knitherapy

2005-10-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart

Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome

Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand

And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Find the Love of Your Life
(and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

lots of content to update

2005-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

been taking a bit of time off to just get my groove back from the San Diego Ren Faire and other things that took me away from knitting this summer. I taught a bunch of classes on Tablet Weaving (pics posted soon), added to my stash, and made decisions on tossing some of the fugley projects I was working on in favor of something better. I decided I am ripping both the Shapley Tank and the Chicknits Tank I started back in the spring of 2004. The shapley tank, because I don't wanna wear something with color blocks anymore (I have another yarn for that pattern lines up already), and the Chicknits tank because I don't want to have to figure out where the 2X pattern is screwed up and how to fix it. Moreover, the Rowan Summer Tweed the tank is knit in could be made into something else or sold on ebay. I am tired of the colors already.

On a more positive note, I am already working in a new fall sweater for Atchoo! and a matching cap for me made from the coronet pattern on knitty. I'll post the pattern of the dog sweater project when I am done so if you want to make one for yourself, you can.

Also, I have voluneered to make a sweater from the upcoming book, "knitting for Dogs" by Kristi Porter (of W fame). The sweater is for a doggie fashion show at Knitting in La Jolla on November 5th. I am making it in the same color of Manos del Uruguay (Flame) as my Einstein Coat and hope to have my sweater coat completed by that time. I will post pictures of it, and make sure you all have a link to where you can pick up the book when it comes out.

More to come soon, plus pics of my summer FO's!

Thanks for hanging in there with me during this down time. I promise to post regulary from now on.

thanks La!

2005-09-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Quiz
created by Polly Snodgrass.
	WATER OF EARTH. Mommy! Well, you could be. You are good with plants and small creatures such as children. You're very generous and basically great hearted. You probably make mad whack cookies and are good at managing the household; also businesses. You'd make a good tax person, book keeper, gardener, massage therapist, etc. The ever domestic and practical one, you can stretch a penny and make ramen noodles go a long way.

A labor of sweat, tears, and love.

2005-08-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

I am always refreshingly gratified at how everyone in the faire community pulls together to make each event we produce a truly remarkable one. This year was just as great as the last one, and, in many ways, even better. As we mature (the San Diego Renaissance Faire turned five this year), the ways in which we grow is unique and beautiful.

Many thanks go out to all of the wonderful volunteers, employees and sponsors, both past and present, for being a part of the magic we bring to the people of San Diego every year. To date, myself, my family and my friends have also donated quite a bit of money and possessions, as well as put in thousands of hours of personal time and creativity to make this faire the total success that it is. I do not regret a single moment or coin when all can see the shining results that so much hard work and positive sacrifice can earn.

As I wind down the faire's office work and get the books prepared for the fiscal year's end, I look to what we have accomplished in our charitable mission and how close we are to reaching our early goals. We achieved our initial attendance goals and the number of both vendors and guilds we can reasonably accommodate. Further, we have delivered a very real and educational message to the people of San Diego, who have never before had access to a venue of this sort, that can only be achieved within a top-quality living history setting like ours. As we turn our thoughts towards the second half of our decade of existence, we look to hone the historical and optimistic message we are imparting to the people of San Diego, even while examining how we can best manage the operational challenges that every successful event incurs.

Ironically, there are discontents that eagerly wait for news about every bump the faire hits on the road to progress as a sign of our total failure and doom. Like all successful renaissance faire promoters, we hear our share of rumors of the impending demise of our company, or the injustice of booking one act over another, less historical, but more popular, one. We have heard slander directed at board members from folks with past personal grievances that are trying to transfer them over to the company's image, and had to play host to various grumbles from ex-employees or folks that did not make the gatelist in a guild.

However, we continually strive to move forward instead, focusing on the clearly positive results we have wrought within San Diego's fractured fair community, while offering healing to all who are ready to come to terms with the reality of their role with the local faire. Some wonderful things have come out of our 2005 faire that are very positive indeed. We had the best year ever for reenactors and the hardworking guild people that give them their stage. Most of the vendors I have spoken with have nothing but positive things to say about the marketplace we have created for them, while others offer positive suggestions for improvement and success. A special thanks of true gratitude goes out from me to everyone who helped make this year the best one ever.

Jocelyn
SDRF Creative Director

Working on the ren faire...

2005-07-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lack of content and lack of knitting. It's getting close to production time and I can feel it taking it's toll on eme. I will set aside some time and knit - I promise.......

In the meanwhile, I leave you with this image. Something is very wrong with the world when Fry's electronics starts labling coffee.

Jocelyn

Knitting fun!!!

2005-07-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Picked up two balls of supersoft (and super affordable) Moda Dea's Cheri in soft pink. Choo Choo's gonna get a new sweater from it sometime this fall.

I also finaly got some flip flops in pink so I can do a new pair of fuzzy flops in Crystal Palace's Squiggle. woo hoo! It's officially summer here when the funny shoes come out of the closet ;D

J

Okay... i figured out what I want this month....

2005-07-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

and yes, it involves an expensive hobby...

A Kromski Rigid Heddle Loom...

Would anybody really knit a cover for a computer laptop?

2005-06-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

At this point, having received, reviewed and discarded the disappointing Interweave knits Fall 2005 issue in less than 30 minutes, I am feeling better about never receiving my summer issue. I had heard the horror stories of the blurry photos and the disappointing designs (and lack of fitted sizes above 50" for those with large bustlines and normal waists) and didn't really believe the reviews from my friends - until now.

I have had a subscription for over 2 years to this magazine and am ready to call it quits. More often than not, there is nothing to knit for a woman of my taste and size in knitting magazines. As you can see by the dearth of decent finished projects in my sidebar, it is not from lack of knitting or trying. What I seem to find more and more is that magazines publish NOTHING one cannot find via the internet.

Other than having something nice to read in the ladies room, I think I will give my resubscription a pass and invest in more yarn instead. Okay, I do admit I like the cabled shrug, but mostly for the fact that it is cables and the first pattern of a shrug I have run across that would flatter my figure and fit my width. But even then, I am not totally in love.

J

Here's hoping the new knitty comes out soon....

2005-06-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

my 'toe up' socks suck, the crochet project needs attention and my Einstein Coat project is buried under beach blankets and other non-knitting summer stuff. I no longer want to knit Soleil, and I have had a bag of half-knitted socks moldering in my handbag for so long I forgot how to do some of the stitches!!!

In fact, about the only thing I have gotten going was my Tablet weaving on my Inkle Loom last weekend. here's some pics:

Bass Ale. The drink of choice for tablet weavers everywhere...

The back view of my project, all warped up and threaded on cards on my loom.

A closeup of the weave. The pattern is Sample Band 1 from Candace Crockett's book called "Card Weaving".

J

Happiness and confusion

2005-06-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Happiness because the Ashford Loom arrived today. Confusion because NOWHERE on any of the materials or webpages where I shopped was it ever mentioned that it had to be totally finished and assembled before a person could use it. grr..

Not too big of a problem though. I get a chance to play with finishing wax and have fun with some wood assembly. But it doesn't make for the happy weaving kinda happy dance I thought I was going to have this evening.

Jocelyn

commerical shoot

2005-06-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Spent the day in the park shooting the commercial for the San Diego Renaissance Faire. Things went pretty well and I am more excited about the project now than I was a few days ago. I'll post a link to the commercial here when we finally get it loaded onto the site. Meanwhile here are a few pics to tide you all over...

Jocelyn the ren geek

paint paint, pain pain

2005-06-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Been painting all day and yesterday to get the roofline ready for the commerical shoot at SDRF. we looked at the props and decided we didn't want a stupid looking backdrop for the commercial. After putting in nearly 15 hours between yesterday and this afternoon, I never realized that my arms could feel so leadened.

I'll post pics of the shoot when I get a chance.

Doing the inkle loom happy dance

2005-06-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Got a quick dance to tell you about: Ordered an Ashford Inkle loom and some tablet weaving cards yesterday. I just found out they are on the UPS truck and heading my way! Woo Hoo! I'm gonna be a tablet weaver (and an inkle loom weeaver after I make the tablet stuff).

'course, none of this is going to get any real action to speak of until after the Renaissance faire. It has sucked my life into a void known as the reenactment community. heck. It's a living - and one of my favorite passions.

to busy to blog or knit

2005-06-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

the ren faire is consuming my life earlier than usual this year. lots of nasty rumors being floated out there that need stamping out and plenty of paperwork to push. I miss knitting... sniff.

J

Irish Rose Pillowghan

2005-06-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

this is one of those slow projects. I set it aside so long I forgot where I was on the irish rose flower I had made, so I started over with a new one so I could see where I had let off on the first. Things are going pretty fast now that I am past the flower petals and leaves and i figured out where I left off on the other rose.

This is a big project that might take a while to complete. I am beginning to see a trend here....

The Flemish Dress completed!!

2005-06-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

At long last! The pictures of my Flemish Dress are ready!

As you can see I went whole hog on this project. And who can blame me? It always seems that once you make one piece of a cool outfit, you just have to go all out and make all the rest of the pieces. Everything but the chemise is made out of a high quality linen blend. The chemish is a fine cotton shirting.

First off, the outerwear:

I made a flemish head scarf, of which I got the pattern from Heather's site. It pins into the hair and everything. I have a nice flemish straw hat too, but it was looking to be a cold day at the war I was making this for so I decided to go with the extra "oomph" that a period cloth head covering would give the outfit.

I also added the litttle curleycues to the front sides just like Heather's, but decided to make them a bit smaller to complement the detailed, but understated look I was going for.

I made an overpartlet from black linen and self lined it. Since I found an equal amount of research pictures showing white partlets, black self-lined partlets and even a few wealthier persons wearing both at the same time, I just went with the black with a pointy back, which to me, really seems to scream "flemish" when I look at it.

Including the dress hook to make it hold on to the back of my dress:

I also decided that it was time to rip out the icky collar that came with this fine cotton partlet/chemise combo shirt (I purchased this one from a local ren merchant) and put a decent collar on it.

This way I could attain the look I was going for without wearing two partlets and a chemise, or worse, having to go with a non-pointy one:

Outerwear:

The bodice of the kirtle is lined and boned. I have too much figure to get away with not boning a bodice, so I put in some "superstructure" in order to simulate a more youthful look and make sure my boobs didn't bounce on my knees and interfere with my walking. I also didn't want skirts that were too heavy so I didn't line the skirt part. Here is the boning pattern highlighted in blue (if you can see it, my camera is acting up. erg):

And here is the outside back of the my light green linen kirtle. I hand sewed the eyelets and spiral laced it for authenticity and ease of dressing.:

Front view - I hand to do some handstitchign here as well when I was setting in the waist:

The actual overdress is fully lined so I can flip the front up like in the Femish paintings:

I spiral laced it so I can actually get into it without looking into a mirror (no, I haven't seen my waistline since I was 12 - stop giggling):

The Finished Product:

And here I am in all my glory:

... and an action shot out at Potrero War. I am out at the range talking to Larry, the Archery Master for House McFionn.

Jocelyn

Infidelity

2005-06-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Thoughts of starting yet another quick project have been on my mind. As I contemplated slogging through a few more rows on the now thoroughly boring Einstein coat last night, I chose instead to just sit on my bed and watch T.V.

