Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Some months back, I thought of writing this post ahead of time and having it ready. Those of you who know me personally understand what this passing means to me. The Cuddly Hubby has the week off, so when the precipitating crisis occurred, we were able to go to the vet together. Right off, I need to thank Dr. Friedlander and all the great staff at Cat Care of Vinings. And a special thank you to Lisa, who was there today and had to take my call first thing in the morning. Copernicus had a major stroke last night, after an otherwise good day and an overall very good December. Cuddly Hubby and I stayed up off and on with him, knowing that it would be his last night. Sophia pretty much stayed out of it. She did come downstairs to see him off this morning, but she is now back upstairs and ignoring us. I do not know what she will be like as she realizes she has the place to herself. For me, his passing is my first milestone of middle age. Nearly all the major milestones of yo

Well, not all that shameless. Cuddly Hubby and I are of the age that we don't need all that much. And if we need or want something, usually we go get it -- unless the cats have managed another unplanned veterinary expedition. I'll not bother to post pictures of what we exchanged between ourselves. Cuddly Hubby got three hardback books and a stack of filk music. The artists of The FuMP ought to be sending greeting cards to him or possibly writing lyrics about him. As Cuddly Hubby is already paying for my Stitches South excursion, I only did a little bit of yarn shopping the other night. I bought one book, a skein of sock yarn, a skein of handpainted silk lace weight that I had been stalking for two months, and a skein of handpaint in a green and purple colorway that I somehow couldn't resist even though there was only one skein and what am I ever going to be able to do with only 118 yards of this? We agreed with the Cuddly Hubby's dad and step-mom not to exchange

Just had to put up a post of my house on Christmas Eve. The lawn is well-lit due to the overhead streetlight. Not the greatest picture with the dark. Oddly enough, our house does not have an external electrical outlet anywhere near the front of the building. This makes it a mite difficult to do electric lights. Even if there were an outlet, I wouldn't want to decorate the eaves -- that 45-degree pitch does not make anybody want to crawl up on the roof. And the apex of the roof is plenty high enough that a plain eight-foot step ladder is inadequate to the task. Thus, the classic non-electric luminarias. Maybe some year I'll get fancy and cut out patterns or make colored pictures on them or something. By the way, these are also very economical. They consist of sand (Home Depot), plain paper lunch bags (Kroger), tea lights (Michael's or Hobby Lobby), and empty glass salsa jars (Kroger or Publix). If you plan ahead, you just save the empty salsa jars from Dungeons and

I got these as a Christmas gift a year or two ago from a co-worker. These are just plain glass photo coasters. However, they are also an opportunity to find another use for those Ravelry yarn pictures. So, I now have Noro Kureyon coasters, without having to take any said yarn out of my stash. Glee!

If you are shopping for a knitter who already has everything -- yarn, needle sets, holders, stitch markers, cable needles, scissors, tape measures, gauge measures -- here is an idea. A kitchen scale. Really. This is one of those advanced knitter gifts. I bought mine back in the spring from King Arthur Flour. It is meant for use in the kitchen, for those baking recipes that are written in weights. (Flour is a particularly poor ingredient to measure by volume, so some traditional recipes are written in ounces or grams.) Mine weighs in grams or tenths of ounces. I'd prefer one that weighed in tenths of a gram, but this one will do. So, why would a knitter want a scale? If you are knitting socks, gloves, or anything in a pair (or multiple) you can weigh the skein of yarn at the start. Then you can weigh it as you get close to finishing the first of the pair. This can keep you from running over on the first sock and having to tear it out so that you can finish the second sock.

If you've noticed the lack of posting, that had something to do with having guests in the house during Thanksgiving. I won't bore you with the sordid details. We'll just say that I did spring cleaning in the autumn this year. (Raising the question, was that 2008 spring cleaning done late, or 2009 done early? 'Cause if it's early . . . .) And I'll also insert a tease here. I finished knitting something nifty, but I might publish the design. Hence, I've sequestered it. So that's why no new knitting up on Ravelry or here on the blog. I'm glad I have the 2009 pages for my Dayrunner. The postcards confirming Dragon*Con registration arrived last week. I called the Hyatt yesterday and booked the room. Cuddly Hubby and I have upped the ante -- we'll arrive Thursday evening for Dragon*Con. So much goes on the night before, and it will be nice to be ready to go on Friday. The Bard and his wife have also reserved their room at the Hilton -- to b

