eating snow

Say it with me now...NO NEW PROJECTS! I am itching to start a whole bunch of new projects right now. I don't even have a particular item in mind, but it's that feeling you get when you find a new pattern or kit, pick out the supplies, lay everything out, and start something new. I want a new knitting project, but last night I did something smart. I looked at my Ravelry project list.


I have 6 unfinished projects. Six just in the knitting/crochet realm. Six that are in the conscious rotation. There are also some hibernating at the bottom, which will probably never get more attention. I also have a number of cross stitch projects in various stages of completion, and even more that I have purchase this year and was really excited about, until they were consumed by my messy apartment.

I think during the winter, people should wear identification tags with photos of themselves in normal dress on them. That would avoid potenial mishaps out in the tundra, such as accidentally telling your boss she has really bad B.O., or bragging you slept with her fiance'?. Trust me. It's a good idea.
And otherwise how would anyone know how cute I am?

Is this how runner's feel?

This year I decided to undertake the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge posted on Ravelry. I have 5 weeks left and 11 books to go. I have I think 9 books currently in progress, and half of those are audiobooks so I can hopefully squeeze in a little extra time on the walk to work and such, becuase I'm not good at reading and doing anything else too.

I'm so close, but really? It's going to take some perseverance to pull this off. Runner's hit the wall somewhere between mile 20 and 23, and in the Boston Marathon it's Hearbreak Hill that can do you in.


1. Bridge to Terabithia (Paperback), Paterson, Katherine
2. The Cat Who Went Bananas (Cat Who..., #27), Braun, Lilian Jackson
3. Water for Elephants: Library Edition (Playaway Audiobook), Gruen, Sara
4. Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer (Paperback), Lancaster, Jen
5. Cooked Goose (Savannah Reid Mystery, Book 4), McKevett, G.A.
6. The Light Fantastic (Discworld, #2), Pratchett, Terry
7. No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process (Hardcover), Beavan, Colin
8. Back to School Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery, Book 4), Meier, Leslie
9. Killer Calories (Savannah Reid Mystery, Book 3), McKevett, G.A.
10. Knit One, Kill Two (A Knitting Mystery, #1), Sefton, Maggie
11. Dropped Dead Stitch (A Knitting Mystery, # 7), Sefton, Maggie
12. Casting Off (Paperback), Dickson, Nicole R.
13. Elements of Style: A Novel (Paperback), Wasserstein, Wendy
14. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel (Paperback), Sijie, Dai
15. Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office (Paperback), Lancaster, Jen
16. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (Hardcover), Powell, Julie
17. Fear and Yoga in New Jersey (Hardcover), Galant, Debra
18. The Corset Diaries (Paperback), MacAlister, Katie
19. KnitLit: Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting (Paperback), Roghaar, Linda
20. A Deadly Yarn (A Knitting Mystery, # 3), Sefton, Maggie
21. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible (Hardcover), Jacobs, A.J.
22. Travels in the Scriptorium: A Novel (Hardcover), Auster, Paul
23. The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1), Pratchett, Terry
24. The Budget Gardener: Twice the Garden for Half the Price (Paperback), Gilmer, Maureen
25. Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn (Paperback), Okey, Shannon
26. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (Hardcover), Kingsolver, Barbara
27. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (Hardcover), Myron, Vicki
28. Bucky Katt's Big Book Of Fun: A Get Fuzzy Treasury (Get Fuzzy), Conley, Darby
29. High Maintenance (Paperback), Belle, Jennifer
30. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Paperback), Cleary, Beverly
31. He's Just Not That Into You (The Newly Expanded Edition): The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys, Behrendt, Greg
32. Dating Big Bird (Hardcover), Zigman, Laura
33. The Friday Night Knitting Club (Audio CD), Jacobs, Kate
34. In the Merde for Love (Hardcover), Clarke, Stephen
35. Anybody Out There? (Paperback), Keyes, Marian
36. Big Boned (Heather Wells, #3), Cabot, Meg
37. Comfort Food (Hardcover), Jacobs, Kate
38. Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again (Hardcover), Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie
39. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5), Rowling, J.K.
40. Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks (Paperback), Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie
41. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off (Paperback), Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie

I'm sitting in the waiting room of the dental office/oral surgery dept and someone just came in, sat down behind me, and started EATING? I can hear her jaw popping as she chews. There's an Au Bon Pain in the downstairs lobby and she must have stopped there on her way in. Anyway, today I picked up my new night guard designed for tmj issues. Hooray! No more broken teeth.

it's so easy! ...or is it?

--excerpted from an email last week--

oh, I'm knitting my hat on size 10 circulars (29") and it's getting tight. I need to start decreasing and thought i could magic loop it, but I'm not sure the cord is long enough. I thought, no problem, I'll just switch to my interchangeable needles, but my stupid set does not have the same measurements as everything else! A 10 is supposed to be 6.0mm. My interchangeable Boye set has the 10 at 5.75mm. I only figured this out a few months ago and realized that part of my too tight knitting issue was NOT my fault! but actually the fault of the faulty kit designers. So in fact my too tight knitting was exacerbated by the inconsistency of the world of Boye. Right now I'm trying to figure out if I should:

a. switch to the boye needles and attempt to knit a little looser so I won't see the difference in tension

b. switch to the boye needles, notice the difference in tension and swear up a storm as I try to decide whether or not to rip it out

c. continue on with current circular needles until knitting becomes painful, THEN switch to horrible said boye tips and give myself a migraine

d. somehow magically successfully use the magic loop method to finish fantastic hat before the snow flies and avoid stupid boye set altogether

e. use boye needle tips as fondue skewers and give up knitting

f. sell boye set on ebay and pass the frustration on to another unsuspecting knitter, thereby calming the voices in my head that scream for consistency, and maybe buy myself the nicey-nice KnitPicks interchangeable set.

