Unfortunately, She Was Also Wired For Sound

I'm wired up. I finally got my remote access account and token for work. Or as Dave puts it "Laurie told her boss she couldn't get all that work done in 40 hours a week, so they gave her remote access and now she can work 24/7." It's a bit of a mixed blessing. More convenient in some respects (I'm not waiting around late in the afternoon for stuff, I can leave and log in later from home.) Less in others. (I'll end up working alot more hours.) I've been discussing this with Dave and CQ lately, I think the 40 hour work week for white collar workers in the US is a thing of the past. I know in my current job I'm exected to put in at least 2.5 hours of extra time every week, usually more. And that's just to be considered doing my job. If I were in a union, that wouldn't be the case. I've never had a salaried position where the work week wasn't 45-50 hours a week. But what can you do? Pretty soon we'll all be working for Wal-Mart, one way or another, right?
I found my notions bag! I was doing a bit of weaving in the living room (I've been a bit hit or miss with that, I haven't been feeling up to it, but I did pretty well tonight) and I adjusted my chair a little and there it was! It was weird too, because I know I'd looked there before. (In the living room near the loom.) I'm happy to be reunited with all my notions, and I wanted to let CQ know I had it back, in case she was worried about how I was going to make it through life without my Chibi, tape measure, and Swiss Army knife.

Phenom

While making the exchange of the Celtings on Saturday, Celtic Queen and I went to Bloomin Yarns, which was right around the corner from where the party we were going to was. Did you know they have Berocco Comfort yarn in both DK and sock weight? I couldn't resist. I also picked up a skein of Opal Hundertwasser yarn. Hmmm. What do you think I'm considering knitting with my purchases??? CQ got some yarn too, but I was so enamored with my own yarn that I can't remember what she got. She has her own blog anyways (not that she updates much. Tell her she should.)

The Celtings had a great time. Turns out Eldest Celting is a volleyball phenom. Never having played the game before, by the end of the day he was the only kid playing with the 18 and above crowd. Halfway through the day my BiL came over and said to me "Did you know Eldest Celting can play volleyball?"
I thought he was joking and said, "Well, he never played before today..."
He interrupted me. "No, I'm serious, he can really play -- I kept hitting the volleyball to him and he kept hitting it back, every time." He seemed a bit shaken. Easy enough to understand when you consider that the Sons are...let's just say a little challenged when it comes to sports.

The Celtings are Coming

There has been some knitting going on here, although at a snail's pace. I finished another couple of Mod Pods, and turned the heel on my latest Travelling Sock. I have also received the first installment of my Vesper Sock Club which is Fab-U-Lous! I can't show the yarn because I got mine early (because I know Julia and she gave it to me at knitting last week) and I promised not to spoil the surprise. This might be the best part of being in the club: I feel like such an "insider" -- like I've been invited to sit at the cool kids table at lunch! I have plans for mine already (and the color's perfect!) Julia also gifted me with this Firestar nylon. mmmm Multi-colored sparkly stuff. I think I've died and gone to heaven.

The Celtings are coming to stay with me tomorrow evening so their parents can enjoy a well-deserved evening alone. We will be attending a graduation party in the afternoon where we will eat lots of junk food and drink plenty of sugary soda whilst running around until we get so overheated we fall over, then we'll retire to my place where we'll eat more junk food and watch Star Trek TNG whilst laying around on the big bed in our jammies, followed by sleeping and then going out to breakfast on the way home in the morning.

You're 19 and Limber

What I said to Older Son when I made him look under the bed for my camera cord so I could download some pictures for this post. Lots to post about. Not really because I've been doing lots, I just waited long enough so the usual slothful pace around here looks busy.