I am really finding it hard to find the patience to finish this project. Trust me, I really do want to finish it. This one isn't like the Chicknits tank where the upsized pattern is all snafu'd, and to complete the project I'd have to rework most of it. And it isn't like the faboo shapely tank where I have half decided that the color blocks I used are too uckky to finish and have set it aside until I reach a decision. The Einstein Coat, with the Manos del Uruguay's deep wine accents and claret red highlights is a total keeper. What I guess I need to figure out is if all big projects are this boring. How do other people summon the interest to keep slogging away week after week on their large UFO's?

got a chance to get my Flemish groove on...

2005-05-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

at the Calafian War in Potrero (aptly dubbed the Dos XX war). I received many nice compliments on my costume and saw some friends I hadn't had a chance to hug in a while. All-in-all it was a nice event. Passed out merchant applications for the San Diego Ren Faire to a few vendors, fielded some questions and did the usual fire stomping on rumors some folks were brave enough to air with me. Why is it that some people have nothing better to do than gossip and make up stupid stories about other people? erg.

Anyway, I didn't let it bother me. Saw some friends from House McFionn at the event. The House mom had bought an inexpensive Inkle Loom (different than the picture at the end of the link - but you get the idea) and was enjoying the afternoon stringing it up in preparation for making her first braided tape. She had some gorgeous rainbow-colored crochet thread she was using and I bet her first tape is going to be beautiful.

Made it out to the Archery Field finally! After 11 years attending that event I finally found some time (and a low enough daytime temperature) to get out to the far end of the event during daylight hours. Who knows? Maybe in a few years I'll make it to the far end of sleepy hollow? When I got out there, they were just closing up for the day, but had a chance to see a friend pose with his crossbow for some pictures. Later on in the day, I spent some time trying to convince certain skeptical folks that making a pavilion is simple if you do the math correctly - I have made a few and have been very satisfied with the results each time. I also looked around Merchant's Row for wooden tablet weaving cards so I could get started on my Norman-Saxon duds for next year, but didn't have much luck (or I skipped by them too fast). A high point in my day was a chance to purchase a book written by a man I will always look up to as my first Baron and a person of truly noble character, Sir Guillaume. He was kind enough to put up with my gushing and even signed it for me.

As always, I enjoyed my chance to drool over the looms, the costumes, the bags of fleece and the crafts, as well as other art related stuff that is always for sale at living history events. I think I am going to have to make my own wood cards, but it was a lot of fun seeing all the folks that are getting into this kind of stuff. I don't feel like such a total geek any more.

Jocelyn

Not much to blog about today

2005-05-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

Didn't get a whole lot of knitting done this week. Been sewing linen for a new 16thC Flemish working woman's clothes. I'll post pics when I am nearer to completion. Got a few rows done on the Einstein coat and finished the ribbing on the Comfy Socks in pink.

Other than that, I am just too boring for words.

Just in case you noticed and were wondering...

2005-05-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Instead of knitting and blogging about it last week, I was making a new Polish Kontusz for dh. He specifically asked for a new 17th century one so we could attend a dressup ball at the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival. His old one was in tatters and I bribed him with making a new one just to get him to go. Here it is right after I fitted the sleeves:

... and a closeup of the buttons (sorry for the crummy quality of the picture):

Here I am making the duckbilled collar:

And here it is finished:

Naturally there was no way I could have gotten camera shy dh to actually wear it for a photo op, so I snuck it out of the closet while he is at work and draped it on the ironing board. This is what a Polish nobleman's full costume looks like on an ironing board:

I made the red Zhupan several years ago as well as the sash and the furry hat.

I love researching costumes and making them. I am currently researching two; a Norman/saxon early period over and under tunic and a Flemish working woman's over and under dress.

Over the last 15 years of costuming I have made and collected a lot of pieces and naturally there are several of them I have outgrown. Some in the area of size and a few in the area of skill. The problem with some of my less skillfully made ones, is that I cannot ethically sell them if I know there are problems with the authenticity of the pattern or materials. In addition, I dislike giving them away to folks who are not going to understand that and still want to use them. I got lucky this week and was able to give this one away to a dear friend who is just "getting the magic" of ren faires - she has that glow of happiness when she is all dressed up and running about at faire.

There is something so special about folks that are really loving what they are doing. Let's just hope that the rentards that like to gossip and leech any shred of joy and happiness from everyone they meet at faire do not get to her too soon. She is a good person and deserves to enjoy faire for a bit. As soon as I can get a picture of her in my blue dress, I will post them here.

J

I did it! I have persistence!!!

2005-05-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

No, i didn't start Soliel... silly. That would have been a miracle - and quite likely the responsible thing to do. Oh no, I worked on a UFO on UFO night. Yay for me and all the other happy Ample Knitters who were true to our previous crafty commitments. Albeit I only completed five rows on Einstein, but five rows is five rows, and that all adds up in the long run, right? Here's a nice mid-progress pic to remind me of how much more I need to go on this project.

And a special thank you goes out to the knitters at Claire De Lune's for turning me on to the two gallon sized baggies. It holds this exploding project beautifully.

I suspect that I would be a lot further along on this easy mindless project if I left the house once in a while to knit with my friends in public. No one even mentions me anymore on any of the knitting lists for San Diego. I've become a knitting hermit. Oh well, I like anonymity at times. It certainly helps keep my life from becoming "too interesting".

Finally, I leave you with this image. Doesn't he look like he needs another cute sweater..?

Jocelyn

Another FO to report...

2005-05-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Aaah. There is nothing like joining a knit-along to make a procrastinator like me find a million and one reasons to knit everything else in the universe.

Yes, Atchoo's sweater is complete. In about a week's time too. I did the neck and waist ribbing in a size 6 circulars, while the cuffs were done on size 3 dpn's. The body was worked up in two pieces on a size 9 16" circular needle. The pattern is loosley based, as always, on the original knitted dog sweater pattern on the 'net: Wylie's Chihuahua Sweater Pattern. Dh has promised me a set of the Denise Interchangeable Needles for Mother's Day, so hopefully my next impulse project won't be quite so fraught with compromises when trying to find the correct needles or gauge.

I did a twin cabling effect down the belly of the sweater much like the one found in one of my newest knitting book acquisitions: Dogs in Knit. I plan on knitting the little button up jacket out of that book soon.

... And finally, the crowning touch ... a little button hole for Atchoo's harness leash so his sweater won't be covered up when we go on walks in the winter.

This was a fun project to do and I am fairly happy with the results. Whenever I make dog sweaters, I like that I get to perfect a variety of techniques on something so small. It is a great sampler for designs on bigger sweaters (if I ever get around to them, that is.. LOL!). Okay, there are eight more hours left before I go to bed tonight. I am planning on casting on for Soleil. Here's hoping I actually get around to it.

Jocelyn

For those of us who like to see progress pics....

2005-05-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

... I present, Atchoo!'s new sweater.

I couldn't help myself. I know I am supposed to be working on Soleil but I was in P.B. the other week and just HAD to stop by one of my favorite yarn shops of all time, Needlecraft Cottage. The people in there are soooo nice and their selection seems to always be the right mix between exotic high-end fibers and a really great selection of basic yarns. I also love the fact that I never need to ask to have my yarn balled up - they always offer to do it for me.

Anyway, I fell in love with a big pink skein of Steadfast Fiber's Cherry Ice and decided that my non-existent yarn budget had room for a little bit of 'Choo love. When I got back to the hotel room, I immediately cast on for the collar in the green color (double stranded Baby Ull from Dale of Norway) and searched the internet (via my sidekick - it was all I had) for a nice cabling pattern I could use. I found Amy King's Boogie vest pattern submission to Knitty.com and decided that it's cables were the perfect pattern for this project.

Now is it just me, or does it seem that a lot of knitting patterns seem at first to be more complicated than necessary? After I designed and charted the rest of the cable design for my dog's sweater, I tackled figuring out designer's cable repeats for the center cable. Amy King's design is genius in it's simplicity. It is based on a 12 row repeat with a skip on the 12th row's cable twist. It forms a really graceful design and I found I really liked it. It also synched up beautifully with the side cables I added on the edges (they twisted every four rows too).

I thought I'd get a shot in of how choo choo will look next to the really nice looking cherry ice color. I love working with Steadfast Fibers' yarn!!

Then I decided to take one more shot. I call it a 'preview of coming attractions'...

As you can see, he's not too impressed with the whole process ...

Jocelyn

for all the kitty fans out there...

2005-05-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Fast Eddie. He is fifteen years old sometime this spring.

Not bad digs for a scruffy little scrapper kitten that was born behind a dumpster in Balboa Park, eh?

In his time he has conqured and adjusted to 10 household moves, proudly brought down (and in) a rodent the size of a NY City sewer rat ... and a large pidgeon, suffered the indignity of being tossed off the bed during the honeymoon phase of his mom's marriage, had his tail shut in a door... twice, met and outlived three dogs and four cats, co-habitated with Macaws, ferrets, lizards, rats (small ones), butterflies, and children, dined on cat food, caviar, tortilla chips and bugs, and survived being stepped on and squished flat at a very tender age. Currently he can be found bossing around and fighting for a place on the bed with an annoying Chihuahua, two other furry cats, a large human male and his mom (who accidently kicks him when she turns over at night).

Edward Wellington Mouseripper the Third.

It's a big world out there...

2005-05-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

for lack of better content...

2005-04-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

found myself posting a great tidbit on cooking fajitas and tortillas and thought I would share:

---------------

Lived in CA all my life, so I am not overly familiar with Fajitas,
seeing as how they are a southwestern invention, but I make a mean
Carne Asada. Learned from a woman in Ensenada over several summers
during my misspent youth. I would simply add grilled onions,
tomatoes, and sweet bell peppers and you have "fajitas".

The marinade is simple:
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 or 2 limes (depending on how juicy - or dry - they are)
cilantro washed and chopped
chopped onion
optional - chili powder to taste
set aside a bottle of beer - share the rest of the six pack with
friends

Grab a deep dish and a skirt steak or any thinly sliced beef (trust
me, folks are NOT really picky about what cut of meat it is) and
layer it with the above ingredients making sure that the seeds of
the fruit don't get into the mix. top off the entire concoction with
a bottle of beer and set aside for several hours.

Fry, grill or BBQ the meat until well cooked. Slice onion, sweet
bell peppers - any color is fine - all three looks pretty, and
grill or saute the veggies until the onion is translucent and the
peppers are still crunchy but getting soft. Chop cooked meat into
eatable strips and serve hot with warm tortillas, slices of Avocado
and more beer. I think the restaurants toss the cut up meat into the
frying pan with the veggies for the last minute or two before
bringing it to the table. If you want the sizzling "oooh" effect,
that's what you do.

---------------

corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups Masa harina - A flour made from dried corn
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Vegetable shortening or lard
1 1/4 cups Water

Mix the masa harina and salt together. On the stove, bring the
shortening or lard and the water to a boil and stir until melted.
Pour into the masa harina and mix it really good with a fork. Take
it out and knead the dough on a lightly floured board until smooth.

Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out the dough
between pieces wax paper until it is tortilla thin and the size you
like. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot.
Place raw tortilla in the hot skillet and flip it so it doesn't
burn. Cook until toasted but still flexible and soft. Set aside the
cooked/toasted ones in something to keep them warn until you have
them all cooked.

----------

In fact, the secret to good Mexican cooking is the tortillas. Take
your flour ones and heat them up on a cast iron skillet the same way
until dry and tasty. They will be delicious and your dinner guests
will be thrilled with the extra touch. Serve warmed tortillas with
butter on the side.

