The dashing young man waiting for his date.
A close up on the accessory.
Prom Night '08: Woot!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Bowtie!!!
Here is the bowtie I made for my father for Father's Day. Having never seen him in anything but a necktie before, I must say he looks quite dapper. I used the pattern in the Knitter's fall 2005 magazine with Wildfoote sock yarn in the color tom cat. (linen stitch, two US#0 dpns)
The dashing young man waiting for his date.
A close up on the accessory.
Prom Night '08: Woot!
The dashing young man waiting for his date.
A close up on the accessory.Prom Night '08: Woot!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Socks, cardigans, sweaters, and dresses
As requested, here are the photos of the items mentioned in the previous post:
Interweave Knits holiday 2007
Interweave Knits spring 2006
knit.1 spring 2006
Knitter's fall 2005
Interweave Knits winter 2007
Vogue Knitting winter 2007/2008
Vogue Knitting spring/summer 2008
Interweave Knits holiday 2007
Interweave Knits spring 2006
knit.1 spring 2006
Knitter's fall 2005
Interweave Knits winter 2007
Vogue Knitting winter 2007/2008
Vogue Knitting spring/summer 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
What should I knit?
Recently, my father bought me a tush-load of Wildfoote sock yarn. Now he's already told me that he doesn't want socks, so I'm going to make him a bow tie instead. It will not however take a tush-load of yarn to make a bow tie so I'll have plenty left over to do with as I please.
Sock yarn is very exciting to work with. It is much thinner than the more commonly used yarns and the smaller gauge is much more finished and durable than the preferred larger gauges of today. (For more info, see Interweave Press' Knit So Fine and Kristen Rengren's article for knitty.com The Joy of Vintage Patterns.) Unfortunately for me, picking a pattern is like picking my nose with my pinkie toe: really hard. They're all so pretty! I've narrowed it down to 5 different types of patterns though and hopefullly that will help.
The first is the sock. Socks are generally quick to knit. I have three nice patterns for socks in the correct gauge. Two are lacey patterns from Interweave Knits magazine (spring 2006 and holiday 2007) and one is a ribbed thigh-high (um, I'll probably shorten that) from Knit 1 magazine (spring 2006).
The second is the cardigan. Cardis are pretty vintage in the knitting scene: the old shell and cardi combo as they say. I have a cute 3/4 sleeve pattern from Knitter's (fall 2005) that, if I double up the yarn, I can make on US size 5 needles. I don't really want to double up the yarn, but the cardi is just so cute.
The sweater is another knitting standard. I've found two nice patterns that have the right gauge from Vogue Knitting magazine (winter 2007/08) and Interweave Knits magazine (winter 2007).
Lastly, there's the dress. The dress isn't really a standard, but the lacey pattern I'm looking at from Vogue Knitting magazine (spring/summer 2008) has a delicate and classy feel to it.
Anyway, vote or don't vote. I've got to find a pattern for a bow tie...
In other news, I learned gas is 50yen more expensive per liter in Japan that the US today.
Sock yarn is very exciting to work with. It is much thinner than the more commonly used yarns and the smaller gauge is much more finished and durable than the preferred larger gauges of today. (For more info, see Interweave Press' Knit So Fine and Kristen Rengren's article for knitty.com The Joy of Vintage Patterns.) Unfortunately for me, picking a pattern is like picking my nose with my pinkie toe: really hard. They're all so pretty! I've narrowed it down to 5 different types of patterns though and hopefullly that will help.
The first is the sock. Socks are generally quick to knit. I have three nice patterns for socks in the correct gauge. Two are lacey patterns from Interweave Knits magazine (spring 2006 and holiday 2007) and one is a ribbed thigh-high (um, I'll probably shorten that) from Knit 1 magazine (spring 2006).
The second is the cardigan. Cardis are pretty vintage in the knitting scene: the old shell and cardi combo as they say. I have a cute 3/4 sleeve pattern from Knitter's (fall 2005) that, if I double up the yarn, I can make on US size 5 needles. I don't really want to double up the yarn, but the cardi is just so cute.
The sweater is another knitting standard. I've found two nice patterns that have the right gauge from Vogue Knitting magazine (winter 2007/08) and Interweave Knits magazine (winter 2007).
Lastly, there's the dress. The dress isn't really a standard, but the lacey pattern I'm looking at from Vogue Knitting magazine (spring/summer 2008) has a delicate and classy feel to it.
Anyway, vote or don't vote. I've got to find a pattern for a bow tie...
In other news, I learned gas is 50yen more expensive per liter in Japan that the US today.
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Adventures of G'Cinderella (it's a soft "g")
In today's adventure: Cooking Magic!
G'Cinderella was sitting at home playing with her mp3 player when her not-so-evil genetic mother came home one afternoon.
"Hello not-so-evil genetic mother," G'Cinderella said, "How were your meetings this morning?"
"They went really well. Did anyone call while I was out?"
"Why yes, Mary Lou called, but I told her you'd be in meetings all day. She left a message and is waiting for you to call her back."
