Today in Collinsland I am avoiding homework. I have two papers to write, and a discussion board response to post, and I just can't bring myself to do them!! I'd rather do just about anything than homework right now. So far I've: read Mom's blog, commented Mom's blog, fixed the commenting on my blog (I think), looked at knitting patterns, read other peoples comments on Mom's blog, napped, had dinner, painted my fingernails, cleaned up my computer desktop and changed it's wallpaper...all in all I've been farting around for two hours. And now I'm blogging.
PROCRASTINATING.
I have this book: "Break the Procrastination Habit NOW." I've finished one chapter. Lawrence, my Study Buddy (he's a stuffed dragon) isn't any help at all. Even my solar RadioShack calculator is more interesting than doing homework right now and it doesn't even do tricks. And isn't half as cute as Lawrence. But I really gotta because tomorrow is the last day and these things have to be turned in.
HAHAHAHAHA!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Socks, socks, and more socks
When last we visited, I was bemoaning what has become known as The Pink Sock. Singular because there may not be a mate. After the snapping-the-DPN incident, I backed away from The Pink Sock and waited impatiently for my metal DPNs to come in. They have and my store messed up the order. I asked for #1 and #0, but I got #2 and #1. I can live with this and I still want the #0 but it can wait a wee bit. So. I've picked a new sock pattern, swatched, got gauge, and started in on it. The ribbing at the top is done, now I've started on the leg. This is a very simple sock for two important reasons.
What else is going on in Collinsland?
Kent: is totally preoccupied with FIRST Robotics and the upcoming March regional competition. Eats it, sleeps it, breaths it. He's also teaching after-school middle-schoolers how to build web pages, and he loves it.
Patrick: is applying for jobs all over the area, has drill once every six to nine weeks, hangs out at the boat house erging, and is impatiently waiting for the weather to warm up so he can get out on the water.
Nick: has decided that living out of his car is not the end of the world. I disagree and wish he would make different choices.
Maggie Dog: tolerates her little sister, Tasha Dog, and still barks annoyingly at the mailman even though its the same one we've had for the eleven years we've lived in this neighborhood.
Tasha Dog: annoys the snot out of her big sister, Maggie Dog, and only barks annoyingly when Maggie Dog does.
Erin: besides knitting when time allows and surfing knitting blogs and discovering new patterns (moments to do any of this are all too rare), spends a lot of time reading environmental science and biology but not by choice. I have a B in env sci, and a C in biology because I missed turning in the very first paper because I thought it was due on Sunday instead of Saturday.
- The yarn is a stripey pattern
- see important reason number one.
What else is going on in Collinsland?
Kent: is totally preoccupied with FIRST Robotics and the upcoming March regional competition. Eats it, sleeps it, breaths it. He's also teaching after-school middle-schoolers how to build web pages, and he loves it.
Patrick: is applying for jobs all over the area, has drill once every six to nine weeks, hangs out at the boat house erging, and is impatiently waiting for the weather to warm up so he can get out on the water.
Nick: has decided that living out of his car is not the end of the world. I disagree and wish he would make different choices.
Maggie Dog: tolerates her little sister, Tasha Dog, and still barks annoyingly at the mailman even though its the same one we've had for the eleven years we've lived in this neighborhood.
Tasha Dog: annoys the snot out of her big sister, Maggie Dog, and only barks annoyingly when Maggie Dog does.
Erin: besides knitting when time allows and surfing knitting blogs and discovering new patterns (moments to do any of this are all too rare), spends a lot of time reading environmental science and biology but not by choice. I have a B in env sci, and a C in biology because I missed turning in the very first paper because I thought it was due on Sunday instead of Saturday.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
My First Sock and What I've Learned
As I knit my merry way on a sock (turning the heel wasn't so trauamatic as I'd thought) I have learned a couple of things and I'm not even finished!
- I knit tight.
I thought I might have to go down a needle size from 2, but realized it wasn't the yarn: it was me! - 5" wooden dpns DO snap in half, even if they are Brittanys.
I must really be twisting that puppy. I've been trying to lighten up, but between the tight stitching (really, I don't even pull the yarn that I know of) and maneuvering around the other three needles...snap! I'm sure it's not normal. - I like socks!
There's really something about knitting a sock. I think it might be that it's shape becomes apparent so quickly. Or that I have another chance to get it right (the second sock, its mate) - I've been circular knitting on the WS
Instruction: Row 1 on RS *K1, slip, K1, slip* repeat between *; Row 2 on WS, purl all.
