Happy Halloween!

Yes, it is that time of year again - Halloween, when we get dressed up and do odd things in the name of Having Fun. :D

Today, I am dressed up to go to work because I can (and because I just might win a prize) and tonight I will join the ranks of the adult children of Austin to go party like a fool. Do I really believe in ghosts, goblins and other Halloween beasties? No - but they sure throw fun parties. :D

Perpetual Motion

When I was a kid, I learned a musical piece for the cello called Perpetual Motion (okay, it was for any instrument, but I play cello :). Even now, I just think about the name of the piece and the fingerings start running through my head - DEFF EFGG FGAF GEAA and so on and so forth, through two or three stanzas and back to the first.

What does this mean, you ask? It occurs to me that this blogging phenomenon is a lot like that musical piece. We start at one note and flitter along to the next, absorbing each one differently but noting the beauty of the whole. Without realizing it, we come full circle - and yet the music continues, like widening ripples in a pond. I dont even know for certain if what I've written really touches someone, until in passing I overhear someone else talking about...my blog! Well, maybe it is a little cheesy of me, but it is nice to know sometimes that your own little bit of silliness made someone else smile.

...and that, boys and girls, just may be the whole point of the game. :D

Aren't you done yet?

Sometime you wonder if you'll ever finish a project, and then all of a sudden, you finish several!

To the left you can see my glowie - a shawl knitted with glow in the dark fiber (from Heartstrings Fiber Arts) held together with one strand of Red Heart Light N' Lofty, on size 19 needles. I don't know offhand how much yardage I used, but it was just under one skein of the RH. If I hadn't been in such a hurry, I would have added in the second skein to make a larger shawl. However, the glow-in-the-dark fiber likes to tangle, and between that and the deadline I decided to just cast off while I had the chance. :)

I would also like to report that I finished weaving the chenille scarf. It was supposed to be done in a log cabin pattern, but the pattern doesn't seem to have come out. I used a burnt orange chenille together with a variegated that also had the same shade in it (both Rayon), so that may have had something to do with the pattern not showing up well. Even so, it made a nice almost plaid-y scarf, albeit a bit wider than I'd intended.

Just so I can gloat over FOs, here are pics of the finished cowl and baby booties I mentioned last Sunday. Toodles!

Whole lotta glowin' goin' on...

Huzzah - I am more than 3/4 of the way through the glowie. I even managed to get some work done on the Jo Sharp scarf and Tilt today, too.

The cold front rolled in from up north, and it is now only about 60 degrees outside. Too cold for my blood, so I'm curled up with my jammies and slippers on, drinking cocoa and watching more Monkees episodes. :D

Plans for this week: finish the glowie (hopefully tomorrow), finish weaving the scarf on the loom (Suzanne needs her loom back!), finish the Jo Sharp scarf and make more beaded stitch markers. I am also thinking of running off a couple scarf and headband sets on my Barbie knitting machine for the bazaar on Saturday - the kids love them!

Just Monkee-ing around

My DVD set of The Monkees (Season 1) got here yesterday afternoon! So, this morning I am hanging out, doing laundry and cleaning house, and rotting my brain with a session of Monkee episodes. :D

In crafting news, I got a little bit of the glowie done last night, and I plan on working on it this afternoon at HCW. The most recent item on the loom has been sleyed through the reed - I just have to bring it through the heddles. I have 28 of 196 ends brought through...too bad it isn't an automatic process. :)

Back to the Monkees!

Going for it...

Yes, I am knitting the glowie - I got about a quarter of it completed last night during choir practice and it knits up pretty quickly. Of course, it helps that I have done this shawl pattern before.

Tonight I have to get more work done on that scarf I am weaving, though -- I have one week to finish both the scarf and the shawl!! I think I can, I think I can... :D

Halloween Knitting

Last year about this time, I decided I wanted to make a Halloween costume rather than wearing one I already had. I knew I didn't have enough time to knit anything so I decided to come up with a stellar idea for the next Halloween (you know, the one coming up in two weeks? :). My idea was to knit a grey pullover sweater with red and gold bands about the neckline, and to wear it with a pleated grey skirt under the black cloak I already have. I have also already knitted a Gryffindor scarf, and if I left my hair down I could certainly pass for Hermione Granger. Well, I never knit that sweater. Besides, since the HP movie is not so recent anymore, perhaps my idea would be passé. What to do?

