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April 26, 2005
Quest for Addis
As I've mentioned, I live in an area with an inordinate number of LYS's. And yet my attempts to locate an Addi Turbo in something larger than 40" have been met with cheerfully delivered, chirpy answers which basically boil down to 'you silly girl, nobody needs anything that long!'
The Yarn Place, one of my fave LYS's, assured me in no uncertain terms that I could do *anything* on a 40" and I didn't need anything longer, no sir! To their credit, they did provide me with the perfect yarn for the kitty bed so I'll forgive them this lapse and assume that they just haven't ever made any large moebius projects. However, the 40" was severely short of what I needed so I've been shopping around and trying to find a longer length.
I prefer to patronize my LYS's over online vendors for various reasons, and so I was darned frustrated when all of them said they had nothing longer than 40".
But hark! There is a new LYS in town (as if we didn't have enough of them)! The Swift Stitch has just opened on the West Side of Santa Cruz, so I called them to ask (not very hopefully) whether they had long Addis. They weren't open but still the owner answered the phone and very cheerfully helped me. It was a much different conversation than the previous ones I'd had:
Me (somewhat gloomily): I don't suppose you have any addi turbos in 47" or 60"?
Her: Oh, are you making a moebius project? Let me check my stock. (little wait) I have all sizes in 47", but we don't have any 60" lengths in right now. Would you like me to call and order them? I could have them in by Thursday.
Me: That would be great! I don't suppose you have any Cascade Magnum in stock... in the bright red color? I didn't buy enough for this project.
Her: Oh yes, that's wonderful yarn! We have 2 skeins and I'll put them aside for you to get when the needles come in.
She called back about 15 minutes later to report that the needles would be here for sure by Thursday, maybe Wednesday, and she'd call to let me know when they arrived.
Boy howdy, what a great phone call! This week I'll have my long needles, the yarn for the kitty bed, all from my new LYS. She's just as chirpy as the other yarn sellers, but her service level left me all warm and fuzzy so I had to share.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll manage to get a pic of the broad ripple socks! The fixation yarn is really fun to work with, not fussy at all - great for TV knitting.
Posted by synedra at 9:13 AM | Comments (4)
April 25, 2005
Random Thrashing
Happy Monday everyone...
It was a very busy weekend, running around to beach bonfire parties and summer camp open houses and all kinds of other mania, leaving precious little time for knitting, alas. The broad ripple socks, I'm sorry to say, are still only about 2-1/2 inches long and not worthy of a picture yet. And yet, even with no pictures, I feel like blathering on my blog so here I am with some random thoughts because I know you will find them riveting.
- The good news is, I got to run by the beach this morning. The bad news... ow. I have strained my achilles tendon by increasing my mileage too fast for the Revlon Run/Walk. It says in all the books 'don't increase your mileage by more than 10-20% a week' so I went out and increased my mileage by about 200% in a week and duh, my achilles tendon is now sad. Go figure. I'll rest it this week and hope I'm in better shape by the time the Revlon run/walk comes around in 2 weeks.
- I found the new best-ever spam killer for movable type. Seriously, this thing is da bomb, very configurable. SpamLookup. Get it, install it, live a blissful spam-free life while still getting comments on your MT blog.
- What the heck is up with Google this morning? I'm glad there's a Netherlands version, really I am, but please don't redirect me there. I'm guessing it's the work of some bored hacker. Hopefully by the time you read this entry you'll be baffled by it, but trust me, for some reason this morning google.com is redirecting to google.nl
- Those wacky searchers are at it again. I am so sorry to report that I do not have a pattern for Susan's scarf from Desperate Housewives. Nor for her sweater. Really, very sorry. I hope you find it. And, uh, "penitent whipping self jpg"? I know that I did use all of those words (except for jpg) in the chapter I posted from my romance novel, but I'm guessing that's not what you were looking for. My apologies also to the person looking for "incredibles elasti-girl porn pictures". Now there's an interesting mental image!
- I got one of those little icon things for my blog! But I'm not sure if I like it... anyone have any opinions about the little starry D thing? I can muck with it some more. Did anyone else realize what a Windows-centric thing that format is? I had to do some serious scrounging around to be able to create one on my mac. But I am stubborn. And so there it is.