First up, I love Spunky Eclectic. I want to adopt her as my sister. I got my order, and this green stuff? To. Die. For. It's sparkly (you can't really see in the pic, sparkles are so hard to capture in photos). I'm thinking a lace weight to make Muir. And this merino tencel? Love it! Even Celtic Queen can't dog me too much about it. I walked all over MDS&W looking for just the perfect merino/tencel roving for making socks. (Color is "Tie Dye"). My next door neighbor saw me photographing these and came over to admire them too. She wants to see what I make from them. And then last week I got my May fiber club shipment which is called "Rose Garden". Yummy! I was telling CQ about it and she felt compelled to remind me that I got the double fiber club so I would have enough to share.
In between we travelled to Dayton for Dave's neice's wedding. This is the view from our hotel room.
And here's the bride and groom. Don't they look great? And sooo young?
We went to the Air Force Museum while we were there (Dave's sister's SO is an aeronautical engineer and worked on a UAV they have there.) Dave and his sister made us stop at at Cabela's on the way home to see the stuffed (as in taxidermy) animals. When we were just about ready to leave Older Son walked over to me and said, "I've had enough of this grisly display, I'm ready to go." So we sat waiting for someone to round up Younger Son and listened to them playing Staying Alive on the muzack. OS remarked it was an ironic choice. I worked on Mod Pods in the car on the way there and back. And I've also started another new project this weekend. Yep. Finally set up the Tri-Loom.

Waiting

I'm still waiting for my order to arrive from Spunky Eclectic. It's not late (4-10 days to ship because I ordered a custom color) but everyday I sit at work daydreaming about my new fiber and hoping that it's arrived early. I know, I'm lame. Nothing much else to post about -- I'm at the toe decreases on my first green sock. I've decided to try and adhere to a more strict and equitable sock knitting system here. We'll go by age. So this green pair is for Dave, then a pair for me, Older Son, and Younger Son. I am considering dropping Dave from the rotation because A) I'm not really pleased with him at the moment, B) He doesn't really wear the handknits too much, and C) Did I mention I'm not really happy with him? Although, to be fair, I'm not really happy with anyone here. I could maybe be having hormonal personality issues with everyone, but still.
I'm trying to decide what to do for WWKIP Day. We have knitting the night before so I don't know. Maybe I'll round up some of my knitting posse and we'll just hang in the hood. Cause we roll like that. Yo.

Sundays Are For Spinning

I've reinstated the Sundays are for spinning program here at the G household. This week I plied up my yellow green single. I finished the spinning Friday night at Knitting and then used the generous Heather's ball winder to make a center pull ball for plying. A few tangles, but sooo much easier than the one I wound on my own. Eventually I'm going to have to break down and get a ball winder of my own. Anyways, I skeined up my bobbins and finished off my yarns. Wanna See? Of course you do. As I said, I am considering these two yarns together for a BSJ. Here're the money shots:

The blue/green multi, and

the yellow-green. They're not quite dry yet, when they are I'll reskein and estimate my yardage. I might consider the yellow green for an "Our Favorite Baby Sweater" by EZ if I have enough yardage. That leaves the multi hanging, but I might be able to think of something for it.

I've also finally finished my Noro socks. As I was finishing them up at Eat N Park Saturday night (I took Older Son out to dinner for his birthday, more on that in a minute) an older woman approached me. "I see you're knitting socks. What yarn is that you're using?"
"A Japanese yarn, it's called Noro.."
"Oh, is that the Noro sock yarn? What do you think of it?"
"Well, it's a little harsh and goes thick and thin, but I love the colors."
"Oh yes, the colors, I knit a whole coat out of the Noro last year."
She left, but I heard her say to her dinner companion "That's the Noro sock yarn." Knitters, we're everywhere.
And as I said, Sunday was also Older Son's birthday. He's 19. How did that happen?

We Need to Talk

Celtic Queen called me to chat during her drive home from work tonight. Surprisingly, I was home already. So she asked what I was up to.
Me: Ordering stuff online.
CQ: WHAT are you ordering?
Me: Just some stuff from Spunky Eclectic
CQ: Like what?
Me: Well, some fiber. She had this fiber and it's sparkly I couldn't resist so I got it.
CQ: Right, and this after you bought all that Angelina fiber so you can blend up your own sparkly fiber. See, this is why you have so much stash.
Me: Yeah, well it's worse...I joined the Spunky Club. I'm getting fiber every month.
CQ: (Explodes) Laur! This is why you're never going to use up all your stash! You've gone beyond just a knitter with a stash, you've become a collector of fiber! You've got fleece to finished yarn and everything in between! You're never going to use it all.
Me: Well, I figured I could gift you and Heather with some of the fiber, that way it won't all be piling up around here...
CQ: Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, but you know it's not going to happen. You'll just keep piling it up.

