loose enough. (The plaits are formed by, on one row, bringing one stitch over another and knitting that then the other stitch and, on the second row, knitting with a needle twice as big as the other. Now, this would be a problem with a circular needle except that I have the KnitPicks Options set so I keep switching out the needles. I love that set.) So I decided to go up to a 9 instead of an 8 with the bigger needle. Hopefully that will make a difference. Long story short, I frogged what I had made the second time and cast on again. It is like deja vu all over the place.
Oh, and of course I am working on a pair of socks though they have been put aside for my pattern tweaking. I'm using the purple Koigu yarn that I got a little while ago. Though, my goal is to get a couple of WIPs done before I start anything new for a while (ha! Yeah, right!).
So what have I been up to recently? Frogging, tweaking a pattern, casting on, frogging again, casting on again (all on the same project) and with a little bit of knitting thrown in there, too. I'm working on the Grecian Plait spring sweater also from Knitty (waaaaay too many nice patterns!). I finished this sweater a number of months ago but never sewed it together because I hate finishing up projects and weaving in ends. Secretly, I think I realized that there is no way that I would have fit into the size of sweater that I had made. See, I did do a gauge swatch but apparently I have no idea what size I am.
Anyway, I decided to make that sweater again because it is grey (perfect for Project Spectrum), I want a cute sweater for spring, and I really did like the look of the pattern. Well, sort of. You see, it still had that pesky problem of sewing the back, front and sleeves together. So I decided to re-write the pattern so that I could do it on a circular needle and have no side seams. This might work well in theory and not so much in real life. We'll have to wait and see.
So I frogged the first attempt and wound the yarn back into balls. Then I cast on and knitted a couple of rows. Unfortunately, at this point, I started to actually look at what I was making and decided that the plaits weren't loose enough. (The plaits are formed by, on one row, bringing one stitch over another and knitting that then the other stitch and, on the second row, knitting with a needle twice as big as the other. Now, this would be a problem with a circular needle except that I have the KnitPicks Options set so I keep switching out the needles. I love that set.) So I decided to go up to a 9 instead of an 8 with the bigger needle. Hopefully that will make a difference. Long story short, I frogged what I had made the second time and cast on again. It is like deja vu all over the place.
Oh, and of course I am working on a pair of socks though they have been put aside for my pattern tweaking. I'm using the purple Koigu yarn that I got a little while ago. Though, my goal is to get a couple of WIPs done before I start anything new for a while (ha! Yeah, right!).
Monday, March 05, 2007
Sheldon completed
He was finished during the baby shower (oops) but all of the people there were fascinated with my knitting so they didn't really notice my procrastination! There was a definite green and yellow theme to the baby shower because the mom- and dad-to-be don't want to know the sex of the baby. Sheldon will fit in well with the other turtle gifts like a little onesy with turtles and a blanket with turtles on it.
The weekend was definitely a whirl of activity: Ohio to Maryland to Pennsylvania. I worked on Friday, jumped in the car and drove to the airport. I got all checked in (with an hour to spare before take-off) and went to the gate. The plane took off a little behind schedule. I had planned to carry-on all of my stuff since it was only a weekend trip. The plane, however, was completely full so I had to check my backpack at the gate.
I met up with Donnie easily then we picked up his friend, Laura, who is very nice. We hung around his appartment for a little while trying to figure out where to eat. Emily came from Frederick and we all went to dinner. We walked from Donnie's place to a restaurant then to Howl at the Moon, a piano bar. That was sooooo much fun. The piano players were talented, lewd and hilarious. They were really, really talented and knew so many different songs. Those guys must make hundreds in tips each night.
We ended up staying in the bar till last call. I have to say, I was really glad there was a group of us and we had a tall guy with us. All of the bars were pouring out people at the same time. We walked Laura home and were finally in bed around 3 am.
Morning person that I am, I was completely awake by 8. (Definitely regretted only 5 hours of sleep later that day.) Emily went home and Donnie and I wandered the Inner Harbor area. I got a greasy fry-up of fries, fish and crab cakes for lunch (yummy). It was such a beautiful day with the sun shining, blue sky and warm temperature. I was wandering around with a light jacket on!
Later that afternoon, Donnie dropped me off at the train station and I made my way to Philadelphia. The train was delayed an hour and a half because the train was having signal problems and the driver couldn't go the normal speed and needed to be talked through the switches so we wouldn't crash into another train. Poor Amy had to wait for me at the train station while all of this was going on.
Originally, the plan was to meet up with Amy, drop my bags off at my cousins' house because I was staying there and then go out to dinner with Amy. With the delayed train, plans changed. My cousins (and aunt and mother) were going out to dinner so we couldn't drop my stuff off at their place. So I had Mom leave an extra key at the hotel where she and Aunt Judy were staying. Then Amy and I went to eat at a Thai place.
I had a lot of fun catching up with her. Email helps you keep in contact but in-person interaction is so much better. The food was great. We went to a pastry place after dinner. Best chocolate cake EVER! I was sooo full.
Amy took me back to the hotel where we said goodbye. My cousin-in-law dropped off my mom and aunt at about the same time so he drove me to his house. All in all things went pretty smoothly.
The baby shower was fun. The decorations turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. The cousin my age and the mama-to-be's friends did a great job. All of us who were around got drafted into helping (not that that was a burden!) and it made the morning fly!
Later that evening, I took a taxi to the train station, took the train to the airport, and got checked in approximately an hour before the plane was supposed to depart. That seems to be a trend. The plane, however, was delayed 30 minutes. I ended up getting home around 11.30 and was very ready for bed! Whew, I need a vacation from my weekend!
The weekend was definitely a whirl of activity: Ohio to Maryland to Pennsylvania. I worked on Friday, jumped in the car and drove to the airport. I got all checked in (with an hour to spare before take-off) and went to the gate. The plane took off a little behind schedule. I had planned to carry-on all of my stuff since it was only a weekend trip. The plane, however, was completely full so I had to check my backpack at the gate.
I met up with Donnie easily then we picked up his friend, Laura, who is very nice. We hung around his appartment for a little while trying to figure out where to eat. Emily came from Frederick and we all went to dinner. We walked from Donnie's place to a restaurant then to Howl at the Moon, a piano bar. That was sooooo much fun. The piano players were talented, lewd and hilarious. They were really, really talented and knew so many different songs. Those guys must make hundreds in tips each night.