My friend Annmarie has been wooed by KnitPicks. Do you have any of their needles? What do you think?

11.16.2009

11.16.2009
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

I took this at my knitting group Monday, November 16, 2009. I see that the date stamp from my phone says it was July 8, 2007. So frustrating! Not sure why this is so messed up, but I'm not going to correct it each time.

I took a panoramic shot so I wouldn't have to ask people to move, and even though the 3 of us that made it into the shot are sitting at a table about 3 feet across, I couldn't even fit my head in the shot!

Floss!

23/365 11.11.2009
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

Photo 23/365 for my 365 project. This is part of an order for supplies to stitch Christmas ornaments. I have to sit down and write a post about my plans with some pics of the patterns I hope to stitch.

I need to read patterns closer.

Started on a hat last night - finished my swatch about 1 am, and cast on. Maybe that's why this afternoon I realized that I'm on row 3 of the increases but I don't have the foundation 3 rows of plain seed stitch. I did read the pattern all the way through, and wrote it down in my book. But maybe knitting after midnight is a bad idea.

I'm really liking this yarn. I'm using some purple Lion Brand Jiffy that I found in my stash. I thought I owned it in green, but no - it's purple. I have two skeins of it but somehow never entered it in my Ravelry stash inventory. I've only been knitting for 2 years now and if I'm this disorganized I can imagine what the house of a longtime knitter looks like. Yikes!

Here's a link to the hat I keep talking about, Robin's Egg Blue Hat on Ravelry and on her blog.

Okay. I'm making this instead of the cloche, which requires actual WOOL and felting. This just requires me to know how big my head is. which i dont. how do i not know after all those conversations at knitting? I think we all measured our heads 3 or 4 times. ugh. at tonight's measuring my head is 22.5. that seems smaller than last time. am i shrinking?

I'm listening to Water for Elements on my mp3 player. The reader has the most wonderfully expressive voice. And I think I have a new favorite quote.
"Sometimes i think that if I had to choose between an ear of corn or making love to a woman, I'd choose the corn....the thought of those sweet kernels of corn bursting between my teeth sure sets my mouth to watering. It's fantasy I know that. Niether will happen. I just like to weigh the options. as though I were standing in front of Solomon; a final roll in the hay, or an ear of corn. What a wonderful dilemma! Sometimes I substitute an apple for the ear of corn."

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6/365 composting

6/365 composting
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

Someone in my builing has a composting bin in the backyard and I've finally found out who it is so that I can compost too. I've been wanting to compost for years but have never had the outdoor or indoor space for it. I thought about starting a worm bin in my apartment but really I don't know where I would put it.

5/365

5/365
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

I know it's early for Christmas but I've been wanting to stitch and I remembered about the ornament exchange in a group I belong to. I made this ornament for last year's exchange and wanted one for myself. I just signed up for the new exchange and will find out more next week.

I'm taking the train today from Rochester, NY back to Boston. I traveled home last Wednesday for my sister's wedding and my grandmother passed away Thursday. It was a visit filled with excitement, errands, old friends, family, joy, and tears. My oroginal plans were to fly back Sunday but the funeral was Monday. It will be nice to have the forced quiet time on the train and watch fall in NY go by through the window. Now if I could just get rid of the woman sitting behind me. Her perfume is quite strong and she pulls out her cell phone for a chat about every 20 minutes. No matter. I have a bag full of leftovers, giant decorated sugar cookies made by my younger sister, and a suitcase full of books to keep me company.

look it'S my hat!

My friend Emily just sent me a picture little man Xavier modeling his baby shower gift, the berry hat I made in the spring. Hooray! It looks great and look at that smiley kid. Thanks Em!

6.365.2009 Checking the curd

6.365.2009 Checking the curd
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

I'm checking to see if the curd is set for the mozzarella cheese I'm making. I would have liked to post a shot where I'm stretching the curd, but it was too hard to get a decent shot and stretch the curd at the same time. This is my third try at making mozzarella, and made pizza with it.

Wedding shoes!

4.365.2009
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

In two weeks I will be a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding. My shoes arrived by UPS on Friday and I'm wearing them around the house today to get used to them. I probably wear heels once a year, so I need to break the shoes in a bit.

They're actually pretty comfortable with a bit of padding inside and a sole with some grip to it. Naturalizer Princeton, in case you're wondering. I always need shoes in wide, dress shoes especially, and Naturalizer always comes through for me (if I can find them on sale).

1.365.2009 photos

1.365.2009
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

I've decided to join a photo project on Flickr titled 365 days. I've been wanting to get back into photography and keep thinking that I need to start taking photos again consistently before I join one of these groups, but I had it backward. Joining the group will motivate to take the pictures.

This group is for self-portraits, which I kind of like doing but I don't lik pictures of myself. I'm hoping this project will get me taking pictures again and also maybe help me be not so hard on my body and appearance. Wih me luck!

