tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212220642024-02-21T05:57:32.392-08:00Largely UnrepeatableProto-yarn, proto-clothing, snark, and poorly-lit pictures for my own amusement.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.comBlogger331125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-60028317295267561322012-06-04T12:32:00.002-07:002012-06-16T13:31:19.133-07:00The Person-Shaped Hole
You know that voice in the back of your head that whispers,"this is a terrible idea, and I don't mean a Bad Idea (tm), but it's truly terrible and you will rue not listening to me..."?
Rue it, I say!
I never, ever regret listening to that voice, and I always without fail regret ignoring it. Especially when ignoring it takes the form of sticking my fingers in my ears, squeezing my Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-83254693115934495522012-05-22T20:27:00.000-07:002012-05-22T20:27:00.370-07:00The Woman in White - Part the Third
ZOMG YOU GUYS I AM PSYCHIC OR AT LEAST PRESCIENT.*
No sooner had I mourned the lack of Frederick Fairlie, Esq., than he appeared in all his selfish, crotchety glory. Well, not exactly no sooner - first someone else takes up Marian's narrative in her diary. The sheer magnitude of that intrusion gives me the creeps in a very personal, visceral way.
I had this relationship lo, these many years Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-48201968688156150262012-05-21T12:33:00.001-07:002012-05-21T12:35:04.202-07:00The Naming of ThingsI like titles and names. Our descriptions of things have so much power; how often have you had difficulty remembering someone's name because they don't look like a Becky or a Liz or a Peter or a Martin Freeman? I carried a different name all the way through high school, and the changing of my name - while technically unofficial - changed a lot of things in my life. Especially that people stopped Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-70458117656448270782012-05-08T15:19:00.000-07:002012-05-08T15:19:02.946-07:00The One With Actual Knitting ContentSo remember when I found my Rosebud Shawl, complete with instructions? I've been working on it pretty steadily and am nearly halfway through the pick-up edging, then it's only the outer edging to go. Here's a picture of a finished shawl done by Maureen in Fargo. See those diamond patterns between the center square and the edge? I'm working my way out from the center and am almost Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-63380319361817042372012-05-02T17:38:00.001-07:002012-05-02T17:38:32.758-07:00The Woman in White - Part the Second
So Walter Hartright has left the building and taken his wimpy mooncalf-gazing self off to who knows where (actually, I know: London, then Central America to draw stuff for an expeditionary expedition to get over Laura). And thank goodness, say I. Don't let the gangplank hit you on the way up!
Then Mr. Gillmore, the family's lawyer, takes up the reins of the narrative. He is the epitome of theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-69460592840291287452012-04-23T14:03:00.001-07:002012-04-23T14:11:04.182-07:00My Brain on Post-Thesis Turn-in DayLast night I turned in my final presentation PowerPoint and presentation outline for my Master's in Teaching. There are still some things to do - I need to finish my Teacher Preparedness Assessment #4, which is the write-up portion of the lesson I video recorded back in June, and I need to actually present my Action Research to the school panel. So I'm not done-done, but I'm done for a day or twoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-6240639089972821542012-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:002012-04-17T13:49:54.399-07:00The Woman in White - Part 1
Last Sunday I was riding home from two lovely weeks in San Jose and finishing up Walter Hartright's narrative. Chapter 15 ended just as the train pulled into the Davis station, where My Nadia was waiting to pick me up and take me back to my poor neglected kitty, who has been sleeping by my head ever since.
I managed to finish all 15 chapters via audiobook, despite starting a day late and at Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-77779923733867826052012-04-03T13:54:00.000-07:002012-04-03T13:55:46.375-07:00The Woman in White Read-A-Long (Among Other Things)Goslings!
I have been off Mae West-ing it in the last few months, but I have not forgotten that I owe you more than a snarky review about a book most of you will hopefully never read (because I read it for you). I know you are all on absolute tenterhooks to know what I've been knitting, reading, and doing in the regular world. The first two are easy: I have been knitting late Christmas Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-18552939361562582092012-03-13T19:23:00.001-07:002012-03-13T19:23:20.167-07:00Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. JamesDeath Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
First, let's talk about Jane Austen pastiche. You might think that I would like it; after all, I'm the girl who re-reads all 7 novels religiously every year or perhaps two if I'm deep in a Victoriana phase. Who would imagine that girl wouldn't want more Austen, amirite?
