The Other Stash

I have too many books.

Literally closets FULL of books. Shelves FULL of books.

Obviously, I have an addictive personality and when I quit smoking I transferred all that energy to yarn and books.

No more.

Starting January 1st I will no longer buy any books and I will actually read the ones I have. I am going to read 50 (maybe 52) books.

To that end, I read So Many Books, So Little Time this week (#11 in my 50 book challenge.) It's about a woman (Former Publishers Weekly Editor Sara Nelson) who decided to read a book a week and then write about them. (Hey, self, Copycat much?)

Calm down, my dear readers. I am not going subject you to the torture of reading book reviews written by moi (Well, not here at least... I'm kind of debating starting a short term blog for the project.) I'll just periodically let you know what I'm reading, when I finish it and as briefly as possible I'll let you know what I think of the book. (As for So Many Books, So Little Time - I enjoyed it immensely. I often found myself exclaiming "Yes! Exactly!" .)

Now about Books #9 and #10 (DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!)

Book #9
8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber

Book #10
92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber

I love this series, but I have to admit that so many characters have been introduced and sometimes it seems as if Ms. Macomber feels compelled to mention all of them in each book. As a reader I really don't mind if an author chooses to focus on only 2 or 3 characters in any given book of a series. I promise I'll continue to read the series. I won't get huffy and refuse to read just because you don't mention someone.

But then, I'm pretty easy when it comes to reading. Does that mean I'm a book whore?

Oh dear (and please forgive this stream of consciousness turn), I may have just stumbled upon the reason for my unreasonable stashes. I am a yarn and book whore. And by that I mean that I am not picky about these things at all.

Wait, I think I've mixed it up.

The yarn and the books are the whores.

Cheap. Sometimes not the finest quality. But I, desperate for a thrill, a taste of pleasure, willingly pay for them. Then, shamefully I return home and hide them away so no one knows my shame.

December Goals Wrap Up

Leftover from November Goals

• Finish October socks
• Finish Echarpe Pointes Violettes/Violet Points Scarf
• Start Ophelia

Knit/Crochet Goals

• Make 2 more mini stockings for Offspring’s Christmas tree

• Finish and mail shawl for SIL

• Make 2 squares for Heartmade Blessings

• Work on Pi Shawl every Tuesday (which is Knit Nite) erm...I kind of played hooky a couple times.
  

Book Goals

• Read 2 books

Organization Goals

• Go through queue, get ready for 2010

• Go through magazines at home. Put in chronological order.
  

I've also got some blogging goals:

• Post at least 4 times per week.
• Organize the sidebar a little better.
• Be a better commenter ('cause blogging is a two way street.)

Ugh. Only a 53% completion rate. Hmmm...if I worked all day today I could possibly finish and mail the shawl by tomorrow. That would get me up to 61% (Which is passing at my school.)

Nah.

Hillbilly Knitting (Or Going Old School)

I've been crocheting.

Not just crocheting.

Crocheting with acrylic (*gasp*)



Both of these are headed for an assembler at Heartmade Blessings.

Today I'll also be blocking dishcloths and getting them ready to mail!

Word Verification Giggles

Supecat- A little known catsploitation film from 1973. Both Supecat and Cleocatra Smith (not to be confused with Cleopatra Jones) were box office and critical failures.

The Sweaters of 2009- The Lillians

A note from management: Please pretend it's Friday so I can still file this under "Flashback Fridays." I started writing it on a Friday. Surely that counts?

Not Quite Lillian
Ravelry Link
Original FO Post



Critique
Fit: Comfy. Perhaps the armholes are a bit snug. After this sweater and the Wing-It Vest I learned that I could probably make them a little deeper with minimal number crunching.

Craftsmanship
I was willing to give the Tube Toporini twins a craftsmanship rating of "good" because when I made them, I was in my sweater making infancy. (I will not count any sweater made pre T3*.)

By the time I made this sweater I had higher expectations of myself so I will say the craftsmanship is average due to two things: the picot edge and the shoulder seams.