- I still haven't ordered those 60" Addi Turbos. Partly because once I order those needles I'll have to cough up some more money for the Cascade Magnum - I only got 2 skeins and I need something closer to 6. It's not like the stuff is expensive, I just don't like admitting I got my patterns messed up. Also I've been too lazy (still!) to bring in my VISA from the car or find a different yarn store that actually takes Amex. Plus it still really irks me that none of my LYS's (and there are many!) carry the Addis in anything larger than 40". Even the Knitter's Studio, which is Mentioned By Name in the Magical Knitting Books. Makes me stomp my foot like a frustrated toddler... which brings us back to #1 - the hurty achilles tendon. In The Land of Domestigirl, all things are related. Especially on Whiny Mondays...
- If we could please all think really strong positive thoughts about Susan actually getting transferred to Santa Cruz today, that would be great. Thanks.
Posted by synedra at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2005
The Dryer Ate It
OK, where did it go? I had a skein of silk yarn for Susan's Hallowig. You've seen pictures, I know I had it around here somewhere... where could it be? I've checked my office (which is really more of a craft room - I work from my recliner in the family room). I've checked my van. I've checked all my knitting bags (which were selected because they're CLEAR and I can see what's in them). But it's nowhere to be found! How can a ball of yarn (I think it's a ball... pretty sure I wound it) disappear like that? Did I maybe leave it in the room at Disneyland? *sigh* I would be certain that the dryer ate it like some errant sock, except that I'm certain that it's never even seen the laundry room. Perhaps the van ate it. That vehicle definitely has a mind of its own.
Until I solve this mystery, I'm getting started on some Broad Ripple socks for Susan (she's allergic to wool), and someday I will be ordering some 60" needles so I can make my kitty a cozy moebius bed. Just as soon as I remember to bring my wallet in from the car because Jimmy Beans Wool doesn't take Amex and that's the only card number I've got memorized. I really need to make this kitty bed because my arm is in constant danger of some kind of circulation disorder from the 17 pound cat lying atop it while I type. Ironically enough, I'll probably miss having him squishing me when he's got a cozy bed to lie in. Maybe our other cat will take up residence instead.
In the meantime, some wonderful anonymous person sponsored me for the Revlon Run/Walk, bringing my online total to $396! A friend has promised $50 so I'm over $400... the mind boggles. The pictures have been posted from my race last Sunday - I put them on my Fitness Blog. Go ahead, take a look! I love race photos, they're my favorite part of racing. OK, I can tell you're not going to go look, so I'll include a gratuitous race photo here too:
Even though I have somehow lost a $20 skein of yarn it's been a good week:
- I had a better time than expected for the race
- My son had a fabulous week at kindergarten (new teacher, major upheaval, he's not good with change, but he did great!)
- Susan will (hopefully!) be moved back to Santa Cruz on Monday
- I had a good work week this week - got a couple of nasty coding tasks out of the way
So in general it's been a good week. But still, where did I put that yarn?
Posted by synedra at 9:46 AM | Comments (3)
Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon
Well, it was called the half marathon but I only did the 10K course. Still, I managed 13:58 miles which I'm very happy about! We did 15's on the way out (until the turnaround) so we must have done 13's on the way back, very nice! After running this race in shoes one size too large I went over to Running Revolution and they video taped me running on the treadmill until we found some perfect shoes for me - new Asics, very comfy!
And there are PICTURES! Actually I also got my pics back from the SF run as well but I need to scan one in... but here are the pictures from the Santa Cruz race:
Me! At the finish line but still smiling. That guy blazing along behind me was doing the 1/2 marathon, so he did his race twice as fast as I did mine. Someday I hope to be fast enough not to be lapped by anyone. Gotta keep those goals attainable :-)
Amy and myself about a mile from the finish. I told her 'look happy!' hence her somewhat incredulous expression.
Amy, finishing strong...
Posted by synedra at 9:24 AM | Comments (3)
April 14, 2005
Sekrit Stuff
This morning was beyond annoying as I dealt with some lousy customer service people, but the day is looking up now... and I got some sponsors from work and Danielle as well, so my Revlon total is looking better too...
I got another cool package from my knitty secret pal yesterday! A cool book on sweaters, some rowan calmer and a velvety bag which is so soft and fuzzy that I can't stop petting it. I love it all!