Jocelyn

Al... most... there!!!!!

2005-04-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

I know I said I'd get Soleil started, but my nagging conscience got to me. I have this urge to get dh's slippers finished before I get into that project. Sat down this Monday with every intention to finish my dh's slippers and never got them completed.

So, naturally, I found myself speeding along this evening trying to get them done tonight while watching T.V. I want to cast on for Soleil so bad! I swatched it and practiced the pattern chart a few times yesterday just to get myself "ready" and really think this tank will be a fast one. Only thing standing in my way right now is my attitude and those dratted slippers.

I guess I am just not the "speed knitter" type. More progress posted as soon as I have something decent to report.

J

Momma said there would be days like this.

2005-04-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

The macaws are mating and the Amazon is egg bound (or something like that) on the bottom of her cage. San Diego this time of the year is a bit... ah... tropical, so it shouldn't come as any surprise after living through the last five springs with the birds. Here's a picture of skipper right after being squirted with water for what seeems like the fifty bazillionth time in a vain effort to get her to quiet down and act normal.

Got my Soleil yarn from Elann today. Today is UFO monday though, so I won't be swatching or casting on until tomorrow at least. Tonight is for El Einsteino...

Found a Knitalong for Soleil already. Maybe I will defy all the odds and get this one done in record time, eh? It happened with the slippers, it can happen again, right?

Still have to get going again on the shapley tank (of which I am beginning to HATE the colors I used) and the Ucan2 Shell (ditto the colors comment on this one too). Am seriously considering just tossing the whole thing or ripping them or something. maybe make something ouit of them that I like, but in stripes or something more interesting than color blocks.

Jocelyn

sockie wockie

2005-04-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

Look at me!!! Down to the last part. Can't wait to get started on sock #2!

J

I was just thinking it was time for a new Knitty...

2005-04-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

Random comments from the new issue:

I have a hard time believing that the heavy model for "W" has a 40' bust... I am about the same size as her and mine is almost 55". No, I am not in denial. really. I'm not...

OMG! That's all I can say. Soleil is gorgeous... :::annnnd::: we interrupt this blog to let everyone know there are 10 less balls of endless summer in chamois at Elann.com at this moment. Better get that shapely tank finished up pronto so I can get going on this new pretty. I wonder if I could figure out how to do Soleil in Calmer?

Spring Fling is very similar to something I have been looking for to cover my sun dresses. Dang things are perfect for the middle of the hot day, but a bit nippy in San Diego's cloudy mornings and over-air-conditioned places.

Okay. Who let out the secret of the monkey drink? Who?!? That's it, no more monkeys for you. LOL! Love the bag. Even without the cat in it ;>

You need to see this stuff for yourself - get on over there.

The sock - part two

2005-04-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

yes, at last. I have a picture worthy of showing you. Here is my mountain colors sock 1/2 way down the first part of the heel. I had my sidekick with me, and took advantage of some down time while waiting for my lunch order to grab this shot:

I am going to try and get to the part where I turn the heel tonight. Can't wait!! While I was snapping pictures of my sock I couldn't help but grab an 'action shot' of my Sidekick cozy sitting in front of my sock basket. I think it looks great:

Here's a shot of dh trying to take a reciprocating picture with his cellphone. LOL!

Jocelyn

the heel stitch!!

2005-04-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

by gum, I think i have it!! yes, pictures will be arriving very soon. what a neat fabric it makes!!!

Jocelyn

Two quick little FO's that I knitted up this week

2005-04-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

It all started when I went out and got myself a new toy last week...

... and found out that the protective case that comes with it is ugly. What's worse, I promptly lost it somewhere in my car after only a day of using it too. Don't ask me how I managed to do that, I just did. amazing. Soooooo, filled with sudden inspiration over the thought of screen scratches ruining my new lovley, I trotted off to my not-so-favorite LYS. After enduring the staff's ususal rudness and dysfyunctionality, I brought home some tasty yarns to make two phone cozies. I got a skein of mango moon's wooly in grape:

and a pink ball of Carnevale by Feza (a turkish yarn company):

As soon as i got home, I immediatley got busy and knitted up the Wooly so I could felt a sturdy cozy. Here is a before and after shot brought to you via the magic of Adobe Photoshop 8:

A better shot of the after product:

And then the next day, I knitted up the body and crocheted the top of this fancy number:

I'm happy with it! And they are all my own patterns/throw together ideas.

Now back to my regularly scheduled projects: El Einsteino, Dh's Slippers, the mountain colors socks, The Irish Rose Pillowghan, and the crocheted square pillow.

I really need to stop starting new projects...

Hey I am still alive!!!

2005-03-26T09:43:00.000-08:00

And I am knitting again.

Reasons for not knitting or blogging about it:

1. After the fiasco with trying to rip out the heel on my first sock two weekends ago, I ended up starting the whole thing over again. I couldn't get the stitches on the needle and found that I had dropped about 8 of them. At that point, I figured that I simply needed to start over again the right way and Be More Careful next time.

2. The public school my son attended (note usage of past tense) was a school comprised of control hungry rumor mongers who didn't know the first thing about running a school or educating children, but certainly knew how to milk the government out of our tax dollars. To say the least, I have been a bit preoccupied setting up my private homeschool and going through the grief process those jerks' antics forced me through. 'nuff said.

3. I had nothing new to report as I was too depressed to knit or blog.

So! All that in the past, I do have new knitting stuff to chat about now, and I promise to be a better blogger and 'get my blog on' a lot more often. Sorry about the long hiatus.

I am 25% finished on dh's slippers, I was faithful to Monday Night's UFO Night and got 5 loooong rows done on el Einsteino (my manos del Uruguay Einstein coat), and am back to the 2" mark on the cuff of my first pair of socks in Flame Mountain Colors Bearfeet - it matches el Einsteino).

In other news:
I see that Michele has a new blog interface. No longer nervous (or employed by the school district), she has taken a flying leap. Her blog definitely looks good and sounds positive. Heidi took over running the San Diego Knitting Meetup for me. I am so glad she could do it too, as I am barely able to get out of the house for homeschooling obligations, much less knitting. Running the San Diego Ren Faire (or Bozone as I am sure my friends Jen and La would say - LOL) is a full time job in the spring. Lots of Q's to answer, contracts to mail out, performers to intimidate... ;> Just kidding. We don't play games like that. At SDRF, we leave the drama up to the actors. And my English friend Jo is probably finished her socks by now. I had to call off the race as I am too lame to knit them properly the first, second, or even third time around. Fourth time is the charm, right Jo?

Oh the places you will go...

2005-03-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know about two places I will be in costume 'Knitting in Public' in the near future (in case you were planning on attending and would like to join me).

-----
March 12th, 10AM to 6PM - The 25th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade will be having a Celtic Irish Village encampment to the north of the festival grounds. I will be in Irish costume with a group performing live steel demonstrations, household crafts, cooking, spinning, dyeing, and, of course, knitting. The village will be located in Balboa Park across from Palm street off of 6th Avenue. More info can be found at their website.

April 2nd and 3rd, and 9th and 10th, 10AM to 6PM - the 6th Annual Escondido Renaissance Faire and Shakespeare in the Park. Held at Felicita County Park, 742 Clarence Lane, Escondido. I will be in Ren costume at the encampment of House McFionn in the mornings mustering House McFionn's knitters to greater feats of... knitting. (Afternoons will be spent possibly knitting with Amblefolke, running around talking to vendors and performers about my event, or just plain hiding - not necessarily in that order). More info can be found at their website.
----

Would love to see other folks in and out of costume knitting with me and the other costumed knitters at both events. Stop by, we'll share a Guinness =>

J

Hot diggity dawg...

2005-03-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

Just the thing for my tired feet. After looking everywhere locally, I ordered some lovely black Lamb's Pride wool from the Yarn Exchange. The package should be here by this weekend. If I ever finish this sock race with Jo, I will get mine and dh's slippers knitted up before the summer weather hits us (well, at LEAST it'll be done, right?)

As for the sockies, I am ready for the heel split on sox #1. I felt guilty about taking the weekend off (Jo was being buzzed by helicopters and I was hoping she would be distracted), so I knitted my little heart out to get to this place. Something funny happened to my stitches though, they all got twisted the wrong way. Either I turned my work taking the picture and didn't get it back correctly, or I knitted the four (or more) needles wrong in a flurry of sockinette frenzy while watching survivor Thursday night. So, I spent the next two knitting sessions (I only get about 45 minutes at a pop at this) twisting and knitting each frigging stitch back correctly so it will knit straight again. No I did not rip (call me lazy, what you will ;). I looked very carefully and you can barely tell they look funny, what with how dark the yarn is. Besides, at my age no one who cares about stuff like that will be snuggling that close to my ankles anyway.

Right. So, with all the pressure to catch up to Jo (who is probably already on the toes of her 2nd sock by now), I found myself knitting last night at the Imperial House bar waiting for the weekly festival meeting for the Irish National Congress to begin. The San Diego Renaissance Faire has been asked to drum up an environment area in the park for this year's entertainment, so I needed to be there to let everyone know things were on track.

I have been knitting or crocheting in many a strange place over the years; bars, nightclubs, courtrooms, classrooms, libraries, teahouses, you name it. But, until now, no one has ever commented about my choice of location until last night. I mean I get all kinds of questions, don't get me wrong. There is the usual, "what are you making' and 'looks difficult' kind of comments that usually follow someone noticing what you are doing. Sometimes I even get a few flirty lines tossed my way by guys who forget that they are supposed to be only attracted to skinny post-pubescent-looking narcissist blondes. They say things like, 'looks like a long tube there honey, who's it for', or whatever. But mostly comments are kept to the subjects of the identity of my current project, or if I shouldn't be drinking more and knitting less. Last night was different. No doubt inspired by the recent news coverage a local bar has been getting about it's Sunday afternoon knitting klatch.

An older gent came up to me and asked me if I ever knitted at the Whistle Stop with 'those gals he saw on TV'. After rapidly reviewing and just a quickly discarding an array of snarky answers, I replied that, 'no, I don't usually go to bars to knit. I just happened to find myself here with some extra time to burn (an hour!) and had my knitting with me.' So much for snappy answers.

J

Mail Order yarn ho, part II

2005-02-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

And now, for the whole reason I started this sock thing....

:: drumroll::

It's arrived! the sock yarns in Cascade Fixation

and the needles!

Whoo hoo! Happy knitting this spring for me!

J

FO Time

2005-02-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

The young one's slippers are finally finished!!! AND dry enough to try on as well.

Only two more pairs of slippers to go. One for DH (which'll be in black with grey cuffs, and mine which'll be in the same sapphire blue but with lime green cuffs. The slipper family!!!!

It's been raining non-stop here in sunny San diego for the last two weeks. This latest storm brought the total to 17 inches of rain since the first of the month. Anyway, I tossed these in the washer on Sunday as I finally had enough time to give them the attention they would need during the shrinking process.

Here's a before shot:

not too impressive, huh?

Buuuuuuttt... after several DAYS in front of the heater they finally dried out enough to fit them onto the lovely feet of their intended recipient.

Looks great, I think. Here's an action shot:

yep. I am feeling MUCH better about my knitting felting skills after this project. i think the Harry Potter sheets set the color off beautifully too.