We ended up staying in the bar till last call. I have to say, I was really glad there was a group of us and we had a tall guy with us. All of the bars were pouring out people at the same time. We walked Laura home and were finally in bed around 3 am.
Morning person that I am, I was completely awake by 8. (Definitely regretted only 5 hours of sleep later that day.) Emily went home and Donnie and I wandered the Inner Harbor area. I got a greasy fry-up of fries, fish and crab cakes for lunch (yummy). It was such a beautiful day with the sun shining, blue sky and warm temperature. I was wandering around with a light jacket on!
Later that afternoon, Donnie dropped me off at the train station and I made my way to Philadelphia. The train was delayed an hour and a half because the train was having signal problems and the driver couldn't go the normal speed and needed to be talked through the switches so we wouldn't crash into another train. Poor Amy had to wait for me at the train station while all of this was going on.
Originally, the plan was to meet up with Amy, drop my bags off at my cousins' house because I was staying there and then go out to dinner with Amy. With the delayed train, plans changed. My cousins (and aunt and mother) were going out to dinner so we couldn't drop my stuff off at their place. So I had Mom leave an extra key at the hotel where she and Aunt Judy were staying. Then Amy and I went to eat at a Thai place.
I had a lot of fun catching up with her. Email helps you keep in contact but in-person interaction is so much better. The food was great. We went to a pastry place after dinner. Best chocolate cake EVER! I was sooo full.
Amy took me back to the hotel where we said goodbye. My cousin-in-law dropped off my mom and aunt at about the same time so he drove me to his house. All in all things went pretty smoothly.
The baby shower was fun. The decorations turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. The cousin my age and the mama-to-be's friends did a great job. All of us who were around got drafted into helping (not that that was a burden!) and it made the morning fly!
Later that evening, I took a taxi to the train station, took the train to the airport, and got checked in approximately an hour before the plane was supposed to depart. That seems to be a trend. The plane, however, was delayed 30 minutes. I ended up getting home around 11.30 and was very ready for bed! Whew, I need a vacation from my weekend!
Friday, March 02, 2007
My first bowl in a long time
Look what I have been working on recently. I haven't thrown pottery since first semester of senior year (little more than 2 years ago). It is really funny how quickly my hands forgot how to center a pot. A high school friend has a wheel and kiln in her parents house. Because she is in TX, I'm able to use them to practive my pottery skils.
The family's cat and dog are very "helpful." The cat wanted something the other day and, because I didn't give it to her immediately, put her tail around this pot while it was still wet. So the other side of it has a kitty tail imprint and she was covered in white clay. The dog is so grateful to have someone pay attention to her. :)
I've been knitting frantically for the baby shower. I have finished the pair of booties but haven't seamed them together yet. That is a project for later today or on the plane tonight. Sheldon has come to a bit of a standstill. This is what happens when I get new sock yarn! I get distracted from the other projects! I'll post some pictures soon.
Off to Baltimore tonight then taking a train to Philadelphia on Saturday. It will be really nice to see my friends and family this weekend.
The family's cat and dog are very "helpful." The cat wanted something the other day and, because I didn't give it to her immediately, put her tail around this pot while it was still wet. So the other side of it has a kitty tail imprint and she was covered in white clay. The dog is so grateful to have someone pay attention to her. :)
I've been knitting frantically for the baby shower. I have finished the pair of booties but haven't seamed them together yet. That is a project for later today or on the plane tonight. Sheldon has come to a bit of a standstill. This is what happens when I get new sock yarn! I get distracted from the other projects! I'll post some pictures soon.
Off to Baltimore tonight then taking a train to Philadelphia on Saturday. It will be really nice to see my friends and family this weekend.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Distractions
I've been very bad with my knitting these past couple of days. I keep starting projects and putting them down to pick up another. Sheldon's shell is halfway done and the PS socks are starting to be pretty far along. It would be a good thing, however, if I actually did complete one project (preferably Sheldon as the baby shower is next weekend!).
I tried to run errands yesterday on my day off. "Tried" is the key word here. Here is a little rundown of my day.
1) Wanted to go riding. The icy snow nixed that idea.
2) Wanted to find new glasses frames and was actually able to find some slightly cat's eye frames but, sadly, without the rhinestones. They are from Wal-mart so at least I was able to save some money. Also learned, if I supply my own frames, they can put the lenses in. Hmm, vintage stores, here I come!
3) Make the foot on the one pot I have thrown. (Did I mention that I was re-learning how to throw pots? It is amazing how much my hands forgot in two years.) Actually accomplished this!
4) Do two errands for Mom in Columbus: dropping off a rug to be cleaned and dropping off her computer to be fixed. Accomplished the rug but couldn't make an appointment for the computer. Also had a difficult time fiding the Apple store at Easton. Easton and I just don't mix.
5) Go around to the yarn shops in the Columbus area. Didn't get to any of them. Not one. None! I only had time to get the rug dropped off before it closed much less going to any of the stores.
6) Meet friend for dinner. Definitely accomplished :) We got sushi and later went out for tea. Played checkers in the coffee shop using coins and jewelry. I had just bought some dangly clip earrings so I had plenty of pieces. The night was a lot of fun. I like not having to explain history dork jokes.
An extra task which I decided to add to my list was getting my hair cut. It was a totally spur of the moment thing. I was getting frustrated by the hair and its lack of doing anything fun. The hairstylist was snipping and cutting a whole lot more than I expected but I love the result! I am glad I left it up to him. The haircut, however, is what made me get nothing done. I ended up leaving the Heath area around 3.30 instead of 12ish. Little bit of a difference.
OK, off to knit. I feel like socks . . . .
I tried to run errands yesterday on my day off. "Tried" is the key word here. Here is a little rundown of my day.
1) Wanted to go riding. The icy snow nixed that idea.
2) Wanted to find new glasses frames and was actually able to find some slightly cat's eye frames but, sadly, without the rhinestones. They are from Wal-mart so at least I was able to save some money. Also learned, if I supply my own frames, they can put the lenses in. Hmm, vintage stores, here I come!
3) Make the foot on the one pot I have thrown. (Did I mention that I was re-learning how to throw pots? It is amazing how much my hands forgot in two years.) Actually accomplished this!
