March 30, 2004
I Must Be a Turtle
I really must be. I mean, maybe I walk through my life like Bruce Willis did when he found out he was really one of the... dead people...I just saw the question on another site a few days ago and I was asking myself, "Yeah, what am I-a turtle or a hare?" Actually, I didn't have to think too hard about that too long. At my high school, my nickname was, "Turtle." Mrs. Grier, my accounting teacher nicknamed me that because I walked so slowly to class. I was always late. I was a great student. But I was always at least two or three minutes late. I just dragged my feet the whole way!
So I'm thinking and I'm thinking and I'm thinking...I'm thinking I'm a turtle just slowpoking through things, but when I look in the mirror, I appear to be a human being? It's like everybody else isn't really fooled. They just let me think I'm normal out of love for their little turtle, me. For instance, take today:
I managed to sneak a few minutes to myself for knitting today. I only got to knit seven or eight rows-and for me, with over 200 stitches a row-that's saying a lot! Now, I think I knit around 25-30 stitches a minute when I'm not concentrating too hard on it. I have timed myself and have gotten to about 28. But I seem to go much faster when not timing because I'm not nervous. I hear that's about average. Not bad for a beginner. But it's inconsistent with turtle theory. You have to go below the average to be a turtle...and there is this one thing...I like to knit slowly.
So, chances are, I'm a turtle.
Dichotomy
But since every ying has its yang. I'm a turtle with hare like desires. It's like night and day. Though I am enjoying the process, I want to see the finished product right now! Is that so bad? Surely one harmless little, itty, bitty, new project couldn't hurt much, could it? Say, a project that could be finished in a few days or so...Who's to say? It may teach me something, right? Right?
Good. You've talked me into it. I'm starting an Instant Gratification Project right now!!!
Posted by stacey at 10:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 29, 2004
Blogging addict?
I swear I had to pry myself away from the computer last night! I set up this blog just really to journalize my beginning knitting progress. But now I'm looking for buttons and web rings and doing searches for web design!! Who'd've thunk it? I told another blogger that I think that it was like pulling teeth for me not to post yesterday! :)
Web Rings
See what I mean? I've joined a web ring! It's called Knitting Kitty for knitters that have knitting blogs, that have kitties, that talk about their kitties from time to time...etc. I guess I'd better introduce you to my house cat. His name is Maxie, or as I like to call him sometimes, Maxie Cat. Actually, there is a story behind Maxie Cat...
My son and I were living in Maryland while I was going to school for my BFA. He had very few friends that he saw after daycare hours. So from time to time we'd take a stroll down the hall of our high rise apartment building to visit one of my friends and her cats. She had three very large house cats. One of the cats names was Max. He was the friendliest. My son loved to pet him. I started contemplating getting him a cat. Well, at the time, I was also working at his daycare. One day an older gentlemen came in to ask if anyone wanted any cats. I told him that I was looking for one. He said he'd be right back. So he went downstairs and I was continuing to clean the classroom. It was during naptime so most of the kids were asleep. My son was in the next room. I was wondering if I had made a mistake. I had a cat when I was younger and I loved it. But I was gentle and my son, not so gentle. :) What if the cat scratched at my youngster? I was thinking about this and I was about to go and tell the man that I had re-thought it. I turned to go out the door and just as I was entering the doorpost, the man sort of gently thrust a kitten in my face! But that wasn't the only thing. Why did the kitten look exactly like a miniature Max? Same color fur, same color eyes, same everything! Only tiny. He even had Max's personality-a bit on the shy, scaredy side. Well, how could I say no? I kept him in a large box that he couldn't jump out of till my son awoke. He was so happy to have his own friend. He wanted to name him Max but I suggested Maxie. We agreed. I found out that my son has a tendency to be just what I initially suspected, rough! But Maxie never has harmed him. And with many scoldings about being so rough, my little boy has learned how to stroke and pet a cat-instead of always chasing and scaring the bejesus out of him! Now when he goes out Maxie eagerly awaits his return. He runs down to the living room and glides against his leg before he runs back off. They have a sort of understanding, I think.
Perhaps a pic is in order? I'll upload one asap for my fellow Knitting Kitty bloggers!
Enter Maxie Cat
And here he is...