Anyway, I thought a brief explanation was in order about the action shot. Admittedly it isn't much of an action shot as the model wasn't moving much. Here's the reason why:

yes, he's still asleep when I took this photo. Hey! I couldn't wait any longer, it's been days since they were felted and they were finally dry enough for a photo. Plus, I was sort of hoping all the hubbub would wake him up. Just for documentation's sake, here's what time it was when I took the photo:

... and it's 11:53 in the morning as I am posting this note to blogger. He's still asleep. Maybe hunger will drive him from his lair, as certainly the warm thought of today's math test hasn't done the trick...

J

Tada!!!!! Another project started....

2005-02-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

The matching pair of socks to go with my Manos del Uruguay Einstein Coat is started. The color is Ruby River from Mountain colors Bearfoot collection. Nice soft pretty handpainted wool I couldn't afford... LOL!

Anyway, luckily for me, Jo from England dared me to a sox-off (is that a word? ;) to see who is going to knit a pair of socks the fastest. Just between you and me, I think she is going to win. Just this morning she emailed me that she is already at her fourth pattern repeat (she changed the pattern to something she likes better). Must be all that Fynne English Weather.

I based this sock off of Elizabeth Bennet's Sock Generator pattern. what a great program! Made me a perfect sock on the exact needles I wanted to use with the correct guage and everything. fun!

So my sad tale of why it isn't further along is that I've mostly been knitting it as I ride into work with the DH in the mornings. We are down to one car while the VW bug is in the shop. Other than that, my day is being blasted away with work, homeschooling, and my ds's latest hobby/obsession.

This is really fun, thanks Jo!

J

Mail Order Yarn Ho

2005-02-18T18:48:00.000-08:00

On impulse (is there any other way for a Yarn Ho?), I just ordered everything to make 2 pairs of summer socks. The Yarn (in two colors 'cause I couldn't choose), the needles, the whole... ahem... 'works'.

I purchased 2 balls each of Cascade Fixation in army green (9205) and Orchids (9674)

And a pair of Addi's as well as some Brittany DPN's to make 2 pairs of these...

It's not a pretty sight... I even have the card stuck under a pile of work papers so dh doesn't catch on and try to stop me.

::shaking head::

Warning... Hot water up ahead...

2005-02-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

you know... rogue is exactly the kind of pattern I should stay away from. but for some reason it is all I can think about. What got me thinking about it again was seeing the pics of La sitting across from JStrizzy in her beautiful rogue at the Stiches West dinner last weekend.

I even like the pea green color she made it in. Just the ticket for an extremly detail oriented person like me. If I could handle something this advanced, it could just be the ticket I need to keep me interested in a knitting project - PLUS, it's the complete opposite of the 'oh my gawd I can't beleive I am still knitting something this boring...' Einstein coat.

AND speaking of Stitches West.. c'mon, more pictures folks. Some of us are dying here... need LOTS of stories and tales. Oh, and throw in a few, 'it was too crowded Jocelyn, you wouldn't have liked it' lines to make me feel better about missing it, K? Every year I consider going, but end up backing out of it becuase of the hassel getting there, the crowds, and the prices. Silly me. I should just go and get it over with so I can complain about it without wondering if I would have secretly enjoyed myself =>

Plus it'll keep me from descending even further into geekdom. I threw the shoulder out again last weekend and couldn't knit my slippers or crochet that Afghan I am all set to make, so I ended up running aHackMaster game for my kid and dh. Urf - I haven't gamed (or run a dungeon) in more than 20 years. I dusted off my ancient dice and got to work. Eight hours of prep getting myself and the combat charts up to snuff, just to have them spend the first two hours kicking the heck out of my townpeople and nearly decimating the local tavern. Guess I should have expected it, it was, after all, HackMaster...

J

da Muzik Meme

2005-02-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

okay. I don't normally do these kinds of things, but I was asked by a dear friend who knows I am a total sucker for any kind of compliment. So here goes:

1. Total amount of music files on your computer:
According to my computer: 1,213. Not including newly arrived files that are on my "D" drive and old ones that are archived on CD"s.

2. The CD you last bought is:
Elton John's Greatest Hits (how embarrassing... it was for a stocking stuffer, I swear...)

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. It's the MP3 ring tone for my DH's phone number on my cell.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:
Take The Long Way Home - Supertramp
Imagine - John Lennon
Mr. Bojangles - Arlo Guthrie
Piano Man - Billy Joel
Fire and Rain - James Taylor

5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?
I have literally NO idea... Everyone's done it, right? Maybe Kurt, 'cause it would be nice to check in and make sure he remains among the humble masses and hasn't ascended to some boring yet eternally serene place with his thirst for enlightenment. Perhaps Michelle, if she's feeling up to it, as she might enjoy the quick re-connect to her past, and Sherriff Brian?

J

F.O. time!!!

2005-02-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

Here is another F.O. that I finished week or so ago. When I found out how easy it was to cable (and as a reward for making it through the world's hardest to read pattern) I made the other style Fathat in the Hip To Knit book. Here it is in all of it's Pom Pom glory.

I finished the scarf about the same time as well. It's almost exactly like the one I made last December with the amber broach that went to my Mother-in-law in Poland. This one is a Mobius scarf made in the same yarn - a cream angora from my stash and Berrocco's Softy in Jealousy.

Stolen from: lori

2005-02-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

# first car

My first car was a 1972 VW Beetle

# place you grew up

I grew up in many places in California - we moved a lot

But this place is by far my favorite... near the sea

# place you live now

I live in San Diego

# what shows up when you type your name in- first, and LJ/Blog name

this is what my ren nobles costume looked like 10 years ago

# favorite food

I love Osaka-style Sushi

# favorite drink

A nice Sangria

# favorite song

Hands down - Supertramp's Take the Long Way Home

# favorite smell

# favorite pair of shoes ever

I love wearing boots!!!!

Another FO, knit, washed, blocked, on the dog, and photographed.

2005-01-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

Here is Choo Choo's scrap sweater for the winter of 2005. With a circular size 7, I used the scraps of Steadfast Fibers' lovely Hotlips and some Lemon Lamb's Pride wool in worsted to make this cute fisherman's style sweater for my dog. It's been fairly cold here lately and I am glad I have finally found some time to knit this up.

Here is a close up of the back:

... and a close up of the cabling I added to it (yes, I admit it, I looooove cabling):

I ran out of yarn when I got to the belly. I kinda figured Murphy's law would step in sometime and make something like this happen. Not one to get discouraged so easily, I dashed off to Michaels and picked up some fuchsia sportweight and doubled it up and knitted the belly on a size 9 circular to make the gauge come out right:

when it is on the dog you can't even tell (unless you flip him over to rub his tummy). Here is a close up of the cuffs I did with my size 5 DPN's:

All in all, a fun, quick little project for a fun, quick little dog =)

J

Finally finished the pink furry hat!!

2005-01-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

yep. I finally finished the pink furry brimmed hat I finished last spring. Been done with the crochet part of it for months, but I was searching for right sized dish at the thrift store to make the crown nice and straight.

Getting the right bowl frame was a bit on the back burner until the winter storms hit. Suddenly I found myself in need of a nice hat to keep my hair dry. Naturally as soon as I brought the dish home I felted the hat. I was lucky, it came out perfect after only one wash.

here it is before felting:

Here it is drying:

Just looked out the window... good thing I finished this hat - it's raining again =)

Crazy pattern, great hat

2005-01-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

Yes, the Fat Hat is finally completed and I am already on the way with quickie project #2. I am making another green and white neck warmer. Love the way these things fit, and I don't miss the hassle of long scarf tails flapping around and causing the scarf to slowly slide off your neck.

About that pattern...

I feel it is difficult to read, at best. I got it out of the Hip to Knit book and fell in love with it's whimsical tassels. But one word of warning to anyone who is considering making this pattern: read it carefully.

If you don't understand something, don't assume it will come clear as you follow the pattern. Although I have found that to be the case in many crochet patterns, it is becoming evident that it is not true for many knitting patterns (probably a leading factor in why people think crochet is easier than knitting).

The pattern is not intuitive for me and I found it a bit difficult to understand. I was expecting to be knitting a flat piece of material. where I got stuck was were one starts with the first of four cables after the ribbing. When you are done knitting the fabric up, you wrap one edge of the cloth to meet the cabled edge off center (like a Q - where the tail is the break in the fabric) to make a tube. Naturally they don't mention anything like this in the pattern so if you are expecting it to knit up like a normal piece of fabric, you'll get confused. It's a bit strange if you haven't visualized all the stages in advance, and basically, that is what threw me off.

Kind of makes me think I might have been better off choosing a different first cable project to learn on. But I am happy that I stuck with it. If I had dumped this pattern, I wouldn't have ended up with this great hat!

Off to make some new projects and rack up a bunch of FO's. I am starting a new sweater for Atchoo! in oatmeal Lion's Brand Homespun with cream and brown Faux Fur, a pair of quick knit and felt slippers for each member of the family n various Lamb's Pride colors, and a leftovers yarn pink Hotlips and yellow Lamb's Pride lace crochet wool sweater for Atchoo! becuase he looks so cold this winter.

Cheers,

J

EFFFFF OOHHH!

2005-01-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah...

J

ha!

2005-01-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

It occurs to me now that I am breezing through this cable thing on the Fathat pattern in the Hip To Knit book, that perhaps the problem wasn't the difficulty of the stitch (as it ain't hard at all!), but in the clarity of the pattern. Huh. More on this later.

Cabling betty

2005-01-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Yep. Yesterday was Disneyland. Did all the fun stuff; Pirates, Matterhorn, Indiana Jones', etc. Saw a a lot of knitted items and far too many store bought knitted monstrosities. You know the kind, cheap acrylic novelty yarns that you've never seen in any yarn stores. It always gives them away. but there were plenty of handknits on parade too. Saw a great pink fauxfur and fuscia booga bag and what I thought was a cleopatis at first, but turned out to be a regular sized dropped stitch scarf.

More relevant to this blog than the personal recounting of fun at an amusement park, was the almost zen-like realization (read: I froze my patooties off) that I needed to get going on making my own small knitted items for this winter. Baby, it's Cooooollllld outside!

Earlier this year I decided I no longer want to wear the same tired hats scarves and hats that I've worn for years. I decided that what I needed was something new and spicy to show off my new knitting talents. So I tossed out a lot of my old crocheted stuff and made tenative plans to make new things in knit.

So, after to freezing my butt off to the point where I very nearly considered buying a machine knit hat to keep my nose warm (the horror!), I have finally made the plunge: I dropped my current non-knitting-pity-party and got my reluctant procrastinating self past the cabling hurdle in the Fat Hat pattern.

I am past the first twisting and on to success. More importantly I will have pictures to show you very soon!!!!

Jocelyn
the born again knitter

Survey Sez!!!

2005-01-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

The Pirates of the Caribbean: A swashbuckling
adventure! Yo ho, a pirates life is indeed for
you, seeing as you are the classic Disney dark
ride that presents a time when New Orleans was
under attack from a band of treasure loving
bandits. You have a bit of an edge, and an
element of danger, and you can scare the
youngins, but for the most part you mean no
serious harm. You are youthful at heart,
strong and energetic, with a taste for the good
life, if not hard work. You have romantic
notions about the adventurous life on the sea
with no rules and no responsibilities except to
your ship, but you also weary and worrisome of
the fate that eventually gets all those who
those who live life on the lamb, stealing gold
for greed and burning down cities for your own
delight. You are what you are, and you're out
to enjoy the glamour of your wild days while
they last! Despite your rough surface, the
people know you have heart and they will always
come back.