I have two pictures for this post. And I must say, autumn has been lovely this year in the ATL. We had surprisingly colorful autumn last year too, surprising because the drought had many people thinking that the leaves would go straight to brown. Anyway, the first picture was taken on Election Day, 4 November 2008. As you can see, the dogwood by the front steps has color, but the oaks out back are still very green. The second picture was taken not quite a fortnight later, on the 16th of November. At this point the dogwood is empty, but the oaks out back had begun to turn, and there is a tree on the right that is a lovely golden color that looks particularly good with the blue-grey of the house. So there it is, we have my house in all four seasons. Proof that we do have seasons in Georgia.

I cannot stress enough what a fabulously gorgeous fall day it is here in the Metro Atlanta area. We have some beautiful autumn color and the temperatures are in the low 60s this morning. I just voted at my poll, Mableton 03 at Thompson Park. I rode my bicycle over and back, as I anticipated parking might be tight. I got to my polling place about 9:30 AM and was done voting about 9:45 AM. The poll was set up to double-check voters at the door. One poll worker would ask if you had voted here before. If yes, off you went to the check-in line. If not, there was a station where another poll worker could check to make sure you were in the right place. There was a short wait between receiving the voter access card and getting to a voting machine. I'd say that Mableton 03 could have stood to have maybe one or two more machines, but I already know that every voting machine owned by Cobb County is in use today. Early voting here was about 35% from what I understand. All in all, a

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Election Day. I'll be at my usual post working election returns for Cobb County. Yes, I do expect to be home after midnight, but I'm planning on taking a nap tomorrow afternoon and sleeping in on Wednesday morning. I just wanted to remind people that I know the waiting in line and all will be a pain. I don't have to remind ya'all to vote, 'cause you know that already. But do remember that, in Cobb County at least, the poll workers work the whole dang day. That means they are there at 6 AM to set everything up so the poll will open at 7 AM. They are there the whole day -- they are not permitted to leave the polling place. Everyone who is in line at 7 PM gets to vote. After everyone has voted, then the poll needs to be closed down, evidence printed and recorded, results transmitted, and items returned to the county election office. For some polls, it will be another two hours or more from when the last ballot is cast to when t

A couple months ago, our veterinarian suggested adding a little bit of pumpkin to the cat food. His Imperial Majesty Copernicus was having some lower digestive tract issues, and a high fiber diet had the potential to improve the situation. The fiber does seem to have helped His Highness. And I think the vitamin A may also be helping. (If there are any veterinary students out there looking for a thesis project, the effect of high doses of vitamin A in geriatric cats might be a topic worth evaluating.) In any case, both critters eat the same food, so both critters have been eating cat food with pumpkin for a couple months. Today I decided to carve my Halloween jack o' lantern. Because I didn't feel like cleaning off the kitchen table -- be very afraid when the postal carrier has a rubber band around the stack of mail-order catalogs -- I decided to simply sit on the kitchen floor and carve. And this is what happened: Yes, that's Sophia at top right. The pumpkin is on

I'm writing this post in response to Amy's post here . She writes: It makes me wonder (and I don't KNOW - these are ONLY my own thoughts) if life really IS so expensive? Or is our over-advertised, over-privileged, over-expected, over-processed American lifestyle inspiring us to feel 'poor' instead of blessed and abundant? It's a great thought. Yes, there are some days we feel poor. There are many wonderful expensive luxurious things one might do in the world. Travel. Collect something fabulous. See all the best shows. Make some major upgrades to the house. But what do I, personally, most need to feel happy? A little food. Potatoes are my main comfort food -- give me those good ol' time carbohydrates. Hot tea is my beverage of choice. Games are good. Yarn to knit with. Books to read. A few favorite movies. Some good music. Clothes that make me feel like me. My zippy sippy so I can get around. And, of course, my big Cuddly Hubby, my critters,

Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. Doesn't sound too dangerous, does it? Okay, here's a wide view of the main market area: I would like to point out that I was very well behaved. I bought one skein of TOFUsies in a colorway that I could have bought earlier in the summer, but had balked and it was gone. And I bought a nifty little wooden box thingy for transporting in-work projects on double-pointed needles. I did spend a lot of time talking to independent dyers about a whole lot of special sock yarn, which is part of why I was so well-behaved. This was my first time at SAFF, and I really didn't know what to expect. I went up on the bus trip that Elyse of Only Ewe and Cotton Too had organized. Many thanks to Elyse and Bill! There were lots of AKG and NGKG people on the bus. We left about 7:15 AM. Had to ask the bus driver to turn on the lights so that we could knit, because the sun wasn't quite yet up. But it was a lovely morning with beautiful fall color by the

By the current standards of the household, this is a very good picture. This is a good picture because it was taken earlier this afternoon, and there are two happy critters, both enjoying their late afternoon naps. Copernicus (in the hidey-hole) had a seizure Monday evening about 4:40 PM. The Cuddly Hubby was home at the time. I had just set Copernicus up on the kitchen table so that I could administer his daily electrolyte fluids. Copernicus started spinning around in a circle. I picked him up and held him closer to the floor, so that he wouldn't fall off the table. After about 30 seconds, I started to figure out what was happening. Still hanging on to the cat, I grabbed my purse and told the Cuddly Hubby that he was driving. The seizure had let up even before we were completely settled in the car, but we drove over to our vet (Cat Care of Vinings) anyway. She did some blood work tests but couldn't find anything wrong. She did send us home with medicine to be admini

Ok, this may sound really bizarre, but we did a mitten knit-along in Atlanta in August. Really. People knitting Fair Isle mittens in the Deep South in August . The Fall 2008 Vogue Knitting arrived at the shop. Several of us were batting around ideas for the Wednesday morning Knit-Lit / Knit Along. The shop had gotten in the kits for the Potpourri mittens featured in the magazine. People had been talking about wanting to learn Fair Isle. The next thing, somebody said we ought to buy the kits and make the mittens. In fact, so many people signed up and bought kits that the shop had to order extra! The kits contained two standard 50g skeins, one each of Claudia Handpaint blue boy and natural. There's about a quarter of a ball of citrus and just a few yards of cherries. I used my handy kitchen scale to weigh everything ahead of time. I used about half or a little more of the balls of blue boy and natural. I used most of citrus and just a few yards of cherries. Koigu and J

A friend and coworker of the Cuddly Hubby's has a fondness for European vacations. The Bard and his wife like to take a couple weeks in France each year for hiking and bicycling during the day, and eating amazing food at night. The Bard also knows of my love of textile goodness. And the Bard's harp teacher is also a knitter. So, returning from France with good yarn is a way to please two women at once! Additionally, the Bard visited an old mill with 19th century spinning equipment. Very cool! So, I am adding to my stash, courtesy of the Bard (thank you, thank you, grovel, grovel, thank you) 105 grams, approx. 100m Artisan wool, color mulberry 25 grams, approx. 90m 70% angora, 30% merino, color bright turquoise 25 grams, approx. 90m 70% angora, 30% merino, color pale peach And I must admit that I love how the angora seems to be glowing in the photographs. Its halo is glowing brightly.

I haven't put gas in the zippy sippy in over a week. Partly I didn't need it, and partly I did not wish to be any part of the feeding frenzy that is happening here. I truly thought it would blow over by now. I was wrong. Tonight I knew the tank was getting low. And I want to go to JapanFest on Saturday, which is over in Gwinnett County. And I want to go game with friends in Dacula on Sunday -- that's almost exactly 100 miles round trip from my house to theirs. So I knew I was going to need gas tonight or tomorrow. My drive home from the shop in Woodstock involves cutting across Cobb County. Now, Woodstock has been out of gas for most of this crisis, but the city itself is only about a mile off I-575. I figured that as I got away from the interstate, I'd find gas. In fact, my plan was to just drive to the place where Cuddly Hubby and I always fill up. I couldn't help but notice on my drive home as I passed several gas stations, and they were all empty. E

I know this is sacrilege, but I really don't need more yarn. That's not to say that I don't want more. It is to say that, should I be forced under house arrest, I should be okay for quite some time. In the time that I've been in the Atlanta Knitting Guild, the guild has sponsored two shop hops. I did the shop-sponsored hop last year. And, since I've been around to meet with the local owners individually, I've essentially done another hop by myself this summer. The owners sponsored a shop hop a couple weeks ago. The weather was nice, the gas prices weren't but, hey, that's why I have the zippy sippy. Now, I do have to admit to a small guild president meltdown in my living room earlier this month. It was the day after Dragon*Con, so I was still recovering from four days of partying like I'm 20, which I'm not anymore. Cuddly Hubby was home -- wise man that he is, he takes off both the day before and after the convention. I had just turned