"Oh, good," cried mother. "I'll call her back later. I know that you're exponentially busy right now sitting around not doing anything, but your probable genetic father and I have a meeting tonight. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to make dinner?"
With a sigh and a moan, G'Cinderella agreed. She made sure to note that she had made dinner at least two weeks ago as well. This increase in culinary activity made her wonder if her parental figures might try to foil her attempts at escape in order to keep her on as their own personal Mary Poppins.
After mother left, G'Cinderella said with a sigh,
"What can I make? Maybe keish pie?"
She looked in the fridge.
She looked in the freezer.
Maybe she'd make chicken wings.
No, that wouldn't please her.
To the cupboards she wandered and looked high and low,
"Split pea soup! That's a recipe I know!"
But it was a bad plan.
She didn't have ham!
Open went the cookbook
And G'Cinderella took a look.
Her thoughts they did wander to how she was thinking,
Enough of this poetry, it'll drive me to drinking!
After opening up a cold can of Dr. Pepper, G'Cinderella wandered over to her mother's music collection with Ol' Blue Eyes in mind, but could only find one cd. After putting it in she was finally able to think clearly and decided to make carrot soup. Not only was it easy, but she even had time to clean up as the carrots were boiling to mush!
When the parents arrived home, they eventually ladled out some of that good ol' carrot soup. "Delicious!" they shouted between mouthfulls. In ten minutes the soup was gone. All the dishes were put away and the counters wiped down already and the parents turned as one to G'Cinderella to inform her to clear her nights for the next week.
G'Cinderella went to bed with her head down, but her stomach full. Her head was also full, but with thoughts of how much she wish the soup had tasted as bad as carrot soup sounds. Next time... next time.
G'Cinderella was sitting at home playing with her mp3 player when her not-so-evil genetic mother came home one afternoon.
"Hello not-so-evil genetic mother," G'Cinderella said, "How were your meetings this morning?"
"They went really well. Did anyone call while I was out?"
"Why yes, Mary Lou called, but I told her you'd be in meetings all day. She left a message and is waiting for you to call her back."
"Oh, good," cried mother. "I'll call her back later. I know that you're exponentially busy right now sitting around not doing anything, but your probable genetic father and I have a meeting tonight. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to make dinner?"
With a sigh and a moan, G'Cinderella agreed. She made sure to note that she had made dinner at least two weeks ago as well. This increase in culinary activity made her wonder if her parental figures might try to foil her attempts at escape in order to keep her on as their own personal Mary Poppins.
After mother left, G'Cinderella said with a sigh,
"What can I make? Maybe keish pie?"
She looked in the fridge.
She looked in the freezer.
Maybe she'd make chicken wings.
No, that wouldn't please her.
To the cupboards she wandered and looked high and low,
"Split pea soup! That's a recipe I know!"
But it was a bad plan.
She didn't have ham!
Open went the cookbook
And G'Cinderella took a look.
Her thoughts they did wander to how she was thinking,
Enough of this poetry, it'll drive me to drinking!
After opening up a cold can of Dr. Pepper, G'Cinderella wandered over to her mother's music collection with Ol' Blue Eyes in mind, but could only find one cd. After putting it in she was finally able to think clearly and decided to make carrot soup. Not only was it easy, but she even had time to clean up as the carrots were boiling to mush!
When the parents arrived home, they eventually ladled out some of that good ol' carrot soup. "Delicious!" they shouted between mouthfulls. In ten minutes the soup was gone. All the dishes were put away and the counters wiped down already and the parents turned as one to G'Cinderella to inform her to clear her nights for the next week.
G'Cinderella went to bed with her head down, but her stomach full. Her head was also full, but with thoughts of how much she wish the soup had tasted as bad as carrot soup sounds. Next time... next time.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Online Messaging
In college, I was a big fan of Gaim. This software combined the features of MSN messenger, aim, and google chat into one program so you didn't have to have 3 separate programs running at once. Last week, I went to download Gaim only to find that it was now called Pidgin. Anyway, I downloaded the software and have been playing with it for about a week after setting up or re-activating my screen names and deleting buddies I never talk to on MSN messenger, aim, and google chat. There was an unknown buddy I didn't delete. That was put in its own "Random" section.
Now, today I decided to find what other messenger services there are out there on this world wide web of ours. Obviously, the first place I looked was on facebook. When I first downloaded Pidgin, I went on facebook and put up my screen names for the three services I used so I could get to chatting right away. Now I went back to see what other services facebook suggests I use. I realized though that facebook doesn't have a spot for MSN chat, but instead I listed myself under Windows Live. So many questions ran through my head: Is this the same thing? What does MSN stand for anyway? What the hey is Windows Live? Is there a such thing as Windows Dead? Do I know anyone who uses this?