4) Do two errands for Mom in Columbus: dropping off a rug to be cleaned and dropping off her computer to be fixed. Accomplished the rug but couldn't make an appointment for the computer. Also had a difficult time fiding the Apple store at Easton. Easton and I just don't mix.
5) Go around to the yarn shops in the Columbus area. Didn't get to any of them. Not one. None! I only had time to get the rug dropped off before it closed much less going to any of the stores.
6) Meet friend for dinner. Definitely accomplished :) We got sushi and later went out for tea. Played checkers in the coffee shop using coins and jewelry. I had just bought some dangly clip earrings so I had plenty of pieces. The night was a lot of fun. I like not having to explain history dork jokes.
An extra task which I decided to add to my list was getting my hair cut. It was a totally spur of the moment thing. I was getting frustrated by the hair and its lack of doing anything fun. The hairstylist was snipping and cutting a whole lot more than I expected but I love the result! I am glad I left it up to him. The haircut, however, is what made me get nothing done. I ended up leaving the Heath area around 3.30 instead of 12ish. Little bit of a difference.
OK, off to knit. I feel like socks . . . .
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Yarn p0rn
Got this lovely Koigu in the mail yesterday from Knit, Purl in Oregon. The purple is much more purple in person. I had gotten one skein (don't know what I was thinking only getting one!) of the dark multi-color when I was in NYC. The dye lot of this new one will not be the same, of course, but it is close enough. The pink is to help me finish up the Valentine's day socks. I can't wait to finish them but other projects call first. Namely, Sheldon.
I am just now working on his shell and need to attach the legs. The body was a very fast knit though I have heard other people that he is a fiddly knit. We shall see. I need to get Sheldon finished before the baby shower the weekend following this one.
This is what I was up to today. . . .
Sewing together squares for the Warm Up America! blanket. One of the women who came to the last program brought 55 squares this time. That is right, 55! She is amazing. All of them are exactly 7x9 inches and such even stitches. Thanks to her, we easily have 2 blankets and maybe even 3. :)
OK, back to Sheldon!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Socks and scales
Got this yesterday.
(stupid Blogger http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/394178478/)
I measured a couple of skeins this morning including a few that I had divided by hand. One of those, I was only an ounce off between the two balls. Of course, I counted each and every time that I wrapped the yarn around the back of the chair. This should make it so much easier.
Here is a current picture of the PS socks.
(again, stupid Blogger http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/394178472/)
OK, now I am getting off the internet and actually going to work!
(stupid Blogger http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/394178478/)
I measured a couple of skeins this morning including a few that I had divided by hand. One of those, I was only an ounce off between the two balls. Of course, I counted each and every time that I wrapped the yarn around the back of the chair. This should make it so much easier.
Here is a current picture of the PS socks.
(again, stupid Blogger http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/394178472/)
OK, now I am getting off the internet and actually going to work!
Happy New Year (sort of)
Happy Chinese New Year! It is the year of the Golden Pig, by the way. Yea, pigs!
I've definitely had a full day today, surprisingly. My friend was acting in a play this afternoon which included all-you-can-eat dining at the 7th annual Soul Fool Festival. I had no preconceptions before going into the church (the play was held in a church) and didn't know what to expect for the food. Frankly, for a small-town, non-religious girl, it was a bit of a culture shock. The people were all really nice, though. They play was funny, especially the one woman who stole the show with her dry, witty comments. She had a great sense of timing.
All of the food was fabulous and included a number of ingredients which I had never had before including rabbit (yes, Thumper bit the dust) and cow (?) small intestines which I also had later in the night. The first time I had no idea what the intestine dish was until I was told the second time that I had had it earlier in the day. (Does that make sense? It is way past my bedtime so I am worried that it might not.)
I had gotten there sometime around 1.30 and the play ended around 5.45-6. A couple of my friend's friends also came so we all went out for coffee to waste the time until 7.30 when we all were going to dinner at an authentic Chinese place. It was fun to sit around and talk there (at the coffee place).
The Chinese place was a lot of fun. There were 10 of us total. The food was cooked in the middle of the table in front of us. One cauldron-like pot had the spicy liquid and the other was mild. I started out with the spicy but then went for the mild. The food ranged from fish dumplings to shrimp with the creepy heads still attached (:P) to lamb and beef to more small intenstines to tofu to leafy vegetables. I've never had food prepared like that and it was so much fun! The variety was amazing to me. The camraderie around the table with everyone reaching over and around each other for the food was cool. You make a connection with a stranger when you share food like that.
Right now, though, I am very happy that I switched to the mild sauce. I have a tendency to get migranes which can be affected by the foods that I eat. Slight headache but I think it could have been worse if I had continued with the hot stuff.
I was definitely the first one to stop eating. Still full from lunch much less the wonderful variety of Chinese foods. American Chinese food had nothing on this stuff! I really liked learning about the food from the people there. All of this stuff I never knew.
After every single food item (including the seconds or was that thirds? brought from the kitchen) was consumed, we did kareoke. Haven't done that since a pub in England. It was a lot of fun sitting around, talking with everyone and looking through the song books.
I hope I made a good impression on the people there. I can be horribly shy around people I haven't met before. Guess it is a good thing to be working with the public. It is making me come out of my shell.
The people there at dinner kept assuming my friend was my boyfriend. Hmmmm. FOM or PFOM, anyone?
OK, after all of that rambling babbling, I am going to go to bed!
P.S. I knit all the way through the play. Am working on the PS socks which are featuring an afterthought heel. It is a simple stockinette stitch to show off the pattern so it is a really fast knit. I am beyond where the waste yarn for the heel is place and am off and running. W00t.
I've definitely had a full day today, surprisingly. My friend was acting in a play this afternoon which included all-you-can-eat dining at the 7th annual Soul Fool Festival. I had no preconceptions before going into the church (the play was held in a church) and didn't know what to expect for the food. Frankly, for a small-town, non-religious girl, it was a bit of a culture shock. The people were all really nice, though. They play was funny, especially the one woman who stole the show with her dry, witty comments. She had a great sense of timing.
All of the food was fabulous and included a number of ingredients which I had never had before including rabbit (yes, Thumper bit the dust) and cow (?) small intestines which I also had later in the night. The first time I had no idea what the intestine dish was until I was told the second time that I had had it earlier in the day. (Does that make sense? It is way past my bedtime so I am worried that it might not.)