In the intervening time, I had really all but forgotten my plan to knit something for my Halloween costume. I have a new "wench" outfit I purchased this last year for RenFaire, so I figured that would make a good option for Halloween as well. Someone on the KnitList reminded me of the glow-in-the-dark fiber/yarn from HeartStrings (I happen to have 3 balls) and my desire to add a hand-knit item to my costume was re-sparked.

With a homespun yarn and big needles, I think I can crank out a simple shawl in a week - and if I hold the glowie fiber with a natural color yarn, it would look good in sunlight and GLOW at night! So, what does everyone think? Should I do it?

(Aside: Yes, I know this would delay a couple of my WIPs, but only for a week!)

Tilting along

You forget how stultifying stockingette stitch can be, until every single project you are working on uses it. Thankfully, I got another inch on Pink Flutterby done yesterday, bringing the grand total up to at least 12 inches (I have to measure it again). Once I hit 15 inches, I'll separate the front and back and finish the top shaping. I also managed to sneak in a few rows on Tilt, which is only not boring me because the Noro yarn is soooooo pretty!

I was hoping for a knit session tonight, but I also need to sley the warp for a chenille scarf I'd been planning - since I have to return the loom to its owner by the 31st of this month. Hm - that sounds like something I can handle while doing laundry tonight.... ;)

What happened to my vacation?

What? It can't be Sunday night already! What do you mean I have to go back to work tomorrow? *sigh*

It seems that I haven't gotten much accomplished this vacation...I mean things that I had actually intended to do. :) Maybe by process of recollection, I'll see that I did do something. Hm...

Let's see - on the evening of the 11th, I sang Mozart's Requiem with the Austin Civic Chorus. (I did finish the fluffy cowl that afternoon, though.) Sunday was my birthday, and Mom and her boyfriend didn't leave until Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning I had an appointment, then that afternoon a gathering for work (ya, I was on vacation, but who passes up free entertainment?), then went canoeing, then margaritas with V and a couple of great movies. Didn't do much on Wednesday, as I had a sinus headache. SnB that night - showed off the curlique and worked on the baby booties for Bonnie. Thursday I did the 3 hour (ugh!) allergy testing, ran some errands and then I was at the hospital with M and her family while we awaited the birth of her beautiful baby boy. :) ...and of course, lots of visiting! I finished off the baby booties Thursday night... Ok, I give -- maybe I did accomplish a few things this week, and I didn't even cover the weekend!

Right now I have 3 projects I need to focus on, plus a fourth that I will work on as time allows and as I need to switch projects to avoid boredom. Today I got almost an inch done on Pink Flutterby (concept - I dug it out of the PIG pile!), and I started on Tilt. Those two, along with the crocheted scarf from Jo Sharp, are my main focal points, and the Debbie Bliss baby sweater will be my alternate project. Oy, I need a vacation. :D

Have a cigar!

I am proud to announce the birth of baby Christopher! Before anyone wonders about this little miracle - he is the baby of a very good friend of mine. :D



Isn't he beautiful? Vitals: 8lbs, 2 oz and 19 inches long, with a wonderful head of curly black hair!

Today, I fell in a lake.

(Ok, Vanessa, you can stop laughing now... :)

In other news, I highly recommend Who Is Cletis Tout? and Unconditional Love as excellent drama/comedies to watch when you're drying out off. ;) Apparently, randomly picking movies by the cast is a good way to do things.

Reflections on life

As I begin my 30th year on this planet, I started thinking about my life so far, and my plans for the future. When I was in school, I remember teachers asking us what our future plans were - where we saw ourselves in 5, 10, 20 years and what we considered success. Looking back on my answers then, I would have to say that by those naïve expectations, I could indeed consider myself successful. However, have I really achieved success?

