I've been noticing over the past few months that I've stopped blogging here. There are two reasons, a major and a minor, that account for my bloggy silence. The first, and major, reason is that Kristen and I have started our podcast! We're 12 episodes in so far and I thinks it's going pretty well, slowly but surely. Second, and minor, is that I don't have internet at home. I am currently blogging at work (gasp!) and I don't usually like to do that. And I'm not usually knitting at work, so my inspiration is lower.
I guess having a podcast to use as my outlet for knitting interest means that I am less likely to blog about my knitterly thoughts. And yet, I wonder: Would I blog more if it were convenient? Never being one who is short on words, why wouldn't I both podcast and blog about something I love so much? Other people do both, but why not me? Granted, K hasn't been blogging much, either, but perhaps having a new job in a new field explains the lack for her.
Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about. So many things in my life can fall by the wayside (aka, my other personal blog), and I don't really like that feeling, that something has been left behind. When I'm a big kid and have a real job, I'll have internet. Maybe then I'll get back on track. We'll see!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, September 21, 2009
Some ramblings
I am currently in a knitting mood. The unfortunate part of this is that there aren't enough hours in the day for me to knit all that I want. I'm coming to realize that I am not a fast knitter. I read or hear about how others are starting new projects when it seems to me that they just began the old one. And here I am, still plodding along. I get so many great ideas and I want to see them finished. And it's hard to prioritize.
Granted, I did just rip out my cabled vest and start over. It needed to be done, and this second attempt will be better and more wearable, but it still hurt. Now, I want to knit that vest until I get back to where I was before, but I forget how long it took the first time! My plan had been to slowly work on the vest and have it ready to wear this winter. I still would like for that to happen, but I have several small projects in mind and two baby sweaters for babies on the way! And I can't let my babies down! This being my last winter in Ohio (it will be!), the vest will get more wear than when I'm back in the South. Perhaps I'm over dramatizing, but that's how it seems.
Our podcast starts next Saturday. I am very unnerved. What if no one listens in? What if no one cares after they do? What if we/I suck? People can often be mean rather than helpful. K and I seem to be busy and distracted and getting more so by the minute, but I fear that if we put this off any more, we won't do the podcast at all. Sometimes you just have to make time in your life for things and rearrange. The other stuff that you weren't really doing will fall away as time goes on.
On a lighter note, I bought a single ball of Misti Alpaca Alpaca Silk DK. In red (*gasp*). It. Is. Amazing. I'm making some sort of cowl, neckwarmer with it. No particular pattern, as per my norm. I seem to be drawn to alpaca lately. And rightly so. I just wish my boss could give me an alpaca raise so that I could have more of it. Not that I would knit any faster, but I could just lay in a pile of it. That's what yarn is for, right?
Granted, I did just rip out my cabled vest and start over. It needed to be done, and this second attempt will be better and more wearable, but it still hurt. Now, I want to knit that vest until I get back to where I was before, but I forget how long it took the first time! My plan had been to slowly work on the vest and have it ready to wear this winter. I still would like for that to happen, but I have several small projects in mind and two baby sweaters for babies on the way! And I can't let my babies down! This being my last winter in Ohio (it will be!), the vest will get more wear than when I'm back in the South. Perhaps I'm over dramatizing, but that's how it seems.
Our podcast starts next Saturday. I am very unnerved. What if no one listens in? What if no one cares after they do? What if we/I suck? People can often be mean rather than helpful. K and I seem to be busy and distracted and getting more so by the minute, but I fear that if we put this off any more, we won't do the podcast at all. Sometimes you just have to make time in your life for things and rearrange. The other stuff that you weren't really doing will fall away as time goes on.
On a lighter note, I bought a single ball of Misti Alpaca Alpaca Silk DK. In red (*gasp*). It. Is. Amazing. I'm making some sort of cowl, neckwarmer with it. No particular pattern, as per my norm. I seem to be drawn to alpaca lately. And rightly so. I just wish my boss could give me an alpaca raise so that I could have more of it. Not that I would knit any faster, but I could just lay in a pile of it. That's what yarn is for, right?
Friday, July 31, 2009
I've never been . . .
"I've never been this homesick before."
Now, I know that this line is from a good ole bluegrass gospel song that I've heard my whole life, but today, it has a different meaning to me. Or, I should say, for the past 10 months. The song is talking about how homesick we get for Heaven. Yes, I am very excited about being in Heaven. However, I am currently homesick for Winston and the South in general. God's country, as Cindy calls it.