To answer my first question I did what anyone would do and downloaded Windows Live. Yes, it is the same thing as MSN chat. I confirmed this because I was not only able to sign in, but the one friend I have who uses MSN was right there on my buddy list. After uninstalling Windows Live (because I have Pidgin), I was able to answer my next question with a quick wiki search. Of course it stands for Microsoft Network. Duh. Why wouldn't everything be run by them? Ah, it really brought me back to my Hotmail days... Um, as for the "What is Windows Live?" question, I decided it was a pretty stupid question and therefore did not need to be answered. Also, a google search of "windows dead" did come up with a post on this blog about the Windows Live software. Lastly, does anyone use this? Well, I know that my friends over in England did and do, but that's about it. A search of profiles on facebook showed me that two of my friends have either the word "windows" or "live" in their "Quotes." Looking at the profiles of people that have recently posted on my wall, all I found out was that the random screen name on aim I didn't delete actually does belong to someone random.
In conclusion, I'm not even sure if Windows Live actually works with Pidgin since I've only seen the one person whose screen name I know on it once and, although I am able to talk to myself, it's hard to check if it's working if you never actually use it. I guess I'll stick with the chatting services I do know and stay "Out to lunch."
Now, today I decided to find what other messenger services there are out there on this world wide web of ours. Obviously, the first place I looked was on facebook. When I first downloaded Pidgin, I went on facebook and put up my screen names for the three services I used so I could get to chatting right away. Now I went back to see what other services facebook suggests I use. I realized though that facebook doesn't have a spot for MSN chat, but instead I listed myself under Windows Live. So many questions ran through my head: Is this the same thing? What does MSN stand for anyway? What the hey is Windows Live? Is there a such thing as Windows Dead? Do I know anyone who uses this?
To answer my first question I did what anyone would do and downloaded Windows Live. Yes, it is the same thing as MSN chat. I confirmed this because I was not only able to sign in, but the one friend I have who uses MSN was right there on my buddy list. After uninstalling Windows Live (because I have Pidgin), I was able to answer my next question with a quick wiki search. Of course it stands for Microsoft Network. Duh. Why wouldn't everything be run by them? Ah, it really brought me back to my Hotmail days... Um, as for the "What is Windows Live?" question, I decided it was a pretty stupid question and therefore did not need to be answered. Also, a google search of "windows dead" did come up with a post on this blog about the Windows Live software. Lastly, does anyone use this? Well, I know that my friends over in England did and do, but that's about it. A search of profiles on facebook showed me that two of my friends have either the word "windows" or "live" in their "Quotes." Looking at the profiles of people that have recently posted on my wall, all I found out was that the random screen name on aim I didn't delete actually does belong to someone random.
In conclusion, I'm not even sure if Windows Live actually works with Pidgin since I've only seen the one person whose screen name I know on it once and, although I am able to talk to myself, it's hard to check if it's working if you never actually use it. I guess I'll stick with the chatting services I do know and stay "Out to lunch."
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Pride and Prejudice
Riding a train during rush hour is like the worst high school dance ever. At my high school, they'd bus in kids from the other prep schools and cram us all into a space half the size of the gym. It was crowded and hot and thoroughly uncomfortable. You could walk from one side to the other in search of water or light and get groped from any direction. People were so compacted into the space, most of the time they weren't even trying to molest your person on purpose. I'm surprised unplanned teen pregnancy and the herpes weren't more common among the dance-going populations.
So that is what riding a train during rush hour feels like to me. This morning I straddled some "sleeping" guy, gave and received full body feel-ups to at least three men, and had some ten-year-old kid's head fall onto my chest every time he fell asleep. Alright, I think the kid was doing that on purpose. Cheeky.
Needless to say, I like to pretend I'm anywhere else when I ride the train and this is where Pride and Prejudice comes in. Riding the trains, I finally read the whole book. Silently and to myself. Yeah, I'd definitely read it again. Aloud and to someone else. Reading the first few chapters with Molly&etc, the movies seemed to have followed the book "to the T," but then it started to expand and go more in depth than the movies (as books tend to do). I give it five thumbs up. Unfortunately, memorable characters such as Mrs. Bennet were less than memorable when read silently. When I listen to her talk in my head, sure it's funny, but all the people in the train look at me when I start laughing out loud. This is very awkward since there isn't a lot of room for head turning.
So that is what riding a train during rush hour feels like to me. This morning I straddled some "sleeping" guy, gave and received full body feel-ups to at least three men, and had some ten-year-old kid's head fall onto my chest every time he fell asleep. Alright, I think the kid was doing that on purpose. Cheeky.
Needless to say, I like to pretend I'm anywhere else when I ride the train and this is where Pride and Prejudice comes in. Riding the trains, I finally read the whole book. Silently and to myself. Yeah, I'd definitely read it again. Aloud and to someone else. Reading the first few chapters with Molly&etc, the movies seemed to have followed the book "to the T," but then it started to expand and go more in depth than the movies (as books tend to do). I give it five thumbs up. Unfortunately, memorable characters such as Mrs. Bennet were less than memorable when read silently. When I listen to her talk in my head, sure it's funny, but all the people in the train look at me when I start laughing out loud. This is very awkward since there isn't a lot of room for head turning.
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