Whew! Good thing I didn't mention the merino/tencel fiber I ordered or that it's not just the regular club but the double fiber club... I think she would have come over for an intervention!

And you know, originally I just wanted one of the cool stone spindles she has on the site. I forgot to order one. You know what that means -- I'll have to go back again!

The Haul

Here's most of my goodies from MDS&W. Down there on the bottom is my black t-shirt,and you can see the little packets of Angelina fiber. The roving is from Gale's Art and I am totally enamoured of it. The multicolor is a "Potluck" so it's one of a kind, and when I saw it with the merino ("Lime") I had to get them. CQ and I hit her booth late, we'd seen lots of people in there earlier. I'm hoping she comes back next year because I think I want more of her stuff! I also got some roving from a youth organization that I can't find the card to tell me what their name is right now. I got two four oz bumps. The blended color you see here (showcased by Older Son who is trying out for the job of wool model this summer) is spun and plied already. Two ply, spun long draw. The other bump was this yummy yellow-green which is on my wheel right now. I tried spinning this long draw but the roving is just a bit too sticky for it so I'm using a modified short draw (worsted) technique. This will be two plied as well, and the two together (hard to tell from the photos, but the colors do coordinate) are being considered for a Baby Surprise Jacket. (Inspired by Brooklyn Tweed's handspun BSJs.)

I'm Back

I'm back. I survived Maryland. I only have one picture because I spent my time taking pictures with other people's cameras. I took pictures of Celtic Queen with Casey and Jess at the Ravelry get together. (Which she hasn't posted yet.) And of Heather and Heather which she did post.
Sunday I realized I had no pictures so I made CQ snap this one of me. I did not purchase any fiber from this vendor, but CQ did. (It has sparkles in it.) I got some roving (some of which I've already spun up, Heather and I met to spin the Monday after Maryland), and some Angelina fiber for blending, a stand for my tri-loom, a double pointed needle holder, and a t-shirt. I bid and lost again on the shawls from the sheep to shawl. I got Heather's boys some stuff too. Her youngest loves red, and spinning with a drop spindle, so I got him some red roving. He was so cute when I gave it to him - he hugged it to him and ran off immediately to put it in his stash! I don't think I even bought any yarn! I was very tempted at Tess', but I had no particular project in mind, so I passed. I guess I'm serious about knitting down the stash! I'll try to post more pics tomorrow of the yarn I'm spinning now, and the rest of the fiber I bought. It's all downstairs right now and I'm too tired to go and get it.

Bleah

In the words of the immortal Hans Solo*, "I feel terrible." I can't decide if I have a cold or a sudden onset of allergies. I'm not really congested, but my coughing is definately caused by a persistent post-nasal drip. So far all my secretions are clear, so it's not an infection. Just a ginormous pain. I had to leave a meeting today because I was coughing so much. Still working like a dog (but did I tell you, the owner of the company came in and saw me slaving away on Sunday?) Sleeping is problematic, as soon as I lay down, I start coughing and choking, but if I prop myself up it hurts my back. I HATE BEING SICK!! Gosh, I hope I feel better by Saturday.

Celtic Queen, you are absolutely correct! That is the Trekking you got me, prominently displayed because I found it in the attic stash when I was up there looking for my Color in Spinning book and decided to use it for my next pair of travelling socks. (Rainbow Noro, then rainbow Trekking. Everyone on the shuttle will think all I ever knit is rainbow socks!) And, you do get what's left. I had to have the brakes fixed on the Wooly Express (aka my minivan) in preparation for Maryland this weekend. When we picked it up, Dave reminded me to drive carefully "just in case."
"If I have a catastrophic brake failure," I said, "make sure the lawsuit covers the boys' college expenses, and give all my yarn stash to CQ."
"Don't worry," he said. "I definately won't be hoarding any yarn." (Hmmmph, see if he gets another sweater!) Then he asked "What about Heather?" (See, Heather, Dave's got your back!)
"CQ will share it with her," I said. Jeesh, was he expecting me to spout off my whole last will and testament? I trust CQ (but you'd better stay on her good side, Heather, just in case.)

*When I typed this out it suddenly struck me "Hans Solo" "Single Hand" as in single handedly saves the day. Duh. Am I the last Star Wars fan in America to make that connection? Ah well, I can't be brilliant all the time, it comes and goes...