What Disneyland attraction are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Naughty naughty... not much knitting getting done this holiday

2004-12-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

knitting is all messed up this week due to the Real Life obsession with this game....

We got two beginner longbows for an early XMAS pressie and have been pulling them ever since. Really enjoying myself and am considering getting a professional quality one as a result. I just realized that I could knit and felt a bowsock for this. Lol! I also read that English Archers bobbin laced a special wool wrap for the grip. I feel some projects coming on...

In other news, my fellow blogger and knitting meetup friend Absinthe is busy making bliaut's and mongolian hats, and I just re-discovered this site.

J

I thought this was pretty funny...

2004-12-28T09:08:00.000-08:00

Snow White Loses 3 Dwarves Over Cost-Cutting

Merry Boxing Day everyone!

2004-12-26T13:12:00.000-08:00

Note to self... do not, ever again, eat Vicki's XMAS trifle. Especially after having liberal quantities of port, wine, vodka, and Irish Cream.

Last night found your intrepid author shooting arrows up the driveway to "see the sparks fly" as the points skipped up the pavement. Lots of fun, a few broken arrows, and plenty of interesting comments from the neighbors as I hunted for lost ones the next morning...

cool blog

2004-12-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

I just found this blog and boy, am I impressed. Much like Nannette from Knitting in Color, this woman is fantastic at what she does. I also like her sock buttons. neat.

J

Icky or nice - I can't decide!

2004-12-18T23:54:00.000-08:00

The other night at the knitting meetup I was proudly displaying my F.O.'s when I noticed the reactions of some folks to this creation:

A crocheted baby bib.
The kind that goes over the head like a towel with a hole in it. It's my favorite kind of bib, and it sounded good on paper, but I am not happy with the results. It's not delicate like I envisioned it, it actually looks kind of rough or rugged. And apparently the other knitters thought so too, although they were kind enough to not say anything at the time. It was the look on their faces that give them away.

So I am contemplating frogging the whole thing and making something else out of the material. I am not sure if it is soft enough for a baby, or if it'll make a nice gift. Maybe I'll change my mind in a few months, I don't know. I think I'll just pop it into the "wait and see" basket and get on with my einstein coat.

J

Knitting Meetup

2004-12-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

saw Heidi and Wendy at the Meetup last night. Had fun for all 25 minutes I was there. what is it with me?!?!? It always seems as if I have to leave early every time there is a meetup. This time it was because of Holiday Shopping. I am kind of like Jen in that regard - hate leaving the house, but once I am there I enjoy myself. I have no idea how I ended up being the meetup organizer. Must have been during a knitting blackout ;>

any way, have two more cute booties for Wayne and Kim's baby and I am finishing a crocheted bib this weekend:

coffee cozy which was planned for (had the yarn and everything) but couldn't summon the motivation to get it started until I was struck green with envy over Heidi's lovely coffee press cozy:

Crocheting the coffee cozy really whacked out my shoulder so I had to take a few days off. Now I remember why I learned to knit. Crochet really takes it out of my right elbow and shoulder if I work too long. I always end up in pain for days after a real good yarn session with the hooks. I irritate an old injury that I got in the 80's when my moped met a yuppie in a Volvo. I made the shoulder sprain a permanent fixture in my life by immediatley following the accident with too many late nights (read: all-nighters) spent hunched over the drafting board during my first stint in college.

I have 50 more 'ridges' to go on the bottom of the einstein coat and I still haven't started the last part of dh's bed socks even though I have been carrying them around with me for weeks.

No time for knitting, but hey! At least I got all my holiday shopping done.

So that is me, and that is what is happening, and now I am signing off.

J

for lack of better content... ;>

2004-12-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

a knitting joke:

Two men waiting at the Pearly Gates strike up a conversation
"How'd you die?" the first man asks the second.

"I froze to death," says the second.

"That's awful," says the first man. "How does it feel to freeze to death?"

"It's very uncomfortable at first," says the second man.

"You get the shakes, and you get pains in all your fingers and toes. But
eventually, it's a very calm way to go. You get numb and you kind of drift
off, as if you're sleeping. How about you, how did you die?"

"I had a heart attack," says the first man. "You see, I knew my wife was
cheating on me, so one day I showed up at home unexpectedly. I ran up to the
bedroom, and found her alone, knitting. I ran down to the basement, but no
one was hiding there, either. I ran up to the second floor, but no one was
hiding there either. I ran as fast as I could to the attic, and just as I
got there, I had a massive heart attack and died."

The second man shakes his head. "That's so ironic," he says.

"What do you mean?" asks the first man.

"If you had only stopped to look in the freezer, we'd both still be alive.

In the works update

2004-12-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

Those darned bed socks I promised my husband.

The cotton denim yarn is really soft and I have it in my basket with it's ziploc baggie and instructions ready to go. I just need to get off my duff and get them done.

The Fathat.

This one is really bugging me. I think I need to find the right time to sit down and get it done. I must have started the cables section three times already just to rip it back to the ribbing. Maybe it is time to find a local cabling knitting goddess and get some guidance.

Two F.O.'s I whipped out this weekend.

Baby booties and a baby jester hat for Kim and Wayne's new family member. The baby is due any day now and I can't wait to see it. I am planning on gifting her with them at their annual Yule Dinner this month. I think she'll be happy with the way they turned out.

Bye for now,

J

New Winter Knitty

2004-12-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

The new Knitty is up. not much there for me this issue other than the Tea Cozy (We really need one, honest) and maybe tempting or candy. Good thing too. Last issue had far to many things I want to knit. If I ever get to them... ;>

Jocelyn

the freedom to free form your knits

2004-12-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

So anyway, I know I said I wasn't going to post pictures of the scarves I made for my relative's gifts on my blog, but I finally got confirmation from mom that she would really rather have a glass cooking pot than a knitted gift. and since she is the only one in the family who reads this blog, I guess that makes it okay to post the picture now, right? So, without further ado, here is October's F.O.:

And an action shot:

Looks nice and warm, right? Like the red and black one below, I free formed this simple scarf with my own design and ideas. The stitch is simple garter stitch and the yarns are Berroco's Softy and a nice mohair that I picked up from Heather's grab bag in July.

For me, free forming things is an old crochet method I habitually use from back in the days before I taught myself how to knit. No matter how hard I try to stick to a pattern I usually find myself embellishing and adding things to knitting patterns and sewing patterns. So I have given up on following the pattern on certain items. Things like scarves, mittens, edgings, etc., are free game.

Soooo... I gotta log off now. I have crocheted baby booties and a knitted baby jester hat to make this weekend and I have barely begun either one. And my girlfriend's baby is due any day now. I am off to knit/crochet!

Jocelyn

Einstein on my mind

2004-12-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

My Einstein coat is coming along slowly, but really nicely. I have often wondered why it takes me so long for me to get knitting things done. Pushing oneself really hard and trying to meet self imposed deadlines are all fine and good for some folks, but that kind of pace has never worked well for me. I like to just putter along with my life and knitting fills in the gaps and cracks as they come.

Take for instance my living history hobby. I have lately gotten into traditional archery. okay, I admit it, I've been shooting a recurve in both regular target practice and the SCA for almost 10 years now, but I have only just this fall decided to take it into ren faires and try to do something 'period' with it. I purchased two nice English longbows (one for my son, one for me) and we are going to try and see if we can do some period shooting this spring. Watch out - you just might log on one evening and see pictures of our handmade arrows or something hysterical like that. LOL! I am also fairly caught up in homeschooling and all the prep time it takes to get a decent lesson in front of a bored 10 year old. So knitting time gets far and few some weeks, other weeks it's all I seem to do.

Well, that is enough chatter, here is the progress on the Einstein Coat so far:

Of course the color is a whole bunch more vivid in person than on camera. Maybe someday I'll learn how to work one of those darn things and really start taking some nice pictures.

Cheers,

Jocelyn

She lives!!!!

2004-11-29T16:15:00.000-08:00

I was sitting around trying to figure out why I have not been motivated to post lately. All I can think of is it is due, in part, to the election outcome and the fact that I have only been working on holiday gifts all month long. In regards to the latter, I did not want to post about them because they are just a bunch of scarves, etc. On the former item, it was not that I was not fired up and needed to speak about my bitter disappointment, because I did a lot of blogging about it. I just felt that my knitting blog was not the proper place for it, seeing as how I have a political catchall blog already. This knitting blog is about knitting =) and knitting is what I want to talk about today.

On the Knitting Meetup front: Claire de Lune's clearly is not the place for a large knitting circle. Even with plenty of forewarning and lots of moving heavy furniture around, the group was still fragmented and split into four parts. I felt bad for some of the knitters who were sitting off by themselves. Nevertheless, it could not be helped. Claire went into labor that evening and was unable to reserve anything for us. I am looking around for a better place to meet - if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Fo Time! I told you I would take some pics of the new stuff I have been finishing. I got a picture of my black and flame two loop mobius scarf. I was making it for Halloween, but it is really lovely and have been wearing it all Fall. I liked it so much you can expect more scarves from me on a similar theme in the future.

A snug mobius scarf is just the thing for windy and unpredictable San Diego winter weather. Small enough to scrunch up and stick in a jacket pocket, but fluffs large enough to drape really nice around the face. The pattern, gauge, stitch, yarn, and color choice is of my own design, inspired by internet stories on Ample Knitters.

J

When you have time to blog...

2004-11-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

But not take pictures, there is still something wrong... LOL!

I have nearly all the XMAS gifts done for the folks in Poland and am looking forward to getting more mohair for my Mom's scarf. (yes, I know I said I had Mom's scarf completed. But that was before I decided it would look good on both my mom AND my Mom in Law. I guess I need to make another one). The Einstein coat is getting HUGE and I really need to get a pic out to you guys soon - before I start on the arms. Also, it is finally cold enough I can no longer put off making my DH's bed socks, so I'll be a crocheting fool for a few weeks while I whip those out. Pics to follow

the Knitting meetup is next week and I can hardly wait. It'll be at Claire De Lune's again but I have my doubts if this location can really accommodate the 20 plus knitters that attend this event. Is it so bad that I look forward to the slice of chocolate cake I buy every time I go there? OH! And the knitting is a blast too. More details following.

Pics will be posted... soon. If I promise on my blog, then I have to do it, right?

J

It doesn't get any sillier...

2004-11-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

"Your gauge is all wrong
and you dropped a stitch.
I can knit so well
that you'll both be my bitch."

Gansta Knitter

It finally froze over...

2004-10-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

No silly, not that place, San Diego! It was so cold today that I decided to leave the homeschool parkday early 'cause my fingers wouldn't move anymore. Knitting in the park today was rough!

So I guess the signs point to a cold winter this season. While I defrosted my extremities driving home this evening, I made the determination that I needed a pair of fingerless gloves to take with me to Park day. Yes, gone is the laughing snickers I used to toss in the direction of all those knitters bravely wearing their fingerless gloves. This stylista is a new convert. I no longer believe that San Diego is too warm for folks to wear them, and hope my sisters in fashion forgive my former spate of cynicism. Especially if you are, like me, the kind of person who has a penchant for hanging around outdoors doing things with your kids and knitting. (I prefer dark corners of cafe' patios myself, but I'll take most anything - except the beach). I am off to find a free source for an easy glove pattern with 1/2 fingers. Maybe I'll whip something up with that Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn I have become addicted to...