Maxie
This cat actually is the sweetest cat in the world. He also happens to be the scardiest scaredy cat too! But he has the most gentle personality of any of the cats I've ever come across. He's just under a year and a half. When he was a baby he followed me foot to foot and my son got so jealous I kind of had to let him alone a bit so that he could "bond" with the new friend in the house! Now we're all cool. Maxie's favorite hobbies are playing in the basement, chasing bare feet, running up and down the front stairs then the back and getting into my yarn if he can (then tangling it all up then screaming for help :) ). His favorite of all the knitting items is a blue scarf that I knit for my son. It's ribbed and is made of alpaca wool. And although he has had "the operation" Maxie digs into the coat that it is tucked in, grabs it with his teeth and runs dragging it off along the floor between his back legs. We have to find that scarf nearly every morning! He tends to be a picky eater but it's kind of backwards with him? The cheaper, the better? Works for the pockets, but, huh? Oh, yes. His favorite bed is on top of the toilet seat cover! Can't figure that one out.
Knitting Progress...
I finally reached the half way point on Forever AND a Day! Yeah! I did it at my hairdresser's house over the weekend. My guess is it will at least take as long till completion. Finally, I'm not sweating it though. I've got another problem on the horizon: weaving in all the ends from the color changes! Aaargh! I have this book called DOMINO KNITTING that discusses weaving in ends as you go. I wonder if that would've worked in this case? Hmmmm.....
Posted by stacey at 11:34 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 27, 2004
Found Treasure
Not.
I did, however, find a piece of the sample that I was talking about.
Note to self: Learn to focus a camera when it's in auto focus.
Yeah.
At any rate, it's about an eighth of the completed sample size. It's one of the ones I abandoned. I think I felt like I was messing up because the bobbles weren't bobbly.
You remember. And I also seem to make lazy cables and free-form meandering twists too!
You see my dilemma.
I didn't want to rip it out again because I wanted to use it as a reference for starting over. In the end, my bobbles still came out looking pretty much the same as did the lazy cables and those meandering twists that kind of took naps on the sides of the road here and there. Turns out, the patterns bobbles weren't actual bobbles anyhow. Or at least not in the traditional sense. Also, I'm told that I'm not to worry because my knitting is loose. Many other knitters knit this way as well. It's less stress on the wrists. Though I wouldn't know it these past few days...
Wrist pain
I'm thinking maybe I should use that suggestion that I saw in THE KNIT STITCH. Or was it THE PURL STITCH? You know the series. The author says to use an egg timer to time yourself to knit for twenty minutes. Then you're supposed to stop for awhile, even if only to reset the timer and then go at it again, as a way to keep aches down to a min. I guess you could stop for at least five to ten mins. Maybe it'll be a little more effective. But then, I think I'd up the time on the knitting to at least a half hour.
I did purchase an egg timer. It was clean and spanking new. But it kind of bit the dust. My beloved son, desiring to take it to show his grandmother, did in fact love it a little too much to put it kindly. The first time I tried to use it, it was just so tired. It wouldn't tick one ticker.
Poor egg timer. You met your match.
A moment of silence please...
Conclusion
So, all things work themselves out after time. I'd slap myself on the wrist for overly criticizing mynewbieself, but they still hurt a little.
May your bobbles be bobbly, your twists be twisty and your cables clutch and crease. :)
Posted by stacey at 09:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 26, 2004
Saga continued
Knitting Progress on Forever and a Day
1 Row.
I've made my peace with this project. It'll get done when it gets done. I hope that isn't the weather talking. It's so nice outside right now that I'm tempted to cut school. Oh yeah, that's right. I'm the teacher.
But, my, is this weather conducive to the process...
Out to knit.
Back for more
The blanket is now 36" so if I started decreasing now it would be 36" x 36" because this pattern knits on a diagonal into a square. I'm reaching for 40" x 40" though because I just think it's a nice round number. Not too big, not too small. Speaking of round, did I give the size of those circs? 6.
Yeah.
But I am devoted. No more projects in between until it is completed. Seriously, no more.
Posted by stacey at 01:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 25, 2004
New beginnings
Okay. Two days not knitting. Something's gotta give! I'm knitting today. I guess knit bloggers must give the site a one-two punch initially and then just update posts regularly (and add web content on an as need and as I like it basis). So I'm going with that. I guess the first couple weeks will just have to be learning about how to blog and how to get content on the site. Since I know nothing-nothing about coding and what not, I don't expect that to be an easy thing. But at least I have some things to look at for now. I am so sleepy though! I stayed up all night to get those extra pics in the album. Some problem with the camera. Fixed now-I hope (gulp)...
Baby blanket
First half: Knit two, yo, knit to end.
Yah mon. No worries.
I've claimed a name to my pain and it is Baby Blanket aka Forever AND a day. Size six needles with fingering weight yarn-going for 40x40 inches. My saving grace: it's brainless knitting though.