I did not listen to a reader (whose name escapes me right now...'fess up if it's you) and I used the same size needle for the beginning of the picot edge. Dear reader, If only I had listened and used a smaller needle size. Then the hem would lie a little flatter and I would not have that unfortunate thickness around the hips. I was lazy. I did not feel like looking for the smaller needle. I will regret this choice every time I don the sweater. (You can bet when I make this again I will remember it!)

I also did a not-good job on the shoulder seams. Seaming is not one of my favorite things anyway and by the time I got to these seams I was just ready to be done. I did not take my time and they are a bit bulky. I don't think it is that noticeable, I mean I don't look like Frankenstein or anything, but I know they are bulky.

Not Quite Lillian is not full of faults, though. I learned from the twins and I did improve my finishing by splitting the plies and making many twists and turns as I weaved (wove?) in the ends. I also learned the tubular bind off for a particularly nice finish to the armholes:



The Verdict:
I like it and I've worn it often. It is not sitting at the bottom of a closet (where all my pre T3 sweaters are.) No one really comments on it when I wear it so I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

*Tube Toporini Twins

The Wing-It Vest
Ravelry Link
Original FO Post



Critique
Fit: Good. The armholes aren't as snug as the previous Lillian, but the straps feel a bit off. I could stand to have a slightly narrower neck opening so they could come in a little bit.

Craftsmanship: I would say the craftsmanship is good, but the designing is poor to fair.

• I like the 2x2 ribbing, but I could have stopped and inch and a half earlier.
  
• I should have separated the ribbing from the stockinette with a simple purl row or maybe two garter stitch rows...or gone right into stockinette with nothing to mark the change.
  
• The 2x2 ribbing became problematic when it came to finishing the armholes and neck. I could have used 1x1 ribbing and a tubular cast off, but it my mind's eye that did not match the 2x2 at the bottom. I ended up just doing 3 purl rows which really ends up looking like Rainbow Brite's sleeves: and 3 purl rows really doesn't pull in the neck line like ribbing would have, so it has a tendency to gap.
  

The Verdict: Despite it's problems, I still wear it and it is comfy. Again, I don't get any comments on it when I wear it and I don't know if that's good or bad.

Just one more sweater to review!

A Holiday FO

I give you the Echarpe Pointes Violettes/Violet Points Scarf





Definitely not a scarf for warmth, just pure beauty. I enjoyed making this one very much.

Details:
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss in Raisin
Hooks:

3.75 mm (F)

4.0 mm (G)
Commentary: Annette Petavy is a wonderful crochet designer. I love her. This is the only design of hers that I've done so I can't vouch for all of them, but this one was straightforward and easy to do (my favorite!) I love that the finished product is so delicate and floaty. The only negative is the blocking. Being the lazy gal I am, I should have really taken the time to use blocking wires and then meticulously shaped the scarf and it's points. Hopefully, no one will really notice that I could have blocked it better.

May everyone have a Merry and Safe Christmas!!

Link-Worthy

I have just read the best holiday post ever on Irisheyesknitting. With a little tweaking, it could easily become suitable for year-long enjoyment.

Seriously, click on over and read it.

Well, Crud (The New Poll is Up)

In my joy and excitement over my vacation (which began December 18 around 2pm), I completely forgot this week's poll!

Results from last week:

Hot apple cider: 6 votes
Egg Nog: 5 votes
Hot Chocolate: 5 votes
Other: 1 vote

This week's poll is now up. Thanks for voting!

Could This Be?

So I was over at Norma's blog and read this post. For your convenience I will also quote the pertinent parts here.

Gone are the halcyon days when there were, oh, maybe 100 bloggers, and *I* was one of the newbies, and everyone knew everyone. Now there are 200 million bloggers and 65 and a half trillion people on Ravelry, many of whom have never even heard of a blog, or if they have heard of them, they have negative-2-on-a-scale-of-1-to-10 interest in them. In other words, WE'RE DINOSAURS.

and...

