WsIP – That’s a plural…

By pandora, 1 February, 2010, No Comment

My plan today was going to be organizing the knitting bag. I use the term "knitting bag" very loosely. It’s also a recepticle for whatever doesn’t fit in my purse. At this point, that’s almost everything.

There are two birthday cards, my lunch, knitting notions, my kindle, pattern book, wallet, assorted knitting, pens, paper, etc. – really a lot of junk (except the knitting, of course). Will I sort out all the flotsam and put back only the knitting – probably not. Of the knitting, there are (only) three real projects in the bag.

Baby Surprise Jacket – soon to be frogged and redone in either orange or yellow with a white stripe. I’m not loving the variagated yarn I’m currently using. Not to be discarded altogether, though. I have made a vow to finish at least one BSJ!
Anniversary Socks – recently had to tink back too many rows because I lost track of where I was. Now past the first pattern repeat and loving the look. Thinking about moving it to two circs, though. It might be easier going.
Generic Sock – my first toe up sock. Currently in time out due to bad toe behavior.

This is just a gratuitous dog picture, because Spike is so cute. Especially with his paw up like that. So adorable.

I was reading Abby’s blog, which led to Toni’s blog, which made me think about how much yarn and fabric I have. I like her idea of 100 projects for the year, but I have so much going on. I think 100 projects might be a tad ambitious. Those of you who know me will surely understand. This year I’m studying Buddhism and meditation, intending to start yoga again, knitting, sewing, reading a book a week, and then there’s my job as an IT manager. And my blog. The garden…I don’t think I mentioned that.

I think, based on this list, I will attempt 24 projects. That’s two per month. Shall we say one sewing and one knitting project each month? That seems reasonable.

We’ll see.

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The Perfect Book

By pandora, 30 January, 2010, 2 Comments

I know it’s out there. I feel it deep in the pit of my stomach. Within it is the wisdom that will make sense of everything. It will tell me what to do with my life. I’ll find out how to be happy. The mysteries of making my children love me will be revealed. The 60 pounds I need to lose will miraculously disappear. The lessons taught to me by the bad things in my life will be made clear.

I’ll be happy.

I know it’s out there. I spend a significant amount of time on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and in various bookstores searching for it. I know it’s there like I know that the sun will rise tomorrow. Even though I have a better chance of finding that book than seeing the sun in Indiana in January. It’s out there. Somewhere.

I WILL find it.

Supply run at 20 weeks and counting…

By pandora, 26 January, 2010, No Comment

Well, not exactly. More like 146 days including travel day. That can also be rendered as:

12,614,400 seconds
210,240 minutes
3504 hours
20 weeks (rounded down)
4 months, 26 days

In other words, almost right around the corner! I have to decide what knitting to take, what backup knitting to take, what books (knitting and otherwise) to take…and then there’s the non-essentials like camping supplies, clothing, food, etc. So much to do and so little time to do it.

Here’s a picture from one of the morning meetings last year from the website:

Not the most representative picture. I tried to find pictures of firespinning from that gathering but I wasn’t able to. The one here is of a similar fire circle at the Cornstalk Festiva at PSG’s former home of Wisteria (with added graphics, of course).

The fire circles start at dusk and go until the wee hours of the morning, except on the Solstice. That night the fire and drums go all night into the sunrise. It’s magical.

The new location is Camp Zoe in Missouri. It’s also a beautiful place, different from Wisteria, and we’re all still getting the magical feel of the place. Last year we camped on the creek.

This picture doesn’t do it justice, but the panorama shots I took last year haven’t been edited yet. There are a lot of pictures on the web, though.

PSG attracts close to 1000 people, and we call camp together. It’s primitive camping, but no one feels deprived. Everyone shares food, supplies, mead (honey wine), etc. No one has had anything stolen for the three years we’ve been going. It’s an amazing experience. And now there are only 145.8 days left..

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Knitting!

By pandora, 21 January, 2010, 2 Comments

Spurred on by the sheer beauty that is Bitten by Knitting’s BSJ, I had to start one of my own. Since it appears that there are no babies in my foreseeable future, it will go into my cedar chest for future gifting. Of course, my office mate has pondered the possibility of dressing her kitty in one. That would be a great You Tube video!

This is my second attempt at the BSJ (for those of you non-knittinly enlightened, that’s the Baby Surprise Jacket), and I have high hopes this time. It’s not that it is a difficult pattern, just that it’s a kind of free-form knitting thing, and being the techie geek that I am, that’s just crazy to me! Since I’m on a yarn diet and thus had to go stash diving, I am using Plymouth Dreambaby DK in colorways 210 and 114. 114 appears to be discontinued, so the closest on the current color card is 132. Kind of apricotty orange (114) and a bright multicolor (210). I’m just about to begin my increases.

