A Pastime of Grandma and the ‘Golden Girls’ Evolves Into a Hip Hobby
By CAROL E. LEE
Knitting in the NY Times
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Author Archives: zardra
SQEEE!
Saturday was a day of errands. One fo those errands was to stop by a Yamaha dealership to find out how long it would take to get in a Vino 125. We’ve been discussing getting me a scooter since last summer. Only having to drive 3-4 miles to get to work seems silly in a car… it definitely put a crimp in my gas milage. The Vino 125 can get between 65 and 85 mpg. The husband’s car is getting old and reaching the point of costing more than it’s worth (not considering sentimental value). So, the idea was get me a scooter for going to work, school, and my LYS, and let my husband use the Corolla to get to work (he has to go further than me). We knew that the Vino 125s are popular, and hard for dealers to keep on the floor — they go so quickly when they have them and take awhile to get in. We figured we’d go in, find out the wait time, and put down a deposit.
We drove onto the lot, and there was one sitting out front. But, it was silver, and I wanted the red. So, we checked out the silver one and headed inside to inquire about getting a red one. Over the next hour and a half the salesman convinced me that I didn’t want the red one because they look cheap and that, besides, they actually have a silver one here ready to go. The decision came down to buy this one and have it now, or wait… for at least 4 months (which is why there was one on the lot — a guy had put down a deposit and ordered it, and when the wait took too long, he went out and bought a different scooter…. a week before the Vino 125 came in. His loss is my gain.) It felt right to just get it now… We were going to finance it either way, I still need to get my M1 permit either way, why wait?
So, Saturday afternoon I drove this off the lot and to my LYS.
Karen, the owner, told us about the scooter she used to have, while Kat and Mom proclaimed it cute. 🙂 Unfortunately, because I needed to get it home before it got dark, I didn’t get to stay around and knit.
But the ride home was something else. We took San Tomas Expressway to Central Expressway to home. The husband followed in case anything happened. I got up to 45-50 mph… it was awesome. *grin* A bit indescribable, too. Just… wow.
I’m going to try going to the DMV on Thursday to take my written tests… yes, tests. Apparently, if you haven’t taken the class C (automobile) test in the last 12 months, they make you take it as well as the class M1 (motorcycle) test. It’s funny to think that I’m going to have a motorcycle license… I can’t take the scooter on the highway, but it’s still classified as a motor-driven cycle (a motorcycle with a 149 cc engine or less — the Vino 125 has a 125 cc engine, go figure). I can take it on the expressways which have speed limits of 45-50 mph, which is nice because they will get me to work, school, and my LYS.
Of course, now the husband says my dictate saying he can’t have a motorcycle is null.
The Waiting Game
At Knit’s End
It seems that it pays to get indignant.
I had emailed Amazon at the beginning of the month when my package did not ship on time, and the shipping estimate did not change. I thought the book I had special ordered was causing the wait, but it was At Knit’s End, and they didn’t know when it was actually going to be released. They happily sent my order on to me sans At Knit’s End. I emailed Stephanie to ask if she knew of anything that was preventing her book from getting into my eagerly waiting hands. She herself was eagerly waiting on her author’s copy.
Then, Stephanie got her copy, and a few days ago others began to talk of getting their copy. Where was mine? I had ordered it a month in advance… Amazon usually gets the package to you the day of the release. Yesterday I went to Amazon’s website to discover that the book is now listed as shipping in 2 to 3 days, but my shipping estimate still said I would see the book somewhere between March 7 and May 13. Thus, an indignant email was sent to Amazon asking why my copy had not shipped and would it indeed not get to me until May 13. I just received their apologetic email (though not apologetic enough in my opinion) saying it should ship by the end of the month (so much for ships in 2 to 3 days, eh?), and that if I do not receive a shipping email by Apr 1, I am to email them again. The email also informed me that there was a software problem that was causing the shipping estimate to say Mar 7 – May 13 and they’ve got someone working on it.
So, now I get to wait to see if they can actually ship it by next Friday… *gah* Can someone please explain to me why I am waiting a week for a book that is supposed to ship in 2 to 3 days?! Maybe I’ll just check my LYS tomorrow… if they have it I’m going to just buy it there and cancel my order with Amazon. Meanwhile, I will have to bid my time turning green with envy of those who already have their copy.
The only thing I can think of that has caused all this waiting for everyone is that it is so popular they didn’t print enough to meet the demand.
Cappuccino Socks
Not much to show because I have yet to take a picture of the finished first sock. The second sock is under way; I’ve got about 2 inches done so far.