The Gauntlet is Thrown

Did you hear it? Back a couple of days ago? Celtic Queen threw down the challenge that I couldn't spin/knit up all my stash in my lifetime. I think I can. I usually don't like to post pictures of my environs, but just so you can see what we're dealing with here, this is one of my smaller stash repositories. (The smallest is in the attic and is really just a clothes basket Dave filled with the overflow from this repository and carted to the attic). This one is what I keep on hand in the bedroom. Most of this is recent purchases. Both the containers are stuffed. There are I think six more containers in the basement and eight more out in the garage. I think I'm going to have to get seriously to work on proving her wrong. Just after I get back from Maryland. (That usually makes most of a container itself every year.)

In our regular State of the Knitter update, my back is much better, I was able to go a whole week without having to take any pain medication. I am however, suffering from a horrible chest cold, as are both the sons, but neither as bad as me. I think I was also maybe a little bit delirious the other day too because I was looking at the light fixture in my bedroom and decided it looked like a mean face. I remember thinking it, and I was so struck by it that I took this picture of it to share on the blog. But for the life of me, I don't see it now.

What do you think? Can you see the mean face? Maybe I'll make this my new avatar on Ravelry.

Remember

Remember when you were a kid and the days were longer? When you had time to walk places? Spend an afternoon laying on your bed reading a good book? Stay up late to watch television after everyone else was asleep? What happened? How did the days get to be so short? An afternoon used to be plenty of time to read a book, play a game of basketball or four square, maybe walk to the store for some candy and still be home for dinner. And then there'd be time for a game of sardines before going to bed. Remember when an hour was a long time? A week was forever. I want those long days back! Seems like I exhale twice and the day is gone now. Anyways, just something I thought of on drive home today (after working another 12+ hours.) They don't pay me enough.

Hello Goodbye

I've been incredibly busy at work. The long and the short of it is that the project I told my boss I would need at least two weeks to set up and 2 weeks to test was handed to me late Monday with a deadline of next Monday. Of course, when we had our original conversation over a month ago I was assured by her that No, I was not going to get this project... So I worked twelve and a half hours yesterday and 14 hours today. And it looks like it's going to be 12 to 14 hour days through next Wednesday, at least. [sigh] So when I went out to move my car (we have free parking, but it's off-site and the lot closes at 7:00, but I can put my car in the on-site lot after 5:00) and grab some dinner a block down the road I ducked into Natural Stitches for a bit of a breather.
Still feeling self-indulgent, I bought myself some superwash roving to make some socks. I probably shouldn't have, because I'll be going to Maryland next week, but I needed a little pick-me-up. Which got me to thinking, exactly how long would it take me to spin/knit up all my stash....

Mod Pods

Friday night I purchased Knitting Nature by Nora Gaughan. I'd been looking at it for awhile, and trying to decide if I wanted it or not. Friday I was feeling a little self-indulgent, so I got it. I love it! I got as far as the first chapter (hexagons) and I had to start knitting. I admit to having a certain fascination with hexagons for quite some time.
Here's my first attempt, knitting from the center out. I ripped this out and decided that maybe the designer knew what she was talking about (you think?) when she knit hers (the Snapping Turtle Skirt) from the outside in. Furthermore, it was a cinch to pick up and knit the next hexagon from the cast-on edge.
So I gathered up some old acrylic from the stash to experiment. I call them Mod Pods. Totally addictive. These will probably be a baby blanket done in 6 x 6 Pods. But, imagine these done with lots of oddballs of sock yarn (looking at you, Heather.) I'm thinking Grandma's Flower Garden here. How cool would that be? And a great stash buster, too. I'll keep you updated with progress.

Card Me

Last week was Heather's birthday, so we had a little party for her at Knitting Knite. (You know me, any excuse to eat baked goods!) So off I went to the store in search of a birthday card....
First up, Pirates! Ok, but not really Heather's style. (But you know, Johnny Depp is nice to look at.) Still, not quite what I was going for.
Next, a round up of cowboys. I definately had to consider these for awhile. But, after some serious observation I decided they weren't quite right, either.
So I moved on to... A birthday Pickle? This really appealed to my quirky sense of humor, but Heather is a bit more mainstream than me. (And it just seemed a little too weird coming right on the heels of the cowboys.)
What else can we find here? How about a princess? Definate possibilities. Heather's a princess, and there are some sparkles on the card... Heather really likes sparkles! But the inscription was just a little too juvenile. So what did I finally settle on?
It's sparkly, and it said some of the nice things I think about Heather. And I got some flower cookies and "Happy Birthday" candles too! Heather brought cupcakes, as well. So there was much celebration and we did feast on the yummy baked goods. Isn't that how everyone's birthday should be?