I'll be using my LG Dare phone and my Canon PowerShot A540 camera.

This is my first 35 days photo. I had just picked up my copy of No Impact Man from the library and settled in to read.
(Taken October 1, 2009, day1 of my start)

Too much Flickr

head wrap/scarf in progress
Originally uploaded by Star Knits

The more I visit Flickr, the more I want to see.

I've been interested in joining one of the 365 days projects, and clicking around in one I found this image. Looks so much like the Dream Swatch scarf I started this summer and STILL haven't finished yet. I've decided that it will be a Christmas present for someone, so I need to start working on it again. Pronto.

More on Flickr later if I get my act together and manage to pull images off of my phone.

Third time's a charm

I've ripped it out. Again. I realized when I was looking at the lifeline, that part of it had pulled ut. As I was threading it back through, I noticed a very weird line of stitces 3 up from the bottom. So, ripped out. Third time's a charm right? I've decided I can't work on this with visual distractions. Tomorrow I'm going to cast on again and listed to audio books and see if I can at least do that while I'm kniting this infernal sweater.

So, for tonight, I'm going to pull out a cross stitch to work on whie I have a Torchwood marathon. Yay!

Knitting is supposed to be fun!

and I seem to have lost sight of that. Lately all of my projects seem to be quite difficult and I can't work on them when talking to someone else, watching tv, or when I'm the least bit tired because I will muck it up. I keep taking on new projects that involve one or two new or difficult things in them, or lots of fiddliness or something.

I've been trying to make progress on the twenny dolla sweater that I started over a month ago now, and I've made ome progress. I switched to Addi turbo lace needles, I've restarted and cast on 120 stitches as the pattern says, and put in a lifeline at row 9 when I put in my markers. I'm now at row 16, but something has gone wrong once again. I have too mny stitches in one section, and an odd number of stitches in another. The increases ar done in even numbers so I should never have an odd number of stitches at the end of a row.

I need to pull out my work to the lifeline and start again. For the third time. At least this time I don't have to cast on again!

I've read that you can relax your addis but dunking them in hot wate briefly and straightening them out under cool water. I'm going to try this when I pull the needles out and see if my magic loop technique gets any better.

I started what I thought was going to be an easy, work on when I'm tired project - fingerless gloves. After changing yarns three times I settled in bit. It's simple, knit in the round, with make one increases at the thumb. I've had to restart once sine I'm using DK weight on size 9 double points and the large came out baggy, bt now I'm doing the medium and it seems fine. Here's a pic of the one I ripped out.

Toodledo your to-do's

I've been trying out a free online program for managing to-do lists called Toodledo. It lets me create my lists and put them in folders, code them with tags, goals, due dates, etc. I can access it from any computer, and I can also export the list to excel or print out a mini booklet to bring with me. I've only been using it for a week and can't tell yet if this will be the answer for my scribbles on scraps of paper and edges of books.

Addis!!

I bought my first set of Addi circular needles - size 9 Addi lace turbos!

I am having a real issue with them as I try to knit magic loop while working on my lace sweater. Or maybe I'm having trouble with the magic loop part, seeing as I've never done that technique before.

My friend Amber sent me an article on magic loop from Knitting Daily that was helpful. I just can't seem to get the hang of how to hold on to the stupid thing.

Did I mention that I ripped out the first go at the sweater last week? Yep. didn't use that lovely lifeline that I love so much. And of course, it turns out Knitting Daily has a post about that too! I feel her pain. Somehow while merrily knitting along on this sweater and throwing in make ones before AND after every marker every other row, I got a little too excited and add some more stitches. For good measure. Because who doesn't want more stitches? My bust naturally starts above my armpits, why do you ask?

I decided to do a stitch count after getting row 18, just to make sure I was on the right track. I started out with 144 stitches (I'll get to that in a minute) and after 8 rows of straight knitting, increase as above until you get to x stitches in between certain markers, blah, blah, blah.

Well, if I'm adding the same number of stitches all around, I should have the same number of stitches between the markers. Nope! I somehow ended up with LOTS of stitches in one spot and the normal amount everywhere else. Hopefully the second time around I will pay more attention.

I'm finally taking my favorite shoes in to be repaired. They are red Born mary jane mules that I bought at DSW 7 or 8 years ago. It took 2 years to stretch them out through wearing. the elastic on the straps is a little gone, but that just makes them fit really well. Even the soles are in great shape. The problem is the insoles. They cracked inside ages ago and now they're at the point where they stink and pinch my feet. I pick them up Friday.

The clouds today look like a Maxfield Parrish painting. I wish I could just stay outside and stare at the sky.

One of my favorite things about this theatre is that you can see outside from your seat. Right now they're clearing the stage from the opening band band right into the alley. Sweet! And the music playing? Tom Waits. Perfect. Now I just need to will my headache away.

I'm at The Mike Gordon Band concert waiting patiently even though I know he won't be playing the banjo.

Lists

I'm finally getting in gear with all of the taks I have to do before my sister's wedding in October. I just booked my flight - finally - and now I need to get down to business.

-book flight - check!
-find a tailor in order to get dress altered - check!
-drop off slides for digital scanning for slide show at reception - check!
-scan oodles of pics for same
-dig through digital images for same
-email Dan's relatives and beg for photos and lots of them for same
-buy black shoes for wedding
-lose 50 pounds in one month, okay 10, okay, just don't gain any weight!
-buy plane ticket
-find out if I need to make crazy ribbon wands
-find out what the heck she means by family tree

Babette is back!