The reason for my sickness is, in fact, knitting related. I love to listen to Limenviolet. As you may know, Miss Violet is in the midst of a project she's created called The Mountain Sole Project where she is driving down the Crooked Road in VA and creating knitting patterns based upon the history and bluegrass music of the area. While I have never lived in VA, the shots she's taken and the stories she tells sound very much like the place I did grow up just a bit north of Knoxville, TN. I grew up listening to bluegrass music; either in church or just on the radio. I grew up driving through the mountains and ridges and seeing the beauty. I grew up eating in little country diners and seeing old men on the porches of country stores. She's killing me with this!
Also, to add to the pain and suffering and envy, Miss V is planning to move to Greensboro, about 2 seconds from my chosen home of Winston-Salem. She even has the guts to go to Winston and visit the yarn store there (Knit Picky) that is the first yarn store I ever entered. Every time she talks about NC on the podcast, my heart hurts. And I was just in Winston not 5 days ago and had to leave to be back here in Boohio.
I took a rather rambling (but purposeful) road trip home to Knoxville to see my sick grandfather, go to a wedding in Marietta, and then to Winston for my classmate Eric's thesis defense. I spent from Friday to Tuesday in "God's country." It was heartbreaking to leave. And now, a limenviolet podcast from NC and the Mountain Sole Project. Sigh.
I have never been one to be homesick. Never. I love traveling. It has to be a really bad trip for me to want to come home. And I never really loved a place that I lived so much that I didn't like the next place I moved to. Now, I realize, that I never was far from my heart. The South, the Smoky Mountains, the land of good ole boys and porch swings. I actually ache sometimes to be back there. Granted, there are some good things about Columbus. It has a million of everything and my boss and thesis project are here. But my heart is 400 miles away.
I must say thanks to Miss V, however, for giving me some glimpses into the land that I love and for allowing me to see it all anew through her eyes. It just goes to show that it really is a wonderful place. It's not just me who thinks so.
Now, I know that this line is from a good ole bluegrass gospel song that I've heard my whole life, but today, it has a different meaning to me. Or, I should say, for the past 10 months. The song is talking about how homesick we get for Heaven. Yes, I am very excited about being in Heaven. However, I am currently homesick for Winston and the South in general. God's country, as Cindy calls it.
The reason for my sickness is, in fact, knitting related. I love to listen to Limenviolet. As you may know, Miss Violet is in the midst of a project she's created called The Mountain Sole Project where she is driving down the Crooked Road in VA and creating knitting patterns based upon the history and bluegrass music of the area. While I have never lived in VA, the shots she's taken and the stories she tells sound very much like the place I did grow up just a bit north of Knoxville, TN. I grew up listening to bluegrass music; either in church or just on the radio. I grew up driving through the mountains and ridges and seeing the beauty. I grew up eating in little country diners and seeing old men on the porches of country stores. She's killing me with this!
Also, to add to the pain and suffering and envy, Miss V is planning to move to Greensboro, about 2 seconds from my chosen home of Winston-Salem. She even has the guts to go to Winston and visit the yarn store there (Knit Picky) that is the first yarn store I ever entered. Every time she talks about NC on the podcast, my heart hurts. And I was just in Winston not 5 days ago and had to leave to be back here in Boohio.
I took a rather rambling (but purposeful) road trip home to Knoxville to see my sick grandfather, go to a wedding in Marietta, and then to Winston for my classmate Eric's thesis defense. I spent from Friday to Tuesday in "God's country." It was heartbreaking to leave. And now, a limenviolet podcast from NC and the Mountain Sole Project. Sigh.
I have never been one to be homesick. Never. I love traveling. It has to be a really bad trip for me to want to come home. And I never really loved a place that I lived so much that I didn't like the next place I moved to. Now, I realize, that I never was far from my heart. The South, the Smoky Mountains, the land of good ole boys and porch swings. I actually ache sometimes to be back there. Granted, there are some good things about Columbus. It has a million of everything and my boss and thesis project are here. But my heart is 400 miles away.
I must say thanks to Miss V, however, for giving me some glimpses into the land that I love and for allowing me to see it all anew through her eyes. It just goes to show that it really is a wonderful place. It's not just me who thinks so.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
It must be in the water
So, it's starting to feel like everyone I know is pregnant. Our lab manager, Mona, my close friend Cheraton, Anne, and several people I knew in high school. However, with close friends being pregnant, two things immediately come to mind: 1. Baby knits, 2. Baby showers!
I have never knit any baby things, and now I feel that I must. I have downloaded several cute patterns but I don't know which ones to make. I have some I Love This Cotton that I mentioned in my last post that I probably will use for a blanket. But I want to do something special for these much-awaited babies. I'm thinking cardigans. I know that a cardigan is kind of ambitious for me, but I have several great looking patterns. Now, if I could stop traveling with these women, I could get started!
The showers, though, will take less time to plan and execute. I have been wanting to throw a party for quite awhile and now I may have two close together! When it rains, as they say.