Wool Peddler’s Shawl
I’m going to take a look at it tonight to make sure I didn’t mkae a mistake, like missing a yarn over or something. I was tired and had a couple glasses of wine in me when I ran into problems. If I can’t find any mistakes, it’ll go to the LYS with me tomorrow; someone else might be able to see something I can’t.
Readers’ Comments
Julie doesn’t think she’d know a guard hair if she saw it. Trust me, you’d know a guard hair… it’s longer and sticks out of the yarn… where the alpaca is usually soft and bouncy, the guard hairs are rougher and pokey. I don’t think they’re too much of a problem, but some people may find that they make the yarn feel a bit more scratchy than alpaca without guard hairs.
Natalie, Deb, and Heidi all made comments about the shrapnel I picked up in some war zone (it was Stanford University actually). I giggled when I read these. 🙂 They are very close to what I thought when the tire dude dropped them onto the counter in front of me. (Of course, he then showed me a inch thick bolt they pulled out of someone else’s tire recently. He also told me that the worst thing they’ve ever seen in at tire at that location was a drill bit that’s used for cuttting door knob holes.) The screws were in a plastic bag like you would get to assemble something. They probably came from the constuction site I drove by on my way to the visitor parking lot.
At least I knew I had picked something up… the last time I got a screw stuck in a tire it went all the way in, flush with the tire and only let the air leak out slowly. I had to put air in the tire every few days until it dawned on me something was wrong that I should get checked.
Approaching the weekend
I first would like to apologise for my inability to spell cappuccino in my last post… I was doing a disservice to a fabulous drink.
Cappuccino Socks
The heel was turned without great difficulty, and there was much jubilation.
The sock progressed along nicely, and was actually completed a few hours after these pictures were taken to even more jubilation. Now to get to work on the second, which should be too hard. This was a nice, simple sock to knit, and it went pretty fast.
Felted Kitty Bed
The felted kitty bed that was finished last week was thrown into my parent’s washing machine and felted on Sunday. (I do my felting at their place because it’s a top loader, so I can check progress, and I don’t have to pay for it.)
As soon as I find a box for it, it will be winging its way to Florida for my sister’s new kitty.
Reader’s Comments
Julie asked where I got the pattern for the scarf.
I got the lace pattern from The Dishcloth Boutique… it’s the Garter Stitch Lace facecloth on page 1 of the knitting patterns. I modified it slightly, doing only 4 rows of garter between the lace segments. This facecloth was the first lace pattern I knitted, so I have an unusual fondness for it… of course, being easy to remember while looking complicated is a bonus.
Update
I finally got around to not only snapping a picture of this, but uploading it so I could share. This is what they pulled out of my tire 2 weeks ago. No wonder it went flat in a couple of minutes, eh?
The patch job seems to be holding up nicely, too.
Is it Spring yet?
In a week’s time we went from 88 F and sunny to 55 F and rainy. I know the Vernal Equinox was on Sunday, but we been suddenlt plunged back into winter around here. On an interesting note, a tornado hit South SF on Sunday.
I’ve had plenty to post about recently, but I’m damned if I’d had the time to do so. Thus, this post is mostly going to be look what I did last week. 🙂
Lace Scarf
This is a lace scarf I knit up as a belated Christmas present for my best friend’s fiance. I used fingering weight Frog Tree Alpaca. It seems to be a nice yarn, although I was a bit shock by the amount of guard hairs in it.
Cappachino Socks
Since the felted kitty bed was finished on Thursday night… well, the knitting part anyway… I cast on for a pair of socks. Back in November I got my Secret Sock Kit in the mail from Inspirations Yarns. It’s a beautiful chocolate-y brown color with variations in the (now let me show my complete lack of dyeing vocabulary) darkness/lightness of the color. It’s their Java yarn, which is a superwash 3-ply that they claim is sport weight. The Secret Sock Kit also came with a pattern. I decided it would probably be best to use the pattern that was written for the yarn. I get out my size 2 dpns and look at the pattern to see how many stitches I should cast on. The pattern has 2 sizes: woman’s small and woman’s large; by the numbers associated with the sizes I assumed I was a large… cast on 42 sts. This is when I notice that if you’re making the small socks you woudl cast on 40 sts. I was perplexed… 2 sts difference didn’t seem like a lot even with a gauge of 6 sts/inch. I decided to give it a shot even though I am feeling great doubt. I got through the ribbing (just an inch, thankfully) and started into the st st. I thought it looked more than a tad small while doing the ribbing, but ribbing can be deceptive. I measured my gauge in the st st… 7 sts/inch. No wonder it looked small. Switching to size 4 dpns got me to gauge, so I ripped back and started over again.