We had our moment in the sun, and it was eclipsed. We had become passé in just a year or two. It was kind of nice, actually. Much more relaxing a way to spend one's festival.

Is it true? Is blogging really a thing of the past? I certainly hope not. I like reading blogs. It's like an extension of my knit nite.

I plan to stick around. I don't have anything better to do.

Swap Guilt

Last month I signed up for a cowl swap. I received mine yesterday.

It is gorgeous.


In a twist, I took the picture and Offspring modeled.

It's the Scowl by Samantha Roshak. It's j.knits sock yarn in the Connecticut colorway. There is also a great shawl pin, but I didn't do a very good job of photographing it.

I hope I did as well on the cowl I made for my partner.

The Last Night

Happy Chaunkah and Shabbat Shalom!

Friday Fill-In 12/18/09

Honest to goodness I've got some yarny content in the works. I apologize that the posts of late have been of the quizzy, meme variety. It's that time of year, folks (oh, that should have gone on my Thursday Thirteen list). The students are going nuts and the teachers magically transform into wardens. We just want to maintain control and avoid a coup.

Next week is vacation. There will be knits. And crochets. Until then, enjoy the fill-in.



1. No, we will NOT have a party; You guys can't even maintain control on a day I have work for you to do!
2. She did her work at the old kitchen table.
3. I watched the steam rising from the hot cup of coffee (or tea) and thought: Thank all that is holy that my husband decided he wanted brains over beauty.
4. After today, it's all going to be okay.
5. I'll take Manhattan.
6. Teachers are not to blame for everything. Well, at least from my point of view.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Offspring coming to visit, tomorrow my plans include the bookstore and Sunday, I want to knit and watch football!

Another Installment of Word Verification Fun

I might as well start a Label category for it!

pronkwad: a general nuisance; an annoyance.

Teens can be such pronkwads.

13 Words or Phrases I Use Too Much On The Blog

1. In other news...

2. Anyhoo...

3. 'cause...

4. Seriously...

5. *sigh*

6. Sorry

7. And (at the beginning of the sentence...a grammatical "no-no.")

8. But (see #7)

9. So...

10. not to mention

11. You know?

12. So sue me

13. Unfortunately

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Eventually I will return with knitting content....

Ten on Tuesday 12/15/09

10 Great Things About the Holidays

1. Monday, December 21
2. Tuesday, December 22
3. Wednesday, December 23
4. Thursday, December 24
5. Friday, December 25
6. Monday, December 28
7. Tuesday, December 29
8. Wednesday, December 30
9. Thursday, December 31
10. Friday, January 1

Can you tell which days I have off work?

A Quiz-But I Am Susupicious

I found the link to this quiz at love.blog.knit.breathe. I had the same results. I am always suspicious when that happens. I understand these quizzes are just for fun and not legit, but surely one should not end up with the same results all the time (which seems to be what happens to me.)

If you take the quiz, let me know what your result was, Ok? Thanks.

On a side note: This does not describe me AT ALL. Think about my actions? Act deliberately? No way!

You Are an Argyle Sweater

You are contemplative, brainy, and serious. You don't take much lightly - life is too important for that. You are a very determined person. You don't let anything stand in your way. You think out your actions and act deliberately. You don't waste time, money, or resources.

What Kind of Sweater Are You?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

New Poll, No Pics and WIPs

This week's poll is up and ready for voting. Here are last week's results:
What kind of Christmas tree do you prefer?
Real: 13 votes
Artificial: 5 votes

I did indeed succumb to startitis today and I now have a half granny shawl and an Ophelia in progress. I've also printed out the pattern for Viking socks. I'm thinking lime green. Hopefully I'll get them started this week, too. Now the trick is to finish them (and the other WIP's I've got going...like SIL's shawl that I haven't looked at in a couple of weeks.)

Pictures? Well, you see...I'm really, really, really lazy and didn't feel like getting off the couch. It's been really, really, really rainy and I didn't have enough light to photograph the new projects properly.