But, back to the knitting. I'm hoping that since babies are small, I will get something like instant gratification. As instant as knitting ever is.
And then Kristen has brought up the idea of us doing a podcast again. And that's rolling around in my head. But it does make me want to knit and finish some things so I have something to talk about!
Ok, traveling tomorrow, so, TO BED!
I have never knit any baby things, and now I feel that I must. I have downloaded several cute patterns but I don't know which ones to make. I have some I Love This Cotton that I mentioned in my last post that I probably will use for a blanket. But I want to do something special for these much-awaited babies. I'm thinking cardigans. I know that a cardigan is kind of ambitious for me, but I have several great looking patterns. Now, if I could stop traveling with these women, I could get started!
The showers, though, will take less time to plan and execute. I have been wanting to throw a party for quite awhile and now I may have two close together! When it rains, as they say.
But, back to the knitting. I'm hoping that since babies are small, I will get something like instant gratification. As instant as knitting ever is.
And then Kristen has brought up the idea of us doing a podcast again. And that's rolling around in my head. But it does make me want to knit and finish some things so I have something to talk about!
Ok, traveling tomorrow, so, TO BED!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
A long time coming
So, it's been a very long time since I posted. I have been knitting, however!
I'm trying to remember all that I've knit since October. The boss received and liked the scarlet and gray scarf. I began a computer case for my friend Cindy (green and brown Moda Dea Washable Wool), but it wasn't sturdy enough to protect a laptop, so it became a pillow. Sounds a little odd, but it made a very nice pillow and it matches her living room very well.
I began working on my first article of clothing around the first of the year (I think). It's the Cabled Vest from Knit So Fine. I couldn't find a good price on fingering wieght, which the pattern calls for, so I went up to DK. It will be thicker than the authors intended, but I think it will still look nice. I'm using washable wool from Sarah's Yarns. I got it on sale, too! Sale yarn is the best, after all.
In the middle of that, I needed to make a Mother's Day gift for my step-mom. She is one of the few people I know that still use a dish cloth, so I decided to make her some using I Love This Cotton (you can get it at Hobby Lobby). She got a white dish cloth, a deep green "kitchen square", and a white hand towel with deep green edges. Back in January, I made two "kitchen squares" for our lab manager, Mona, for her birthday. Basically, it's a square of cotton that can be used as a dish cloth, pot holder, or hot pad. For Mona's, I used Peaches and Cream in a pretty mutli-hued blue. The I Love This Cotton is VERY soft and a lot nicer to knit with, but it does pill a little, though not so bad after it's washed, and the color seems to hold well. I have another ball of it in blues and greens that may become a baby blanket.
At this very moment, I am knitting a clutch. I'm using Kroy (by Pattons, I think) in a heather gray. It isn't the sock yarn, though; this is 75% wool 25% nylon, so it's softer than sock yarn by a little. My mom found this ball at a thrift store for $0.99 and I haven't seen any of this blend or exact color since. I figured I needed a one skein project, and I love purses, so ta-da! I'm using a mock eyelet cable rib (from the Harmony Guides). It looks nice. Hopefully, I will find a purse frame that I like to go with this yarn. It will have to be silver, I think.
I also started (and have nearly finished) my first felting project. I'm making a stripped satchel using Classic Wool by Patons in dark turquoise and red. Hopefully, it will felt properly and to a good size, when I get around to finishing it. I got distracted by something else and haven't quite finished, and wool doesn't seem like such a great idea now that it's a million degrees outside. Yes, even here in Boohio.
I'm also watching The Fellowship of the Ring as I knit. The three movies in that trilogy are excellent knitting movies. They last a long time, so you want to sit and just be.
I'm trying to remember all that I've knit since October. The boss received and liked the scarlet and gray scarf. I began a computer case for my friend Cindy (green and brown Moda Dea Washable Wool), but it wasn't sturdy enough to protect a laptop, so it became a pillow. Sounds a little odd, but it made a very nice pillow and it matches her living room very well.
I began working on my first article of clothing around the first of the year (I think). It's the Cabled Vest from Knit So Fine. I couldn't find a good price on fingering wieght, which the pattern calls for, so I went up to DK. It will be thicker than the authors intended, but I think it will still look nice. I'm using washable wool from Sarah's Yarns. I got it on sale, too! Sale yarn is the best, after all.
In the middle of that, I needed to make a Mother's Day gift for my step-mom. She is one of the few people I know that still use a dish cloth, so I decided to make her some using I Love This Cotton (you can get it at Hobby Lobby). She got a white dish cloth, a deep green "kitchen square", and a white hand towel with deep green edges. Back in January, I made two "kitchen squares" for our lab manager, Mona, for her birthday. Basically, it's a square of cotton that can be used as a dish cloth, pot holder, or hot pad. For Mona's, I used Peaches and Cream in a pretty mutli-hued blue. The I Love This Cotton is VERY soft and a lot nicer to knit with, but it does pill a little, though not so bad after it's washed, and the color seems to hold well. I have another ball of it in blues and greens that may become a baby blanket.