I had gotten there sometime around 1.30 and the play ended around 5.45-6. A couple of my friend's friends also came so we all went out for coffee to waste the time until 7.30 when we all were going to dinner at an authentic Chinese place. It was fun to sit around and talk there (at the coffee place).
The Chinese place was a lot of fun. There were 10 of us total. The food was cooked in the middle of the table in front of us. One cauldron-like pot had the spicy liquid and the other was mild. I started out with the spicy but then went for the mild. The food ranged from fish dumplings to shrimp with the creepy heads still attached (:P) to lamb and beef to more small intenstines to tofu to leafy vegetables. I've never had food prepared like that and it was so much fun! The variety was amazing to me. The camraderie around the table with everyone reaching over and around each other for the food was cool. You make a connection with a stranger when you share food like that.
Right now, though, I am very happy that I switched to the mild sauce. I have a tendency to get migranes which can be affected by the foods that I eat. Slight headache but I think it could have been worse if I had continued with the hot stuff.
I was definitely the first one to stop eating. Still full from lunch much less the wonderful variety of Chinese foods. American Chinese food had nothing on this stuff! I really liked learning about the food from the people there. All of this stuff I never knew.
After every single food item (including the seconds or was that thirds? brought from the kitchen) was consumed, we did kareoke. Haven't done that since a pub in England. It was a lot of fun sitting around, talking with everyone and looking through the song books.
I hope I made a good impression on the people there. I can be horribly shy around people I haven't met before. Guess it is a good thing to be working with the public. It is making me come out of my shell.
The people there at dinner kept assuming my friend was my boyfriend. Hmmmm. FOM or PFOM, anyone?
OK, after all of that rambling babbling, I am going to go to bed!
P.S. I knit all the way through the play. Am working on the PS socks which are featuring an afterthought heel. It is a simple stockinette stitch to show off the pattern so it is a really fast knit. I am beyond where the waste yarn for the heel is place and am off and running. W00t.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Valentine's snow
This is my second snow day in a row! And I thought hell would have to freeze over first ;) They are expecting it to get worse later in the day and didn't want to risk having employees trying to leave work in the middle of a storm. It is a good thing that I didn't have to try to leave because our garage doors are frozen shut!
Yesterday saw me attempting to cough up a lung (pleasant, I know), cleaning the waste dump called my room and working on 2 different pairs of socks. Now, I didn't finish either of those pairs;I just worked on them. The one pair is made up of my orange, yellow, pink and red Kool-aid yarn. I divided the skein into two even balls and started the toes. The other one is pink and red Koigu that I got while visiting NYC in November. That one seemed appropriate for Valentine's Day. I think I will work on them today.
While cleaning, I arranged and organized the stash. Wow, I am working on a ton of projects at the same time. Though in this case, "working" might not be the correct term. I put WIPs in paper bags from Kim's shop and actually put them in the same place in the room. Here is a picture before that step. If you are interested, click on the picture to see which bag holds which project.
Yesterday saw me attempting to cough up a lung (pleasant, I know), cleaning the waste dump called my room and working on 2 different pairs of socks. Now, I didn't finish either of those pairs;I just worked on them. The one pair is made up of my orange, yellow, pink and red Kool-aid yarn. I divided the skein into two even balls and started the toes. The other one is pink and red Koigu that I got while visiting NYC in November. That one seemed appropriate for Valentine's Day. I think I will work on them today.
While cleaning, I arranged and organized the stash. Wow, I am working on a ton of projects at the same time. Though in this case, "working" might not be the correct term. I put WIPs in paper bags from Kim's shop and actually put them in the same place in the room. Here is a picture before that step. If you are interested, click on the picture to see which bag holds which project.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Finished socks!
.JPG)
And another view . . .
I LOVE this yarn. It feels wonderful, absolutely wonderful on my feet! It will be difficult to take them off. I am definitely going to have to have Andi send me some more ;)
Sorry for the crappy pictures. I am home sick today so they aren't the best that I have ever taken.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Spectrum Socks
After the speed knitting last weekend, this past week has been disappointing. I was scheduled to close 3 nights this week and that really eats up the evening knitting time. All of this means that I am still finishing the Austermann Step socks. So, logically, I started another pair of socks. Ha! These new socks are actually the Project Spectrum colors for Feb and Mar.
(We'll see if Blogger wants to upload this picture. If it doesn't, click on this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/384647105/.)
I also dug some ribbon yarn out of my stash which also works for Project Spectrum. The plan is to make a summer scarf out of it.
(Again, in case Blogger is stupid, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/384647107/)
So how many WIPs is this? Hmmm, don't want to think about that!
(We'll see if Blogger wants to upload this picture. If it doesn't, click on this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/384647105/.)
I also dug some ribbon yarn out of my stash which also works for Project Spectrum. The plan is to make a summer scarf out of it.
(Again, in case Blogger is stupid, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bookwormknitting/384647107/)
So how many WIPs is this? Hmmm, don't want to think about that!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
The Professor and the Madman
I finished reading the historical non fiction book/micro-history,The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. I really liked it. Our library system had a non fiction book club read it a couple of months ago.
A historical non-fiction is a book that reads almost like fiction. A micro-history is a book which focuses on one small part of history. The part can either be an item or a time period. Seabiscuit is a wonderful example. It focused on horse racing during the Depression and really made that time-period come alive.
The Professor and the Madman focused on two men who were strongly involved in the editing of the OED: James Murray (the professor) and Dr. William Chester Minor (the madman). The vast undertaking of creating the OED simply amazed me. Before 1857 (when the idea was first suggested), there was no all-encompassing English dictionary. Or at least, not a dictionary like we think of today. The OED editors set out to catalog, define, provide illustrative quotations, and track the word's history through written history from its first use until the current day. Every. Single. Word. Wow.
They had thousands of volunteers read through books, write down words (any words), illustrative quotations, where the quotation was found, page number, and send in the slip of paper to the Scriptorium that Murray had set up in Oxford. The Scriptorium might sound impressive but really it was just a corrugated metal structure full of paper. Can you even imagine the scraps of paper everywhere? How would anything ever get done or even found?
