Nothing to report, not really

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The fiber blahs
Nothing new is really happening on the knitting front. I’m still working on the lace of the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. It’s going much smoother than it was when I didn’t know how to count. Since I finished the Cappucino socks, the Wool Peddler’s Shawl is the only thing I’ve got going. Maybe that’s the problem… it feels weird to only have one thing to work on; I’m used to having a choice. Maybe I should start considering what to do with my Brook’s Farm yarn with more seriousness. Another I don’t know if I want to work on 2 shawls at the same time… especially since both of them would be out of a wool/mohair worsted yarn. *blah* Too similar. Maybe another pair of socks is in order. They’re so nice to carry around in my purse. I also have the Noro that I picked up at Knitting by the Sea with the gift certificate my sister gave me for Christmas (they were having a sale… everything was 20% off… I got 3 skeins of Noro Kuryeon for a felt bag, and 2 skeins of a superwash sock yarn is this great light turquoise color)… I think if I were to do another felted bag out of Noro, I would make it wider than the first one (which I made following the Booga Bag pattern). Too many things to contemplate just for one new project. (And a felt bag out of the Noro would only take a couple days.) I want to make myself a cardigan, but I have sort of made that a reward for losing a certain amount of weight (that is a ways off… although I’m starting Weight Watchers on Tuesday so maybe I’ll get then quicker than I am on my own). I might just make the reward knitting myself a Rogue sweater, and make a cardigan now so I’m not cold at work.

I’ve been wanting to do some spinning, but by the time I get home I feel uninspired. I spun up some singles out of this merino fleece I just got… I washed a small sample (needed 2 soap baths), let it dry, then carded it. But I haven’t even bothered to ply it yet. I dyed some of the light grey romney roving I have thinking that might get me going, but nothing.

It’s a bit frustrating wanting to do these things, but feeling a lack of motivation.

Secret Pal
Maybe I’m feeling the knitting blahs cause I am procrastinating working on my secret pal’s last installment. (Since she isn’t going to get it any time soon… it’ll probably wing it’s way to her closer to the end of the month and the end of Secret Pal 4… I’ll divulge.) The main part of this month’s shipment is going to be a handmade needle case. I am going to experiment first and make one for myself (my needles are getting out of control). But working on this requires getting my sewing machine set up properly again… and possibly getting additional bobbins, which you can just see me rushing out to do.

RAOK
I’m a little worried that I RAOK I sent out last month may have run into problems. I had Delivery Confirmation on it, and the post office claims it was delivered. But the person I sent it to never acknowledged it. So, now I’ve got thoughts running through my head like the postal person delivered it, but only left it on the door step and someone happened by and took it, running off to enjoy yarn and chocolate by themselves. *gah* What can I say, I have an active imagination. I will just have to hope that it did reach it’s intended recipiant, who is now busy rolling around in yarn with a mouth full of chocolate. *grin*

9 + 1 does indeed equal 10

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Cappucino Socks
Les Cappucino Socks sont finis!

I finished them at Lulu Carpenter’s in Santa Cruz Saturday night… sort of. I finished the toe decreases and couldn’t for the life of me remember how to graft the toe shut. So they were officially finished Sunday morning with the Kitchner instructions in front of me. You would think with the number of times I’ve done this I could remember how to do it.

For complete details, see Finished Objects from Outer Space.

The Wool Peddler’s Shawl
I kept trying, but I could not make 9 + 1 = 10. Then, I figured out that I was missing a yarn over. My brain kept it in the equation, I understood exactly where it belonged in the pattern, but I neglected to actually, physically include it in the shawl. So, now the lace portion is truely underway… let the rejoicing beginning.

Scooter
Today I rode my scooter to work… it was fun. *grin* I had no problems with my laptop strapped across my back. I thought it might give me some slight problems, moving around or the weight of it. But, for the most part, I didn’t really notice it.

I have also just gotten word that my new helmet (in wine) is in. The husband, who is taking the day off from work due to stress, is coming to get me so I can pick it up and get lunch with him. I’ll be able to ride home without my eyes getting all teary from the wind… sunglasses work a little, but a visor will be so much better. And it’s red… my favorite color red. *sqeee*

Permitted to raise hell…

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Scooter update
Got up this morning, and after heading to the coffee shop, went to the DMV. The husband came with (I think he really wanted to aovid going into work cause he’s not feeling well — allergies). Got right into line for people without appointments — took about 20 minutes to get to the counter where they gave me the form I needed to fill out and my ticket number (G123.. they were on G67.. fun). I actually only waited about an hour before they called my number, which was amazing considering that the listed wait time went from 51 minutes to 1 hour 29 minutes during my wait. Finally got called, paid my $25 fee, and got to stand in another line to get my picture taken and get my test. The guy puts me into the sytem: signature, thumb print, and photo (*ugh*), and hands me my test. I go off to take it, slightly confused because it’s the automobile written test, not the motorcycle written test. I take it anyway. Get into another line to get my test graded (only missed one question… you’re allowed to miss 6 your first time). This is when the grader dude realizes that I was supposed to take the motorcycle written test. He hands me the new test and tells me to come right back to him… thank goodness I don’t have to stand in line again. I missed 3 questions (you’re allowed to miss 4)… whew, just a little close, eh? But, I am now permitted by the state of CA to drive my scooter during daylight hours, not on freeways, and without passengers. I have a year to either take the on-cycle skills test or take the safety class, which waives the skills test but costs $200.

The book
I have finally gotten my hands on Stephanie’s book (I also finally managed to get a copy of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead on DVD) thanks to a local Barnes & Noble. Amazon, meanwhile, sent me a lame e-mail:

Hello, and thank you for writing back to us at Amazon.com with your
concern.