I decided to take a break from working on Babette sometime in February or March in order to work on baby gifts for a few people, and then I started on some lace projects which have sort of stalled. Now I have a crazily complicated wedding gift underway, bu now that I realize there is no way to finish before the wedding date, I am working on some other projects at the same time. I did start on my very first laceweight project, which is also my vey first adult sweater. I've run into a weird problem where I'm increasing more in the front than in the back, or vice versa, and I'm not sure what I did. I haven't decided whether to rip it all out and start over, or if I should find the last foundation row and thread a lifeline through, and rip down to there. Which choice will be easier?

I would post pictures of things, but I can't seem to find my camera. Time to do some cleaning!

My Babette ravelry link. My sweater link.

With a little bit of luck...

I will relax and enjoy weekend. It's been a rough couple of weeks with moving my company's Cambridge office, verizon screwing up our services, and my back deciding that I didn't need it for a while and going into knots. This clover is embedded at the base of my bosses driveway. neat huh?

Time to put my finances on ice...

As I write this my credit card is in a container of water in the freezer, turning into a frozen block of debt. Yes, just like in the the movies. ENOUGH! I need to get a grip and sop using my credit cards. Period. It doesn't matter if I get airline miles, cash back, whatever. It is debt. Not only did I rip my credit card out of my wallet and fling it in the freezer, but I moved my savings over to my checking and used it to make payments on my two credit cards.

What set off this flurry of activity? When I arrived home tonight there was a letter from my USAir MasterCard that started "Important Notice of Changes to Your Credit Card Account Ending in XXXX". As of November 1, 2009, my APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is switching to a variable rate. According to this letter the current variable APR is 5% higher than my current APR. In two months my account will be at the mercy of the evil credit lords. Eeeep!

How can this be happening? How do I even have credit card debt? A few years ago I was in a lot of debt, declared bankruptcy, and started fresh. I was really careful. I planned, saved, and didn't use credit cards. I applied for a credit card to build my credit score back up, and use it responsibly. Well, the economy is in the toilet and so is my job. I've had major pay cuts this year and because of that, am now in debt again. It's not much compared to how much I was in debt before, and compared to the average amount Americans carry in credit card debt I wouldn't even be considered in debt. But it makes me nervous. Debt is a slippery slope and I don't want to be in fear of creditors or worried that I can't pay my rent by the end of the year.

I'm posting this here so that I will be serious about paying down the debt and keeping on track with my spending. Yes, it's worth it to not eat lunch out when I'm down so that I keep that $7 off of my credit card balance. When I want to hang out with my friends or splurge a little on a magazine or book, I need to really think about what I'm getting out of that versus the potential debt it will give me. Isn't it worth some saving to be able to pay the bills that matter and not have an anxiety attack over it? I think so. I know this is going to be hard, but I have to do this now and not when I'm too far in to fix it.

Any book that has any sentence resembling the following gem* will never be on my good list.
"I stood at a discreet distance near the far corner of the table, nearly panting as he cut a thick slice, lifted it onto a plate, and sank a plastic fork throughthe voluptuous layer of icing to the moist cake beneath."**

*In fact, it has a good chance of sailing across the room for a spine-splitting landing, if I did that sort or thing.

**From Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.

Tried out my new commute today, one week beforemy office move. Here's a shot of Harvard Yard woth swarms of new students touring campus. My office is moving from near Lechmere/Kendall Square to a short walk from Havard Square. It's strange to be making this adjustment.

When I firstplanned my move to Boston 9 years ago I thought I would get a job in Cambridge that would have me cutting through Harvard campus all the time. I would find and do spur of the moment activites line plays and readings. I was basing my planned life on what I had seen in the movies and my friend,who really did work in Harvard Sq and have a fabulous Cambridge life.

Limbo

I'm sitting in the Rochester airport right now trying to distract myself until my flight comes up in a few hours. I was booked for the 11:30 am flight, and found out last night it was cancelled, and moved to the 3:11pm flight. I get to the airport, and they say they are oversold by one person, would I like to get on the list for giving up my seat. I wasn't sure but said yes. As soon as I got through security they called my name, bumped me, and now I basically have a free ticket for my sister's wedding in October. Yippee! But now I'm sitting here in the cold A/C on a yucky chair surfing online. Could be a lot worse, and I'm finally the one to get the ONE free ticket they offer. Take THAT USAir! I'll reach my apartment about 9pm instead of my planned 2pm, but I will save money later, which is really what I need.

Summer Reading Updated

Earlier this year I signed up for a reading challenge, 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Here's a mid-summer update on my progress. I've been a lot lately, and I'm taking a vacation next week and bringing lots of books. I'm almost to the halfway mark and at 24 books.