Still looks a bit too small doesn’t it. I slipped it on my foot… the knitting stretched as far as it could. Those would not be comfortable socks; I would feel every ridge of the sts. So, out it came again.
Third time’s the charm, right? I decided I liked the look of the fabric when I was using the size 2 dpns. I have a sock pattern for basic socks and one of the sizes uses a gauge of 7 sts/inch… perfect… I thought. It was huge. I didn’t even bother taking a picture of that one. I ripped it out as soon as I realized it would work for a sleeve.
The too small sock was 7 inches around, the too big sock was 9 inches around, so I settled on something in the middle. I cast on enough sts to get me 8 inches and went for it… this time I’m actually writng it down so I can knit the second sock. I started the heel yesterday – it’s a short row heel that’s a mixture of 3 different ways of doing it. So far, it looks pretty good.
I’ll take pics once the heel is completed as well as before and after shots of the felted kitty bed.
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday
Okay, I know I said socks… which is why I cast-on a felted kitty bed Monday night. I had the front and back of a sweater that was the second try at getting some Peace Fleece I bought back when I first started knitting a couple years ago into a sweater, but it just wasn’t happening… the front and back have been laying around for several months, and I had no compulsion to knit arms. So, I ripped the back out and started a felted kitty bed for my sister’s new kitten. I think the socks will come next.
This morning I made my way to the post office to send off a RAOK package, a Secret Pal package, and finally my best friend’s birthday and Christmas gifts (his birthday was at the beginnning of Nov., so I’m a little late). This is my first actual RAOK to go out; it was kind of fun to put together. I found a cute stuffed, floppy sheep on sale (sales are great), some candy, and some yarn from my stash that was languishing… all off to a new home. I hope it helps to cheer up the recipent.
I keep thinking about what kind of shawl I want to make out of my Brooks Farm acquisition… I’d love to do something top down, but I’ve only got 1000 yds; I’d hate to run out before I got to the bottom. I could do a basic triangle from the bottom up but I don’t know what sort of design I’d want to use. All of the patterns I’ve found that I like either use lace weight instead of worsted, or call for more yarn than I have. I will have to think on this more…
Blah
I don’t know what’s wrong with me today… I just feel so blah… apathy up the wazoo. *gah* I’m having a hideous time trying to concentrate on work. All I can keep thinking about is if the printed book project I turned in today is good enough (you can see it at: (sorry, taken down))
… I’m starting to doubt myself… is this what the teacher even wanted. *ugh* Then there’s the midterm next Monday…. with no study time before hand. Obligations on Saturday that were made before it was known there was going to be a midterm that Monday, and my in-laws are visiting from Canada and want to see us on the Sunday… all day, and for dinner. Maybe I’m just in shock (or working on that website for class killed off the last viable brain cells I had).
On the knitting front, the Wool Peddler’s Shawl has stalled. I finished the garter stitch section (111 rows), did the set up row (no problem), did the first row of lace (slightly confused), got half way through the second row of the lace pattern (completely stumped). What is really confusing at this point is what is going on at the center stitch area. Most of the directions are very clear about where the 4 stitch markers go… except for the stitch marker to (on row 2) the left of the center stitch. tHe directions say something like follow pattern to the last stitch befor the next marker (the marker to the right of the center stitch), k1, knit center stitch, continue… um, what about the other marker… i’m not so sure it’s supposed to go right next to the center stitch cause on the 2nd pattern row it says to purl “everything between the markers.” It’s making my head hurt…
Maybe I’ll put it down until I get a chance to go to my LYS… socks… I’ll start socks in the meantime.
A morning filled with adventure
Dragged myself out of bed earlier than usual this morning so that I could get into work and get a bagel (Friday’s are bagel day) before 10 am. Why before 10 am? Because 10 am is when the Special Collections reading room at Stanford opens. I have a project on printed books (anything published before 1900) due on Monday… it’s just like the one I did on manuscripts (although this time I’m thinking of doing the website option instead of a paper). Stanford owns a copy of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, which was printed in 1499 by Aldus Manutius, who was a famous printer in Venice at the turn of the 16th century (Aldus also invented italics… nifty). The adventure began just as I was arriving at the vistor parking lot… there was an odd thumping noise. I turned off my stereo. Yup, it was definitely coming from my car. I parked and got out… there was a loud hissing noise. I looked at the driver’s side back tire… it looks alright. Lean down… the noise gets slightly louder. Walk around the back of the car… the noise is definitely getting louder. Bend down near passenger side rear tire… ah… hissing tire. Not good. Examine tire… discover what looks like a small plastic bag with a couple of 2 inch long screws with anchors jammed into the middle of the tread of my new tires. Watch as the tire goes comepletely flat in about a minute. *sigh*
So, I decided to just go to the library and take care of my school work, then worry about the tire. I went with this option cause who knew how long it would take for a tow truck to show up, might as well save the waiting for when I can wait.