You'd be wrong. I've come to realize that longing for more Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-44800804756607295642012-02-02T12:59:00.000-08:002012-02-02T12:59:15.103-08:00Oh Hello, February!Where did you com from? Between continuing to travel all over the place, hosting some lovely friends, and running my league's very first home team bout, January seems to have passed me by - and with very little knitting done, not to mention any homework whatsoever for my penultimate Masters class.
Two unfinished socks, a stack of books, some tea, and a cat who is about to be an asshole. This Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-6500691560573813842012-01-04T11:48:00.000-08:002012-01-04T11:48:10.661-08:00.22 Down, 11.78 to Go!The first knit of 2012 is complete!
Austermann Step Yarn, 382 yds.
Late Christmas socks for my papa. Standard K3P1 rib with what I think is an Eye of the Partridge heel. My dad isn't really into crazy colors - and these qualify as "crazy colors" to that Federal employee - so I'll over-dye them a little so the white places are also a shade of tan. I'm quite pleased with how Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-53526655666585649092012-01-02T14:27:00.000-08:002012-01-02T14:34:13.067-08:00Tika 20122011 was pretty swell. I joined a roller derby league, traveled all over the place visiting old friends and making new ones, and settled in to my (no longer) new apartment. I knitted not as much as I anticipated (a meager 6-ish miles) but nailed my goal of reading 75 books (29,060 pages!!) and revisited spinning.
Like years before, I didn't finish my crafting goals. This seems to happen toAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-88625128552388403582011-12-31T14:28:00.000-08:002012-01-02T14:30:06.825-08:00Finished Objects: 2011
1/1 - Green Vanilla Socks - 316 yds.
3/10 - Composition Scarf - 420 yds.
4/10 - Spidey Blanket #2 - 1738 yds.
5/13 - Hera Mountain Shawl - 1760 yds.
6/19 - Blueblood Island Shawl - 705 yds.
7/9 - Chantilly Lace yarn - 220 yds.
8/19 - Moderne Baby Blanket - 1603 yds.
8/24 - Shetland Shorty - 380 yds.
9/1 - Bright Fig Yarn - 716 yds.
9/5 - Be-Bop-a-Lula Yarn - 960 yds
9/10 - LD Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-4348316634893341142011-12-23T12:38:00.000-08:002011-12-23T12:38:53.686-08:00Addendum1. I got my family tickets to see It's A Wonderful Life at Ye Old Local Movie Theater. Not one of the 6 of us has ever seen it, so perhaps this will be the beginning of a lovely new Christmas tradition. Equally possible: we will be cynical while my brothers and I sip hot buttered rum out of a flask all night. Either way, fun will be had by all!
2. What is WITH the sudden Lord of the Rings Love Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-25627953081785709922011-12-21T12:50:00.000-08:002011-12-21T12:50:34.485-08:00Who DOES That?!?
Every once in awhile, I astonish myself with the scope of my... let's not call it delusion, let's call it ambition.
Three days ago, or exactly a week until Christmas, I decided to knit my Christmas gifts. I'll pause to let that sink in.
Now, I'm not quite delusional ambitious enough to think that even I, with my super powers of knitting at an average pace, could Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-7161879642482691342011-12-12T10:54:00.000-08:002011-12-12T10:59:59.415-08:00It Is December.Polarlings, you may not have noticed, but it is now the end month of 2011. This means many things!
- I have been a year older for six days
- The 11-Mile Quest is coming to a close
- Christmas is coming and, I assume, the goose is getting fat. Deposit your pennies to the left with all your stuff.
- The goodreads challenge is nearly over and I am on hooks of the tentered variety over Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-51958546973844050572011-11-04T14:47:00.000-07:002011-11-04T14:47:54.588-07:00Check It!Lookie what came in the mail today!
BOOKS!