At this very moment, I am knitting a clutch. I'm using Kroy (by Pattons, I think) in a heather gray. It isn't the sock yarn, though; this is 75% wool 25% nylon, so it's softer than sock yarn by a little. My mom found this ball at a thrift store for $0.99 and I haven't seen any of this blend or exact color since. I figured I needed a one skein project, and I love purses, so ta-da! I'm using a mock eyelet cable rib (from the Harmony Guides). It looks nice. Hopefully, I will find a purse frame that I like to go with this yarn. It will have to be silver, I think.
I also started (and have nearly finished) my first felting project. I'm making a stripped satchel using Classic Wool by Patons in dark turquoise and red. Hopefully, it will felt properly and to a good size, when I get around to finishing it. I got distracted by something else and haven't quite finished, and wool doesn't seem like such a great idea now that it's a million degrees outside. Yes, even here in Boohio.
I'm also watching The Fellowship of the Ring as I knit. The three movies in that trilogy are excellent knitting movies. They last a long time, so you want to sit and just be.
Friday, October 24, 2008
A Peaceful Moment
I love Fall. It's my favorite time of year, by far. The weather cools, the leaves turn vibrant colors, and you get to sit curled up under a blanket.
I'm sitting here on my couch having a very lovely moment: I'm covered up, my cat is curled up beside me napping, I'm knitting an ipod cover for a friend, watching Bleach online, and listening to the rain falling into the pond outside.
I've been kind of lonely recently, having just moved to a new city, but right this minute, I'm very much at peace. I'm so thankful that God gives us little moments like this. And it's always good when knitting is involved! Even when you mess up and have to tink back, like I just did. My yarn is even an orangy Fall color, to top off the lovely picture. Sigh.
I'm sitting here on my couch having a very lovely moment: I'm covered up, my cat is curled up beside me napping, I'm knitting an ipod cover for a friend, watching Bleach online, and listening to the rain falling into the pond outside.
I've been kind of lonely recently, having just moved to a new city, but right this minute, I'm very much at peace. I'm so thankful that God gives us little moments like this. And it's always good when knitting is involved! Even when you mess up and have to tink back, like I just did. My yarn is even an orangy Fall color, to top off the lovely picture. Sigh.
Monday, October 20, 2008
New to Ravelry
Well, this is my first post on this blog that I have dedicated to my knitting. I don't have a digital camera, so it will be fun finding people to let me borrow theirs so that I can post my knitted projects. I feel like I'm pretty new to knitting, even though I've been doing it since January. Granted, my knitting guru, Kristen, has been knitting for several years; since before knitting became "cool." Not that it hasn't always been cool, but everyone seemed to catch on all at once. Actually, a lot of girls started knitting my freshman year of undergrad (7 years ago; wow, I'm getting old), but I'm not one to ride the wave of fad. But Kristen enjoys it so much and she tempted me with some Debbie Bliss yarn (alpaca/silk, I think) and I haven't looked back.
I've discovered that I'm not a sock knitter. I haven't even tried, because I would rather never have to wear socks. However, I love scarves. Not just because they're so easy to make, but because I can see them and wear them as accessories. Socks are hidden. So, I'll make lots of scarves and everyone else can make socks, and the world will be in balance.
I've also made a purse, change purse, cell phone cover (two actually, one for a friend), two pillows. I'm currently working on an OSU scarlet and gray scarf for my boss, an ipod cover for a friend, and my first afghan. Not sure when that will be done; I forsee a lot of putting it down when I get tired of the same yarn. I started a Mystery stole with Kristen, but we aren't sure that we will finish them. However, the yarn it too wonderful not to use, so we're looking for the perfect stole/wrap to make with it.
Maybe I can find a camera to take pics of all my projects soon.
I've discovered that I'm not a sock knitter. I haven't even tried, because I would rather never have to wear socks. However, I love scarves. Not just because they're so easy to make, but because I can see them and wear them as accessories. Socks are hidden. So, I'll make lots of scarves and everyone else can make socks, and the world will be in balance.
I've also made a purse, change purse, cell phone cover (two actually, one for a friend), two pillows. I'm currently working on an OSU scarlet and gray scarf for my boss, an ipod cover for a friend, and my first afghan. Not sure when that will be done; I forsee a lot of putting it down when I get tired of the same yarn. I started a Mystery stole with Kristen, but we aren't sure that we will finish them. However, the yarn it too wonderful not to use, so we're looking for the perfect stole/wrap to make with it.
Maybe I can find a camera to take pics of all my projects soon.
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