I really wanted to get back to the jacket by this week. But I promised. I'm a stinky lady. I'm knitting the jacket for my mom's birthday so I'll need to have it done in September or at least somewhere's about. I also want to knit her the More Than a Sweater too. My aren't I the ambitious one today? Pie in the sky. I'll probably be lucky to get this blanket done by the end of the school year! :)
Moral of this Story
No swearing. Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay and call it a day.
Good thing the recipient is so cute! But then, babies and toddlers usually are.
Posted by stacey at 09:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 24, 2004
All day long!!!!
Well, I've been cracking at it all day. I finally had to enlist the big guns...my mom. She's a computer wiz. You name it, she's been there and done that. And at the end of the day, I finally have a photo album that isn't open for anyone to just go in and change-yikes!! Hopefully it doens't take quite as long to get it up on this site so I can get back to my knitting! Hmmm...I wonder if this'll work...
A Personal Triumph
Shazaam!! It worked! I was able to use the tutorial and the printer to get directions on how to post these pics to the site. Maybe I can get some more by tomorrow night. Just got a good dummy camera (which I call my camera since I know absolutely nill about the digital universe). Not bad for a first try though the picture quality looks like it could be better. Heck the pics could be better but I was really anxious to get this site more interesting to look at. Hey, give it time.
Can I get to the knitting now?
Nope. Okay, didn't get to knit today. Little upset about that. But you can see the current project on the right side there. The baby blanket. I don't have much to worry about. That little whippersnapper's not going anywhere...and I do mean the blanket, not the baby.
I have some more pics I'd like to put up. Couple of scarves I think. Maybe I can get a pic of that afghan I did if I can get in touch with the owners of it now. Now there's an idea...keep a record if you're going to give it away, huh? Duh.
I also paint but more frequently in the summer time since I paint in oils. I paint outdoors so that I don't get severe headaches. I'll be making a photo album on that too. But probably not a weblog. I don't like to talk about my paintings much. Not a clue why.
Dream about knitting.
Posted by stacey at 10:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 23, 2004
My first blog!! Okay, maybe not...
I recently became interested in blogging. I am a beginner knitter (only knitting for a year) and I was really impressed by some of the blogs on the web designed by more advanced knitters. I've been noticing that the more I get into the knit world, the better my skills get. I must face it...I'M OBSESSED!!!! I love knitting and I can't stop! Small confession....I even knit in church. I hide it so my pastor doesn't see. :) Well this is my first blog and I'm already enjoying the experience!
Confessions of a serial blogger
Oh yeah! I said this may not be my very first blog. Truth is, it isn't. I started a blog earlier today on a free blogging site. It's name is similar to this one. But I figured, I'd get one that was a little more classier. I don't really understand what all I've got here. There's a TrackBack thingie I've got to decipher and something at the bottom of my post talking about linking to the sites that reference my post or something like that...and a few other thing-a-ma-bobs I've got to get the low down on, but I am luvin it, lu-vin it!!
Misc Info and tidbits
Okay, so my recent completed projects? Well, one is a felted mini-bag that I'm doing along with the knitting club that I just joined. It's really cute. :) I felted it in my washer at home and though I'm not sure I rinsed it enough, I know it won't be the last time I felt. No way!!!
I also knitted an 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" sample square for a charity afghan for the same group. Let me tell you...that was the hardest little piece of knitting I've done yet!! It had cables, twists and bobbles. I must have ripped out 8 times min and started over 3 times min as well. It growled, it snarled, it seethed...and in the end, my bobbles weren't as "bobbly" as I'd hoped, but I was mighty darn proud of myself to say the least. It's done and if I wasn't looking at the work of a knitter who has been knitting for years upon years, I'd say I done a pretty good job!
My current project is a baby afghan which I am learning immensely from. Three words next go-round: BIG, FAT NEEDLES! :) My son goes to karate practice and I knit on this afghan while I wait for him. This last visit, another mother walks by me to put her chair away and she looks at my knitting and her eyes get all big. She said, "Whoa! Progress!" LOL! Obviously, I'm not the only one anxiously awaiting the completion of this baby! The blanket is being done for a friend that I work with who has a small son. It's taking for-ever and a day. But I've gotten lots of compiments from it. It's a simple pattern I got from the knitting section of www.about.com . It's called the dishcloth afghan. It's cute alright, but my did I pick a doozy of a yarn/needle combo!!! I'm using baby weight yarn (two colors: one solid and one variegated, in stripes). I'm not quite sure how I'm going to weave in all those tails just yet, but where there's a will there's definitely a way.
I will post pics as soon as I figure out how...and as soon as I take some. Promise!