Dr. Minor is introduced as a madman from the very beginning of the book. A madman but also an intellectual. He was an American doctor who served in the Civil War. Apparently, his paranoia was sparked and/or became more pronounced after an experience during the Wilderness where he had to brand an Irish soldier as punishment for desertion. After that, he felt that the Irish everywhere were after him in revenge. He also complained of being followed and being forced to perform "lewd acts" every night by persons unknown. A while after the end of the war, Minor left America for England. He was imprisoned in Broadmore, a lunatic asylum there, when he murdered a man in London. (Minor thought the man was going to attack him.)
While in Broadmore, Minor had an extraordinary amount of special privileges. He had a pention from the U.S. Army and was a doctor like those taking care of him so Minor was housed in the nice part of Broadmore. He had the use of two rooms, one of which served as a library and the other which was his bedroom, where he painted and played his flute. The library was quite impressive because he collected rare works and anything else that caught his interest. Minor hired one of the other inmates to clean his rooms and perform small tasks. Sounds pretty nice, huh? He still had the slight problem of thinking people were breaking into his room at night and poisoning him or forcing him to perform those lewd acts.
Ten years after he was first imprisoned, Minor came across Murray's plea for volunteer readers. He wrote to Murray offering his services and got down to reading. Minor's approach to the task was completely different than that of the other volunteers. He would read a book through writing down each word that caught his attention and page number where it was found. He wrote the words down so that they would be in alphabetical order, leaving space for words he would find as he read. Once he finished one book, Minor would go on to the next. Because he wasn't sending in submissions to the editors in Oxford, they thought he had gotten bored with the project.
Once Minor thought he had come up with enough words, he wrote to Murray asking him if they were having any difficulty with any word. When Murray responded that "art" was vexing them, Minor immediately responded with quotation, volume number, and page number. After that, Murray and his workers would send any word "problems" to Minor and he would immediately respond with a correct response. Because Minor had his word lists minutely indexed, it took him no time at all to find a correct quotation. As the author says, other volunteers might have sent in more quotations but Minor's were worth their weight in gold. The editors knew they didn't need to double-check his work.
It was very interesting to watch the friendship between Minor and Murray develop. They corresponded for years and Murray visited Minor frequently in Broadmore. I also found it fascinating to learn more about the editing of the massive dictionary.
The only problem I had with the book was that the author, Simon Winchester, did not have a bibliography in the back of the book. True, he mentioned other books people could read to learn more and talked about some of the books he read. But, to a historian like me, that is not good enough. I want to see all of the documents he used. The letters, the journals, the books, the interviews. Everything. Still, I greatly enjoyed the work and would highly recommend it.
A historical non-fiction is a book that reads almost like fiction. A micro-history is a book which focuses on one small part of history. The part can either be an item or a time period. Seabiscuit is a wonderful example. It focused on horse racing during the Depression and really made that time-period come alive.
The Professor and the Madman focused on two men who were strongly involved in the editing of the OED: James Murray (the professor) and Dr. William Chester Minor (the madman). The vast undertaking of creating the OED simply amazed me. Before 1857 (when the idea was first suggested), there was no all-encompassing English dictionary. Or at least, not a dictionary like we think of today. The OED editors set out to catalog, define, provide illustrative quotations, and track the word's history through written history from its first use until the current day. Every. Single. Word. Wow.
They had thousands of volunteers read through books, write down words (any words), illustrative quotations, where the quotation was found, page number, and send in the slip of paper to the Scriptorium that Murray had set up in Oxford. The Scriptorium might sound impressive but really it was just a corrugated metal structure full of paper. Can you even imagine the scraps of paper everywhere? How would anything ever get done or even found?
Dr. Minor is introduced as a madman from the very beginning of the book. A madman but also an intellectual. He was an American doctor who served in the Civil War. Apparently, his paranoia was sparked and/or became more pronounced after an experience during the Wilderness where he had to brand an Irish soldier as punishment for desertion. After that, he felt that the Irish everywhere were after him in revenge. He also complained of being followed and being forced to perform "lewd acts" every night by persons unknown. A while after the end of the war, Minor left America for England. He was imprisoned in Broadmore, a lunatic asylum there, when he murdered a man in London. (Minor thought the man was going to attack him.)
While in Broadmore, Minor had an extraordinary amount of special privileges. He had a pention from the U.S. Army and was a doctor like those taking care of him so Minor was housed in the nice part of Broadmore. He had the use of two rooms, one of which served as a library and the other which was his bedroom, where he painted and played his flute. The library was quite impressive because he collected rare works and anything else that caught his interest. Minor hired one of the other inmates to clean his rooms and perform small tasks. Sounds pretty nice, huh? He still had the slight problem of thinking people were breaking into his room at night and poisoning him or forcing him to perform those lewd acts.
Ten years after he was first imprisoned, Minor came across Murray's plea for volunteer readers. He wrote to Murray offering his services and got down to reading. Minor's approach to the task was completely different than that of the other volunteers. He would read a book through writing down each word that caught his attention and page number where it was found. He wrote the words down so that they would be in alphabetical order, leaving space for words he would find as he read. Once he finished one book, Minor would go on to the next. Because he wasn't sending in submissions to the editors in Oxford, they thought he had gotten bored with the project.
Once Minor thought he had come up with enough words, he wrote to Murray asking him if they were having any difficulty with any word. When Murray responded that "art" was vexing them, Minor immediately responded with quotation, volume number, and page number. After that, Murray and his workers would send any word "problems" to Minor and he would immediately respond with a correct response. Because Minor had his word lists minutely indexed, it took him no time at all to find a correct quotation. As the author says, other volunteers might have sent in more quotations but Minor's were worth their weight in gold. The editors knew they didn't need to double-check his work.
It was very interesting to watch the friendship between Minor and Murray develop. They corresponded for years and Murray visited Minor frequently in Broadmore. I also found it fascinating to learn more about the editing of the massive dictionary.
The only problem I had with the book was that the author, Simon Winchester, did not have a bibliography in the back of the book. True, he mentioned other books people could read to learn more and talked about some of the books he read. But, to a historian like me, that is not good enough. I want to see all of the documents he used. The letters, the journals, the books, the interviews. Everything. Still, I greatly enjoyed the work and would highly recommend it.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Austermann Step socks
Blogger is being stupid and not letting me load any pictures. We'll get around that by posting from Flickr!
If you want to see any Chihuly pictures, click on my user name / photostream.
If you want to see any Chihuly pictures, click on my user name / photostream.