Books I have read cover to cover this year:

1. Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello, Dec 30, 2008
2. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Jan 08, 2009
3. Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Feb 02, 2009
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling, Feb 02, 2009 - (reread)
5. Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Feb 20, 2009
6. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, Feb 23, 2009
7. Big Boned (Heather Wells, Book 3) by Meg Cabot, Feb 25, 2009
8. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, Mar 09, 2009 - (reread)
9. In the Merde for Love by Stephen Clarke, Mar 18, 2009
10. The Friday Night Knitting Club (audio) by Kate Jacobs, Mar 25, 2009
11. Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman, Mar 30, 2009
12. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt, Mar 30, 2009
13. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, Mar 30, 2009
14. High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle, Apr 7, 2009
15. Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn by Shannon Okey, April 27, 2009
16. Bucky Katt's Big Book Of Fun: A Get Fuzzy Treasury by Darby Conley, April 29, 2009
17. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron, May 4 2009
18. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, May 28, 2009
19. The Budget Gardener: Twice the Garden for Half the Price by Maureen Gilmer, Jun 11, 2009
20. The Color Of Magic (Discworld, Book 1) by Terry Pratchett, June 19, 2009
21. Travels in the Scriptorium: A Novel by Paul Auster, June 25, 2009
22. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, July 2, 2009
23. A Deadly Yarn (Knitting Mystery, Book 3) by Maggie Sefton, July 8, 2009
24. KnitLit: Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting by Linda Roghaar, July 22, 2009

Books I have read but not finished this year:
1. Some Like It Haute (audio) by Julie K. L. Dam, February 20, 2009 - It was an audio download from Boston Public Library, but my hard drive died 3/4 through. I need to download it again and just finish the thing.
2. Smith & Hawken: Hands On Gardener: Seeds and Propagation by Susan McClure, May 2009
3. Wrap Style: Innovative to Traditional, 24 Inspirational Shawls, Ponchos, and Capelets to Knit and Crochet by Pam Allen, April 2009
4. Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne, June 11, 2009 - had to return to library - couldn't renew due to holds. I've put my name back on the list.

Reading right now:
1. The Corset Diaries
2. The Light Fantastic

Reading but on hold because they keep getting bumped:
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
4. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Here is my current list of books to read this summer*:
1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (audio download) - never read as a child. My sister Gretchen read and loved this series, and I think it's finally time for me to find out why she did.
2. 1984 by George Orwell (audio download)
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
4. Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
5. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
6. The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
7. The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable by Terry Pratchett
8. Yoga and Fear in New Jersey

*List may change at any time due to proximity of books to bed/current mood, whether or not I forget that I'm currently reading it.


If you want to know what I'm reading now, check out
my 'currently-reading' shelf:

Fashion stupidity

What is it with guys and wearing bright pale yellow? It's just so wrong. Seems to be an in color this season though as a guy on the escalator was wearing a yellow shirt and now on the train there are 3 more people wearing it. Now, I know I have an aversion to yellow already, but most of the time it's also accompanied by the full on pseudo1920's golfer look. Excuse me? We're in metro Boston. There IS no where to golf in the city.

A Review: A Deadly Yarn (Knitting Mystery, Book 3)

A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wasn't sure what to expect from this serial novelist, given that they are murder mysteries and knitting themed. I have read a few other knitting related serial novels, a cross-stitch mystery, and a bunch of other serial mystery novels. The majority of them are poorly written and do not have a plot or characters that hold my attention or keep me guessing.



While I did figure out "who did it" early on, I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are around my age and for once the writing about knitting made sense. Yes, there was excessive use of descriptive words, yes, some of them were romantic or schmaltzy, but it didn't bother me enough to stop or to throw the book across the room every time I picked it up. Usually I plow through books I hate because I dislike unfinished reads.



I think I'll now go back and read the two earlier books in this series.


View all my reviews.

Lunch

2 carrots chopped up and cooked for a bit in the microwave
1/2 can kidney beans
1/2 zucchini, steamed, leftover from last night (from farmers market)
chunk of sharp cheddar leftover in fridge
1 thick slice corn bread from weird loaf purchased at farmers market
maybe some goat cheese and another slice of bread (from farmers market)

Sounds pretty healthy actually, but will I be full? I think I might have to supplement this with Oreos. Lots of Oreos.

Eating Fresh

The farmers market in my neighborhood started at the beginning of June, and my goal is to buy some or all of my produce each week at the farmers market instead of buying it at the grocery store. I know selection will depend on what is ripe that week, but that's how everyone used to do it, certainly I can try it out.

June 10 - 4 kale plants, 6 basil plants, 1 head of bibb lettuce

June 17 - Garlic and Basil goat cheese from Crystal Brook Farm, 'Flute' bread from Hi-Rise Bakey, and kale from the first stand on the corner (I have their name somewhere). The bread is long like French bread, but holier and sort of like sourdough.


June 24 - kale, zucchini, carrots, and corn bread. No, not like regular corn bread, but yes, corn bread.


My new issue of the Cross Stitcher came today, and for once I thought I would stitch the kit that came with the magazine. It's vry cute and I think I could use it for a welcome baby card, if I actually stitch the thing. It says the the magazine that it takes 10 hours. Here is my progress after 1 hour. Can you tell what it is yet?

Book Review - The Color of Magic

The Color Of Magic by Terry Pratchett

My review

Altogether an enjoyable read once I let go of any understanding I have of the world and how it works. It took me about halfway through the book to disconnect and really get into the book. I really like the bumbling characters and the freedom of discovery that comes with bring a traveler. I don’t know if the same characters are continued through the Discworld series, but I would like to keep following that magical box with legs. Now I just need to find Book 2.


View all my reviews.

