Author Archives: zardra

Finally, some pics

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I fianlly got around to downloading pictures off my camera, then uploading then into my online gallery last night. I even found pictures on the camera that I had forgotten I had taken. One is a couple ounces of raoving I dyed with food coloring (I have yet to get around to spinning it up… need to do that).

The other is a couple of scarves I made for my Mom for her birthday. She had told me she wanted “one of those scarves.” Since I wasn’t sure which kind of scarf she was talking about I knit two. The glittery one is knit out of a skein of blended yarn I got at my LYS for $36. The other is made out of Bernat Boa… $10 at JoAnn’s. My Mom prefers the glittery one… the Boa scarf is that one that people identify with (no accounting for taste). My Mom says she’s been taking a great deal of pleasure in telling people it’s a Borchardt Original (*snarf*) whenever someone asks where she bought it.

And finally… the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

The Wool Peddler’s Shawl

72″ wide, 34″ tall… and quite nice, if I do say so myself.

Lace close-up

Haiku Wednesday

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Falling leaf?
Wings beating lightly
Tiger butterfly passes

Regretably, no pictures of the shawl. They are still laying dormant on my camera. But, the shawl is winging its way towards TN.

In lieu of pictures, I present for your reading pleasure (if you’re into that sort of thing) my recently written library history paper: (sorry, taken down)… all 23 pages of it. No, don’t worry, there’s only like 18 pages of actual writing and even 5 of that is appendices.

I will say this, the stuff they put in newspapers 100 years ago is just funny.

Two finished objects

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The Wool Peddler’s Shawl has been blocked and looks great… I even have pictures taken, but I am too lazy at the moment to upload them from my camera. Gotta keep people coming back for more, right?

The second finished object is my Library History paper…. that only took forever to complete. It has now been emailed to the professor and is out of my hands. If you’re into that sort of thing, I’ll try to link to it tomorrow, too.

Must go get something to eat…. I’ve been working on the paper since 9 AM (that’s just today’s work) and didn’t bother to stop and eat. Now I have no excuse.

*ugh* Majorly crashing as adreneline leaves my system…..

The question of use

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I chatted briefly with my sister yesterday, and she told me that her kitten seems to be enjoying the felted kitty bed… although not in the manner in which it was meant to be used. She’s been carrying it around in her mouth. According to me sister, she has yet to lay in it, but has layed on it a couple times. *eah* As long as she like it, I guess.

I have to hit the library after work this afternoon to look up newspaper articles from the turn of the century. Ah, the joys of microfilm… *sigh* I’m trying to keep from flipping out over this paper. The professor says she’s looking for 20 pages. I have no idea how I’m going to get there. Let’s hope she counts cover pages, abstracts, and references towards the page count. *ugh* There are questions she is looking for answers to that I haven’t found any answers to, such as “Who used the library? Do you get a sense of who the founders targeted and who the early patrons were? Was this a white, middle-class oriented institution, or did the early library reflect California’s diverse population?” The closest answer to this I’ve gotten is that the library was open to everyone who lived in town. What the demographics looked like in 1905, I have no idea. I can’t make any assumptions because Mountain View was founded through Spanish/Mexican land grants… the majority of town sits on the site of the main ranchero (which had a name that translates to The Pastures of the Ewe Lambs). But I don’t know if there was still any sort of Hispanic population as the town began to grow and finally incorporate. I might have to see about trying to find what the ethnic proportions were. What’s funny is I think the core of my paper is actually going to focus on the town trying to get a public library up and running instead of the library once it was established.

It’s not a Flaw… it’s a Feature!

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Shawls
I finished the Wool Peddler’s Shawl (officially this time) on Monday night. It took me about 2.5 hours to finish the sewn cast-off, but it looks really nice. Now I just need to wash it and block it. You’ll get pictures when it looks pretty… right now it looks a bit lumpy.