Flying fingers
I have no idea how it happened but a pair of socks is virtually flying off of my needles.* Late Friday evening, I started on a pair of Austermann Step (Whiskey colorway) that I got while in Austria.
I worked on the toe-up socks a little during the day on Saturday while I was at the Franklin Park Conservatory. (I <3 Dale Chihuly.) That night, a family friend invited us to a bluegrass festival up at Denison. Apparently, bluegrass is a perfect music for knitting. When the music sped up, my fingers kept pace. When it slowed down, I did, too. I was already working on the gusset increases by the end of the evening.
Sunday, I was able to put in a little bit of knitting time before going to work and during my break. By the end of the night, I had turned both heels and started working on the legs.
I am thinking that, by the time I go to bed tonight, I will have at least 2 maybe three inches worked on the legs. I am planning to make them however long it takes to use up the yarn.
This is unbelievable! It has never taken me this little time to make a pair of socks. NEVER. Even when I was travelling and on planes and trains all day, nothing like this has ever happened! Maybe it is the combination of the yarn (LOVE IT) and the Addis. Who knows!
A little about the Austermann Step yarn. It is some of the nicest feeling yarn with which I have ever worked. It has aloe vera oil and jojoba oil infused in it. These oils mean that the tips of my fingers are soooooo soft where they come in contact with the yarn. I can only imagine what the socks will feel like on my feet! According to various websites, the oils should last through 40 washings (hand-washed, of course!) The only thing that I don't like about the yarn is that it has a tendency to be splitty. That is definitely not a good thing when your fingers are flying along with a banjo player's! Most of the time I can catch the splits but that slows me down.
Another "bad" thing about the yarn is that it is not Project Spectrum colors :) I meant to work on a pair of blue, grey and white socks (perfect colorway for Feb/Mar) this weekend but the Austermann Step took over! I had already made a pair of socks using the blue, grey and white yarn but frogged them because the sizing was all off. Not sure what I was on when I made that pair. Whatever it was, it wasn't a good thing! I think I made that pair when I was first starting socks and didn't have any idea how to customize them. This time around, the result will be much better.
* I like working toe-up socks two at a time on two circular needles.
I worked on the toe-up socks a little during the day on Saturday while I was at the Franklin Park Conservatory. (I <3 Dale Chihuly.) That night, a family friend invited us to a bluegrass festival up at Denison. Apparently, bluegrass is a perfect music for knitting. When the music sped up, my fingers kept pace. When it slowed down, I did, too. I was already working on the gusset increases by the end of the evening.
Sunday, I was able to put in a little bit of knitting time before going to work and during my break. By the end of the night, I had turned both heels and started working on the legs.
I am thinking that, by the time I go to bed tonight, I will have at least 2 maybe three inches worked on the legs. I am planning to make them however long it takes to use up the yarn.
This is unbelievable! It has never taken me this little time to make a pair of socks. NEVER. Even when I was travelling and on planes and trains all day, nothing like this has ever happened! Maybe it is the combination of the yarn (LOVE IT) and the Addis. Who knows!
A little about the Austermann Step yarn. It is some of the nicest feeling yarn with which I have ever worked. It has aloe vera oil and jojoba oil infused in it. These oils mean that the tips of my fingers are soooooo soft where they come in contact with the yarn. I can only imagine what the socks will feel like on my feet! According to various websites, the oils should last through 40 washings (hand-washed, of course!) The only thing that I don't like about the yarn is that it has a tendency to be splitty. That is definitely not a good thing when your fingers are flying along with a banjo player's! Most of the time I can catch the splits but that slows me down.
Another "bad" thing about the yarn is that it is not Project Spectrum colors :) I meant to work on a pair of blue, grey and white socks (perfect colorway for Feb/Mar) this weekend but the Austermann Step took over! I had already made a pair of socks using the blue, grey and white yarn but frogged them because the sizing was all off. Not sure what I was on when I made that pair. Whatever it was, it wasn't a good thing! I think I made that pair when I was first starting socks and didn't have any idea how to customize them. This time around, the result will be much better.
* I like working toe-up socks two at a time on two circular needles.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Knitting Survey
I just received this from one of my knitting lists.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=772833217495
Anyone who is a knitter, please help and fill out this survey. I wonder what the girl's thesis will end up being.
" My niece, a knitter herself, is writing her thesis on knitters &
knitting and has put together an online survey to collect the
information she needs. If you have a moment, would you mind going over
to submit your information? It takes only a few minutes. You can find
it here:"
knitting and has put together an online survey to collect the
information she needs. If you have a moment, would you mind going over
to submit your information? It takes only a few minutes. You can find
it here:"
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=772833217495
Anyone who is a knitter, please help and fill out this survey. I wonder what the girl's thesis will end up being.
13
With the wind chill, right now it feels like 13 degrees Fahrenheit. This is what Java thinks about it. 
Out at the barn it is definitely colder because the wind has nothing to break it. Java gets another reprieve from riding!
Out at the barn it is definitely colder because the wind has nothing to break it. Java gets another reprieve from riding!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Winter!
Ironically, the weather took a couple of months to figure out it is supposed to be winter and now we are having below normal temperatures for this time of year. This morning we had a wind chill of 0 (degrees Fahrenheit). Whew. Little chilly.
It feels like I haven't been knitting too much within the past couple of days until I realized that I have frogged one project (so long orange and blue tie!), started another (baby stuff for my cousin, Emily, using the orange and blue yarn), completed another (mom's socks, finally), finished the baby hat and started another. The second one is for my other cousin, Katy, who is not pregnant (not yet, at least) but who will want a hat when she sees Emily's. Lots of sibling rivalry there. I do love that 3 of my cousins and me all went to schools that had orange and blue for their colours. It makes it easy to make things. Find the perfect yarn and you have something for everyone.
I'll have to figure out something else to make for the baby shower. Maybe some type of blanket as well as some boots out of the same yarn.
Here is a picture of Lily modelling the hat. She is so not thrilled with this.
I've started on another pair of socks. This time I am working with my Kool-aid yarn and size 0 needles. Ugh. I love the colours but the needles are the smallest with which I have ever worked. I don't want to do a simple stockinette stitch with them but that is all that I am coming up with for ideas. Blah. I might put that aside for a little while and work with some of the stuff I picked up during the Austria trip.