Erin thinks: hm. right side? oh dear. there IS a right side and a wrong side. Not that it matters TOO much, but there is now a three-row ridge where I made this discovery and attempted to correct. I think I'll rip out the ribbed top until that row then knit back up.
Monday, January 08, 2007
A Little Blog Vacation
Also known as, studying like hell to finish my degree. I have five classes left and I'll finish in April. Don't expect to see a whole lot here between now and then but I'll try to do periodic progress reports.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Stocking, Knitting Finished
It's done! It's done! Almost. Ok, the stocking is completely knitted, but there is cleanup, blocking, and darning Kent's name onto it. But, the big news is that I finished all the knitting early this morning after feeding the doggies and before Jane and Helen left.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
The Week After
Nick joined us Christmas Day. Yay! I was very happy and feel a great weight of worry has been lifted from my shoulders. Any more said at this point would be overkill so I'll leave it at that for now. He tells me his email address DOES work but he hadn't checked it in a while so it'd been disabled. He tells me he's re-enabled it.
The Christmas Stocking is coming along like gang-busters. The pattern numbering was off by 25 from the numbering listed in the instructions. I just had to figure out where. My math stinks, so this wasn't as easy as it sounds. After that got sorted out I read through the instructions (mind if I start calling this a recipe?) three or four times. And then another three or four times. Remember, this is my first exploration into socks (cue music from Journey to the Center of the Earth).
Most sock recipes call for doing the heel before the rest of the foot, from what I can tell. I finally figured out that this recipe calls for marking the heel with scrap yarn, knitting the rest of the foot to the toe, then going back to the scrap yarn, picking up stitches and separating the scrap from the rest of the foot and then knitting into the gusset. Humnph. Here goes nothin.' I'm about five rows away from the toe, then it's back up to the heel.
iHubby: Wow, that's really long.
Me: This part here? It's the foot.
iHubby: Oh.
Me: See, you have to knit to here, then do this, then go back here.
iHubby: Oh. (starting to glaze over - but he's so wonderful that he pretends he's not)
Me: And look inside, this is the way intarsia is supposed to look in reverse.
iHubby: You mean not like the spastic spaghetti where you did the, uhm, "reindeer"?
Me: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Then I asked him if he wanted his name on it. "You can do that?" asks my beloved. "Yes," I answer, and suddenly I'm the Knitting Queen of the World. It's good to be the Queen.
Really really: pictures soon.
The Christmas Stocking is coming along like gang-busters. The pattern numbering was off by 25 from the numbering listed in the instructions. I just had to figure out where. My math stinks, so this wasn't as easy as it sounds. After that got sorted out I read through the instructions (mind if I start calling this a recipe?) three or four times. And then another three or four times. Remember, this is my first exploration into socks (cue music from Journey to the Center of the Earth).
Most sock recipes call for doing the heel before the rest of the foot, from what I can tell. I finally figured out that this recipe calls for marking the heel with scrap yarn, knitting the rest of the foot to the toe, then going back to the scrap yarn, picking up stitches and separating the scrap from the rest of the foot and then knitting into the gusset. Humnph. Here goes nothin.' I'm about five rows away from the toe, then it's back up to the heel.
iHubby: Wow, that's really long.
Me: This part here? It's the foot.
iHubby: Oh.
Me: See, you have to knit to here, then do this, then go back here.
iHubby: Oh. (starting to glaze over - but he's so wonderful that he pretends he's not)
Me: And look inside, this is the way intarsia is supposed to look in reverse.
iHubby: You mean not like the spastic spaghetti where you did the, uhm, "reindeer"?
Me: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Then I asked him if he wanted his name on it. "You can do that?" asks my beloved. "Yes," I answer, and suddenly I'm the Knitting Queen of the World. It's good to be the Queen.
Really really: pictures soon.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Flaming Sticks
12/12/06
That's the name Hubby dubbed my knitting needles: Flaming Sticks. Stealth Project #3 is too big - way way out of gauge. I forgot to downsize the pattern when I upsized the needles. Maybe THAT will become a purse, too. I'm about three hours away from completion so I guess we'll see how badly oversized it really is.
Those three hours will be today because I'm home with a sinus infection, this season's first, and I'm going to try to to see the doctor and get much needed antibiotics. I can take Tylenol Sinus until the cows come home but the infection won't go away without the really good drugs. Since this is such a perennial thing maybe she'll just call it in to the pharmacy (hoping, hoping). Today is the team luncheon, too, which I also really want to attend.