On another front... go Magknits! You posted a pattern I can really relate to! Donna makes my heart sing and my thoughts turn to the January blahs when a black T-top is just the ticket to dress up my winter wardrobe. Guess I'll need to decide soon if I want to enter small gauge knitting heck again soon.

Still working on the Einstein, the Hallowig is at the dometop stage, and I am casting about for the right yarn for my crocheted poncho. Oh yeah! I have the markers for the Fat Hat finally, so as soon as Hallowig is off the needles, it'll be back in my radar scope again.

yay knitting!

Homeschool spinning class

2004-10-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

Taught my spinning class today. It was fun. Most of the kids got it right away, the parents were a bit slower - LOL! I enjoyed getting rid of the extra rovings and seeing folks learn something new in the process.

I'll probably teach my Crochet class early next month. That'll be a blast too.

God this post is boring today.

J

Knitting update

2004-10-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Got a bunch of knitting done this week - and I am feeling better too!

Knit my way though a School Board Meeting with the einstein coat - if you have ever been to one of those for a charter school, you'll sympathize with the amount of nervous energy I needed to channel.

lots done on the hallowig and more updates to come!!!

J

You'd think I'd have lost some weight for all the suffering I have done...

2004-10-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

I am sooooooo sick and tired of having this eternally upset stomach. Every time I eat, my stomach goes into fits and I don't feel good for hours. So as a consequence, I have been skipping meals, eating far less than normal and loafing around trying to take it easy. Urrrrgg! Frustrating, and you guessed it: No, I haven't lost any weight from eating less. At least it doesn't appear that way. I no longer hop on scales, just go by the a simple waistline test of 'can I or can't I fit into my jeans?' Well, I still can't get into them =P Fooey.

On the knitting front:

I still don't have pictures. Every time I contemplate it, I feel crummy and don't feel like setting up the little picture taking stage thing I use when I take photos. However, I *have* been knitting - just not as much as I'd like to report.

I have four inches on my bright yellow Hallowig completed, I am nearly done with the bottom section of the 'oh so luverly' Manos del Uruguay Einstein Coat, and am 2/3 finished with my new black mohair and orange flame eyelash Halloween scarf.

I'll take pictures and post them soon, I promise. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I am going to get out the hot water bottle and see if that'll help ease my poor tummy =(

J

2004-10-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

FO time again!!

2004-10-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I finished the red and black crocheted dog sweater I has set aside this spring. Choo Choo needed a new sweater, and it'll be a nice matching one to go with some of my favorite red sweaters I like to wear when it's cold ourside. His next sweater will be out of the scraps leftover from this lovely mohair that I am using for XMAS gifts.

I also finished the wrist distaff I needed to get my spinning of the ground. Nothing like scheduling a class to teach homeschoolers how to spin to make you really get up off your duff and practice more often. I decided if I can do the basic rudiments of spinning, then that should be enough to show kids how to get started too. We'll see if any one is interested by how many enroll.

Anyway. I have some sort of new cold (arrived on the heels of the last one) that is tormenting me ;> I am up to 4000 grams of Vitamin C a day, and nothing seems to help. This happens each year at back-to-school (back-to-flu) time. One benefit of getting the marathon flu/colds/ailments is that I get to spend a bunch of time in bed getting a lot of much needed rest and sleep. => Oh and lots of knitting too ;>

J

Feeling better - sort of

2004-10-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

recovery has been slow, but I am getting better daily. the dizzy spells, the stomach sickness and body pain are a thing of the past. now I just get an ache after eating. kinda good or the waist line, but it's terrible if you are trying to get more vitamins into your body than chicken soup provides.

was able to get more rows done on the Einstein coat. seems to be my favorite 'take along' project these days. took it to piano lessons and the various science classes my homeschooler is in. but there is always something more interesting to knit up at home.

speaking of home, I am going to cast on - again - for the hallowig. before I got sick, I had cast on for it, but missed the count by two stitches and the ribbing didn't come out. haven't had a moment since I recovered to get it going again. gotta get this fun project done before Halloween so I can wear it while my boy trick-or-treats. nothing like upholding the family tradition of embarrassing the heck out of your kids while they are in public... ;>

I was on row 40 and had quite a bit of progress when I got one of 'those' kinds of ideas. frogged the entire garter-stitch eyelash scarf I had started for my Sister-in-law. you see, I had just taught myself the cool yarn over technique for scarves that is so popular these days. started working the pattern just fine, but it was so difficult to see where I was in the stitch that it ended up coming out funky. turns out it was a bad idea to use eyelash yarn for that stitch. now I regret frogging the garter stitch progress I had made, as I was so far along with the scarf before I had my brilliant idea of turning it into a yarn over scarf... well, we live and learn. I need to think of something to do with that eyelash yarn that will make into a quick - and painless - scarf.

catch you soon

J

wow.

2004-10-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

great post and really spooky picture!

Stomach flu!!

2004-10-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

yep, I got sick Sunday afternoon and haven't done any knitting - or eating, sleeping, feeling normal, or anything since. Will post more later when I am feeling better. Just wanted to send an update.

J

I'm a lazy picture taker!

2004-10-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

yes I am. I need to post pics of my newest stuff, but here I am surfing the 'net instead.

Without further ado: i have started the Hallowig, taught myself how to do that cool yarnover garter stitch thing for the XMAS scarves I am making, and am feeling the urge to get some new sweaters done for my little doggie. the Manos project is doing well too.

gotta run, I am late for a knitting date!

Cheers!

J

Another FO done!!!

2004-09-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

yep. Just got XMas scarf #2 done. Working on the last one. Can't show pics, but rest assured they are totally cool.

I started the Hallowig this evening. I only had two choices of solid color yarn at my local JoAnns, acid pink and lime green. After asking a few total strangers, "which yarn looks better next to my face", I picked pink. Funny thing, Michael's, which is positively over running with less expensive versions of the most popular novelty yarns, doesn't carry the Red Heart Kids' brand anymore. But they did have a lot of nice stuff.

so I have a few new changes to the Current Projects list and a few more F.O.'s I need to add to my finished works list. Good news all around.

Oh, and the Manos del Uruguay Einstein Coat is chugging along just fine. I get about 10-20 rows done nearly every evening. A good pace, I think, for a large project.

J

What IS it with that school!!!!

2004-09-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have this kid that I homeschool. Yeah. He's pretty bright for a 10 yo. Not in the way that you get A's on math tests or anything normal like that. More like you get him in front of some sheet music for the piano and he plays the whole piece cold with only one mistake, kinda bright. The type of 10 yo kid that can use a computer to program his Lego Mindstorms robot to pick up his dirty laundry and chase the dog out of his room, kind of bright. A real pain in the keister to educate and keep challenged, kind of bright.

It's why we homeschool. He's terribly bright, and yet needs extra help in certain subjects. Kinda like his mom in an unnerving way.

I got into a disagreement with the school director of our homeschool charter school. After a few embarrassing hardball style arguments with her in front of the other parents, I have come away the underlying impression that she does not respect us parents as teachers. I get a lot of the 'we know what's best' kind of B.S. that I thought I'd left behind when we walked out of that expensive prep school.

I really did not want to have to fight for each tiny scrap of appropriate education for my kid this year. But here I am, in a knock-down, drag out scrap with the school director, and the board of directors looking on, over the simple placement of my boy in an elective class.

You see, she wants to put him with his age group (5th graders are grouped with grades 3-5). Silly me, I figured it's my money paying for the class, and since the school is supposed to be about choice, he should be with his academic peers, right? Really, what is a profoundly gifted kid going to do with a group of younger kids in a remedial class?

I can tell you right now.

He'll get like those kids back in high school that wore all black, had 35 ear piercings and sat in the back of the class. He is going to get bored real fast, wreak havoc in there, and it'll just get ugly. Real ugly. Probably make him hate school all over again too. And just when we had him giving the whole academic thing a second chance. Just because the school director knows what is best for my boy. Oh, yes! And she does not want to make the other kids jealous either.

I think she assumes an awful lot.

You see I was suckered into this whole Charter school charade on the premise that this school was going to be about parents choice. It's even in the name: Total Learning Choice Academy. I actually believed that parents would have a say in the direction that the school is going. Nevertheless, so far the only REAL input parents have had in this school is in supplying free labor. All other decisions, academic or programmatic, are in the hands of the director who 'knows what is best for my son'.

I say it's a load of B.S.

J

Good News: I have one Xmas FO done!!

2004-09-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

Bad News: I can't show it to you =(

The FO is for my mom, and unfortunately, she knows the URL for this site. Cannot have the XMAS surprise blown 'cause I blog now can we?

More Good News: I am working on the second one in a different color and will be more than happy to post pics of it as soon as it's done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the Manos front:

I have seventy 'ridges' done and am almost halfway done with the bottom edge. This is easily the biggest thing I have knit to date. I am ust now at the part of the project where it is getting monotonous and it feels very heavy on the circular needles. I just cannot imagine how folks who knit on only straight needles do it, really, I do not. The yarn fabric pulls in my lap and is unwieldy when you turn it around. Since this section is roughly the size of a baby blanket already, and just a wee bit short of half it's future size, I can easily see how learning to use circulars is important to anyone that wants to knit an item of large size.

Well, I am off to visit some of my musician friends and taste the beers at the Adams Avenue Street Festival. I'll try to get some knitting done on the Manos tonight so I can show you how very large and beautiful it is turning out.

TTFN!!

J

ARRRRRR... Drink up me hearties, whilst I spin ye a yarn of me knitting tales!

2004-09-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

Shiver me timbers! Bless me if it ain't talk like a pirate day all day today! We be ever so excited t' finally be showin' our colors to ye. Arrr...

HTTP 404 Not Found

2004-09-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Amber - What happened???

An idea whose time has come.

2004-09-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

For those of us San Diego knitters dealing with global warming, we are seeing our opportunities for wearing our newly crafted woolens rapidly disappearing from the annual calendar. It used to be one could count on having cold weather from mid-October right through to mid-June, with only a hot spell or two to break up the monotony of a temperate So Cal winter. However, the last few years it seems the prospect of wearing warm clothes in San Diego presents itself less and less often.

I was researching new sandals and tank tops (a recurring theme in my wardrobe lately) and came across this site.

Wow! I had no idea peds like that existed. One thing I can't stand is the feel of the sweaty sandal band on the top of my foot when I am rushing around during the day. Plus, we all know wearing no socks makes your shoes smell after a while.

So while I was exclaiming about these cool peds to my ever-so-practical dh, he quipped, "why don't you knit one of those instead of lamenting about knitting socks you'll rarely wear?"

Why didn't I think of that?

So I am off to convert a pattern and make myself a pair or three. With these band-peds being so small, it should be no problem to whip them up in a jiffy!!!

Here is another great sock idea from the same website:

ARRRRRR... Do you be a knitting pirate?!?!?!

2004-09-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

I knit a bounty of rows for ye hearties and beauties last night. But no hornswagglin' or ye'll have to walk the plank!

Hee heee... Talk like a pirate day is coming up quick. Just thought I'd get the precedent started and celebrate early...

I did lots of knitting in bed last night while Art watched his soccer games. I am up to rib number 25 on the bottom section of the Einstein Coat. I felt I was far enough along that I should snap a shot of it for the blog.

Not much progress on much else in the UFO basket. Good thing Tuesday's are a homeschooling park day. I expect I will get a lot of knitting time in just sitting in the shade and chatting with the other parents. I plan on taking both the shapely and the Einstein coat to see how far I can get with both of them in one afternoon.