In spite of the frenetic pace this month, I somehow managed to knock out a Baby Surprise Jacket for the shop. I'm not sure yet if I'll be teaching this as a class or as a knit-along. As this is my third time through the pattern, I'm to the point that I'm making refinements. Some of those I'll save for class, but I thought I'd share the seaming refinement with everybody. Here's the trick -- in the initial cast-on, use a crochet cast-on. The crochet cast-on, when not used as a provisional cast-on, involves throwing the yarn around the left-hand knitting needle in between the formation of each crochet chain. The result is a chain edge that looks just like a bind-off. Why is that such a great thing for this pattern? Because there are two unavoidable seams in this pattern. And to make matters even more interesting, those seams involve sewing a cast-on edge to a side-selvage of garter stitch. And those two seams sit on the top of the sleeve, not hidden

I just had to post this great picture. When someone in the parade says, "Do you want me to pick him up for the picture?" you have got to remember where you are. The Young Mr. Star Wars is the son of one of the Cuddly Hubby's co-workers. I think the young gent was a little embarrassed by the whole thing, as he struck me as a shy child who didn't really want to be the center of attention. But I do hope when he's a little older he'll realize that this is a wickedly good picture! Photo credit here to the Young Mr. Star Wars' dad. He also snapped this picture of the Young Mr. Star Wars with his mom, the Dear Friend who took my avatar picture last year, and me with the Cuddly Hubby. The Dear Friend is proving that just because one is over fifty, maturity is not required in all behavior. Something about Dragon*Con brings out the fun.

It has taken me a full week to sit down and write. For the Cuddly Hubby and I, Dragon*Con is the best weekend of the year -- better than the last week of the year that includes Yule, New Year's, and college football Bowl Week. This was our fourteenth Dragon*Con. The Cuddly Hubby doesn't do any costuming at the convention. I've slowly eased into doing costuming, although I don't do anything too elaborate. And, alas, I don't have great pictures of myself in all the costumes I wore during the weekend. But I did promise I'd post, so here's what I have. Day 1: Friday about lunchtime at the Dunwoody MARTA station. I've had to adjust this photo a bit, as the bright background behind me and the lack of a flash made for a poor exposure. Most of the MARTA stations have public art, but this array of glass is among my favorites. The outfit was a gift from my in-laws. It came directly from India. Colorful and comfortable! Also practical. I did have anoth

What's 300 miles wide and a big tease? A week ago, we Atlantans were salivating and giddy with delight at the prospect of finally getting a good dousing from tropical storm remnants. Although the drought is better, it is still not gone. We really do need the occasional hurricane remnant to refill our water table. A foot or two of rain dumped on Lake Lanier would be just fine, thank you very much. Now we've watched Fay slow waltz over Florida, making a lot of trouble for those fine folk who don't deserve such bother. Today is our second day of dark, heavily overcast skies and brisk wind. But no rain. The forecasters keep saying we're going to get rain, but I keep not seeing it. So, if anybody knows how to ship water from Florida to Atlanta, please, feel free to speak up now. Or please tell Fay to waltz her windy, wet hurricane butt over here where she'll be appreciated. What a hussy! By the way, the picture is our house in high summer earlier this week. The

We needed some photos for updating the Atlanta Knitting Guild blog. So, I got out the yarn, went outside, and took pictures. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering what was up with me as I lovingly laid out skeins and carefully photographed them. Then I burned the whole mass of photos to a disc and passed that off to the webmistress. I've also been listing my stash in Ravelry. Oddly enough, I'm feeling a little stashed-out right now. All this looking at yarn has reminded me of some of the wonderful things I've already bought. Some of these I even have plans for in that I already know what I want them to become when they grow up. Anyway, I thought I'd share some stash pictures here. You can see at left that I keep most of my stash in a stack of rattan boxes in the studio. The boxes were purchased at Hobby Lobby. I must admit to having a tremendous weakness for the basket and boxes section in that store. And they run 50% off sales frequently. The stash is,