It was very cool handling a book that is 506 years old (I have a weird fascination with extremely old things, and I don’t know where it comes from). When I handed the book back in (*sigh*) I got talking to the Rare Book librarian. He seemed rather impressed with my selection of printed book for my assignment. We chatted about the book and the printer. He told me about The Rule of Four, which is about the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Then, he shared with me the fact that 3 floors up there was a copy of the English translation of the book (I don’t read Italian, sadly). With call number in hand, I trotted up (well, actually, I took the elevator) to the fifth floor and found the glorious book on the shelf. Very nifty… now to find the… oooo… I was going to say the $70 to get a copy for myself cause that’s what the inside of the cover said on the one at Stanford… but, apparently they have reissued the book at it’s like $20. The really nifty thing about this translation is they used all the original woodcutting illustrations… pretty. *grin*
Anyways, I left the library and headed off to deal with the pain in the butt problem car. I called the husband to get the roadside assist phone number. Called the roadside assist people and got a very friendly Texan-sounding lady (my insurance company is based in TX), who took all my information and told me that I would get a call from their automated system telling me a time estimate. Now, I did not think this sounded too good. (The last time I had tried to use a roadside assistance serve (one that came with my phone) I was told it would take an hour for a truck from the place around the corner to come and give me a jump… That made me none too happy since I was alone, it was getting dark and cold, and I was surrounded by crazy football (soccer) fans.) So, I waited and waited… no call. It was getting on 20 minutes… when was I supposed to receive this supposed call… and suddenly there was a tow truck. YEA! The guy had my car jacked up and the tire changed to the donut in 10 minutes.
Off I drove to the tire place where I have the nifty deal of lifetime fix any problems with the tires. Unfortunately, the guy there said it would take an hour/hour and a half to fix. So, I walked home in the 88 F heat to wait for the husband to come and take me to work. He’s going to come and get me in a couple hours so I can get my car before the tire place closes.
But, now… there’s beer… at work. *grin*
Craft Corner Deathmatch
This was just too funny — I had to share. I’ve posted the whole article because The NY Times requires a free membership to read it, and I know some people don’t want to bother.
A little start to spring cleaning
This weekend proves that Spring is definitely on the way. Yesterday, it got up to 71 F… don’t know what it was today, not quite as hot, but definitely nice enough to work with my balcony garden. The majority of my plants were moved when the winter rains began, so that they could partake in the wet. Today, I moved the ones that reside on the railing back into their proper places, and began the process of trimming things. Now, I have a pile of new trimmings mixed with slowly-turning-into-compost winter debris all over the floor of the balcony. I just didn’t have the energy to try to wrangle it into a garbage bag. That’ll probably take place next weekend. I do have another tulip in bloom, just didn’t take a picture, but it’s a very delicate pink… and I can see it through the glass door while laying on the couch.
On the illness front, my cold-that-was-coming turned out to be a no-show. Sure, I had a sore throat and a headache for a few days, but my temp never got over 99.8 F. Meanwhile, the husband is slowly recovering… he got hit hard. Since Tuesday, his fever slowly came down, and finally seems to have left, but he’s still got a nasty sounding cough and gets tired easily. I’m very glad I didn’t get sick. I’ve got a project similar to my manuscript paper due a week tomorrow, with the midterm the week after that… the day after my visiting in-laws want to spend all day Sunday with us. I’ll have to study that Saturday and hope I don’t forget anything.
In knitting news, I’ve gotten to row 106 on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. That means 5 more rows, then I start the lace border. This one has gone a lot faster than I was anticipating. I am contemplating what my next thing should be… socks for my toesies, or a shawl for myself made with the Brooks Farm yarn I got at Stitches, or a sweater… I’ve been eyeing Mariah… if I made it from one of the new Knit Picks yarns it would only cost about $40 or $50 to make. I do have this wool/mohair yarn I got from Dyeing for Fiber (I’m slightly depressed that she decided to close her store, it’s gorgeous yarn). I originally got it to do Rogue, but after making Lavender Twist I have decided I don’t like a yarn with mohair for cables. I could just do a simple cardy from it…. hmmm… difficult choices.