When I was a child, I measured success by the amount of money I expected to make, whether I had a car and house, the type of friends I had and the type of activities I spent my free time on. I planned to have a good job (check), a good paycheck (check), a good place to live (sort of), a house (well, no, but I have a nice apartment), good friends (check) and a "high-class" lifestyle (depends on the day :). Although I have not met all my goals, I have far exceeded some others. Yes, by those childish standards, I could consider myself successful.

These days, though, I think I measure success not by how much money I make, nor by how much money I can spend in pursuing the perfect lifestyle. I measure success by my faith and walk with God, by the depth of relationship I have with friends and family, and by whether I can consider myself truly happy. Sure, I'd like to lose a few pounds - heck, I always wanted to be that bombshell walking down the street - and I'd like to be higher on the corporate foodchain, but will those things make me happy? Almost daily I am reminded by a special friend of mine how blessed I am to have such a friend - she considers me her angel for grounding her in the faith, but in reality, she is more my angel -- reminding me how much more God really has to do with my life. It is so easy to become cynical and even bitter and depressed about the little problems in life, and miss the big picture completely.

As I start a new year in life, I will try to focus more on the big picture. I will be happier with who I am and not who I wish I could be. I will spend more time with friends and family and less time with my computer. I will do more for others and less for myself. Most of all, I will remember to pray daily and work to better my relationship with God.

Birthdays are good...

...but it is also good that you only get one a year. I love my friends and family -- and they certainly spoil me. :D

In all the fun and festivities, I even managed to get some crocheting in -- got just over halfway done on one of the baby booties for Bonnie. I should finish that one and start the other tomorrow, so that I can take them to her this week before she goes on maternity leave. For those of you who wonder how I can wander around and knit (or crochet) and talk and shop and...well, you get the picture -- I would like to point out that my mother is 'worse' than I am and has been doing it for lots longer than I've gotten around to, yet. She only crochets, but she got around 50 granny centers done this weekend, with over half of them finished through the second round (since she is changing colors every round, she is doing the same color at the same time, so she will have all done through the 2nd round before she starts the third).

Thanks to all my family and friends who've passed on birthday wishes - it's been a very fun weekend, and next year I get to go back to being 25 and holding. :D

Requiem

We had a marvelous concert tonight - 100 of us singing Mozart's Requiem to a packed house! MY feet are killing me, but we had a marvelous time.

This afternoon I did make it into HCW after all and got just enough time there to finish the fluffy cowl I started a week or two ago. Mom and Virgil came with me and got to meet everyone - and even Virgil had fun. He did say that next time he needs to have a knitting needle, too, though. :D

And now, it is 11:02 - I will be 29 in 58 minutes! :D

Goodies in the mail

You know, there are few things as enjoyable as getting a package in the mail -- and my birthday yarn for Tilt came today!!! :D

It has been suggested that I not start Tilt until I get more than halfway done with Pink Flutterby (hi, V!) -- that poor top languishing in my WIPs bag. After careful consideration, I will arrange a compromise. First I must finish the baby booties for Bonnie, and then I will trade off time with Tilt and PF. I think PF will be my main traveling project (except for Saturdays when I can actually sit at a table and knit) and Tilt will be mostly an at-home thing until both are done. I will also attempt to stay away from additional side projects, other than those already in progress (one of these days, I will finish that scarf for Jim!). Call it an exercise in character-building. :D

Patience is a virtue

Yes, good things do come to those who wait. Today I got my bookx from Amazon, and as you can see from this picture, I also got my new model. :D Doesn't she sit so well for the camera? Quite honestly, the dressform is a much better quality plastic than I'd expected, so it should stay useful for quite some time. Around her neck is the recently completed Multidirectional diagonal scarf that I started back at the beginning of September. ...and now, back to my weaving. Tomorrow's plan: get more work done on thost baby booties for Bonnie (oooh, alliteration!). :)

Exercise in Patience

Some days it's like Christmas -- you can't wait for the day to be over (or to begin) so you can get a package in the mail, go somewhere special, or have something wonderful happen (even if it is just getting off work and changing into the comfy clothes!). I am not what you'd call the world's most patient person, although I do try. Right now, I am waiting for a baby to be born, waiting for my brithday present to get here, waiting for some books I ordered from Amazon, waiting...well, this afternoon I was even waiting for work to be over so I could go to the SnB (with cell phone handy in case M went into labor, of course).