First, please allow me to extend my most sincere apologies for any
frustration this matter has caused.

I have checked “At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too
Much” on our web site and found that this item was released on March
15, 2005.

Please note that the availability of this item on our web site
is “Usually ships within 2 to 3 days from Amazon.com.”

This item has proven to be a very popular item. We have many customer
orders for this item, and we’ve just begun receiving copies from our
suppliers. We are filling orders as quickly as we can on a first-
come, first-served basis. I apologize for any misunderstanding.

In addition to a wide selection of items, one of our aims at
Amazon.com is to provide a convenient and efficient service; in this
case, we have not met that standard.

I am truly sorry that we were not able to fulfill your expectations
for this level of service. I hope that you will give us another
opportunity to prove the quality of our service to you.

I have already read about a quarter of it — laughing for most of it, horrified on one occasion (that poor grey sweater…), but overall greatly enjoying myself. The husband seems to be getting a laugh out of it, too… but he has begun to understand the wool thing since I knit him socks and a sweater.

Thanks
I just want to say thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. They were great. 🙂

Ups and Downs of a Thursday

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Scooter
This morning I was doing my best impression of an unhappy camper. “Why?” you ask. Well, I got up, picked out a decent outfit, and spent 15 minutes putting on make-up (I only wear make-up for special occasions and when I know there’ll be pictures). I looked pretty cute, too. Then, I pulled up the DMV website to get directions to the branch I was going to… only to discover that they’re all closed today for Caesar Chavez Day. *GAH!* Between the wasted time getting ready and the paper cut I got under a fingernail when I was checking to make sure my checkbook was in my purse, I was not happy. I wanted to scream… I cried instead… stupid hormones. So, tomorrow morning I get to do it all again for the pleasure of trying to get my motorcycle permit. That means another day of nervous waiting. I know I should be nervous, the majority of the questions are ridiculously easy (the only ones I might have problems with are that ones that specifically refer to motocycle things like clutches and gears). No what I’m nervous about is absoluately stupid… I’m afraid I’m going to be made to take the auto written test and not pass it. See? Stupid. But these are the kinds of things that get stuck in my head and continue to rattle around. This is why I started knitting in the first place.

Bookbookbook
I have canceled my order with amazon. It still hadn’t shipped and I kind of doubt it would have shipped tomorrow. A call was placed to a local Barnes & Noble, where a very nice bookseller has put my name on a copy, and it is currently waiting for me to go and pick it up. Guess what my first stop on my way home from work will be… go on guess. *grin* If all goes well, I will be in possession of the bookbookbook by this evening. (It shouldn’t be this difficult to get a newly released book.)

Wool Peddler’s Shawl
I finally say down a couple nights ago to try and figure out what was going on with the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. I frogged back to the setup row, and I thought I figured out the problem when I found a dropped stitch about 6 rows down (the nice thing about the Peace Fleece is the stitches don’t run if you drop them). I used a crochet hook to bring it up, recounted my stitches, 231 the correct number according to the pattern. Start the lace again. Row 1 no problems, everything appeared to fall where it belonged. Row 2 had the same exact issue as before… the pattern wasn’t lining up correctly. It’s a 10 st lace pattern… I have 10 sts… I try to knit Row 2’s 10 sts (K1, P9) and it’s off by a stitch… I recounted 10 sts at least 5 times.. I even looked at the chart. Have I lost all capacity to count? That would be hard luck on a knitter, I think. I have no idea what it is I’m doing wrong. I might give it another go tonight… but if I’m still not getting it, it’s definitely going to the LYS on Saturday.

The Night o’ Birthday Fun

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Yesterday, I turned 28. When I was 18, 28 seemed a long way off. Now that I’ve gotten here, looking back it seems that I am squinting to see back then, while it feels just around the corner at the same time. Maybe I just have a loopy sense of time.

The husband and I carpooled, making a stop for coffee. One of the coffee making people was also celebrating his birthday, so he gave me a birthday hat to wear (it came off before I got to work). I spent most of the day at work feeling distracted and listless; I would have preferred being somewhere else. The husband picked me up at 4:30 so we could rush home, drop off his computer, and pick up the theater tickets. Then, it was off to the city. (Yes, I know San Jose is now larger than SF in population, but I think SF will always be “the city” to those living in the South Bay.)

We got to Millennium just in time for our reservations. I had the Black Bean Torte (whole wheat tortilla, caramelized plantains, smoky black bean puree, rich pecan mole, cashew sour cream, carrot-onion escabeche) as an appetizer, and a very tasty artichoke and stinging nettle gratin as an entree. We got our half bottle of Pinot Noir for half off cause they have a special called “Wine Geek Tuesdays.” Unfortunately, there was no time for dessert because we had to drive down to Union Square to park, then get to the theater for a 7 pm curtain.

We saw The Voysey Inheritance at the ACT Theater. It was a very interesting play, but out of all the ones we’ve seen this season, not my favorite. I had my second Cappucino Sock with me, so I took it out at intermission. It drew the attention of a lady who informed me she had recently learned how to knit. I tried to keep knitting when the second half started up, but it was too dark and I had to put it away.

Because we had been unable to have dessert at the restaurant, the husband whipped up a batch of yummy caramelized peaches on ice cream — a very nice ending to the day.

Overall, my birthday didn’t go too badly… and I do have a nice shiny birthday present to myself sitting in our parking space. Tomorrow, I’m going to head to the DMV early to see it I can pass the written driving test(s). Once I get my permit I can start scooting to work.

SQEEE!

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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

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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

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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?

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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.