Icy Moonlight

It's completed! I said as I was knitting this that it could be the most beautiful thing I've ever knitted. The picture in no way does it justice. (And it's freaking hard to take a picture of yourself in the mirror!) It's so sparkly in real life! Knit with Kid Silk Night in Moonlight with Swaroski crystals (also Moonlight). Mmmmm. Just in time for the warm weather. Not sure if it suits me or not. I think I'm going to see if they want to use it as a shop model at Bloomin Yarns over the summer.

And I Need to Knit got her Absolutely Fabulous afghan kit she won here! Yay! The yarn looks yummy, I can't wait to see it in progress. She picked the "Knitted Scallops" version, which is I think the one I would pick.

In your State of the Knitter update I have to say that I'm feeling much better! My good days are getting better and my bad days are not so bad. Work is still a challenge, and the guys are still...guys. What can I say? Oh, and Dave didn't make it to the Post Office last night. This is the first time he's missed, but I'm still mad. I told him I was going to do the taxes next year. (He worked late so as to avoid me today.) Next up -- Lawn Wars!

Ding!

I think you're right with your first guess, Heather! Celtic Queen didn't quite get it, I explained it to her via email today. Although to be fair to the parties involved here I think it may just have been brought to their attention that they were vulnerable. Not that I have any kind of vested interest in this one way or another. I'm not suprised that IK as a business is acting like a business. I've managed to get one way or another just about all the patterns I wanted from both IK and MagKnits, and those that I missed, well, I'm ok with it. I was not happy, I told the party involved I wasn't, and that's that. What gets me is that no one (and there are over 500 posts to the thread) has put the things I mentioned together. I was wondering if it was just me.

As to why I'm not participating in forums anymore, it's because it's the same old same old, and I had enough of that in the old Knitlist and r.c.t.y. days. (Interesting aside -- Did you know I wrote the original (maybe only) FAQ for r.c.t.y?) Also, I felt that the news groups (particularly r.c.t.n.) were ruined when designers started showing up because then everyone started getting all fangirly over them and you couldn't express any kind of criticism about a design without starting Flame War 2000. I'm seeing some of that in the Ravelry forums, along with threats to "pull the plug" if we don't all get along. I don't care for flame wars, but I don't think anyone benefits from having all criticism squashed in a forum, and there's only so much reading of "You're so wonderful, it's so great that you're part of this forum, we'll do/say anything you want, just don't leave!" that I really care to read. Bleah.

Anyways, I've finished my first Noro Sock(again!) It fits like a glove. (Fits like a glove, Hee! I'm easily amused.) I'll cast on the second tomorrow. I also finished my Moonlight Ice cowl, but I'm waiting on blocking for good pics. And I'm up after 11 PM because Dave is still doing our taxes. He cut it pretty close this year, he had to enlist me to help and he's still just going to squeak by at midnight.