I did a swatch and cast-on for the Beginner’s Triangle last night. This morning I discovered a new design feature that I have added to the pattern. I photocopied the chart because there is no way I was going to cart around a hardcover copy of A Gathering of Lace. Unfortunately, certain things didn’t show up in the copy… those certain things being the purl stitches at the end of each row. They’re there to create a clean edge… the first stitch of each row is slipped as if to knit. Well, I have been knitting the last stitch of each row… opps. Since I was on Row 18 when I discovered this (by looking up something in the book) I decided it looks just fine and to continue as I have been. *shhh* Don’t tell anyone.

Secret Pal
I still haven’t figured out who my Secret Pal was.

But I can happily say that my other Secert Pal (the one I was sending to) is Lisa @ Slip Knot Pixie. Yea!

Monday again

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Once again it is Monday and I find myself at work… the last place I want to be. I have no idea where I’d rather be or what I’d rather be doing, but work just isn’t it. It’s just a blah day… there’s no motivation to do my job, not even my paycheck.

My Thanks
Thanks to everyone who shared their sympathy over the fridge situtation. I think it’s a problem in any workplace with a communal fridge. I think it was just the last straw for me last week, and I snapped. But, a loud angry blog posting is probably better than me actually yelling and throwing things in the breakroom. (I don’t get out-right angry easily, but when I do I have a tendancy of throwing a fit… usually I just get pissed off or frustrated and I might give people looks and fume, but I tend to keep it to myself.) I’m thinking of inveting in a mini fridge. Kenmore makes a 1.7 cubic ft mini fridge that’s only like $60 at Sears. I figure that’s a worthwhile proce to pay to not have people taking my food… and who knows over time, if they keep doing it, the cost of lost food could eventually add up to the cost of the fridge.

RAOK’d!
Sunday, when I finally got around to checking for Saturday’s mail, there was a package from Marina containing a couple of lovely lavender sachets. I like lavender… I like all herb-y sorts of scents. One sachet came to work with me today in order to try to establish a sense of calm in my cube. *Crosses fingers* Here’s hoping it’ll work. I think the other will find its place amongst part of my wool stash. I have cedar balls in with the wool that’s in a dresser drawer, but my overflow is in plastic storage without anything to chase off pests or keep it from smelling plastic-y and stale. So, many thanks to Marina from me and my yarn!

Actual Knitting Content
I unofficially finished the Wool Peddler’s Shawl last night. It’s unofficial cause I am still working on the cast-off. I decided to go with the sewn cast-off from Knitting Without Tears; I think it gives a nicer edge, which I think this shawl deserves. But, it’s going to take forever. I started casting off last night and got about 8 inchs done in about half an hour. I think part of the problem is the ass long end I’m using, but I’d rather be using too much for the cast-off then run out an inch from the end, which happens more than I like to remember.

As soon as the cast-off is finish I’ll be casting on for the shawl for me… it shall be mine… mine, I tell you! Bwahahaha! *Clears throat* Excuse me, yes, I shall be making a shawl for myself. Of course, I could also cast-on a sweater for myself. I went to my LYS on Saturday and they were selling all their Cascade yarn at 20%. Couldn’t pass up a sale, now could I? I picked up enough Cascade 220 for Mariah in color 4148 (I think)… it’s a heathery mauve color.

I also got to pick up my drum carder while I was there on Saturday. Yea! Drum carder! Let the rejoying commence for my precious is in my grasp. Sadly, I’ve been so busy it is still in the box. *pout*

It’s That Time of Semester
While I have not yet redeveloped my eye twitch from last semester, the next 2 weeks could see it coming for a visit. I have a 20 page paper on the history of a California library (I’m researching the Mountain View Public Library) due in a week. I have 2 small Web projects due this Wednesday and next Wednesday. I have my History of Books and Libraries final exam on the 16th, and my final Web project is due on the 18th. *ack*

Secret Pal
A trip to the post office on Saturday saw off the last package to my secret pal, a goodie package to the person for which I’m a secret pal angel, and finally, the felted kitty bed for my sister’s new kitten. Yea!