It feels like I haven't been knitting too much within the past couple of days until I realized that I have frogged one project (so long orange and blue tie!), started another (baby stuff for my cousin, Emily, using the orange and blue yarn), completed another (mom's socks, finally), finished the baby hat and started another. The second one is for my other cousin, Katy, who is not pregnant (not yet, at least) but who will want a hat when she sees Emily's. Lots of sibling rivalry there. I do love that 3 of my cousins and me all went to schools that had orange and blue for their colours. It makes it easy to make things. Find the perfect yarn and you have something for everyone.
I'll have to figure out something else to make for the baby shower. Maybe some type of blanket as well as some boots out of the same yarn.
Here is a picture of Lily modelling the hat. She is so not thrilled with this.
And a picture of Mom's Christmas socks which I did get finished by the end of January. Oops.
I've started on another pair of socks. This time I am working with my Kool-aid yarn and size 0 needles. Ugh. I love the colours but the needles are the smallest with which I have ever worked. I don't want to do a simple stockinette stitch with them but that is all that I am coming up with for ideas. Blah. I might put that aside for a little while and work with some of the stuff I picked up during the Austria trip.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Snow (again) and sun!
It would probably be worth it to check the weather when trying to make plans with someone. I definitely didn't and suddenly we have an inch of snow on the ground.
This picture was taken earlier this morning but now the sun is coming out. It is so pretty! All of the trees have snow stuck to their branches and the pine trees are all lightly frosted with snow.
I hope to go hiking in the Bio Reserve while it is so nice. (I know, some might not consider high 20s and snow nice, but I do!) Hope someone else agrees. . . .
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Yesterday (you may now start humming the Beatles)
So I was planning on getting things accomplished yesterday like riding the horse, laundry, going to the FP Conservatory, etc. Number of things complete: 1 -- riding the horse. My jeans will soon be able to stand up by themselves.
What I did instead of my original goals was waste time. Large amounts of it. In the morning, I relaxed and lounged. Finished one of the many Terry Pratchett books I have checked out from the library. Finally, got ready to go out around 11 but then Mom and I had brunch. Went out to the barn around 12. Somehow, in the cold weather yesterday, rode for 45 minutes. (I think we were both frozen by the end of it. Java kept looking at me like I was nuts.) Then went to the Soup Loft in town to have something warm for lunch. THEN (and this is where most of the time was wasted) I went to my LYS.
Now, something happens when you go into a LYS. My theory is that time warps. Suddenly, you have spent an hour in there when you only intended 10 minutes. I got there around 2 so I could thaw and spend a little time chatting and working on the shawl. Well, then Kim had to run to an appointment so her dad came in to mind the shop. He doesn't know knitting so I decided to stick around for a little while longer. Isn't it inevitable that, when the owner leaves, things suddenly get crazy?
Two women came in looking to re-start knitting again after a long break so they wanted a pattern, yarn and needles. Luckily, Kim has tons of samples out so they could just point at what they thought looked good. So that was easy. Then two people who are in the "Beginning to Knit" class came in with problems. I sorted them out and they hung out for a while. Then another woman in the same class came in for help with binding off. She had accidentally knitted the stitches twice instead of knitting 2 then slipping the one over the other. So we had to rip it out and start binding off again. Luckily, she picked it up quite easily and was able to finish it before she left (her finished bag was so cute!). She was there for a while, too. Then a couple more people came in just to look around. Then, a person from Ambercrombie and Fitch came in to look for yarn samples and with the example of a swatch Kim is going to be knitting for them. Note: They had told her that they would be there by 1 so she was expecting to be there. They ended up getting there at 3. Luckily, through all of this, one of Kim's assistants who hadn't been able to get there before 3.30 arrived and couple help the A&F girl.
It was definitely an exciting afternoon but not what I expected at all! Never got to the conservatory. When I looked at the clock and realized that it was 10 till 4 (it closed at 5 and would take me 45 min to get there), I gave up on it. Now, I hope to go there on Sunday. We will see if anything else comes up instead. Thankfully, I am not working this Sunday, too. Three in a row would be a little much. Hell, 2 in a row was.
Knitting news . . . I worked on the shawl until it needed to be sent to time out. I was getting a number of extra stitches so will have to solve that problem a little later. I worked on Mom's socks some more. (Can't wait till those are finished!) Currently, I am working on more blanket squares for the library program though those are being crocheted. It is giving me a lot of practice with crocheting.
What I did instead of my original goals was waste time. Large amounts of it. In the morning, I relaxed and lounged. Finished one of the many Terry Pratchett books I have checked out from the library. Finally, got ready to go out around 11 but then Mom and I had brunch. Went out to the barn around 12. Somehow, in the cold weather yesterday, rode for 45 minutes. (I think we were both frozen by the end of it. Java kept looking at me like I was nuts.) Then went to the Soup Loft in town to have something warm for lunch. THEN (and this is where most of the time was wasted) I went to my LYS.
Now, something happens when you go into a LYS. My theory is that time warps. Suddenly, you have spent an hour in there when you only intended 10 minutes. I got there around 2 so I could thaw and spend a little time chatting and working on the shawl. Well, then Kim had to run to an appointment so her dad came in to mind the shop. He doesn't know knitting so I decided to stick around for a little while longer. Isn't it inevitable that, when the owner leaves, things suddenly get crazy?
Two women came in looking to re-start knitting again after a long break so they wanted a pattern, yarn and needles. Luckily, Kim has tons of samples out so they could just point at what they thought looked good. So that was easy. Then two people who are in the "Beginning to Knit" class came in with problems. I sorted them out and they hung out for a while. Then another woman in the same class came in for help with binding off. She had accidentally knitted the stitches twice instead of knitting 2 then slipping the one over the other. So we had to rip it out and start binding off again. Luckily, she picked it up quite easily and was able to finish it before she left (her finished bag was so cute!). She was there for a while, too. Then a couple more people came in just to look around. Then, a person from Ambercrombie and Fitch came in to look for yarn samples and with the example of a swatch Kim is going to be knitting for them. Note: They had told her that they would be there by 1 so she was expecting to be there. They ended up getting there at 3. Luckily, through all of this, one of Kim's assistants who hadn't been able to get there before 3.30 arrived and couple help the A&F girl.