Slow growing garden

This year I decided to plant some seeds, buy a few small plants, and try my hand at fire escape gardening. We're now halfway into June, and how are my plants? Small. Spindly. Nonstarters. Yes, we've had a very cool and wet spring, and by now we should be into the thoroughly disgusting days of summer (read 85-95 degrees with 80-90% humidity, but no rain at all). Don't get me wrong. I LOVE spring, and cool days, and rain, so you would think I'm loving this weather, right? Wrong. I want my plants to GROW! I have planted so many seeds that have come to nothing. The seeds that have grown are still tiny little seedlings that probably shouldn't be outside in this cool weather.

So, I've been doing the dance of putting all the pots on the fire escape, then pulling them all in when I hear it's going to be cold and rainy. But then I forget to put them back outside.

I even brought my tomato plant inside for this week since it was still rainy and cool, and my plant seemed to be suffering.

Another problem is that the fire escape just doesn't get enough light. How am I supposed to know how much sun that spot gets? My mom said to watch that spot during a day I am home and see how many hours of light it gets. But what kind of light? This is all very confusing. 'Full sun' means what exactly? I had great light in the spring, until the tree leaves filled in. Now it's hard to tell how much sun is getting through.

Last Wednesday I bought 6 basil plants and 4 kale plants. Today I put them outside but they are still in the little plastic thing they came in. I'm worried they'll dry out today before i can put them in the planter, but they were suffering inside.

Summer Reading

Earlier this year I signed up for a reading challenge, 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Now that the year is half over it seems like a good time to take stock of my progress.

Books I have read cover to cover this year:

1. Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello, Dec 30, 2008
2. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Jan 08, 2009
3. Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Feb 02, 2009
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling, Feb 02, 2009 - (reread)
5. Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Feb 20, 2009
6. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, Feb 23, 2009
7. Big Boned (Heather Wells, Book 3) by Meg Cabot, Feb 25, 2009
8. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, Mar 09, 2009 - (reread)
9. In the Merde for Love by Stephen Clarke, Mar 18, 2009
10. The Friday Night Knitting Club (audio) by Kate Jacobs, Mar 25, 2009
11. Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman, Mar 30, 2009
12. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt, Mar 30, 2009
13. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, Mar 30, 2009
14. High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle, Apr 7, 2009
15. Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn by Shannon Okey, April 27, 2009
16. Bucky Katt's Big Book Of Fun: A Get Fuzzy Treasury by Darby Conley, April 29, 2009
17. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron, May 4 2009
18. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, May 28, 2009
19. The Budget Gardener: Twice the Garden for Half the Price by Maureen Gilmer, Jun 11, 2009

Books I have read but not finished this year:
1. Some Like It Haute (audio) by Julie K. L. Dam, February 20, 2009 - It was an audio download from Boston Public Library, but my hard drive died 3/4 through. I need to download it again and just finish the thing.
2. Smith & Hawken: Hands On Gardener: Seeds and Propagation by Susan McClure, May 2009
3. Wrap Style: Innovative to Traditional, 24 Inspirational Shawls, Ponchos, and Capelets to Knit and Crochet by Pam Allen, April 2009
4. Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne, June 11, 2009 - had to return to library - couldn't renew due to holds. I've put my name back on the list.

Reading right now:
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
4. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
5. The Color Of Magic (Discworld, Book 1) by Terry Pratchett

Here is my current list of books to read this summer*:
1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (audio download) - never read as a child. My sister Gretchen read and loved this series, and I think it's finally time for me to find out why she did.
2. 1984 by George Orwell (audio download)
3. Color of Magic (currently reading) by Terry Pratchett - The first in the Discworld series. I'd like to read the next 4 this summer.
4. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
5. Travels in the Scriptorium: A Novel (Hardcover)Auster, Paul
6. KnitLit: Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting by Linda Roghaar
7. Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
8. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
9. The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
10. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
11. The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable by Terry Pratchett

*List may change at any time due to proximity of books to bed/current mood, whether or not I forget that I'm currently reading it.


If you want to know what I'm reading now, check out
my 'currently-reading' shelf:

Spring/Summer Project

Is it spring, or summer? The calendar says June, but it's 54 degrees outside and misty. I LOVE this weather, but I've spent weeks preparing myself for the heat of summer, and where is it? I keep dressing too cold for outside and end up chilly both at work and during my commute. It's high time I make myself a skinny lovely yummy scarf to keep me a bit warmer while I wear my spring/summer clothes.

I've decided to make the Dream Swatch pattern. Saw this swatch hanging in Wolcot Yarn in Harvard Square during May Fair and I must make it! It looks pretty simple once you know the trick. Wish I had some fancy bamboo/silk to use. My lace ribbon scarf is taking forever, so I guess I'm going to make this NOW! I just found leftover bit of the Tofutsies used to kill me in Sock Wars III. There should be just enough of this left to make this pattern.

Here's a link to my project on Ravelry in case you're in the know.

Sister visits

My older sister is coming for a short visit this weekend. We always get lots of yummy takeout, she tries to 'organize' me, and we stay up late and giggle as sisters do. This time I get to try on bridesmaid dresses for her wedding in October. Not sure if this will be fun or not, but at least we have lots of other things planned for aafterwards, like a trip to Ikea. Yay! So all this week I've been trying to clean the place up - take the recycling out to the bins, put all the boxes of cat litter in one place, put my clothes IN the dresser and not next to the dresser, and yes, CLEAN. Tonight I need to scrub the bathroom down (it's time anyway) and attack the stove (which has been looking quite nasty for over a month). When you live alone you just sort of ignore a lot of things.