Unfortunately, my secret pal (the one that was sending me goodies) has not revealed themself. Secret pal, are you out there? Are there email problems again? Have you revealed yourself in your blog and I some how missed it (actually, that wouldn’t be that hard… I had so much of a back log in Bloglines that I only skimmed the blogs, and then Bloglines started making me login every third blog.) If you have tried to get a message to me and I have missed please try my email again, or post a comment here. For now, whoever you are, thank you for being my secret pal. 🙂

Tears of Frustration

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I apologise in advance for the language… I just need to get this out…

GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKER SONOFABITCH! Who the FUCK do you think you are?! Food in the communial fridge is not there for you to take especially if it has someone else’s name on it. And no, you can’t just take a little and hope they don’t notice, cause they will notice. I noticed. I may not be drinking my milk that fast but I know I have not drunk that much. That milk is for my diet… I am trying to improve myself, to make myself a better person. And you’re not FUCKING HELPING. You have made me so angry and frustrated that I am on the verge of tears. If I knew who you were you would be getting more than an earful.

Did you take my fat-free cream cheese, too?

I was going to have some for lunch with my apple, but the container is gone. Did you just take a little bit that wouldn’t be noticed… everyday… till it was gone? Did you think I wouldn’t noticed the whole container missing?! COCKSUCKER!

I need to go find something I can kick…

Thursday? Already?

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Geez, how did it get to be Thursday already?

There was a great amount of grumpiness earlier this week. Every little thing made me want to bite someone’s head off. Thankfully, my mood seems to be improving. I “stole” some roses for my desk… The campus where I work has a ton of rose bushes (unfortunately, they’re only white and yellow… not enough variety for my tastes), so I cut off 3 and put them in water in one of the many company cups I have collected. Bright yellow roses certainly help with the grumps.

I am down to 8 rows of lace left on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. Hopefully, I can finish it this weekend. Then, block it and send it off to its intended recipient.

I must, absolutely must, go to the post offie tomorrow to send off my final package for my secret pal… I don’t think it’ll get to her till Monday though. Oh well. I just haven’t had time to finish it off (although I did get the needlecase done on Saturday) and get to the post office. Also need to hunt up some goodies for another person since I’ve been asked to be an angel. It’s fun coming up with little goodies to send out. 🙂

April Flowers

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Tomorrow I am hoping to go to the nearby nursery and get some new flowers for my balcony garden. I’m not sure what I’m going to get; I usually just walk around and see what strikes my fancy. I do have a dilemma to solve… I have a very large spider plant… the pot is not quite a foot and a half across. The thing is gigantic. I really don’t want it to be any bigger. First, because I can’t move it on my own as it is. And second, because it’s on a plant stand and a bigger pot won’t fit. The problem is that it’s broken its pot. A good sized chuck of pot just popped off the side, so when I water it the water just goes everywhere instead of staying in the pot (this is how I found out there was a problem). So, I’m looking for opinions.

The power to walk away from the cookies

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Just an friendly warning… this is more about my new diet then knitting.

Okay, that was hard… Today at work we had a safety faire (earthquake preparedness, rescue dogs, fire extingusher practice) which included a free box lunch. I picked one out with grilled chicken, and it turned out that the chicken was all I could eat. I had to toss the roll and the potato salad, and I left the chips and the chocolate chip cookies in the break room for someone else to snag. I love chocolate chip cookies, but I’m actually not fond of the brand they were handing out. How sad is that… I considered eating cookies that I don’t like just so I could have chocolate chip cookies. Where’s my knitting when I need something to soothe my nerves… oh, right, at home. *sigh*

Oh, look, an apple.

I didn’t work on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl last night… I should have. It might have stopped me from munching on popcorn. That’s one of the reasons I took up knitting… something to do with my hands. If my hands aren’t kept busy I’ll feel like I should be doing something, which can include eating when I’m not hungry.

I think I’ve eaten more fruit in the last week and a half than I’ve had in months.