These are the s-m-r-t books about women's lives in Regency, Victorian, and Georgian England. I also got a couple of mass market fantasy novels to read while I'm in Mexico this month, season 6 of How I Met Your Mother, and season 1 of Big Bang Theory; but those aren't quite so important-looking so they didn't make it into the picture. They also Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-30704072663149204222011-11-02T12:59:00.000-07:002011-11-02T12:59:58.829-07:00Decisions, DecisionsI don't know if you've looked around in the last day or so, but it's November, my poppets. Where I grew up, November would mean we'd had our winter clothes out for over a month already, that the air smelled like cold, and that five months of slush were about to fall out of the sky. Not enough to make a white Christmas, mind you. Just enough to be miserable and make the roads treacherous when it Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-32308614870817366942011-10-16T14:16:00.000-07:002011-10-16T14:35:41.647-07:00The ProgressionFirst I got a lovely skein of yarn from a friend.
Gifted Helen's Lace, original color
It sat in my stash for a year - or three - and then I got the brilliant idea to overdye it because the colors are just a little too variegated for my taste.
Helen's Lace, overdyed with Jaquard Sapphire Blue
It goes from looking like autumn in Vermont to storm-tossed seas, which inspired its use in a laceAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-58465389028040343172011-09-30T23:10:00.000-07:002011-10-01T14:20:28.211-07:00Like So Many Things...I didn't succeed in finishing 7 miles of knitting by October first. I really like lofty goals, especially because when I don't meet them I'm not overly fussed. I really, really would like to finish the 11-Mile Quest by December 31, though. For reals.
I did manage to churn out a bunch of knits, stay project-focused (mostly), and rekindle my love of spinning. I also managed to not buy any more Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-34218135705515135622011-09-19T13:40:00.000-07:002011-09-19T13:40:08.801-07:00The Long DrawI've decided it's time to learn how to spin.
"What?" I hear you say. "Isn't that handspun in your last post?" Well, yes, it is. And I spun it, which means I know how to spin already.
What I mean is, I'd like to know that such-and-such a fiber would be best spun such-and-such a way, to be able to spin multiple thicknesses of yarn on purpose (as opposed to varying degrees of thin), to spin fluffyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-10609401035756480792011-09-08T13:39:00.000-07:002011-09-08T13:39:06.158-07:00Fiber Surprise!On Monday I delved into my Box of Surprise Spinning and pulled out one of the Big Bags. What can I say? After a weekend of completed spinning projects, I was feeling cocky.
Remember me from Monday? I knew you would.
Even though I packed the bags myself, and even though I thought I had an idea of what could be in it, I still jumped up and down a little and squealed "Ooooooo! Yay!" when I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-56558142368151076922011-09-05T18:22:00.000-07:002011-09-08T13:40:29.504-07:00UFO Files: Be-Bop-a-Lula YarnI woke up this morning convinced that my calves would be abominably sore; after all, I plied roughly 8.5 ounces of yarn last night!
Proto-yarn!
I actually laid in bed and stretched experimentally for a few minutes before I realized that roller derby had given me a gift in the form of Calves of Doom (not to be confused with the Ass of Doom or the Thighs of Doom, which generally follow Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-17022998474770040342011-09-02T13:07:00.000-07:002011-09-02T13:07:21.376-07:00In Which I Make YarnI always have a nagging suspicion that making my own yarn is ridiculous, especially given how much commercially-spun yarn I already have. On the surface, it's a no-win situation: the fiber costs just as much as yarn that's already made, it takes for-ev-er to create, and in the end I'm left with yet another material as opposed to a finished product.
But spinning is more than that, somehow. ItAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21222064.post-53163986157522402792011-08-24T21:25:00.000-07:002011-08-24T21:30:28.162-07:00UFO Files: Shetland ShortyLast spring I started making the Shetland Shorty pattern from Knitty Summer '08. I used some black Panda Silk that I've had in my stash forever - I think I bought it in San Jose when Commuknity went out of business.
I made it through the garter stitch ties, the honeycomb lace body, and the 3-needle bind-off before the ends began to unravel from under the sleeves. It turns out that a yarn made ofAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15613555994015659052noreply@blogger.com1