Knitting is a wonderful activity to help you wait - for that matter, so is crocheting. After dutifully putting in a full day's work, I stopped off at HCW to ask my question about weaving and got a bonus: Elsebeth Lavold's new book was in, so I got a copy. Then I went to the SnB, and managed to finish my multidirectional diagonal scarf (only minutes before Book People closed). Coming home, I stopped at my mailbox to see if any of my expected shipments had come in -- no key in the mailbox. Bummer. However, there was a UPS note on my door, so I know that something got here -- probably the Amazon shipment although I hope it is the yarn. I know it's not the baby. :)

Well, this means that all day tomorrow I will again be waiting -- waiting for the work day to be over so I can rush home and get my package. At least I can comfort myself with the thought that "Good things come to those who wait."

Baby watch...

...if I don't post much over the next couple days, it's because a friend of mine is currently expecting her first child and thinks she may be starting labor. So, my cell phone is on and my computer is mainly offline while I wait for "the call". :D Yes, my emergency knitting kit is packed and ready to go!

A Beautiful Burnt Orange Day

'Twas a lovely long day -- got up at the crack of 10, spent time with good friends, knitted and watched football, and watched an even better movie. ...and the weather has been absolutely spectacular! Life is good.

I have not one, but TWO finished objects to report -- the super secret project is DONE and only awaits the pattern being written out and submitted. Yes, I will let everyone in on the little secret as soon as I find out whether it was accepted for publication. No, I'm not saying where I am submitting it or what it is. Gotta keep a little mystery in life. :) I also finished the project I recently took off the loom, and it only awaits washing and blocking. That's a Christmas present for someone who does peek in here occasionally, so I won't post the pic 'til after the holidays. On the other hand, this does mean I can go back to working on more of my old WIPs for a couple of days until the Tilt yarn gets here.

I also got to see Secondhand Lions today. I highly recommend this movie! Although Haley Joel Osment isn't nearly as adorable as he was a couple years ago, he and the rest of the cast told a splendid tale of trust, love, and what really happened. I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Oh, you want to know the deal behind the burnt orange? Well, seems as though Texas defeated KSU this afternoon - so...GO 'HORNS! :D Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Goodness Gracious...

...great bags to felt. I cannot believe how big some of the bags to be felted can get beforehand! Here is a pic of one Connie is doing:



...and people wonder why I still think felting is intimidating! :D She is going to have one beautiful bag when it is finished, though.

I have been working more on the multi-directional diagonal scarf, though, and as you can see it is coming along well. I am just about to start my 3rd ball of Noro Kureyon. I think halfway through the ball should be sufficient length, although I may keep going for longer.

It was First Thursday tonight (yes, I just got home - ack!) and I also spent the time working on the Super Secret project. The rows are a bit long so it doesn't seem that I am making much progress, but it is getting there.

Oh, and I finished the fribble! Vanessa was kind enough to model for me. It is a scarf crocheted from Koigu, as I mentioned in an earlier post. Very fun!

Well, now I simply must get to bed, as I have to get up in less than 4 hours. Night!

Stricke!

You know, I often seem to forget that the internet really does open us up to interaction across the world, in different languages and cultures. Today I found the wonderful world of...German Knitting Blogs!!! Wie gehts, y'all?

Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut, aber...I will try to improve it. Actually, reading blogs in German might just be a good way to get back up to speed. My grandparents would be so proud. :D

OKC: Last night I finished working out the pattern for my super secret project. Now I am test knitting it to verify all my steps. *insert happy joy dance here*