It was definitely an exciting afternoon but not what I expected at all! Never got to the conservatory. When I looked at the clock and realized that it was 10 till 4 (it closed at 5 and would take me 45 min to get there), I gave up on it. Now, I hope to go there on Sunday. We will see if anything else comes up instead. Thankfully, I am not working this Sunday, too. Three in a row would be a little much. Hell, 2 in a row was.
Knitting news . . . I worked on the shawl until it needed to be sent to time out. I was getting a number of extra stitches so will have to solve that problem a little later. I worked on Mom's socks some more. (Can't wait till those are finished!) Currently, I am working on more blanket squares for the library program though those are being crocheted. It is giving me a lot of practice with crocheting.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Unsettled
Do you ever feel like you get into a rut at work, at home, etc etc? I think I have reached that winter rut. I can't settle to any book that I have already and nothing at the library looked interesting. Even though I really like the shawl I am working on, I want to start another project but don't know what. Blah, I hate the winter blues.
I think I will go to the conservatory in Columbus tomorrow. They have a Chihuly exhibit on right now and I love his stuff.
I think I will go to the conservatory in Columbus tomorrow. They have a Chihuly exhibit on right now and I love his stuff.
Snow again!
It is flurrying again! :) I am very excited. It hasn't felt like winter without some snow on the ground.
My program on Tuesday went really well. I had three ladies come and one brought her granddaughter. Two knew how to knit and crochet and one was relearning. Once she started, her hands definitely remembered how to do it. We made 3 blanket squares that night. One of the ladies was going to rush home and look through her yarn stash to see what she could use to make squares.
Speaking of stash . . . . I was worried that I might not have enough yarn for people to use and would have to buy some. Then I started looking through my stash . . .
A full tote bag and a shopping bag! (I think I had enough yarn.) This is just the junk yarn and none of my good stuff! I don't even know where all of this was hiding!
Peacock shawl . . . I was finishing up another pair of Fetching last night so not much progress has been made. I am on the 96th row and the feathers have started to appear. I love it though I need to pick up more books on tape/CD because it is definitely a project that I can't knit and read at the same time!
My program on Tuesday went really well. I had three ladies come and one brought her granddaughter. Two knew how to knit and crochet and one was relearning. Once she started, her hands definitely remembered how to do it. We made 3 blanket squares that night. One of the ladies was going to rush home and look through her yarn stash to see what she could use to make squares.
Speaking of stash . . . . I was worried that I might not have enough yarn for people to use and would have to buy some. Then I started looking through my stash . . .
A full tote bag and a shopping bag! (I think I had enough yarn.) This is just the junk yarn and none of my good stuff! I don't even know where all of this was hiding!Peacock shawl . . . I was finishing up another pair of Fetching last night so not much progress has been made. I am on the 96th row and the feathers have started to appear. I love it though I need to pick up more books on tape/CD because it is definitely a project that I can't knit and read at the same time!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Warm up America!
I am really nervous for tomorrow.
I work in a small branch library which is relatively new (opened in Sept. 2005). Before we opened, the only library service this community had was the bookmobile. Most of the time we don't have a huge number of participants in our programs. For instance, the last program I had (free blood pressure checks) only had 2 people come. One of those was a library employee who I begged and the other was a man who came in to use the Internet. Discouraging to say the least.
Tomorrow, I am having a program for Warm Up America!, a really great non-profit foundation. The whole point is to make enough 7 x 9 inch squares to make up a blanket. I am going to be teaching people how to knit or crochet if they don't already know how to do so. It should be a lot of fun since I love teaching / infecting others with the yarn sickness ;)
No, what I am nervous about is whether or not anyone will actually come. I've had a couple of ladies say they will but we have had other people say they will come to events then not show up. Blah. I always get very nervous before each of my programs and it looks like this time is no different!
Oh, the shawl is flying by. I can't get enough of it! I am on the 90th row and the 3rd of 8 total charts. You can really see the feathers starting to develop. But I should set it aside tonight (gasp) and make some squares for the blanket tomorrow. Time to practice different stitches!
I work in a small branch library which is relatively new (opened in Sept. 2005). Before we opened, the only library service this community had was the bookmobile. Most of the time we don't have a huge number of participants in our programs. For instance, the last program I had (free blood pressure checks) only had 2 people come. One of those was a library employee who I begged and the other was a man who came in to use the Internet. Discouraging to say the least.
Tomorrow, I am having a program for Warm Up America!, a really great non-profit foundation. The whole point is to make enough 7 x 9 inch squares to make up a blanket. I am going to be teaching people how to knit or crochet if they don't already know how to do so. It should be a lot of fun since I love teaching / infecting others with the yarn sickness ;)
No, what I am nervous about is whether or not anyone will actually come. I've had a couple of ladies say they will but we have had other people say they will come to events then not show up. Blah. I always get very nervous before each of my programs and it looks like this time is no different!
Oh, the shawl is flying by. I can't get enough of it! I am on the 90th row and the 3rd of 8 total charts. You can really see the feathers starting to develop. But I should set it aside tonight (gasp) and make some squares for the blanket tomorrow. Time to practice different stitches!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
So addictive
Can I just say that I love this yarn and this pattern? It is so easy to fly through it. I am already on the second chart. I just want to work on this lace all day!AND, it is snowing!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. It is very small flakes of packing snow. I went out to feed the horses and my tracks were almost completely covered in 15 minutes. If it keeps up like this, we might have whiteout conditions. Too bad I have to go to work today :( Definitely going to be calling the severe weather number to see if the library will be open.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
I'm in love . . .
. . . with this yarn!
I think all of the other projects will have to take a back seat for a while. Time to start the shawl!
Cable Crack
So apparently I am addicted to the cable crack. Seriously, once you start, it is hard to stop. I finished the pair of Fetching for Carolyn on Thursday night, weaved in the ends, blocked it, the whole nine yards. By Friday afternoon, I had it in the mail and had started on a pair for myself with a couple of modifications. I increased the number of cables around the wrist and lengthened the glove a little beyond the thumb. By the end of the evening, I had one finished and the other started. If I get time today, I will probably be done with the second one.
Kim from the yarn store called yesterday to tell me the yarn I had ordered had come in! We only ordered it on Wednesday! I am planning to make the Peacock Feathers Shawl with Cherry Tree Hill's colorway, Green Mountain Madness. What could be better? Some of my favorite yarn and lace that makes peacock feathers :) Looks like I am back on the lace crack. So addicitive. . . .
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