I also have dirt and gardening supplies all over my tiny kitchen, and that's got to at least be consolidated by Friday night when she arrives.

I can't wait!!!

From dirt to skirts

I went shopping with a friend yesterday for all manner of things - garden and housewars and clothes and yarn. The last one was a bit of a falter in terms of my shopping list. We went to Michael's to get supplies for her new craft project, and I wanted to get two more skeins of Naturally Caron Spa, an acrylic/bamboo blend, for a lovely scarf I'm making. Well, Michael's didn't have that yarn but they did have some yarn priced at $.99 a skein, and I sort of fell into the bin and cleaned out most of their remaining stock. 6 skeins of black and 6 skeins of raspberry/maroon in patons Lacette, and 4 skeins of Patons Stretch Socks in Licorice. Maybe they're not carrying Patons anymore? I've been wanting to get some laceweight yarns and also some sock yarn for this pattern I found on Ravelry, and I think I did well even though I hadn't planned on buying it.

I'm trying very hard to make lists for shopping, make estimates of how much I think things will cost, and stick to that.

Also shopped at Ikea and Home Depot, and bought 3 skirts. Two of the skirts were ones my friend bought and didn't want, but they are perfect for me. I seem to be fitting smaller sizes lately, but when I check the scale I haven't lost any weight. Maybe I'm finally starting to see my body differently and buy clothes that actually FIT my body, not just float over it. Hmm.

I'm trying to be productive today, I really am. It's a Saturday morning and what am I doing? Going to have some bloodwork done that I was supposed to do before my physical in March. I've been either sick, busy, or forgotten until now, since I have to fast the night before and I tend to be a night owl. Just routine checkup stuff, like cholesterol. Then it's off to COmcast to return the cable box and modem. I switched to RCN two weeks ago and I've gotten 3 prerecorded phone messages about returning my box. Sheeh! I'm going already!

On the craft front, I've now cast on three times for the Lace Ribbon Scarf, and I thnk I've got it. The first time was when I was still working on the baby gifts, and I wanted to have a new project to carry around. Part of the cast on got stretched out, and it still bothered me 4 rows in so I ripped it out last night. Cast on again, went along merrily, and realized that my cast on was waaay too tight. RIP. Now I have 8 rows, can see the pattern emerging, and the yarn is even getting soft. Amazing! I'm using Plymouth Yarn's Sockotta, which I bought a year ago for socks, I think. Now that I've started this scarf I have found a sock pattern I want to try this year, but it needs a self-patterning yarn that makes a clearer stripe pattern so the stitches will show up better. Broadripple by Rob Matyska

I thought that I would spend this entire week cross stitching, since I felt I needed a break from knitting after cranking out baby gifts one after the other. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed making them. I would think about the parent(s) and baby to be and try put my love into the piece. It all turned out beautifully and is posted on my Ravelry, and I've put the finished pictues below. I did end up working on a hibernating cross stich, the 18th Century Band Sampler (or Long Dog Mystery Sampler). I really like the colors in this piece, and someday I'll get this one finished and framed. I'll post a picture this weekend.

Busy as a Bee

I went on a trip to Rochester over Mother's Day weekend for a slew of events - graduation, baby shower, friend visits, family visits, and Mother's Day. One of the lovely things I did on Monther's Day was go to the Public Market with my mom for breakfast and plant shopping. We had some great empanadas made by Juan and Maria and then went looking for plants. During May the Rochester Public Market is open Sundays just for plant sales. Although it was cold, we stayed long enough for mom to pick up some irish moss, ostritch ferns, and some interesting begonias I can't remember the names of. Mom also bought some wildflower seeds, and I picked up some seeds for sage, spinach, and kale. I'm pretty sure all the vegetable seeds I've purchased are for dwarf varieties, so I shouldn't have a 2-foot wide kale plant appearing on my fire escape.

Tuesday night I split up some of the basil seedlings and planted sage seeds - only six this time - in a larger pot. I think my intiial round of seed planting was over zealous. I wasn't expecting anything to grow from my seeds, so in each egg carton cup I put at least 6 seeds. Whoops. No wonder my seedlings aren't getting any bigger. They probably don't have any room.

Growing Time

---Written April 20, 2009---

I've been thinking about growing a fire escape garden for the past few weeks, but for much longer than that I've been fixated on having more house plants and growing some herbs, and maybe even vegetables of my own.

On Sunday I finally started this project. A while ago (last summer?) I purchased a cute herb growing kit that came with an aluminum tub and seeds for thyme, lavendar, and oregano. A very fragrant mix. This kit has been sitting on top of my fridge since I bought it, and on Sunday I finally pulled it out and put everything together.

I made some quickie plant markers by cutting up a milk jug. I'd like to make some different markers that are a nicer shape, and decorate them with Sharpie markers with the Latin names written out. I'm sure Martha Stewart has some materials on her site - she always does.

In arrears

stuff 067
Originally uploaded by steveknits

Part two! I don't know that I would ever wear this as a hat, but I know a friend of mine will appreciate this.

Sheep hat!

stuff 063
Originally uploaded by steveknits

Phenomenal sheep hat I saw on Ravelry, and wait for shot two...