12/23/06
Gooood antibiotics took care of that sinus infection. Then I sprained my hand. My hand caught on something and my middle finger (Mom, remember the one that I broke in middle school?) was pulled to far back. So far back I thought I'd broken it again, which after x-rays turned out not to be the case. Nonetheless, the pain was pretty substantial, and now most of the swelling has gone down, and there's a lump in the middle of my right palm. That really put the kibosh on a lot. So did the loss of my Christmas mojo. It disappeared. I think I got it back two days ago but up until then I was thinking I'd just skip the holiday this year.
So, Family-Who-Are-Reading-This, I (we) have gifts that I want to send but they'll be late. Sorry! Like the good little corporate manager that I am, though, I'm already thinking of ways to mitigate the likelihood of it happening again next year. It might involve visiting someone for the holidays. Or starting Christmas early, ha ha!
I have continued to knit, albeit slowly (it's been easier to knit than to mouse and type). All the stealth projects are completed. I've started working on a Christmas Stocking as my entry into the sock world. I've been told that knitting a stocking is a good way to learn; you use the same techniques but on larger needles and yarn. I've also found some nice patterns, so right now I'm swatching for gauge (knitting a 5" square piece using the recommended needles and yarn and stitch to see if my stitches/rows per inch are accurate for the piece). Since it'll be going on someones mantel, gauge isn't as critical, but it's good practice, especially given that two of the stealth projects came out in woefully wrong sizes!
I'll be dropping a note to Nick via his car windshield to invite him over for Christmas Day. He didn't respond to my last note so I don't know if he'll respond to this one. That's ok. He'll do whatever it is he's going to do, and eventually he'll bring us back into his life when he's ready. If he's anything like me (and he's alot like me) that might take several years.
That's the name Hubby dubbed my knitting needles: Flaming Sticks. Stealth Project #3 is too big - way way out of gauge. I forgot to downsize the pattern when I upsized the needles. Maybe THAT will become a purse, too. I'm about three hours away from completion so I guess we'll see how badly oversized it really is.
Those three hours will be today because I'm home with a sinus infection, this season's first, and I'm going to try to to see the doctor and get much needed antibiotics. I can take Tylenol Sinus until the cows come home but the infection won't go away without the really good drugs. Since this is such a perennial thing maybe she'll just call it in to the pharmacy (hoping, hoping). Today is the team luncheon, too, which I also really want to attend.
12/23/06
Gooood antibiotics took care of that sinus infection. Then I sprained my hand. My hand caught on something and my middle finger (Mom, remember the one that I broke in middle school?) was pulled to far back. So far back I thought I'd broken it again, which after x-rays turned out not to be the case. Nonetheless, the pain was pretty substantial, and now most of the swelling has gone down, and there's a lump in the middle of my right palm. That really put the kibosh on a lot. So did the loss of my Christmas mojo. It disappeared. I think I got it back two days ago but up until then I was thinking I'd just skip the holiday this year.
So, Family-Who-Are-Reading-This, I (we) have gifts that I want to send but they'll be late. Sorry! Like the good little corporate manager that I am, though, I'm already thinking of ways to mitigate the likelihood of it happening again next year. It might involve visiting someone for the holidays. Or starting Christmas early, ha ha!
I have continued to knit, albeit slowly (it's been easier to knit than to mouse and type). All the stealth projects are completed. I've started working on a Christmas Stocking as my entry into the sock world. I've been told that knitting a stocking is a good way to learn; you use the same techniques but on larger needles and yarn. I've also found some nice patterns, so right now I'm swatching for gauge (knitting a 5" square piece using the recommended needles and yarn and stitch to see if my stitches/rows per inch are accurate for the piece). Since it'll be going on someones mantel, gauge isn't as critical, but it's good practice, especially given that two of the stealth projects came out in woefully wrong sizes!
I'll be dropping a note to Nick via his car windshield to invite him over for Christmas Day. He didn't respond to my last note so I don't know if he'll respond to this one. That's ok. He'll do whatever it is he's going to do, and eventually he'll bring us back into his life when he's ready. If he's anything like me (and he's alot like me) that might take several years.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Stealth Project #2 - Finished
Alright, stealth project #2 is done. I just started the swatch for stealth project #3, which I changed my mind about three different times. It's more of a "which one can I finish first and get the biggest bang for my buck?" I still have the Publisher project to complete (if I call it something else you'll guess what it is), which I can do in a weekend. Then the Scotland project for Grandma, which I also can finish on either a weeknight or a weekend. If everyone get's Harry & David this year it means I wasn't able to finish it all!!! I seem to be the only person in the house who is into this "hand-crafted gifts" thing this year. Oh well, it gives me pleasure and hopefully will give pleasure to my recipients, too.
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