Puzzling

There's a big bruhaha going on in the Ravelry forum now about Interweave's decision to pull many of their free patterns from the web. I happened to get in early on in the fray and posted several times. But as things played out, it seemed that everything may not have been as it seemed at first. (Isn't life always that way?) For various reasons, I've decided to lay off the forum posting for awhile (and just stick to my FO stalking, which I find extremely enjoyable. Different things, and all that.) I really don't have the energy to argue with twenty-seven thousand people who haven't read the entire 40+ post long thread, so I'm going to post it here. And tell me, can you read between the lines here? Or is it just me? Ok, here we go:
1) IK pulls down free patterns from their site sometime Friday
2) IK's rep on Ravelry confirms the patterns were pulled (less than an hour later) and says that it was because IK re-negotiated contracts with designers.
3) Lots of negative feedback from Ravellers
4) Designer states that IKs first digital rights contract was unfair but second much better. Goes on to say that the original contract gave IK the right to put up a pattern online in perpetuity without getting any consent from the designer.
5) More complaining
6) Designer posts that in pattern publishing the publication rights return to the designer (depending on contract) in 6 months to 2 years.
7) More complaining
8) IK rep posts again and says that under the "new contract" with designers that certain patterns had to be removed from the site by a certain date.
9) IK rep posts again and says they could not make any exceptions, nor could they give warning that the patterns were going because of "legal/contractual issues". Goes on to say that she brought up the issue of notifying the knitting community that the patterns were going and was told she could not because of "legal/contractual issues."
10) IK rep posts again and reiterates that the "new contract" replaces any older contract because of "contractual/legal issues" and that the old contracts were not written with the internet in mind.
11) IK rep posts again and says there was a "very short period of time" between drafting contracts and having to implement them.
12) IK rep posts and says she can't give all the answers and that "Possibly, I have already said too much."
13) Links to a designer's blog where she details the IK contracts. Highlights are: the ORIGINAL (old old?) contract did not give IK rights to distribute patterns on the web.This changed a few years ago (dated by referenced design to post-2004). IK was soliciting designers to sign a new contract (the "old contract" referred to above) giving them (IK) digital rights to distribute previously published patterns with no further compensation to the designer. This was in late Dec. of 2007. Understandably, not many designers signed on. In late January of 2008 IK was still at it, trying to get the designer to accept the agreement for her design to be in the e-book "Best Of" collection as voted by KD readers. Terms were still the same. Late Feb. the new contract comes out that is way more fair, giving designers choices and better compensation, etc. etc.
14) People begin listing patterns that were taken down from the KD site and some of them were originally published by IK in 2000 and 2001.

HMMM. Lets look at all the pieces and mix them up a bit, shall we? What, what could have made IK change the terms of their contract so drastically between Jan. 20 and Feb 20? Sure there was a sort of grass roots organization of designers asking for more rights, and there was that contest going on, but...Look at numbers 6,9,8,10,11,13, and 14 in that order. Does anyone else see what I see? Or is it just me?

Real Love

See the couple in this picture? (Sorry about the blurriness, I was far away.) I don't know who they are, or even anything about them, but I've been seeing them for I guess about two years now when I pick up prescriptions for my dad. The woman has leg braces and crutches, and she's struggling along on the sidewalk of the shopping plaza, walking up and down. Over and over. I've seen them every evening I've been there, so I assume they must go every night and spend a fair amount of time at it. The man walks with her, slightly behind, and gives her a little support every now and then (you can see his hand on her back here.) I saw them today and it struck me that this, this is real love. It makes me wonder if my guys would be as patient with me? (Some days I think they can't wait to just kick me to the curb.) Would I? How about you? Count your blessings!

I have my first daffodil bloom! My daffodil has a nice baker's dozen of blooms this year. This is the first, it looks like there will be a few more open by tomorrow morning.

Vanilla

Since I haven't posted an update pic lately, here's where I am with my Noro sock. I'm hoving in on the toe, slowly but surely. I get about 5 or 6 rounds a day while riding the shuttle to and from work, and the occasional needle when I'm waiting for a script to finish running at work. Still really liking the yarn and the socks. I've come to the conclusion that I really prefer knitting these plain vanilla socks. I should start a group "Plain Sock Knitters". Otherwise, I'm still obsessed with the Ravelry. I've spotted Heather and DarkaKnits in the Faves, so I've managed to convince myself I'm on the fringe of popularity. I think that different people find different things from this site. Currently I'm like the Fairy Godmother of the Favorites. For the past several days I've been clicking through all the FOs and when I see something I like, if it's not already a favorite, I'll favorite it. I'm endlessly intrigued as to why one version of a pattern gets 27 favorites, and another only 1. There's some great knitting/crocheting out there, and no one's looking at it! And, I've found some great patterns this way! But the flip side of that coin is, Geez, everybody's making the same things! The Koolhaus Hat, the Hemlock Blanket, Fetching; you know the drill. Makes me want to knit just my own designs. And, of course, plain vanilla socks. Oh, and by a freak coincidence, my sister is in Charlotte tonight where Yarn Harlot is. But she wouldn't go and get me a book signed.