TTFN,

J

back to school time...

2004-09-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Didn't get a lot of knitting done this weekend, nor today.

Today was the first "official" day back at school for most of the kids in my neighborhood. Being homeschoolers we didn't notice much of a difference aside from the fact the neighborhood was nice and quiet from 9AM to 2PM.

Our regular day includes a smattering of things like math, reading, videos about Rome, journaling - all the good stuff. And, even if my DS doesn't agree, I certainly had fun this afternoon. Plus, we were really productive. After doing some art history on early modern impressionists, my homeschooler made a really nice picture of himself in the neo-positivism style of modern art:

And I discovered what my dog would have looked like if he had been sealed under shrinkwrap:

The new knitty "so up it hurts"

2004-09-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Wow. After a summer off, doing virtually no real knitting, that site is tempting me to take on more than I can possibly handle - again.

Giraffe, Leaves, Blaze, and possibly even Hallowig, (for that Fractured Fairy Tales Halloween theme party I am attending this year)

Ah Knitty, just when I think I have developed the strength to resist you, you do it to me all over again.

j

This just in from the front....

2004-09-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

Got back from vacation tonight to see that I was officially made the organizer of the local San Diego Knitting Meetup. I spent a few minutes cruising the Meetup site making it look a little better and will start officially trying to improve this meetup group's attendance on Monday. My immediate goal is to get it's attendees hooked into the local knitting community and get the locals to attend it in kind.

While I was on vacation camping I discovered:

1. I don't like to knit outside in the dirt.
2. Yellow Jackets don't really sting as easily as people believe.
3. Gold Rush Country is cool and the living history stuff that folks do up there is really kinda neat.
4. You can properly chill a beer keg in the American River simply by submerging it for 30 minutes.
5. Even if you sit in the South Fork of the freezing American River when the air temperature is 100+ degrees, you will not feel any cooler - you will just freeze the parts that are dangling in the river.

That's all for now. More fun revelations coming soon.

J

All Spun out

2004-09-02T08:56:00.001-07:00

Earlier this month I performed at a outreach event for a Late Middle Ages reeneactment group. I enjoy wearing my 14C Spanish digs as much as the other eras I sometimes portray. It's always fun to reenact the time of the Early Spanish Explorers. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to bring out my spindle.

As you can see, my spinning is looking better. And the soft lilac colors of the rovings can't be beat. I have decided the yarn is much to pretty to felt after I spin it, so I probably will not be making the felted bag I had planned. Now I am on the fence about what I will make with it.

Maybe inspiration will hit while I am working on it. I almost feel I should make something to go with my outfit, but I'd have to research the colors I used in the wool.

Cheers,

Jocelyn

dying for pink

2004-09-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I had to do it twice to get a strong color I liked, but I did it. Here is my skein of Fisherman's wool Kool-aid dyed pink.

I might just try for a darker color at this point, or go with purple. I like the fact it changed color, stayed even and was easy to do, but I think I might go for something a bit more sophisticated. The hue is nice, but am not sure I want anything dyed that color right now.

possibly I'll save it for the felted dog bed project I promised my Hubby's wired haired doxie. Little thing needs a place to curl up as it is too small to jump onto the bed with us.

J

Knitting Update...

2004-08-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

Shapely:
Been knitting up a storm getting the Shapely tank finished. I am almost into the short row shaping part of the front.

I see there are quite a few other folks struggling with a sizing problem in the shapely tank knit-along, so hopefully, my procrastination will lead me to new revelation on How To Knit It Correctly. I plan to post my notes on exactly how many rows it took to make it into an "ample" cup size and still fit in the armhole area.

Bikini:
I have completely failed to get my bikini project off the ground, and it looks like most of the other folks have either lost interest or finished already. So the Bikini-Along will be closing it's doors as of September 15th.

FatHat:
Nothing to report, still on hold while the weather is blazing hot.

Candy Along:
Been trying to cast off the knit along. I was accidentally emailed a candy correspondent for the month, so good-naturedly thinking my good bye message had been missed, I sent off candy. Didn't get any in return, but I think the snafu was that I was mistakenly taken off the recipient list only. LOL! Maybe next month I am aiming to get of the list completely - my waistline certainly won't miss the sweet stuff. =)

The Einstein Coat:

Manos, mmmmmnnnn. Manos. Great stuff. Still loving it. Found out after a bit of sizing reading that I need to the frog what I did and re-cast on for about 4 inches longer to get the knee length coat I want. And I get to.. uh, I mean... have to buy more Manos. Poor me ;>

That's about it. I plan to get about 25 hours of good solid knitting time in the car over the next week and a half. Now that my living history event has borne and died, I can take a vacation to see mom in the San Francisco Bay Area, help her fix up her house a bit and even do some camping in the Gold Country. I plan to shop at Imagiknits, Atalier, and a few other Bay Area LYS's while I am there. Adelas in Castro Valley and Art Fibers will be a repeat, but they are worth it. If anyone has any suggestions for other must see yarn shops in SF, the Bay Area or Sacramento, let me know.
Cheers,

Jocelyn

Hysterical Knitting:

2004-08-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Been taking a bit too much time off researching my new Living History hobby. Yes, I know I have sworn off idiots in the reenactment world, but this isn't exactly the same as that. Over the last few years, I have been slowly being pulled into doing docent work with the State Park's California History programs. I worked the Cabrillo Festival reenactment of Juan Cabrillo's landing last year as an 14th C. Spanish seaman's wife, and will be back doing the same again this year. I also have been sewing underpinnings and crinolines for my early Civil War era impression I will be working for the Old Town State Park in San Diego over the next year.

How this relates to knitting is easy: I am researching and preparing to knit some period pieces. Nothing like knitting a garment from a real vintage pattern to get an accurate look and an appreciation for the modern technique. When I get my dress completed, I am planning to knit a shawl and crochet some garters first, and then move on to a knitted sontag and perhaps cast on some period socks for the actual re-enactment. Already bought the wooden needles and crochet hooks (yes La, they are Brittany Needles - only the best for me!) and am researching appropriate wools and cottons.

LOL! Dh and I enjoy this new (read: non ren faire Royal Court stupidity) hobby so much we completely skipped the sunglasses wearing, boozing, body piercing kooks at the LB Ren Faire this last weekend in favor of a local event, good friends, and some fabric shopping. On a sad note, the LB faire was the last one produced by their supporting organization, and I am sure it was fraught with plenty of ego-trips, conspiracy theories, and bozos. I had quite a few phone calls over the weekend from well-meaning folks there trying to drag me in to the drama.

Well that's all for today. Until tomorrow then,

J

An unhappy conclusion...

2004-08-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I am no longer a part of the Knitting blogs webring.

Not my fault, not Julie's fault, just something that happened. I got a note from Julie the other night telling me the knitting blogs web ring code had 'dissapeared' off my website and I had been removed to the approval queue and would be deleted soon. I checked it out, saw it was still there and wrote her back letting her know the ring code was indeed visible.

Apparently she uses one of the beta versions of Mozilla Foxfire and has created an unwritten policy that all the sites in the kniting blogs web ring need to conform to that browser's unusually stringent standards. Well, not all of the blog pages, just the part on them that has the ring code. The rest of the page can get all wonky, but if the code shows up readable in the Mozilla browser it's cool.

For those who don't know, Mozilla is a browser that less than 5% of folks viewing the 'net are using. Most folks who support it are computer industry insider folks who are big on 'browser war' politics, but don't seem to have a firm grasp on what the most web users view as important: being able to actually read and use web pages. When 70% of the web is unreadable in a browser, it doesn't matter how W3C compliant it is, it just doesn't work.

Well, as you can see, I don't agree with her reasoning, but I respect her decision. One must draw the line somewhere and apparently with nearly 500 sites on her ring, this is one of her lines. It must be a headache to admin a ring of that size.

Anyway, for those of you that are interested, our conversation kind of went like this:

----- Original Message -----
From: Jocelyn
To: Julie
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 5:51 PM
Subject: RE: Knitting Blogs Web Ring

Good afternoon Julie,

I took a look at my knitting blog with both Opera (7.2 version) and Mozilla's Firefox (1.7.2 version) and I was really surprised at the difference. Opera, a leading open-source browser that is used by Internet QA industry professionals everywhere as the de facto standard for Website testing, showed all the functionality of my site - including the web ring code. While Netscape's Mozilla Firefox obliterated or reformatted quite a bit of it. Further, you are completely right about the web ring code, it isn't showing on my page when viewed with Mozilla Firefox.

I copied the code for the entire right hand table of my knitting blog into an open-source text HTML editor for closer examination, and then reviewed the page using Opera, Firefox, I.E., and the integrated internal browser. In every case except Firefox, I was able to see the web ring code, as well as the other content that was missing from my site when viewing it with Mozilla.

Again, I took the initiative and took a tour around the Knitting Bloggers web ring with both Opera and Mozilla's Firefox and was really amazed with some of the results. Approximately 80% of the 40 random knitting Bloggers web ring sites I viewed with Opera had some kind of error in them that doesn't show up in my normal browser, I.E. On the other hand, nearly every site viewed with Firefox showed errors, missing graphics, reformatted or missing text or some other browser incompatibility issue.

I guess us bloggers aren't as good at coding as I had thought. It looks like a good number of the knitting blogs published on the 'net have a tag or graphics issue here and there. Opera (and I.E.) faithfully displayed the random sampling of pages and simply ignored most of the errors. While Firefox was unable to display the pages under what appears to be standard conditions for knitting blogs.

I have to conclude that the folks at Mozilla are still distributing unfinished browsers that are incompatible with most of the internet. Plus, after seeing my brand new system crash upon install of Mozilla this afternoon, I feel it is simply too unstable a product to be using for testing web ring codes. I can understand where you are coming from on this web ring code issue. I am sure your intentions are best for the web ring's needs, but I don't really have the time nor interest in coding my site to fit the standards of an unfinished beta testing browser that fails to show a site's functionality, or tweaks nearly 60% of web pages viewed out of shape. I apologize if this makes my site ineligible for inclusion into the ring, but I am going to have to stand firm on my priorities on this matter.

Please let me know your thoughts on this matter. I am ready to accept your decision and remove the code from my site if knitherapy is no longer welcome in the web ring with it's current coding standards.

Kindest regards,

Jocelyn
knitherapy
==================

Her response was expected, and I was summarily deleted from the web ring. Not a problem for me, as anyone can see that the knitting blogs ring has more than it's share of bloggers. I kinda felt lost in the crowd - if you know what I mean.

However, after wasting the last 9+ years of my young life working in the internet industry, I think I am in a good position to determine which browsers work best with the web and which ones don't. I stuggled my way up from a geek hobbyist BBS Admin, to a Webmaster of a local Fortune 500, and on to a Internet Systems Network Administrator. I completed my IT career as a Project Manager overseeing the QA department of a website driven e-commerce solution company. In this matter, I feel I have a right to offer advice and opinions, even if some folks won't heed it.

And plus, I have no time for silly browsers - I have a life to lead. A good life. Geesh, you should see what this Mozilla browser does to some folks' sites. If Opera can display them correctly, firefox should, right? Not pretty.

Anyway, I am off to use the time I would have wasted recoding my site for Netscape's crappy browser by knitting. I am making a coat with Manos you know... Ahhhh... Manos...

nice stuff.

