jmfknits

My Fun New eReader Travel Bag!

2012-01-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

My Giraffes Can Dance Borsa Bella eReader Travel Bag arrived in the mail today :-D The main and front pocket are padded, so no more worries about managing Ian while carrying my Kindle. It's so cute, check it out:

WTTHM 2011 shirt, bag, medal

2011-10-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

White Tail Trail Half Marathon 2011 Race Report

2011-10-02T23:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning I ran the White Tail Trail Half Marathon at Caesar Creek State Park in Waynesville, Ohio! My 2nd trail race, my 1st trail half marathon, my 3rd half marathon overall, and the hardest race I've done yet (even harder than that crazy EcoThon 5K last spring that broke me!). Caesar Creek makes Darby Creek and Highbanks (the hilliest trails near my town where I trained) look like bunny hills. The only trails I've run that are harder are at Clear Creek in Hocking County. Although, at Clear Creek, at least there are opportunities to catch your breath atop ridges or at ravine bottoms. There were no opportunities to catch my breath at Caesar Creek. It was ravine after ravine after ravine interrupted midway by a windy run over the dam.

Before I get into a play-by-play report, let me quickly describe my training prep going into this race. Living in a flat city and accustomed to road races where you don't have to look down constantly while you're running, I ran some occasional trail runs with longer, hillier ones closer to my race. I also upped the frequency and mileage of my weekend long runs (lots of 10s and even above) and did more speedwork to be sure that I built up my strength and endurance. What I didn't do, which I discovered in hindsight is necessary, is strength training and more serious hill workouts. (That, or living in a place where I can regularly run killer hills.) This race turned out to be a difficult 13.1-mile hill workout. No breaks. For this Columbus girl who was better prepared for a swift, flat road race, it totally hammered my legs and made me have to rely solely on my mind to get through the last 7 miles. I'm very happy to have and wear my medal to say that I completed this race! To finish was definitely an accomplishment. Around 40 out of 240 didn't finish the race. I never thought of quitting while running yesterday, but I wondered when I was ever going to get to the end!

Pre-Race
For dinner the night before the race, I went with my family to Golden Corral. With the increasingly cold temperatures and wind building, I noticed that my head was pounding! I ended up not eating a ton like I normally do before a race. Then, I suffered insomnia from my headache and pre-race nerves, only getting in maybe an hour of light sleep.

Getting There
I got up on time, ate my oatmeal, got dressed, and packed my gear. I kept vascillating between outfit choices, wondering whether to wear my running jacket due to the high wind. The wind was 20 mph and the windchill was 31 and would get up to 42 by the end of the race. I ended up wearing my favorite running pants, a longsleeve tech top, wool socks, thin headband, thin gloves, and brought my jacket just in case.Fortunately, my outfit turned out to be just right.

The drive there was a dark, rainy mist. Packet pickup and restrooms were at the finish, located at the park's swim beach. The goodie bag consisted of a small black nylon La Sportiva drawtring backpack with little samples: nuun, Aquaphor, CLIFbar, Gore-Tex lip balm, and a RoadID coupon. After taking the bag back to my warm car, I ate the mini CLIFbar sample and attached the little timing card to the top of my shoe. Like a lot of other people, I wasn't sure how many shuttle buses there would be to get to the starting point. So, I got on the first one, especially after seeing many people headed that way. Such a fool! I got there and had to stand in the cold wind for 50 minutes. On the upside, I had fun chatting, commiserating, and bobbing up and down with fellow racers.

Start
Knowing that the trail would be narrow, I made sure to place myself somewhere in the middle to back of the pack of 240 people. I chose well because I only got passed in the woods about 7-8 times, and 40 people (mostly behind me I'm guessing?) got a DNF. My starting pace was too fast, but I figured that people would start to thin out on the road before entering the woods. I reassured myself that I'd slow down and run my pace after the first mile upon entering the woods.