Yeeeaaaah. That's it.

Unconscious Mutterings 12/13/09

1. Up :: Down


2. Scram! :: Vamoose!


3. Smell :: Nose


4. Belong :: Pat Benatar (late 80's not so good stuff)


5. Doug :: Patty Mayonaise


6. Collar :: Arrest


7. Squirrel :: Photo


8. Chinese :: Take Out


9. Tracker :: Mail


10. Apartment :: Number

I feel a bout of startitis coming on and it's another rainy day. I will probably return with pics and WIPs

Oh, and as an aside rant: On Wednesday I ordered the Fearless Knitting Workbook from Interweave Press. It was close to payday so I paid the extra bucks for 2 day shipping ('cause I want it now. Just call me Veruca.)

They are shipping it UPS 2 day air. I just wish they had been up front and said they would wait 3 days to ship it. *sigh*

Boy, Am I Dumb

For weeks I've been seeing this image in the Ravelry groups I belong to (in the form of Ravatars):


Usually there was a squirrel in front of it.

I had no idea what it was. I never looked that closely. I assumed it was some British show. Some angry, dumpy hausfrau in some comedy I'd never seen.

Imagine my surprise when I went to see New Moon today and discovered it was Jasper. I almost laughed out loud. Eventually I did.

But not at my stupidity.

At the movie. I was baaaad. Really awful. At least the werewolves were cool. I'm definitely Team Jacob. He's warm. He turns into a werewolf with sensitive eyes. He has a tan. He's built. (Really, they should not have let Cedric Diggory bare is pale, scrawny, not-quite-hairy, not-quite-smooth chest.)

Oh my. How many Team Edward readers will I lose after this confession?

Happy Chaunkah!

The Second Night

Hysterical, Yet Completely Inappropriate Word Verification

vaghspit

And that's all I'm gonna say.

The Sweaters of 2009-The Tube Toporini Twins

A Flashback Friday exclusive!

You will recall the first Tube Toporini:



I won't re-hash the details in this post...

...hang on...

*runs off to check original post*

I'm back. Apparently, I never gave details. Well, here's the ravlink.

The Verdict
Pros:

• Fits well
• Is comfortable
• Flattering (I promise; the picture is not doing it justice.)
  
• Relatively good craftsmanship (I could have woven in ends a little better and the cable didn't line up with ribbing perfectly)
  

Cons:

• Color

It's too Auburn orange so I am unable to wear it between the months of August and December (football season.) Also, I can't pair it with black pants or a black skirt since I'll end up looking like Halloween. It looks cute with a khaki linen skirt I have. I expect I will wear it a lot in the spring.

Now for the second TT:



Pros:

• Fits well
• Is comfortable
• Flattering
• Good craftsmanship (I could have woven in ends a little better, but the cable lines up better with the ribbing.)
• Color

There are no cons.

These two sweaters, as simple as they are, really built my sweater confidence this year. Not that every sweater I made was success, but these two kept my hope alive. Thanks to them, I went on to make Bluebell, Not Quite Lillian and Wing-It (all of which will be reviewed in time.)

Friday Fill-In 12/11/09

1. Good times were had by all.
2. I love my home.
3. Sleigh bells ring are you listenin'?.
4. Give a little.
5. Once more it is Friday and I'm ecstatic.
6. Will the frustrations at work ever end?
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to solitude tonight, tomorrow my plans include knitting and Sunday, I want to watch football!


And be prepared, I have at least two other posts today. I hope you will forgive my blogspamming.

A Downer of a Mish Mash

Let me apologize in advance for this post. There is no knitting. I hope you will indulge my whining...even though it is Thursday.

Sometimes working with teens is so disheartening.

• From what I observe, they care not a whit about an education or knowledge. They just want the grade. (Which forces me to grade almost everything. Many will only do their best if it is for a grade.)
• They rail against the adults over the littlest things...like the uniform policy, yet when given the opportunity to fight against something important, like poverty, they do nothing. (Each student at our school was recently asked to donate $5 so the SGA could buy items for a family in need at Christmas. Some students actually said "I'm not giving that. They can just go out and get a job.")
• They are mean to each other, then when you call them out on it...they are "just joking."
• They sit passively in a class and do little to actively engage themselves in the learning process and then accuse the teacher of "not teaching" the material if they do not do well. Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't learning a two way street?
• The parents aren't much better. To quote a parent from Open House: (speaking to me about her son) "You do your job I'll do mine." Does little Johnny have no responsibility for his own grade? (I dare not call it education.)

Now I need to spend the day noting the positive aspects of teaching teens. If I keep up this mindset, I'll make myself crazy.

Direct From Facebook!

I think Offspring approves of an ornament I made. She posted a picture of it in one of her Facebook albums:



And to quote her "The bootie my awesome mom knitted for our tree :-)"

Ok, maybe I told her she had to take a picture. Maybe I did threaten to cut off all funds if she didn't publicly praise me and my knitting to the high heavens.

New Poll, Last Calls, FO's and a New Obsession

Vote!
This week's Christmas poll is now up so be sure to vote.
Here are results from last week:

White lights: 14
Multicolored lights: 11
Blue and White: 2

Ask!
This is your last chance to request a dishcloth. E-mail me before midnight November 8th to get on the list.

Laugh!
At my cats and my attempts at making stitch-markers. I finished a pair of socks that I started in October. I used the yarn I won on Paula's blog. I would love to share a great picture with you but the first one I took was over-exposed:



...then, when I sat down to try to take another pic, I was swarmed:


(I like the extreme close-up of Topper's nose.)

Now for my latest addiction. It all started with the Fall 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting and a page of stitch markers...



ooops...



I especially liked numbers 15 and 5 (both from Spotted Sheep Studio) and thought to my self "Surely I could do something similar!"

I gave it a college try:



and...



Maybe not perfect, but they are promising enough that I went to Michael's and spent more money on beads and supplies than it would have cost me to just go to buy them from Spotted Sheep.

Have a great week everyone!

Unconscious Mutterings 12/6/09

1. Hotter :: than Hades


2. Negotiator :: Samuel L Jackson


3. Crimson :: Tide


4. Loses :: Gains


5. Tide :: Is rolling in


6. Alan :: Dart (a perfectly knitty answer)


7. Fool :: Rushes in


8. Pink :: Purple


9. Palm :: Tree


10. Lipstick :: Jungle

Blogging Inspirations

"Inspirations" being another way to say "blogs I kind of copy." (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?)

• Color scheme and layout- The Yarn Harlot (Surely I'm not the only one to copy her?)
• Cats in the sidebar-Alabama Fiber Dreams (Bubblesknits)
• KnitMeter widget and LinkedIn- 1870 Pearl-My Life in Stitches
• Live Traffic Feed- Major Knitter and SarahKnits

There are other "inspirations" as well. I just can't remember where I originally saw these.

• Blogiversary
• Ravelry progress bars (everyone kind of does that, though)
• FO's 2009 (It's right on the tip of my brain who I got the idea from, but for the life of me I can't remember.)
  

So there you have it. I'm a complete follower. No originality here, folks.

Friday Fill-In 12/4/09

1. You get what you give.
2. You have the right to remain silent.
3. It's about time.
4. Being mean is just ridiculous!
5. I feel more positive.
6. And...goodnight!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, tomorrow my plans include a few early errands and the SEC Championship game and Sunday, I want to watch football and knit!

Resolutions for 2010-Part the First

Before I can get into the new 365 list I must bore give you a review of this year's 365 List.

3 things to work on

• Spend less. No more cookbooks or yarn this year. I've got enough of both to last a year. Believe me. I can make do with what I have in a lot of areas. I don't know why I have half the crap I do.

I now wonder why I have 3/4 of of the crap. I have purchased 2 or 3 (maybe 4) cookbooks. In July I finally put this resolution into practice and I've been yarn-purchase clean for over 100 days. I'm not willing to call this one a broken resolution...just a little bent.

• Green it up. I really can be incredibly wasteful. Paper plates for cat treat distribution*, paper towels for drying my hands. I can knit and I love dishcloths why not put them to actual use.

Check...sort of. Still using the paper towels, but I do have four plastic plates that we use for cat treat distribution.

• Smile more. I can be so negative. Whenever I get negative, I need to stop myself and say at least one positive thing.

Maybe I didn't actually stop and say one positive thing, but I can tell that I have a more positive attitude than I used to .

6 Things I want to do

• Choose one vegan cookbook a month and only make recipes from that book.

Fail, but I did try a lot of new recipes.

• Use my bread maker at least 2 times a month.

Fail, but I did use it more this year than ever before.

• Make one dinner entree using tofu.

Fail...unless you count finding a great Chinese take-out that makes a mean sesame tofu.

• Make one sweater that I actually wear.

Success! I made 4!

• Attend knit nite again and then go at least once a month.

Success! I am a faithful once-a-week attendee.

• Read 18 books (which would be one more than I managed last year.)

Fail (unless I can get through 10 books in the next 27 days; which I guess I could do if I were willing to give up knitting time...nah.)

5 Things to get rid of

• Self criticism

Moderate progress made.

• Self doubt

Moderate progress made.

• Bottled water (see Number 3 in "Things to work on")

Check.

• Non-vegan products (as I run out of them)

Back and forth ('cause sometimes you run out of stuff on Sunday and the health food store is closed.)

• Excuses- either I did something or I didn't. Either I'm going to follow through or I'm not.

Excellent progress made.

In the coming weeks I'll be formulating my new 365 list so it will be ready for the new year.

I'm sure you are just shaking like an excited little chihuahua in anticipation of that post.

ooops

Please accept my humble apologies. I screwed up the e-mail link in the Dishcloths in December post. I have since fixed and and I'm including another "e-mail me" link right here.

Dishcloths in December-A Giveaway

With many thanks to Silver for the lovely button.

In July October I gave away snowflakes. For December: Dishcloths! (It will keep me sane in crazy times.)

Requesting your dishcloth is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Choose a pattern:

• Crochet Hexagon
• eLoomanator's Diagonal Knit Dish cloth or...
• Diagonal Dishcloth

2. E-mail me with your choice and snail mail addy.

and

3. Read the fine print

• Dishcloths will be mailed by December 31st.
• Limited to the first 10 readers.
• Colors will be at the knitter's discretion.
• Size may vary.

I'm looking forward to knitting for you!

December Goals

I think the most useful group on Ravelry is the Stash Knit Down group. Everyone there has a wonderful day-by-day, project-by-project approach to getting rid of their stash. I am easily overwhelmed by size of my stash and if I think about it I end up not doing anything at all. This group makes it easier for me to set little goals. Last month completed 63% of my list (not great, but where I work that is a passing grade.) This month I'd like to make it 75%

My list of December goals I posted over there:

Leftover from November Goals

• Finish October socks
• Finish Echarpe Pointes Violettes/Violet Points Scarf
• Start Ophelia

Knit/Crochet Goals

• Make 2 more mini stockings for Offspring’s Christmas tree

• Finish and mail shawl for SIL

• Make 2 squares for Heartmade Blessings

• Work on Pi Shawl every Tuesday (which is Knit Nite)
  

Book Goals

• Read 2 books

Organization Goals

• Go through queue, get ready for 2010

• Go through magazines at home. Put in chronological order.

I've also got some blogging goals:

• Post at least 4 times per week.
• Organize the sidebar a little better.
• Be a better commenter ('cause blogging is a two way street.)

ETA: Two more Knit/Crochet Goals

Word Verification Fun

dingnote: The note left on your windshield when someone scratches or dings your door.

-Omigosh! Someone hit my door!
-Did they leave a dingnote?