And yesterday must have been some kind of cosmic Secret Pal day because I took advantage of the fact that my SP4 SP was going to be onsite at our mutual work site (we both work for the same company) to surprise her with her last package - she was thrilled and it was fun to surprise her :-)
And... and... and... yes, the moebius is done! It's much much longer than I expected but it can be wrapped around the neck and still drape down to a decent scarf length. Or you can wrap it twice and have 3 different levels. It's darn cool either way.
I did not yet order (and thus did not yet receive) the 60" needles I need for the kitty bed, so I think I will cast on for Susan's silk hallowig next. Can't wait to see how that comes out. I only have one skein so I think I'll knit it on big needles so it's more open (and so the skein makes it to the end).
Posted by synedra at 10:56 AM | Comments (1)
April 13, 2005
Upcoming Races
I've been plugging along on my training, working on getting my 'speed' up (if you can call it that). This weekend my friend and I did 5K, in preparation for the 10K this weekend. It should be fun, we're hoping to maintain 15 minute miles although that might be a bit optimistic.
Next month I'm flying down to SoCal to run in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women - this race raises money for outreach programs and research focussing on women's cancer issues. If you'd like to be a sponsor, please click on the 'sponsor me' link in the sidebar. I'm even running a raffle on my knitting blog so you might win something cool while providing money for this important cause.
Posted by synedra at 3:18 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2005
Let's Talk Socks!
An update on my Revlon fundraising... Over the last few days I've gotten contributions from Kimberli and Carla, bringing my grand total to $110! That means I'll be giving away fabulous raffle prizes to at least 2 of my sponsors! So far I've talked about spinning and sweets. So let's talk socks!
I think we've established that I have a lot of sock yarn. Especially for someone who has knitted, so far, a single pair of socks (for sockapalooza!)
I have these:
And I've also got this koigu which was previously destined for a Clapotis but is now just plain old 'sock yarn' (if you can call anything this gorgeous 'plain'):
If one of the lucky winners chooses the Sock Prize, I will give them:
- Two socks worth of any of my sock yarn (personally, I'd choose the Koigu, but I also have some Sockotta, Lornas' Laces Shepherd, Lana Grossa, and Swizzle)
- One set of Lantern Moon DPN's in an appropriate size to create socks with the chosen yarn
- One sock book - 'Knit Socks' or 'Cool Socks Warm Feet'
A fabulous prize for any sock knitter, be they newbie or pro. If it speaks to you, click the 'sponsor me' link in the right hand sidebar and throw some money in the ring. Again, each dollar will get you a virtual raffle ticket and I'll give prizes based on the total amount donated, as well as donating 10% of my total to a couple of my fellow runners.
Now, I'm running out of ideas, so let me know what kind of thing you would want if you could have some kind of goody that you wouldn't buy for yourself. That's the best kind of prize, in my mind.
And in actual knitting news, the moebius is still chugging along. I think I'll need to get one more color to make this thing complete, but I'm pretty jazzed about how it looks so far. Despite the fact that it's all scrunched up on the teenytiny 40" circular.
I almost forgot to mention - my sockapalooza pal got her socks! And she liked them! And they fit! Very exciting :-)
Posted by synedra at 9:01 AM | Comments (1)
April 9, 2005
This one's for you!
First, let me give a huge thanks to Elizabeth of Three Olive Martini for her donation *and* for the wonderful shout out on her blog!
OK, for all of you out there who are not fiber nuts, but in need of some enticement, I'm going to throw out a few other options for you to ponder...
As you may know, I live in Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz has tons of cool stuff (not just beaches and surfers!)
Love Sweets? Santa Cruz has 3 independent candy makers and the best cookie company on the planet:
Donnelly's Chocolates
This place is amazing. Read one blogger's review (and another here. Now wipe the drool off your chin and click that sponsor link!
Marini's Candies
Marini's has more of your normal candy options - they're mostly famous for their salt water taffy in a zillion flavors.
Pacific Cookie Company
You'll just have to trust me on this one. These are the best cookies ever. Especially the peanut butter chocolate chip.
If you're a winner, just say the word and I'll go fetch something from one of these fine establishments for you as your Sweet Prize.