Miles 1-6
Just before the woods at Mile 1, it thinned out and everybody went to single file. The terrain consisted of rolling hills and small ravine crossings. At the time I was thinking, "This isn't too bad -- as long as it doesn't get worse." Ha! I had no idea... For a few miles, I had people in front and behind, all going the same pace. There were aid stations at Mile 2 and 3.5, and I still felt strong and that things were moving along at a good pace -- my guess, maybe 11:30-12:00. Faster than in training (on trails, that is). The ankle-deep stream crossing not far after Mile 5 turned out to go really well. I only got my left shoe a little wet, and it didn't bother me the remainder of the race -- a relief since I was worried about that. At an open spot that included a short stretch of park road, I came upon a shirtless man in front of me. He looked like he had lost quite a bit of weight and wasn't cold. I wasn't cold either now that I was running, but I wondered how he could stand the wind! Soon after we were back in the woods, I heard a tinkling water sound atop the hill I was climbing and came upon the shirtless man peeing just off the trail. I was glad to pass him and never saw him again. At the end of the first 6 miles was the 3rd aid station where the woods opened up near the dam. I noticed they had Hammer Gel and eagerly took some with water. From there to the dam it was white, finely crushed rocks and dry grass with lots of squishy puddles.

The Dam - Halfway Point
Up until the dam, I still had energy and felt like everything was going well. Then I hit open road in the strong wind atop the dam. Holy moly, that was painful! I tilted my head down and took smaller steps, getting passed by a serene runner whom, in passing by me, I could barely hear say, "The journey of 1,000 steps..." Crossing the dam by car, the time passes by in a flash. While running? Not so much. I was very glad to cross some grass and get back to the trail and the protection of the woods.

Miles 7-9.25
Just before entering the woods after the dam, I saw an unmanned aid station with water coolers but no cups. If I'd known that the next aid station would seem far away, I would've put my open mouth under a spout and taken some water! ...and so began the two longest and most difficult stretches in the race. This is when the super serious hills began. Earlier in the race when the hills and ravines were challenging but easier, I ran up part way and then would finish by walking to the top. I could catch my breath on the downhill. On this section of the trail though, the uphills were steeper and lasted longer. The downhills were so short and steep that I never had a chance to recover. I even got a side stitch at one point! That never happens! I couldn't afford to stop, so I only allowed myself to slow down by walking all uphills. Even by walking the uphills, I was beginning to tire, and I noticed that constantly scanning the ground was taking a toll. I asked a passing runner how far we were. She checked her Garmin which wasn't working and guessed between 8 and 9. She was the last person I saw for a long time. Near the end of this section is when I finally bonked. Luckily, the next aid station came at this time. Instead of walking while hydrating, I stopped at the table and caught my breath. This station had Hammer HEED. I took that and some water and thanked the volunteers. Sidenote: the Hammer HEED was quite interesting -- it was flavorless and clear!

Miles 9.25-11.75
After the aid station, it got worse. My mantra was "keep moving." Really, I had no choice but to keep moving -- I had to get back to my car! There were lots of steep ravines to traverse, and I was getting much slower on the uphills. No one was around, and it was very quiet. My Achilles and calves were tired and aching, completely punished by the terrain. I started thinking weird thoughts, all silly and movie-related. From The Princess Bride, in Inigo Montoya's voice, I was thinking, "Hills and ravines galore!" Then I started hearing music from The Last of the Mohicans in my head, I guess to pretend that I was being "chased by a war party" to keep me moving. Like I said... weird! After a while my head went completely silent like my surroundings, and I just ran... Looking at my watch, I wondered where in the world the last aid station was! I hadn't seen any other runners since the lady with the non-functioning Garmin. Just when I thought I was close, I'd have yet another steep ravine to cross, many of these without footbridges and requiring some climbing to get out -- yes, climbing. Eventually, I came upon the lady who would finish just ahead of me. She was wearing a bright orange shirt (the official race shirt), and I tried to keep her in sight. When I finally heard sounds of a road approaching, I got excited and then sadly remembered that I had to go parallel to it for a while before crossing it. Crestfallen, this was the point in the race where I significantly slowed down and walked even though I wasn't going uphill. I was nearing the 3-hour mark and realized that I'd be going over it. Darn it... I knew I'd be slower, but really? If I could just get to the last aid station.

Last Aid Station to the Finish
Finally, I reached the 6th and final aid station, forgetting that it was at 11.75 mi, not 11. In my estimation and in assuming that I was only at Mile 11, I'd probably finish at about 3:20. Thankfully, the finish came sooner than expected! After the aid station, at which I was erroneously told I had 2 more miles to the finish, I went down a park road toward a boat ramp and re-entered the woods, soon coming upon the State Route 73 trail underpass. Inspired by finally nearing the finish, I was back to running again! Gotta finish strong and running no matter what! The terrain near the finish was mainly tall, grassy meadows and a kid's fishing pond. The trail took me between two final fields of tall grass and wildflowers, and I could hear voices and music ahead. The final stretch was on the swim beach parking lot leading to the shelter where I'd picked up my packet. The only people still there were the volunteers and family members of those still left on the trail (26 people). I was really happy to see my family waiting for me so that I could celebrate my finish. My kids ran along in the grass nearby yelling like crazy for me when I was approaching the finish. Very cute! A women volunteer congratulated me and handed me my medal and an envelope containing a $15 coupon toward a RoadID. I was absolutely starving and immediately downed several orange wedges, a yummy hunk of raspberry-flavored poundcake, and a mini CLIFbar. Looking down at my pants and shoes, I saw that I had mud splattered up to my knees and my shoes were covered and caked with mud. I hadn't even looked at my pants or shoes the entire race since I was too busy looking at the ground. Good thing I expected this and brought a change of clothes and shoes!

After the race, I met the rest of my family at a picnic shelter in another part of the park where we belatedly celebrated September birthdays and had a picnic lunch: brats, hot dogs, baked beans, fresh berries, Chex Mix, pasta salad, and yummy cupcakes -- chocolate chunk with peanut butter icing or chocolate with raspberry filling and chocolate icing! Next, we got a permit to park and look for fossils in the spillway, which the younger kids loved. They'd scream excitedly every time they found something. It was funny to see all of us wearing light winter coats and accessories in September. Everyone had on gloves, hats, mittens, etc. We even warmed our hands over the cooling grill! I couldn't believe I wasn't sitting down, but I felt that I had to keep moving to avoid stiffness. Later, I did have to site while driving the hour and 20 minutes home. I got sleepy and had to stop for coffee to finish the drive.

The day after wasn't too bad! I took an epsom salts bath last night which alleviated a lot of muscle achiness and exhaustion. My outer/upper quads and my Achilles are a touch sore today, and I'm a bit fatigued -- almost like coming down with a cold. At the moment though, I'm feeling improved. I might even be able to venture out for a short run tomorrow. More likely on Tuesday, though.

Will I ever do this race again? Not for a while, if at all! I plan on sticking to road races or much easier trail races where I can tune out and look at my environment and what's going on around me. Staring downward at my footing, torturing my legs, and not being able to look at my surroundings is not my cup of tea. Final time: 3:09:42 (goodness!), 174/200 overall, 19/24 AG, 14:29 pace (goodness!). I'm almost considering doing a 2nd half marathon this fall just to get a flat road race in to better gauge my level of running fitness. On the road, I'd expect a time around 2:15-2:20.

It Finally Feels Like Fall!

2011-09-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I love being able to pull out my cooler weather clothes and wear jeans again! I also love my comfy pajama pants! This weather is very welcome here after experiencing temperatures in the mid to upper 90s over the weekend. Being able to sit and knit with my friends without sweating is so nice.

Speaking of knitting with friends, that was yesterday, Labor Day. I was fortunate enough to be able to both go for a long run in the morning and then go knit in the afternoon. Since I knit so soon after my long run, I'm sure I looked like an older version of myself hobbling around! Luckily, that only lasted a few hours. I was back to normal by the evening and feel like new today, as if I never ran.

Yesterday's long run was the furthest I've done in training and is past my usual half marathon training goal of 10 miles. There are 2 more weekends in my training before my 2-week taper, and I need to figure out how to finish my long runs since I've already reached my goal. I'm thinking that since my half marathon will be a trail race I should go to Darby Creek or Highbanks next weekend to fit in another long trail run, then follow that with another regular long run of 10 or 11. I'm just playing it by ear and listening to how my body feels. It's so nice this year, after having a year of half marathon training experience, to feel normal and not exhausted while training. Seriously, the way I feel today, the day after a really long run, it's like it never happened. That makes me feel so good and in shape!

Last week I bought some new trail shoes at CRC Westerville since I'm doing a trail half. I first bought Mizuno Ascend 5 shoes, but they ended up not working out: too narrow/tight and too much shoe. Since the Saucony Peregrines are the trail version of the Kinvaras I currently wear, I went with those instead. They are slightly more shoe than the Kinvaras, but they have the same structure and 4mm heel-to-toe drop. Yesterday's long run (12.6 mi) was the second time wearing them. Here they are:

Here's a picture of my Kinvara 2's to compare:

In knitting news, I'm working on a pullover sweater/hoodie for Ian since it's pretty cool on school mornings, even with the short trip from house to car. I've got the body and one sleeve finished and hope to finish the rest today. Other projects: Marie's Double Heelix socks, Opulent Raglan, Twisted Tulip socks, drapeneck pullover, and soon an earflap hat. Hopefully, I'll get in a blog post about my latest sock yarn stash :-)

It Was A Good Year Running!

2011-08-08T01:30:00.002-05:00

Another year has come and gone. It's time to look back, and since there's been a lot of running, that's what I'll be discussing! Before rewinding the clock, first I'll begin with tonight's run.

It seems fitting that I ran 10 miles this evening, and shortly I'll explain why. Knowing it was the eve of my birthday, and after a personally aggravating week, I was bound and determined to go just a little beyond my normal range of 7-8 miles for a long run... and it felt great!!! After a storm passed through the area, I zoomed over to Olentangy Trail at Antrim. Still cloudy with heavily dripping trees, I headed north up to Worthington Hills, enjoying the fresh, rain-cooled air. My shoes stayed dry for a scant 27 minutes -- that's when I hit an ankle-deep puddle that covered the entire bike path. I figured, "If my shoes are getting wet, I might as well make this worth it," and then bounded through it like a little kid. Soggy shoe alert! When I got to the turnaround at Worthington Hills, I cracked open my Jelly Belly Sport Beans, drank a few swigs from my water bottle, and then headed back to Antrim making sure to keep my pace steady and slow so that 10 would be possible. My musical mantra, set to the beat of The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army was: "To last: please don't go fast." Dumb? Yeah, I know. LOL Whatever works, right? To avoid the lure of stopping my run at 7 miles by pausing at the lake deck, I ran by it. My lungs and energy level felt great, but I could tell that my legs were beginning to slowly lose power. Every subsequent time I took a walking break the last 3 miles, I had to make them brief so that my legs didn't stiffen up. Despite the legs beginning to faintly cry mutiny, I felt pretty darn good while doing this 10-mile run! My overall pace was 11:41. Not bad for a fat chick! This felt better and much more enjoyable than the last time I ran 10.

Last year at this time I can remember being in the final stages of training for my very first half marathon. It still makes me smile in wonder and pride that I ran from Tuttle Mall to downtown Columbus. That still seems far to me, one year later! The furthest I ran prior to the race was 10 miles, which is why I felt that doing 10 miles tonight seemed a bit magical. Last year's 10 in August was victorious, yet extremely grueling. When you go 10 miles for the first time, it's quite shocking, and I mean that both mentally (Yay!) and physically (Oh crap, my legs!). Here's a video near the finish line of the race. If you wait for me to cross, you can hear the announcer say my name :-)

After running The Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon at the end of last August, I decided to take September to decide whether I wanted to tackle the Columbus Half Marathon in October. Looking back, I'm so glad that I listened to my body and just ran however I felt. I modified my training by scaling back the frequency of weekday runs and focusing more on the long runs. After signing up for the Columbus HM, I made sure to get in some longer long runs, the last of which was 11 miles on an out-n-back from Antrim to Ohio State on Olentangy Trail. This ad libbed training style worked well for my 2nd race because I felt fantastic the entire race! My time was bettered by over 10 minutes, and I kept a steady 11:00-minute pace throughout.

Two days after my 2nd half marathon, I badly injured myself. While lifting my right leg, I snapped and/or pulled more than one thing in my hip and inner thigh area. It was excruciatingly painful to put weight on the right side of my body to crawl up the stairs to the phone. In hindsight, I should've gotten a second opinion and x-rays because I now believe that I had a stress fracture to go along with the "strained groin" that was diagnosed. My hamstring tendons and inner thigh tendons were pulling on a weak part of the bone which probably cracked a tiny bit. That was the end of my serious running schedule for a while. I ran through the winter, but managed only twice a week with very low mileage. My pace also got immediately slower. Despite those physical challenges and having to slowly recover over several months, I'm grateful that I was able to still exercise and get back to running fairly soon afterward. Running on the snow and ice proved to be funner than usual since I finally bought the proper attire to ward off excuses and the cold air. I even knit myself a neck gaiter for the coldest runs! My favorite gear were my jacket and Swedish winter running shoes. Wind? Ha! Ice? Ha!

Since late spring, I've been happily returning to a more regular running schedule. A few months ago, my knitting friend Ann and I completed a very difficult 5K on a hilly course at The Wilds (after which we got a really cool safari tour!). This 5K inspired me to try getting back into my busier summer running schedule. So far I've been injury free. I'd like to do a 10K or half marathon soon and just need to narrow down the races I've been considering. Scenery vs. large crowds of supporters, location, etc. So many choices!

Running has been such an important part of my life, especially over the last year, beginning again in March 2010. It's my therapy, my chance to get outdoors, my way of escaping, my way of challenging myself and pushing the boundaries, and, of course, my exercise. I wish everyone experienced the same joy I get from running! You know that iPhone commercial where the guy says, "If you don't have an iPhone, then... You don't have an iPhone." I feel the same way about running. If you're not running, you're missing out on something great. There are few other forms of exercise that compare, and it brings together so many people who love the challenge, the fitness, and the endorphins.

Interweave Knits Fall 2011: Thoughts

2011-07-28T13:47:00.000-05:00

At first glance, I didn't think I'd like the latest issue of Interweave Knits, primarily due to the large amount of bulky patterns. As a general rule of thumb, I don't care for bulky weight sweaters. The only things I like bulky, and that's only if I really like the design, are accessories or coats. Luckily, there are some coats and shawls in this issue.

Last night, I sat down to skim over the articles which I like to dog-ear for future reading... This is when the magazine captured my attention! Two articles immediately jumped to the fore: "Knitting By The Book" (p. 144) and "Extreme Double-Knitting" (p.16). The former I finished reading on the spot since it was short, while the double knitting article will be saved to read when my kiddos aren't around to interrupt. The author Alisdair Post-Quinn, known as fallingblox on Ravelry, is a very intelligent, innovative double knitter on the Double Knitting forum on Ravelry. He not only knows everything there is to know about double knitting, but he also has discovered how to accomplish never-before-done double knitting methods. I'm so glad that there's someone who understands and can explain advanced topics, not that I've delved too much into actual double knitting projects -- I've just read a lot on the Double Knitting forum. The Interweave Knits article looks to be a good sampling of what he does. Here is his website: www.fallingblox.com for further reference.

Favorite patterns from the Fall 2011 issue: Dahlia Cardigan, Honeycomb Jacket, True North Mittens, Canyon Cardigan, Varsity Stole, and Bryn Mawr Skirt. The Dahlia Cardigan is simply beautiful -- love the back! I'm surprised I like the Honeycomb Jacket; it's not typically something I would knit. It must be the collar and the textured pattern. The True North Mittens are a no-brainer as to why I like those: hello, Fair Isle. Plus the braided wrist adds to my liking. The Canyon Cardigan is yet another potential Eunny Jang steeking project to add to my queue. I've always wanted to do one of her steeked vests or sweaters. Annie Modesitt's Varsity Stole uses a very interesting and unique stitch technique that catches the eye. The Bryn Mawr skirt is probably not going on my queue unless I get skinny. But, one can still like the pattern, no?

Kinvara 2 Running Shoes: The Day After + Knitting News

2011-07-01T02:04:00.000-05:00

Whoah, buddy! Ya know when you go walk all day at an amusement park or sightseeing, then the next day you wake up and feel every muscle in your legs? That's how I felt the day after first wearing my new Saucony ProGrid Kinvara 2 running shoes. Good thing I don't run again until Saturday/Sunday. I thought I'd show a collage of various angles of my cool new running kicks. Up close, can you see how minimalist they are? (Open in another tab to view, if desired!) There's not much to the upper other than a blue micromesh over top the shoe's inner skeleton (see the larger mesh innards?). The tongue is thin, yet comfortable, and sewn into the shoes. The heel is semi-firm at the base and soft and flexible around the collar with a ring of comfy inner padding. Just like the heel base, there is some protection at the very tip of the toe. Can't wait to see how my legs and feet respond/adapt to these shoes over more time :-)

The purple and blue-green yarn you see is what I plan to use on Double Heelix, an awesome new sock pattern by Jeny Staiman in the First Fall Knitty. I've been watching the video tutorial that Jeny graciously made for how to get started on the spiraling. Once I get Marie's Froot Loop socks completed (See the bright, girly purple-and-pink socks pictured. Yes, you can't see the froot loops -- I didn't have the informational yarn wrapper with me when I began knitting these... Oopsie!), Double Heelix are going on the needles!

Back in Spring 2008, there was a Chrissy Gardiner sock pattern in Interweave Knits that caught my eye, and I'm finally knitting it: Twisted Tulip. I only have one skein of the color I'm using, part of a set of 7 assorted single skeins. I thought that since I don't really want to do a full length sock of twisted cables, this pattern would do. The colorway is Granny Smith, and, as you can see, I haven't gotten too far yet -- maybe 12-13 rounds into the stitch pattern.

The last knitting picture you see is a baby hat knit in half brioche stitch that I just started. I'm using Dark Horse Yarns Fantasy in #63, a denim blue semi-variegated yarn. It's super soft and washable: great for lots of wear and wash :-) The person who asked me to knit it wants a few other hats as well, including a pageboy/conductor hat with brim and buttons and an earflap hat. I've got the yarn for these hats; I just need to knit them!

That's it for now! Have a great 4th of July weekend everyone!

New Shoes!

2011-06-29T15:59:00.000-05:00

Got these today from Running Warehouse! They're the new Saucony ProGrid Kinvara 2 running shoes. My Omni 9s are very worn on the soles, but the cushioning is still good. So they're not going anywhere. Anyway, back to the Kinvaras! They are a lot less shoe -- very minimalist. I'm going to try them out tonight before dinner to see how they ride. I'm hoping that by feeling less like waffle irons, these shoes are less of an impediment when I run.

The poem I posted below is from Pinterest via Ravelry. If you haven't seen Pinterest, it's a collage of pics of interest that members of the site post. Basically, it's eye candy and a way to share things that catch your eye that you love.

Spring Update: Socks, Reading, Running

2011-04-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

Since I've been focusing so much on sock knitting lately, especially with my recent participation in a Knit. Sock. Love. KAL on Ravelry, I wondered how many socks I've made all together. My first pair were Jaywalker socks, my only pair made on DPNs, followed by my first 2AAT magic loop pair, Los Monos Locos (Monkey socks, no-purl, toe-up). Once Ravelry began adding to their sock yarns, I've been a sock knitting fool! Here, documented in a collage, are the 14 pairs of socks that I've made for myself (21 pairs total including the 7 pairs I've made for others). That's my knitting contribution for the day!

In non-knitting news, I've been reading more since February, thanks to my Kindle. It's been great adding classics and free/bargain books as well as games and knitting pdfs. I follow Books on the Knob and Pixel of Ink daily for the latest Kindle downloads and book reviews. Other sites I've checked out are manybooks, smashwords, gutenberg, and mobileread. Ravelry's Kindle Corner group has also been helpful for book, e-reader, and techie info. While I still love the feel of an aesthetically pleasing book in my hands, I can appreciate having multitudes of books, games and pdfs in a single device that can be held with one hand without cramping. Besides the Kindle, I've also been listening to the Harry Potter books. Soon I'll be finishing Book 4 and starting Book 5. Jim Dale, the narrator, is amazing!

This winter I managed to survive running thanks to a nice running jacket and carbide-studded shoes. Admittedly, it also helps to have a tiny bit of determination, but you can't ignore the power of preparation. Being well prepared (i.e., smartly dressed) leaves no excuse but a flimsy one not to run. It was amazing to me how comfortable I was while running in low temps. Of course there were times beforehand when I'd rather curl up on the couch and knit or read in the warmth of my house. Yet a mile into my outdoor runs, it felt so invigorating and empowering to conquer the cold. All it took was the right gear. On March 22nd, it was my one year anniversary of running again - yay! Coming up at the end of the month, I've signed up for my first race of 2011: the Ecothon at The Wilds. It's my first trail race. You can do a 10K, 5K, or 5K walk. I opted for the 5K since 1) I've never been to The Wilds and am not familiar with the area, and 2) my mileage has been low this winter and spring. I might consider the 10K option next time if the course is pretty and I'm better trained. The Wilds is about 83 miles from where I live - gah! I hope my right leg isn't sore from driving when I do the race!

January 2011 Update

2011-01-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

With two young kids, I never know when or if I am going to blog. So I take the opportunities when I have them! Since I'm probably not going to blog again in January, I thought I'd just give a general update.

I haven't gotten around to doing my end-of-year 2010 Knits collage, but I've definitely been knitting. Currently, I have 3 projects OTN: Herringbone Rib Socks, Laura's Cardigan, and Wright. The Herringbone Rib Socks pattern was a freebie book excerpt from the Handpainted Socks book via Knitting Daily. I'm beginning to dread the stitch pattern less, but that might be more due to the fact that I'm nearly done with one sock than due to me having become familiar with it. If you're in a hurry, these aren't the socks to make. Also, I should mention that I'm not exactly pleased with how my colorway is lending itself to the stitch pattern. I'm using Berroco Comfort Sock, and the colors are muted and therefore don't pop on the crosshatched sections. I would suggest a more variegated yarn than what I'm using.

My Laura's Cardigan is nearly done. Notice the lack of exclamation point: I'm crossing my fingers that it fits well enough to wear this spring. I lost 10 lbs to begin making it, but I think it will take another 10-15 lb before it fits how I'd imagined. All I have left are to sew in the sleeves, weave in the ends, and sew on some buttons. I have a lot of tails, so that part might take a while!

Wright has been sitting on the back burner... again. But, once Laura's Cardigan is finished, I'll be able to focus more attention on it, though I plan to cast on for Opulent Raglan next - yay! My Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard is going to be done in Knit Picks Merino Style in the Basset colorway (no longer available, but I can tell you it's a lovely brown with gray undertones).