J

Another day lost - but it was a lot of fun!!!

2004-08-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

I came home yesterday afternoon to a big surprise - I have a new computer. It's an early b-day pressie from a good friend. Last night was spent tranfering data to the new harddrive, adding it to the network, eating cheesecake and drinking gin. And so I am spending the day trying to break it in, get my apps loaded and generally assuring myself I haven't lost any data.

Will blog more later - the good friend needs to help me finish uploading some apps.

J

Knitting update....

2004-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is where I am with my knitting:

I am in the pink, so to speak, with the front of the Shapley Tank. I am fast approaching the short row shaping for the top area and am looking forward to finishing this tank top. After I cast off this top I will start on a Onde' version of the same top with the turtleneck finishing. That will be an fun, colorful project - I am using the volcan yarn.

Ucan2 is on hold 'till the Shapely Tank is complete. I am looking forward to reworking the pattern to fit my narrow shoulders. Up by my neckline, They are 12" from sleeve opening to sleeve opening. The up-sized pattern is calling for 20"... Should be interesting to post my reworking notes and the results of that effort. Good thing the weather is hot nearly all year long in San Diego. Making a sleeveless shell in the fall might not make much sense if I lived elsewhere.

Bikini-Along is great! Many folks are participating, although more folks are doing the bikini than are posting to the blog, I feel it is a success in that it got us Ample Sized lovelies a pattern we could use. Thanks Joan!!! As soon as dh's paycheck hits the bank, I am ordering some Fixation yarn. my plan is to set some priority time aside to get that project done. LOL! Just in time for September... Better late than never, I suppose.

Manos... ummmmnnnn. Manos. Yes, I am in love. And of course it is with wool. This time it is some lovely lovely Manos del Uruguay #115 in flame - the link's picture doesn't do it justice. I'll post pictures soon, but you can be assured that the Einstein coat I am making with this is coming along very nicely with the Manos yarn. I especially like the pattern's crochet cast-on and the slipstitch edge that makes the knitted fabric come out perfectly square and well-behaved. It looks really good coming off the needles with each row I knit. I am only a few rows into the bottom section, but I'll be sure to post plenty of pics on this project.

FWIW, I cannot recommend The Knit Stitch book enough to anyone interested in refining their technique through some easy-to-make projects. Instant gratification while you are learning and correcting sloppy habits. Well maybe Nanette doesn't need to read it, as her work is simply impeccable. But then again, as a knitting goddess, her purpose is fulfilled on this planet just by her existence - and her fabulous knitting.

The candy bag is done. Has been for over a month now. I just need to post the pics and report it as such to the candy along folks. If all goes as planned, this will be my last month mailing out candy, etc. It's been a lot of fun =)

I reworked Fat Hat the other day while waiting for the wine import store to open (had to get a few cases for the ren faire). I looked all over my stuff and just cannot find my large stitch markers so I can finish the cabling. So, next time I am at the store, and there are large-sized stitch markers for sale, that project will be going again. I also bought 2 skeins of the lime green in the same Waterspun Weekend yarn. The idea was that I might make the other hat while I am at it, or maybe something different. It's a nice yarn. Have a suggestion for me?

Well, that's my knitting update. I have a lot on my plate to finish before I get going on some of my "in the wings" big projects. I am looking forward to making a sweater out of Berroco's new "Softy" yarn this winter and finishing my Manos Einstein Coat. Of course, now that I think about it, a bright yellow variegated yarn scarf would look cool with it too...

Lastly, I can't get to the fiber fest in Santa Monica this weekend. Family issues, etc., keep me from going. I will miss everyone and be very jealous as I look forward to hearing how much fun everyone had. Let me know how it went.

Jocelyn

Cingular Wireless - The last laugh is on me!!! or, I should have known better...

2004-08-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Oh wretched muse that is my cell phone company, once again you have forced me to succumb to your miserable bidding.

I got up bright and early this Monday morning to make a phone call to Cingular Customer service. 8:16 AM I dialed the phone and punched the number "0" to go direct to a service agent. The computer quoted me a 6-minute wait; I computed it to real time and figured I would be on in 15 minutes. 8:34 the service agent answers. I was close, but generous by a few minutes. Unfortunately the line was wonky and the agent couldn't hear me (or pretended not to) as after my saying hello a few times I was disconnected. I looked towards the ceiling in a vain hope of finding comfort that direction.

Having not received divine comfort nor inspiration, but only the sullen confirmation that my assumptions on the subject of the existence of deities has been right all along, I picked up the phone and dialed 611 again. This time the system quoted me 8 minutes and disconnected the phone after three.

Tried again, but the system would not even connect. Therefore, I have started this journal entry while I wait on the phone to keep me occupied during the fourth attempt to connect to my Cingular wireless representative. This time they did not even quote a time, the computer merely said the call volume was 'higher than normal, and they apologize for the delay'. Not a good sign for a speedy conclusion to my little problem. It is now 8:52 AM.

How did I find myself here on this island of self-pity, wallowing in utility company loathing and a miasma of self-inflicted pain? Well, grab a soft drink, call out for pizza and tell your hubby to pick up the kids from practice. This is not a normal tale of Woe, nor can I guarantee it to be a short one, but it is very good.

more...

too thick to blog

2004-08-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, i am sick. and yes that was an attempt to be cute. I am crawling back into bed now. I feel terrible. thanks to the anonymous rennie that shared their germs. hope i see you on the rebound.

jocelyn

I am alive...

2004-08-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

... but just barely. I will post more tomorw about having survivied the ren faire. Needless to say, I have a new, even deeper level of sheer respect for two knitters who did the right thing. I too am cutting my losses and getting away from that group - it's easier if you are the producer, but no less painful on the political spectrum.

More on that tomorrow. I just crawled out of bed to let you all know: I am still alive, have two new knitting projects to talk about, have finished stowing all the props, have counted all the money (we did faboo), and still managed to get 2 1/2 rows done on the Shapley Tank this weekend.

Jocelyn

only one row done...

2004-07-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

but I started a new faux fur project!!! Just to prove how far my mind has gone to pieces producing this reniassance faire, I have cast on and nearly completed a nice sized fauxfur sweater for choo choo - using sice 15 needles of course!!! He looks perfectly silly in it. good dog. Needing a distraction to the mental madness of a large production like this, and half gone on a bottle of Napa valley Shiraz, I used up the leftover Crystal Palace orange fur yarn that you see below in my june party pics.

Now where is my drop spindle and pretty pretty purple rovings? I need to spin at the ren faire - it goes with my new spiffy and 'Oh! So hysterically correct' middle class gear. Also tomorrow is Manos Del Uruguay Day!! Yipee!!!

see you next week after the show...

Another week, another six rows completed

2004-07-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

Been falling into bed so exhausted lately that I haven't had time to knit or even read. And that, dear readers, if you know me, is really saying a lot. I have been reading ever since I can remember and have developed a shameful little habit of needing to read every night before I sleep, then dream.

I call it "lines in a row" and some nights you can find me wandering the house in the darkness looking for anything composed into sentences. I usually satisfy my little ritual before I slip into morpheous hugs, but there are times I am so tired that I don't even need a book to get to sleep. The last two weeks has been one of those times.

The Shapely Tank is going to take forever at this rate. I did one row of knit last night. Six rows total this week. My UCan2 Shell is on hold until after the Faire, and the sock is on hold until I can get a set of five needles. After trying to make the easy sock pattern I was using scale up I got tired of it all, did the math, printed a pattern using Elizabeth Bennett's sock pattern generator and have set it all aside until I can get to the store on the first. I'll also be picking up some yummy Manos Del Uruguay to knit into that Einstein coat all the other Ample Knitters have been talking about. Sweet anticipation!

The faire is in a week and a half. This time next week will be my last day of freedom before we go into production. ::sigh:: Producing this faire is a labor of love, but sometimes I wonder. Some of the people I am doing this for make it so hard to love my job.

Fiber Arts history lesson...

2004-07-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Janice Pea wote:

Penelope was the wife of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who waited faithfully for him while he first led the Greeks in the Trojan War and then wandered for 10 years before he reached his home (thus, the "odyssey").
During his absence, Penelope had many suitors. They tried to convince her that her husband was dead and that she should remarry. She kept them at bay by telling them that she would not consider marriage until she was done weaving the burial shroud she was making for her father-in-law. She worked on the weaving every day, and every night she ripped out what she had done.The word "penelopize" now means to unravel (what we U.S. knitters refer to as "frogging" or "tinking"). In the end, Penelope was still single and waiting when her husband returned.

While I'm on the topic -- Athena, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of household arts and crafts, particularly spinning and weaving, is also connected to this story. When Odysseus left Ithaca to fight the Trojan War, he left his friend Mentor in charge of his household, incuding the responsibility for guiding and teaching his young son. When the sone became a young man, Athena disguised herself as Mentor, appeared to him, and encouraged him to search for his missing father. When he left on his quest, Mentor (really Athena in disguise) accompanied him as his guide.

Athena was not only considered the goddess of spinning and weaving, but also the goddess of wisdom and the champion of justice and law. She was credited with the invention of the flute, the ox-yoke, the plow, as well as the chariot and the horse bridle.

Thank you Janice, that was lovely.

Help! someone has kidnapped me and forced me to work in a ren fair production office!!

2004-07-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Just kidding. I wasn't kidnapped, but I feel like it at times.

I only got 6 more rows completed on the Shapely Tank the last two weeks, and somehow managed to get a sock started. I needed something small to carry with me for all the 'hurry up and wait' that it involved with the ren faire production I do. Who knows when I will have time to post pics.

While I was at Blacksheep Woolworks the other day picking out sock yarn for my first sock project, I fell in love with some Manos Del Uruguay. Come the first of the month's paycheck, I plan to go back up there and get myself some. What a pretty yarn. So this afternoon, I snuck in a bit of 'me' time and did a bit of pre-shopping for a new project to go with the yarn: Everyday Cardigan.

Well I am off. Gotta get back to the paperwork mines.

Jocelyn

Surf and Sand day - all day!!

2004-07-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today is beach day (every Tuesday without fail) with the San Diego Homeschoolers group, so I am off to the beach in a few hours. True to the Ample-listers UFO Monday doctrine, I did about 6 more rows on the Shapely Tank and finished some projects last night.

I got brave and felted the green slippers for my son. They turned out to be a disaster. I realize now all the novice-type knitting mistakes I made last fall really do add up. I am a bit stubborn, as I still maintain that the pattern is kinda wonky. But I realize it must be all me, 'cause thousands of happy knitters successfully using that pattern can't be wrong. Needless to say, you won't be seeing a pic of that project on this blog. Maybe I'll post DS slippers version 2.0 when I get around to making them.

I also felted the pink lady bag. What a difference a yarn makes!!! (see my aggravation and regret post over last yarn choice) It is tiny, functional and perfect. As soon as it's dry, I can trim the fuzz whispies, take some pics and get it ready for it's runway debut on the Candy along. It is my swan song project for that knit-along, I am more than ready to move on to a new project. I'll post pics here as well.

The knitting goddess isn't coming to the beach today as I had hoped, so I'm off the hook as far as knitting envy/guilt this afternoon. I applaud her fortitude, but I just can't knit at the beach. Between the dirt in the sand that makes my fingers brown, and the constantly blowing wind, it is just too nerve wreaking to try and get anything done. So today I will just sit and sun, read my books, and maybe get a little body-boarding in on the side.

Jocelyn