Not a fan of sweets *or* fiber? What's wrong with you? OK, I have something for regular folks too. For a Thrilling Prize, I'll give 2 tickets to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I know this isn't too useful if you don't live around here but I'm guessing you won't pick this one if you live in Alaska. Or Florida. However, I know I have lots of San Francisco Bay Area readers and this prize is worth about $60, so I figured I'd offer it as an option.
Don't worry, tomorrow I'll get back to the fiber enticements... candy porn is somehow not as satisfying as fiber porn. But if any of the above is tempting, then sponsor me :-)
Posted by synedra at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
April 8, 2005
Happy Friday!
Well, I had a post all ready to go and my browser took a dive, hmph. Ah well. Second time's the charm, I guess!
Still working hard on my moebius thing, so I'll take this opportunity to thank those wonderful folks who have already sponsored me for the Revlon Run/Walk. Many thanks to Lu, Michelle and Kathy! I'm up to $40 now which is very exciting :-)
I'm now going to whet your appetites with some lovely fiber porn, hoping to entice even more of you to contribute. As I said, the winners of this raffle will get to pick the type of prize they want (spinning, knitting, books, sweet treats) - or take the 'surprise me' option.
Today I'm going to talk about the spinning option! When I was at Stitches West I got some great roving and a spindle, but haven't had time to work on my spinning. It seems a shame that this fabulous roving isn't being fondled regularly by anyone, so I'll be happy to pass it along to a lucky winner.
The Spinning Prize will include:
(1) nice wooden drop spindle and (1) brochure with spinning instructions
(1) hank of merino/tencel roving from Deep Color. I can't even begin to describe how incredibly yummy this stuff feels and looks. I've heard that it spins up just like butter and I can totally believe it. Seriously, look me straight in the eye and tell me these photos don't start your salivary glands up.
You can pick either of the two colors I have:
purple...
or teal...
here's the money shot with both of them
So come on! Who could possibly resist all that shimmery wool, intertwined together on the floor? Sponsor me and win some yummy roving...
I'll leave you with some random thoughts for those folks finding me through interesting search engine searches:
For those of you searching on 'koigu clapotis' and 'clapotis fingering', let me just warn you that many a knitter has run out of steam about 2/3 of the way through when using teeny tiny yarn. On the other hand I've seen some incredibly beautiful ones so it's up to you. I haven't started mine yet...
Whoever searched on 'SUSHI +WASHCLOTH -EAT -RICE +CUTE' I'm pretty certain you didn't find what you were looking for here. I hope you found your cute sushi washcloths somewhere! I'd like to see those, actually.
'silk & seagrass drawstring box' and 'lantern moon drawstring box' - yes, I have one of those!
And, strangely, someone found me by searching on 'grumpy'. I don't think I'm that grumpy, do you?
Posted by synedra at 3:04 PM | Comments (2)
April 7, 2005
Revlon Run/Walk
And now for some non-knitting news...
As you may have heard, Revlon is having a 5K run/walk in Los Angeles on May 7th. In fact, you may have seen the mention on JenLa or Michelle's blog. Yes, I do feel the tiniest bit guilty about copying their idea of mentioning it on their blog. And yet here I am, mentioning it.
Most of us know someone, a friend or family member, who has wrestled with breast cancer. If you can give even a little toward the research we might get closer to finding a cure. I know, I know, there are lots of important causes out there and this one may not be your first priority. So I'll sweeten the pot a bit... I'm going to do 2 things to encourage you to sponsor me in this run:
- I'm going to hold a virtual raffle. For every dollar you donate you will get a virtual raffle ticket. Even better, I'm going to let you tell me what kind of prize you'd most like. Needles? Sock Yarn? Roving? The Yarn Harlot's Book? Something from my run/walk goodie bag? You name it, I'll either cough it up from my stash or go out and get it for you. Or even make it for you, if what you want is one of my attempts at knitting. Which could make me seriously doubt your sanity, but it's your prize.
The number of prizes awarded will be directly related to the amount raised.
$0 - $100 : 1 prize
$100-$250 : 2 prizes
$250-$500 : 3 prizes
$400+ : 5 prizes - The second thing I'm going to do is increase your donation by donating to other runners. For every $10 I receive I will split up $1 between Michelle and La (so I don't feel so guilty). So if I get $100, I'll donate $5 to each of them... the money all goes the same place!
So c'mon people, make me bleed! It's for a good cause and all that!