I’m also just starting a project for me. I chose Nancy Bush’s Anniversary Socks, from the Favorite Socks book. The yarn is KnitPicks Gloss Sock Yarn, 70% merino, 30% silk. It’s so soft and delicious. The color is Burgundy. Not expensive, but it feels that way. So far, just the cuff, but I love that part already.

Since I had such success with "We Call Them Pirates," I want to try something stranded for me. I am in love with the Norwegian Lusekofte in blue. It is definitely on my to-do list.

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Vote with your money

By pandora, 15 January, 2010, No Comment

I recently watched a disturbing film called Food, Inc. (Yes, if you click on the link you get Amazon – a girl’s gotta make some money some way!) It is about the corporatization of food production. The segments include spots on corn, meat production, genetically modified food and hunger in under-developed countries. If you watch it (Netflix has it on Watch Instantly), be prepared to start questioning your food purchasing and consumption choices.

I had already started purchasing more organics and any fair trade goods availble when possible. You can get a lot of stuff through fair trade. Obviously, you pay a premium – but that’s part of the process. Corporations are making millions while people like the farmers in Mexico have been displaced (a large cause of the illegal immigrant issue) due to corporate farms in the US. US farms are paid a subsidy to produce corn, soybeans, wheat, and other crops for less than it costs to plant them. No independent farmer can compete with that.

Fair trade goods extend from food into products for personal care, clothing, jewelry, home decorations, housewares, etc. There are many websites, just put fair trade into any search engine.

Of particular interest to me (besides coffee for DH) is yarn (knitting blog…duh!). I found some fair trade yarn sites. I was going to pick one, but there are too many to pick from, so here’s a list:

There are more, but I’m sure you enterprising knitters (and friends of knitters) will find them.

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New Years Resolutions

By pandora, 14 January, 2010, No Comment

I’m making a few resolutions this year. Some are no brainers. Others, not so much. I wasn’t going to make any resolutions this year, but then I was reading a column by a writer from Vermont, Jessie Raymond, and she made the point that declining to make resolutions implies that you are perfect. I’m hardly perfect. No one is. So, I’ve made a few resolutions that I feel are reasonable, and that I have a possible chance of keeping.

First, I resolve not to kill anyone. I know you’re thinking that shouldn’t be so hard. I’ve never even shoplifted, and I have trouble being mean to pit bulls. You’d be wrong. I’m a victim of poor career choices and biological imperatives. (I’m in IT and a mother of a teenager – and others.) Refraining from doing someone physical harm is a daily struggle. I ameliorate these urges by biting wit and snappy comebacks (mostly sarcasm). And by using big words like "ameliorate."

I resolve to refrain from smoking. "What??" you say? "But you don’t smoke!" Exactly. I needed one I could definitely ace.

I resolve to plant my garden in a timely fashion this year. That means I’ll put it in before June. It was a tad late last year. Oh, and I don’t plant broccoli and cabbage next to the tomatos. That didn’t work well. It turns out that they don’t like each other. I had no idea that they were so exclusive!

I resolve to stop putting my dishes in the sink. While I may feel that’s the appropriate place for dirty dishes, it drives Jeff nuts. Since he does the dishes most of the time, and I don’t want to, I think it’s only right that I should consider his feelings on this matter.

Happy New Year (A little late…)

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Blogging Software

By pandora, 8 January, 2010, 3 Comments

So, you might be asking, what’s with the prolific blogging? Well, I reply, it’s this software I found that makes it really easy. I was looking around on the internet one night, because, you know, TV is – well – boring right now, and I googled "free blogging software." There was a lot out there. I wanted something that could do ads, because of the whole "Pro Blogger" thing. There were some programs that used Google adwords, but they were a bit more complicated and I’m really into simplicity these days. Then I came across Qumana.

You download it, install it on your computer, and it’s basically a word processor for blogging. You can insert links, pictures, ads, HTML, tags, and whatever else you might want to insert into a blog. I’ve only just started using it, and really love it. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. I have it on all three, although the install for Linux is more complicated and I’m a Linux newbie.

Now the biggest obstacle I have is coming up with topics. Unfortunately there aren’t any topic generators that I really like.