Bubble Tea and Shopping

I went shopping on Saturday with a friend and had my first bubble tea. I was really surprised that I like the tapioca ‘pearls’ in the bottom of the drink. Sort of gummy, chewy, and not much flavor themsevles, but they make the drink experience fun. Is this the same kind of tapioca that my mom used to make pudding when I was a kid? I never liked the stuff. Now I’ve come to appreciate tastes that aren’t just sicky sweet. I ordered a Jasmine milk tea with ‘pearls’ and was pleasantly surprised.
I also found some great shoes for work, pictured here. Kenneth Cole Reaction black leather flats. They remind me of ballet toe shoes. They are just a little tight at the ball of my foot (what shoes aren't) and so I think they'll break in nicely. I also found these grey mary janes in clearance with Mel's help. I seem to be growing up - look at the shoes I'm buying! I had actually entered the store to find some banana yellow flats, for fun fashion-y kicky summer looks. I LOVE the black flats, and just now I'm remembering why I thought I needed some brown shoes. Duh, I have a lot of brown clothes, and having brown shoes would make sense.

Maybe I can get back out to the store and buy the same shows in brown.

Musique

I think I have a new favorite painting. This is Musique by Gustav Klimt.

Patience.
Once again the pushy lady made it to the front of the bus line. When I see her coming down the block I groan, because I know that now I have to watch her pace and fume on the pavement until the bus arrives. Now she is putting on her makeup while riding the bus. Another one of my pet peeves.
It must be true that patience is a virtue.

52 Books in 52 Weeks

**Originally written 1/4/09, saved as draft, and forgotten**

Clicking around on Ravelry always gets me into trouble. I either add 2-5 knitting patterns to my project queue or I join a few forum groups. Right before Christmas I found a new group called 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Easy concept, right?

I have been using GoodReads to keep track of my books - what I'm reading, just finished, borrowed, lent out, and the oodles of books that I want to read in the future. I've just broken my to-read list into two - to read and to read someday. I probably need a third list - to read someday but probably never will as these books were all recommended by others and there is not enough time in the day to read them all.2009 Book List
I am starting my count as of December 15, 2008, since when I found out about this 52-books thing I was reading two books I really liked.

**Rest of entry written April 16, 2009**

Here is the list of books I have read cover to cover this year:

1. Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello, Dec 30, 2008
2. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Jan 08, 2009
3. Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Feb 02, 2009
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling, Feb 02, 2009 - (reread)
5. Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Feb 20, 2009
6. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, Feb 23, 2009
7. Big Boned (Heather Wells, Book 3) by Meg Cabot, Feb 25, 2009
8. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, Mar 09, 2009 - (reread)
9. In the Merde for Love by Stephen Clarke, Mar 18, 2009
10. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, Mar 25, 2009 (audio)
11. Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman, Mar 30, 2009
12. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt, Mar 30, 2009
13. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, Mar 30, 2009
14. High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle, Apr 7, 2009

If you want to know what I'm reading now, check out
my 'currently-reading' shelf:

The Quest for Don Quixote

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

My review

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. Each time I visit my parents I pick through their bookshelves to try and find the unabridged copy I know they have. When I was home for Thanksgiving in 2008, I found the book! I put it in the box I mailed to myself at home, and it never arrived. Today I decided that I am going to use my Borders coupon and buy and copy and start reading. Once and for all.


View all my reviews.

Knitting updates

I thought it was time for some knitting updates so here we go. I usually end up burying my thoughts on proejcts on various Ravelry pages, but this time I'm putting those comments in both places, since people seem to check here and not in the notes section.

***Disclaimer***
If pigs start flying and the people these things are intended for actually visit my blog, tough.

Berry Baby Hat
Started March 18, Finished April 6, 2009 for Tom and Emily's babe (maybe).
Not doing the weird knot thing at the top but just having a straight up stem. Finished except for binding off the stem and weaving in ends and blocking. Yay! This worked up pretty fast, so I might make some more. Though really - what colors are for boys? I had made this for a boy originally but a friend said that if it was for her that she wouldn’t have put her baby boy in a hot pink raspberry hat. Eh. Do I give it to them anyway? It's really cute, and they're not ones to only dress their boy in blue, but raspberry? It's progressive, right?

Baby Comfy Kimono Sweater
Started July 13, 2008 (before a baby was in sight) for Tom and Emily's babe.
I need to make one more front panel, then stitch it all together. The baby shower is on April 26, three weeks away. I need to mail the sweater and hat to a friend in order to get the gifts there in time since I will not be able to go to the shower.

Baby Blanket
Started Feb 3, 2009 for Ayondela's babe.
I've been working on this for two months now and it measures 23-24 inches. It needs to be 30-36 inches before I can start decreasing. If I fudge it a little. Am I ever going to finish this thing? I'm supposed to have it done by the baby shower May 9. Granted, I've also made a cowl and berry hat from start to finish, and worked on the baby sweater, but still - this project was supposed to be fast and easy. Why oh why didn't I use larger needles???

Oh, and there's one other project that I have in mind as a gift this year. I don't know if there's enough time to make it, if I have the skill to make it, or if I will lose my mind. I've already bought the yarn for this project and found an insanely complicated lace pattern. I don't think I'll even be able to touch it until May. Maybe I should reconsider...

Snoozing in the wings...
Babette blanket and Irish hiking scarf. These two fill in the gaps when I don't have other pressing projects, though I've had pressing projects since November. Oops!

LivePhish

Phish 3/6/09 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW