Sunday is almost over, and I'm beat. I need to go back to work and sit quietly for a while. After yesterday's post. I decided that I needed, that is to say, NEEDED to go assault the laurel hedge in the back yard. And I NEEDED to use the chain saw - a little electric number that I hadn't tried before (D has used it). Let me tell you, power tools ROCK. I hacked off a good 2 feet off the top of that hedge, which has slowly been whittled down from a fifteen foot monstrosity to almost something I can maintain by myself. I just can't quite reach the last bits nearest the neighbor, so I have this funny two-tiered hedge for the moment. This morning? Moving hedge pieces into the truck, and a second attack at the hedge in the corner - some of the "branches" I was cutting into were really tree trunks - 5" or so thick. Crazy wide, but short, since we've been hacking pieces of this down to size.
While the acorn squash I picked up at the Farmer's Market yesterday were roasting in the oven, I decided I needed (yes...NEEDED) to go scrape the front steps to prepare for painting. Silly me. My hands are tired, and now the steps will definitely have to be painted. Hopefully they don't get too dirty when D moves all his equipment inside, and maybe I can slap a quick coat on before it gets (too) dark.
Knitting-wise - I made my first attempt at kool-aid dying today. Lesson? Make sure the yarn you are attempting to dye is wool. We know wool works, everyone on the web says so, and of course the Web is Always Right. Cotton? Not sure. Something that looks like cotton (in my arrogance, I was sure it was cotton), but when wet, feels more like acrylic? Definitely doesn't work. I did toss in a ratty (but cotton for sure) dishcloth and managed to give it more of a grape-ish tint, but it doesn't seem to be taking dye all that well. It keeps bleeding red.
Next time...Wool. Wool for sure. I wonder if Lopi will work (it'll probably felt, but it's Wool (capital "W"), no doubt.
Needless to say, I'm a bit pooped. A severe soak in the tub is called for. Oh, my shoulders are calling out for it. Yup, I need (NEED) a good soak...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
A Sunny Fall Saturday - Waste not!
The Birthday glaze load came out as well as could be hoped, though I seem to just be hitting cone 5, not cone 6 (certainly not cone 7, as was in the kiln sitter). This means that I will finally get off my duff and attempt to adjust the kiln sitter this weekend. But in the meantime, Margaret & Ivan's wedding present made it out OK (hint: not the bowl in the photo, since she *might* just see this). I miss cone 10 reduction, but the sgrafitto with the clear glaze & creamy electric-fire tones are perfectly inoffensive.
Very little knitting done, but I have begun to plan out my Webs "Olive Branch Yoga Hoodie" which has a lovely design on the back and otherwise seems like a pretty straightforward, plain knit from the front. I've been thinking about what could be done to adjust / optimize. Leave off the hoodie and just make a collar? Turn it into a pullover is of significant interest(this is a lead option, but the concern is whether I'd have a *clue* on how to do the pattern if I don't follow the instructions to a "T"). And what about adding some seed stitch to the cardigan front so the edges don't roll? I find it hard to believe that their K2 option will do enough.
Darwin's Birthday #1 also... the required baby-face-in-the-cake shot:
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Happy Birthday to me!
I was extremely selfish today. Despite having just been away from work for two weeks (mental note: fill out expense report) and having quite a lot of things to do at work, I took my birthday off. It's just the right thing to do. I discovered years ago that if I am at work, I resent anything unpleasant (such as ranking & rating - my first two years at Intel. It wasn't necessarily that bad, it just gave me a headache and I longed to be elsewhere).
So, I'm being decadant. In my fit of self-indulgence, today I:
1) slept in until (gasp) 7:30
2) waxed the bottoms of almost all the bisqueware, and then glazed...and glazed
3) fired the glaze kiln (well, it's still going)
4) met Heidi for lunch at St. Honore, the best bakery in town if you go for that french foofie stuff, which I totally do.
5) hung out with D before his class
6) picked up my boots from Clogs-n-more, where they have been de-squeekified (hopefully I will no longer sound as though I am being chased by squeeky toys)
7) knit on my sock...canadian souvenier yarn
8) got conned into going for more yarn by my Enabler(100% merino! On Sale! The right weight for that sweater I want to make!)
9) drooled over the thought of kool-aid dying sock yarn, and found self-striping dying instructions on line
In other words, I've followed my whims, run my own schedule, and somehow neglected to check my work email.
Remaining plans? Pix for some birthday sweets, dinner at my favorite burrito place, and maybe open knit night at CloseKnit, since I've been meaning to swing by. Sounds like a good birthday to me! Happy 38!
So, I'm being decadant. In my fit of self-indulgence, today I:
1) slept in until (gasp) 7:30
2) waxed the bottoms of almost all the bisqueware, and then glazed...and glazed
3) fired the glaze kiln (well, it's still going)
4) met Heidi for lunch at St. Honore, the best bakery in town if you go for that french foofie stuff, which I totally do.
5) hung out with D before his class
6) picked up my boots from Clogs-n-more, where they have been de-squeekified (hopefully I will no longer sound as though I am being chased by squeeky toys)
7) knit on my sock...canadian souvenier yarn
8) got conned into going for more yarn by my Enabler(100% merino! On Sale! The right weight for that sweater I want to make!)
9) drooled over the thought of kool-aid dying sock yarn, and found self-striping dying instructions on line
In other words, I've followed my whims, run my own schedule, and somehow neglected to check my work email.
Remaining plans? Pix for some birthday sweets, dinner at my favorite burrito place, and maybe open knit night at CloseKnit, since I've been meaning to swing by. Sounds like a good birthday to me! Happy 38!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Apple Averaging
A satisfying weekend overall, though it's never enough. The bisque firing is done, and I didn't burn down the garage. I'm a bit of a paranoid potter when it comes to fire, I'm afraid. "D, when you walk by the window, can you check to see if the garage is still there?" It seemed to go like clockwork, and no obvious tilted pieces suffering the effects of mini-steam explosions like a few years ago. At least, that I can tell by peeking through the peep-hole.
We had gorgeous weather - gorgeous as in "not raining". I tore up my tomato plants, raked leaves, hacked at the laurel hedge, and D hung out his wetsuits to dry a little bit. We also went to a Richard Notkin lecture downtown - something about "Art and War". His slides were excellent and his commentary interesting. Unfortunately, for the lecture portion he read his speech, and I was grateful I'd brought my knitting. I got a good inch + done :-) His work is meticulously detailed and carefully executed. I was most impressed with his wall-displays called "the Gift" and "Every Nation is entitled to its moment of foolishness" that were saggar-fired tiles arranged to display an image. In these cases, the images were of a mushroom cloud and George W. Bush. Quite impressive.
We dinked around in the studio a bit also - D threw two pieces and I fiddled with a couple from last week, and then waited rather impatiently to get access to the wheel so I could get a couple pieces set up for me to fiddle with next week. Mission accomplished.
And the title of the today's entry? Many varieties of Apple were tasted (Jonathan, Elstar, Red Winesap, Virginia Winsap, Matzu(? working from memory here), Rubinette, and more). The Japanese variety was a favorite, and after the tasting was done, all apples were tossed into a crisp that I proceeded to overcook to almost applesauce, but was extremely tasty. Apple averaging is the way to go for good flavor, apparently.
We had gorgeous weather - gorgeous as in "not raining". I tore up my tomato plants, raked leaves, hacked at the laurel hedge, and D hung out his wetsuits to dry a little bit. We also went to a Richard Notkin lecture downtown - something about "Art and War". His slides were excellent and his commentary interesting. Unfortunately, for the lecture portion he read his speech, and I was grateful I'd brought my knitting. I got a good inch + done :-) His work is meticulously detailed and carefully executed. I was most impressed with his wall-displays called "the Gift" and "Every Nation is entitled to its moment of foolishness" that were saggar-fired tiles arranged to display an image. In these cases, the images were of a mushroom cloud and George W. Bush. Quite impressive.
We dinked around in the studio a bit also - D threw two pieces and I fiddled with a couple from last week, and then waited rather impatiently to get access to the wheel so I could get a couple pieces set up for me to fiddle with next week. Mission accomplished.
And the title of the today's entry? Many varieties of Apple were tasted (Jonathan, Elstar, Red Winesap, Virginia Winsap, Matzu(? working from memory here), Rubinette, and more). The Japanese variety was a favorite, and after the tasting was done, all apples were tossed into a crisp that I proceeded to overcook to almost applesauce, but was extremely tasty. Apple averaging is the way to go for good flavor, apparently.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Awaiting nightfall to fire the kiln
Damien is napping and the kiln is loaded, and we're having EZ chicken potstickers tonight. It's been on & off raining all day, and we had the wonderful sound of waking to rain pounding on the roof, and not having to leap out of bed and go to work. That feeling of coziness lends a glow of "all is right with the world, even if winter is around the corner."
Just a few more hours - maybe when this heavy rain shower is over - and I'll start the first bisque firing I've done since APRIL 2006! Shocking! I knew it had been over a year, but that just seems wrong. However, I have plenty for a glaze firing after this bisque, and I have Damien very interested in getting the big kiln firing. Maybe (after Margaret & Ivan's wedding present) we'll get it loaded and fire it to cone 6. He was quite interested in the fact that the BIG kiln can go to cone 10.
Other crafty highlights of the week... finishing the 2nd pair of Elann Harlequin self-striping socks - these with less ribbing, AND also the first canadian souvenier yarn sock (Inidgo Moon, "victoria gardens" colorway). Now all I need to do is remember how to do Judy's magic cast-on, and I'll get the second sock started. I am beginning to understand how one can accumulate lots of bits & pieces of sock yarn. I am also beginning to think I need to try out some bootie patterns. AFter I make myself a hat, since I still need one, and I still haven't cast on for one.
Spending your money to make problems go away... highlights of the week include FINALLY getting around to buying my tickets to DC for Christmas, cementing my plan to travel three more times before the end of the year, bringing this year to an all-time high of cosmic-ray exposure due to high-altitude hours. I also had to re-order the bridesmaid dress shoes, since the wide size also assumed that my foot was very tall (who has tall feet? not me!) and the strap wouldn't keep my foot actually in the shoe itself. This was unfortunate, because the footbed was great. C'est la vie. Big BIG plus? Slapped the return label on and the postman took it! I left it out on a whim, figuring he wouldn't but also figuring I had nothing to lose by trying. Sometimes, it's the smallest thing that can make you happy.
Time to rouse D from his nap. Happy October, all!
Just a few more hours - maybe when this heavy rain shower is over - and I'll start the first bisque firing I've done since APRIL 2006! Shocking! I knew it had been over a year, but that just seems wrong. However, I have plenty for a glaze firing after this bisque, and I have Damien very interested in getting the big kiln firing. Maybe (after Margaret & Ivan's wedding present) we'll get it loaded and fire it to cone 6. He was quite interested in the fact that the BIG kiln can go to cone 10.
Other crafty highlights of the week... finishing the 2nd pair of Elann Harlequin self-striping socks - these with less ribbing, AND also the first canadian souvenier yarn sock (Inidgo Moon, "victoria gardens" colorway). Now all I need to do is remember how to do Judy's magic cast-on, and I'll get the second sock started. I am beginning to understand how one can accumulate lots of bits & pieces of sock yarn. I am also beginning to think I need to try out some bootie patterns. AFter I make myself a hat, since I still need one, and I still haven't cast on for one.
Spending your money to make problems go away... highlights of the week include FINALLY getting around to buying my tickets to DC for Christmas, cementing my plan to travel three more times before the end of the year, bringing this year to an all-time high of cosmic-ray exposure due to high-altitude hours. I also had to re-order the bridesmaid dress shoes, since the wide size also assumed that my foot was very tall (who has tall feet? not me!) and the strap wouldn't keep my foot actually in the shoe itself. This was unfortunate, because the footbed was great. C'est la vie. Big BIG plus? Slapped the return label on and the postman took it! I left it out on a whim, figuring he wouldn't but also figuring I had nothing to lose by trying. Sometimes, it's the smallest thing that can make you happy.
Time to rouse D from his nap. Happy October, all!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Back to Work
Two weeks of vacation, gone in a flash! I can't really complain, since I got to do pretty much whatever the heck I wanted, which was about a million little things. I'll spare y'all the prose - this is just so I can remember what I did when spending the equivalent of a first-class ticket to the Caribbean, plus a two-week cruise...
Cornell Trip: interview for Chem Eng Grad recruting DVD, watched a red-tail hawk eat a squirrel next to the engineering building, checked out two yarn stores in Ithaca, bought a bracelet to remind myself to "do what you love, love what you do". Advisory Council meeting - a lot more fun, less worried about whether I belonged there. Dashed down to DC, 20th HS reunion, and saw some of the same key players as the 10th, but sadly none of the ones who hadn't made it to the 10th. Two best friends from HS were definitely missing. Dashed back to DC after hanging with the parents and being coddled for a day. Shopped for, found, and ordered bridesmaid dress shoes. Tally: 7 airports, 6 days...
House stuff: painted new back door. Went to the Rebuild Center and got two cabinets to put by the clay / utility sink in the basement. Primed the heck out of them, and then painted them (they are FINALLY ready to have doors reattached and move to the basement). Finalized which radiator & contractor to do the heating work (and got him in to do the bulk of the work) Found & had asbestos insulation around pipes removed (to do this, I naturally had to clear a huge area around the pipes themselves, which involved moving monumental amounts of partially unpacked stuff of both mine and Damien's). Called for drywall quotes. Scheduled tree removal & replacement for the front yard.
Garden stuff: mowed. Shopped for new plants (perennial's are on sale!). Dug many, many holes. Filled them in with many, many plants. Lots of shopping for apple trees (key connection: Home Orchard Society, my new best buddies. Planning to buy some dwarf varieties and have them in pots until I can rip up the back yard some more.
Ceramic stuff: For the first time in 11 months, I got my hands seriously into clay. This is all thanks' to D's taking a ceramics class at PCC Cascade. I have Margaret's wedding present in the works, if I don't blow them up. I've tested the small kiln to make sure it still seems to be operational (yes). I even got refractory cement and have attempted to patch a crack (pounds chest - macho me!). I have two more pieces in the works. Biggest problem - not throwing too many pieces, since I don't really have space for them all.
Knitting stuff: FINISHED ALL THE WISPS! Well, OK, I haven't sewn the buttons on Margaret's Wisp, but it's SO close it just about doesn't count as incomplete. Really. I'm making good progress on a pair of socks, and I've been stacking the Ravelry queue with new projects. Eenie Meenie Miney Moe... I have been a PARAGON of Virtue, let me tell you. I have not bought ANY new yarn, despite going to TWO stores in Ithaca, and finding some interesting lace-weight yarn at SCRAP.
Social Stuff: Party @ Hilary & David's, Brunch at the house (actually cleaned up the dining room!), hung out with Vicki and her kids (which she's been bugging me to do for a while).
Pretty good couple of weeks. I'm happy.
Too bad I'm going back to work tomorrow :-P
Cornell Trip: interview for Chem Eng Grad recruting DVD, watched a red-tail hawk eat a squirrel next to the engineering building, checked out two yarn stores in Ithaca, bought a bracelet to remind myself to "do what you love, love what you do". Advisory Council meeting - a lot more fun, less worried about whether I belonged there. Dashed down to DC, 20th HS reunion, and saw some of the same key players as the 10th, but sadly none of the ones who hadn't made it to the 10th. Two best friends from HS were definitely missing. Dashed back to DC after hanging with the parents and being coddled for a day. Shopped for, found, and ordered bridesmaid dress shoes. Tally: 7 airports, 6 days...
House stuff: painted new back door. Went to the Rebuild Center and got two cabinets to put by the clay / utility sink in the basement. Primed the heck out of them, and then painted them (they are FINALLY ready to have doors reattached and move to the basement). Finalized which radiator & contractor to do the heating work (and got him in to do the bulk of the work) Found & had asbestos insulation around pipes removed (to do this, I naturally had to clear a huge area around the pipes themselves, which involved moving monumental amounts of partially unpacked stuff of both mine and Damien's). Called for drywall quotes. Scheduled tree removal & replacement for the front yard.
Garden stuff: mowed. Shopped for new plants (perennial's are on sale!). Dug many, many holes. Filled them in with many, many plants. Lots of shopping for apple trees (key connection: Home Orchard Society, my new best buddies. Planning to buy some dwarf varieties and have them in pots until I can rip up the back yard some more.
Ceramic stuff: For the first time in 11 months, I got my hands seriously into clay. This is all thanks' to D's taking a ceramics class at PCC Cascade. I have Margaret's wedding present in the works, if I don't blow them up. I've tested the small kiln to make sure it still seems to be operational (yes). I even got refractory cement and have attempted to patch a crack (pounds chest - macho me!). I have two more pieces in the works. Biggest problem - not throwing too many pieces, since I don't really have space for them all.
Knitting stuff: FINISHED ALL THE WISPS! Well, OK, I haven't sewn the buttons on Margaret's Wisp, but it's SO close it just about doesn't count as incomplete. Really. I'm making good progress on a pair of socks, and I've been stacking the Ravelry queue with new projects. Eenie Meenie Miney Moe... I have been a PARAGON of Virtue, let me tell you. I have not bought ANY new yarn, despite going to TWO stores in Ithaca, and finding some interesting lace-weight yarn at SCRAP.
Social Stuff: Party @ Hilary & David's, Brunch at the house (actually cleaned up the dining room!), hung out with Vicki and her kids (which she's been bugging me to do for a while).
Pretty good couple of weeks. I'm happy.
Too bad I'm going back to work tomorrow :-P
Friday, October 12, 2007
Joining 2000
I think I may be the last knitter on the planet to have a regular blog. It's not like I don't READ them and love seeing other people obsess over their hobbies as much as I do. I did made a go of it at the beginning of the year, testing the waters by giving access only to my sisters. But, heck, they just about never read it (maybe they are having just as much trouble getting the hang of this blog thin as I am).
I'm at the end of a 2 week vacation and starting to panic because I see the approach of Work Returning closing in. This depresses me and I want to go hide, and it makes it hard to start on any project because I have So Little Time Left. I've finished Wisp #3 (#2 & #3 modified for bridesmaid wraps) and am a bit beside myself on what to start next... the hat? (if I could get to the yarn in the closet behind the bookshelf waiting for construction to finish). the top-down baby sweater to get my feet top-down wet? Sweater for me using a modified Shona pattern from Rowan? Fingerless gloves? A simple lace scarf? A BSJ? I want it ALL!
But first, I guess I should actually sew up the Ribby Cardi that I finished in the (ahem) spring. Bah.
I'm at the end of a 2 week vacation and starting to panic because I see the approach of Work Returning closing in. This depresses me and I want to go hide, and it makes it hard to start on any project because I have So Little Time Left. I've finished Wisp #3 (#2 & #3 modified for bridesmaid wraps) and am a bit beside myself on what to start next... the hat? (if I could get to the yarn in the closet behind the bookshelf waiting for construction to finish). the top-down baby sweater to get my feet top-down wet? Sweater for me using a modified Shona pattern from Rowan? Fingerless gloves? A simple lace scarf? A BSJ? I want it ALL!
But first, I guess I should actually sew up the Ribby Cardi that I finished in the (ahem) spring. Bah.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