I've put a link to my fundraising page over -> there. Here's another one for good measure.
Tomorrow I shall return to the fascinating world of my knitting :-)
Posted by synedra at 1:47 PM | Comments (3)
April 5, 2005
Follow your instincts
So, I have these two fabulous 'magical knitting' books by Cat Bordhi, which describe the moebius method of knitting for cool twisty circular things. I had two moebius projects in mind - a stripy scarfy thing with the Cotton Stria for Susan (finally, something for Susan!) and a fuzzy felted cat bed for my kitty.
Both of these projects call for a size 15 needle, and the book says, very clearly, "You need a 47" or 60" circular for these projects. Anything smaller won't work. Trust me, it won't. Honest." Or something like that. So I set off to my LYS and the lady there said "Oh, you don't need a 47" or 60", I've never found a project that couldn't be done on a 40". And I've done some moebius things too!" Somewhat dubiously, I bought the 40" Inox plastic needles (with a plastic cable) and set off home. After all, I've only been knitting for 4 months and she's been knitting for years. Who am I to question her authority?
As it turns out, it's almost certainly possible that *some* moebius projects can be done on a 40". Probably the ones which aren't on bulky yarn and wanting 100+ stitches cast on. I squished and squished until my fingers were sore but I could *not* get more than 100 of the 150 stitches needed for the kitty bed. Sigh. OK, I figured, I'll just make Susan's scarf. The yarn isn't bulky, it's worsted carried double (so, kinda 'virtual' bulky). It's got 130 stitches... And it *kind* of works:
Don't those stitches look cozy all scrunched up there on the needle? This project has also been hurty on the hands. And while I'm whining let me just mention that I am not fond of the plastic Inox needles (and I love all my other Inox!) because between them and the not-very-stretchy cotton yarn I had to seriously fight to get the first round done. Yank, tug, pull... every stitch fought me with every fiber of its being, resisting my efforts to pull it up into a knittable spot on the squeaky plastic needle.
So, gentle reader, the moral of this story is... even if someone has lots more experience than you do, you don't always have to take their word for it. The LYS lady doesn't like 47" and 60" needles because they aren't often needed. But yes, sometimes they are! Particularly when using the magical treasury books! So I shall hunt down some Addi Turbos in long lengths with lovely slippery metal cables for my kitty bed and treasure them all the more after my time wrestling with this scarfy project. Once it's done, I will save these 40" needles for some kind of lacy moebius headband thing in fingering weight yarn, or maybe donate it to some hapless soul.
On the bright side, the moebius thing is super fun to knit. I can't wait until I start with the stripes!
Posted by synedra at 7:44 AM | Comments (2)
April 3, 2005
She returns...
Yes, it's true. After a 5 day trip to Disneyland and fighting a nasty intestinal bug for 4 days, I managed to finish the socks!
Like the Olsen twins, these socks are fraternal twins which look almost identical at first glance. I'm very proud of them, my first pair of socks, and I hope that my sockapalooza pal loves them despite their lateness and some inevitable flaws.
Next up, a moebius cat bed in bright red! Although I'm itching to try some more socks now that I've got the hang of it!
Posted by synedra at 9:36 PM | Comments (5)
Vacation, all I ever wanted
OK, I *did* do the race over the Golden Gate Bridge. The first mile I was totally rocking, 12:30 at the mile marker. Then we went around a corner and looked up at the underbelly of the bridge and said 'sh*t'. 250 feet up. Man, that sucker is high up. I asked my co-runners if there might be an elevator, but alas, there is none. So we climbed 250 vertical feet in a mile, and were pretty wasted by the time we got to the top. We walked most of the rest of the very hilly race... our final time was 2:02, which is pretty decent. The reason I didn't post before is that I was, uh, waiting for the pictures so I could post them. I know, pretty vain, but there it is. I did sing the whole way to the 80's tunes on my iPod. And I burned 1207 calories. So it wasn't all bad :-)
Next race, Santa Cruz Half Marathon/10K (we'll do the 10K) on April 17. I know this route very well, and it is FLAT. Hurray. Flat. I like flat.
The last week I was on vacation - we went to Disneyland for 5 days and then I was sick with an intestinal bug for 4. Whee. Way to spend my vacation, eh? Back to running and martial arts tomorrow. Can't wait!
Posted by synedra at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)