Tags: blogging, software

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Easy Knitting and Great Books

By pandora, 7 January, 2010, 2 Comments

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Probably due to weather and winter. There’s something very seductive about losing myself in books right now. When I’m reading (or listening) to a book, I become part of the story as a silent observer. Whether I read or listen depends on how into my knitting I am at that point. Currently, not so much. Although for those of you expecting knitting content, here’s the mittens I’m working on for my granddaughter ~

My own pattern, based on a basic mitten but with the string knit into the cuffs as I-cord. The key is getting the I-cord the right length before starting the second mitten. I knit the first mitten, picked up four stitches on the cuff by the thumb, and knit the I-cord the length I wanted. Then I purled a row and used a cable cast on to begin working the second mitten. I’m thinking of making a pair for myself, since I’m always losing my gloves!

As for reading, right now I’m almost finished with the first Sookie Stackhouse book. The series, The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, is the basis for the HBO series True Blood.

I just finished Under the Dome, Steven King’s latest. Very good, but very long. The book is almost four inches deep. According to Wikipedia (quoting Time magazine), the first draft beighed 19 pounds and was over 1500 pages. That’s not a book – it’s a tome. But it was a good tome. One reviewer said it was Lord of the Flies meets Our Town with a little Peyton Place thrown in for good measure.

A friend gave me two books to read that I would love to start. The problem is that they are the third books in two different trilogies. Both by Nora Roberts, so they’re going to be good, but quick, reads. The books are The Pagan Stone and Valley of Silence. I have to wait on those until I get the first two of each series. I hate reading out of order.

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Winter Storms

By pandora, 5 January, 2010, 3 Comments

We have a winter storm watch from tomorrow evening through Friday morning. It will probably miss us here in North Central Indiana, but that won’t stop the alarmists from doing what they do bet – preparing for snow by stocking up on bread and milk. Because you know, you can never have too much bread and milk in the case of being snowed in for several days. As anyone who has survived a NCI (North-Central Indiana) winter storm will tell you, survival is measured not by the presence of a generator or bottled water or canned goods. No. You survive a winter storm by having massive amounts of bread and milk on hand.

That’s not the only winter storm warning, either. The other one is much closer to home. Winter is wreaking havoc with me. I was going to write a long, drawn out post about depression and give you a bunch of statistics and preaching, but after spending an hour writing it, I just deleted it. It sounded like what it was – whining.

This is not to say that it isn’t an important topic, admittedly more to those of us in the war against it. But you can read for yourselves, and you can obviously use a search engine since you found this blog. So do the estimated three in ten of us who are suffering from depression a favor. Educate yourselves and stop saying “snap out of it,” and “pull yourself together.”

Go for a walk with us. That would be a good start. But not this week…we apparently have a raging blizzard coming.

Blue Moon

By pandora, 23 December, 2009, No Comment

I have just learned that New Years Eve will be a Blue Moon!

No, not a "blue" moon, a moon that is full twice in one month. The last full moon was on December 2, and it was incredible. Huge and bright. I saw it that evening on my way home from work and the next morning on the way in. You could actually read by its light. It was amazing. I’m hoping the sky will be clear again so we can see it. What an awesome way to ring out the old year and ring in the new.

There are some things I didn’t know about the term "blue moon." First of all, it used to refer to times when the moon actually appeared to turn the color blue. Once notable time was in 1883, when Krakatoa exploded. The moon turned blue for almost two years due to the smoke and ash that was ejected into the atmosphere. In 1927 there was enough dust and debris thrown up in the air by a drought for the moon to again turn blue. It happened once more in 1951 due to forest fires in Canada.

According to Wikipedia, it was a misinterpretation of the Main Farmers’ Almanac in an issue of Sky & Telescope (March 1946) that led to the term blue moon being used for the second full moon in a month. Prior to that, the term referred to the second full moon of a season, as delineated by solstices and equinoxes.

For me, a blue moon refers to how likely I am to mow the grass, clean out my car, and talk on the phone while at home (I hate talking on the phone). I will only exercise once in a blue moon, which I suppose will have to be this week sometime. Until the shower water pressure is fixed, I probably won’t use it until several blue moons have passed (don’t worry – there’s a bathtub upstairs). Micah does math at times during a blue moon. Need I go on?

Now we know all there is to know about blue moons, and the state of the water pressure in my downstairs bathroom. Next time I’ll have knitting to show off.Tags: blue moon, things that happen rarely, no knitting

Pandora Knits

WsIP – That’s a plural…

The Perfect Book

Supply run at 20 weeks and counting…

Knitting!

Vote with your money

New Years Resolutions

Blogging Software

Easy Knitting and Great Books

Winter Storms

Blue Moon

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