Very recently, I finished an OSU Football double knit hat for Jared. Fallingblox (blog site), the moderator of the Double Knitting group on Ravelry who had a pattern (Four Winds) published in the 2009 Winter Twist Collective usually double knits by twisting all stitches. The twisted stitches create a totally different effect whether using just one color or more. I happen to really like the look of the twisted stitches, especially since they get tighter when stressed. Using twisted stitches, I made the following hat. I should mention that I knit each hat separately rather than double knitting them. Using Judy's Magic Cast On made it very easy to start the second layer.

As for running... I'm just about injury free! I've been running since 3 weeks after getting injured, but suffered lasting pain and difficulty in movement for a while. However, I can now stand up quickly without pain after sitting for long spells, and I can shave my legs in the shower without the fear of sudden pain. Hopping and jumping is possible again. It's nice not to hobble around anymore :-) All that's left is slight stiffness or faint stabs of minor pain (I call it phantom pain) that requires extra stretching attention. I've been running 1-2 weeknights (w/my headlamp) and either Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

I bought two things with my Christmas money: Icebug MR4 trail running shoes and Cookie A's Knit. Sock. Love book. I love them both so much! The Icebugs were designed for ice, snow, and slippery, wet surfaces. They're waterproof breathable and have little retractable carbide stud spikes on the sole which grip into the ice and hardpacked snow (i.e., NOT to be worn indoors!). I just ran in them at Highbanks this past weekend on 3-4% grade hills covered with hardpacked and loose snow -- easy peasy (the footing, not the hills)! As for Knit. Sock. Love., I can't wait to finish my current socks so that I can cast on a pattern from my new Cookie A book!

Over the last month or two, I've been checking out the Harry Potter audiobooks from the library. So far, I've finished the first two books and started the third. It's a slightly different experience listening rather than reading them. Jim Dale is an awesome narrator! How he does all those different voices with their detailed mannerisms, dialects, and pitches is incredible. Since Hagrid and Professor McGonagall sound almost exactly like the actors in the movie, I'm guessing that they (the actors) listened to the audiobooks before filming. Anyway, I plan on finishing the audiobooks before the next movie comes out :-)

Thanks to Kerin at Knit Picks: You Saved My CPH and Tubey!

2011-01-25T13:06:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the video below, I saved both my Central Park Hoodie and my Tubey sweater. Kerin, from Knit Picks, explains how to fix holes in your knitting. She has other videos (Do a "darning" search on the tutorials page at Knit Picks to see all 6 videos) showing how to knit stockinette patches for socks, but I was particularly interested in how to replicate the stitch pattern and make it look unnoticeable. You need contrast waste thread or floss to act as an temporary anchor/skeleton for your new stitches. Kerin shows how to do the sideways version of using waste thread, but I know I've also seen somewhere (book? internet?) a vertical version, too, in which the waste thread skeleton looks like very tall stockinette. Either method is valuable to know. I should mention that, while it might seem intuitively easily, it's a little bit tricky to actually do! Here's Kerin's horizontal version in two parts:

Thanksgiving and Since

2010-12-08T00:58:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share a few snapshots that touch upon what I've been up to in the last few weeks. Lots of eating, knitting, running, and, though not shown in pics, reading. It's been a nice few weeks.

As you can see by the plate of food, I have photographic evidence of my ever first Thanksgiving dinner. Since my mother-in-law was sick, I fixed the noonday meal with just a 24-hour notice. Instead of cooking a big bird, I got some turkey breasts and slow cooked them on the stove to use in a turkey cranberry Pampered Chef wreath. I'd never made that particular wreath recipe, so I was pleased to discover just how good it is. Since the crust was crescent rolls and eggwash, it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This recipe is a keeper! For the sides, I made cornbread casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked mac-n-cheese (at Marie's request), and rolls. It sure was nice to have leftovers to enjoy for the following three days!
The next picture was taken tonight right after returning from my run. I had to show what I've been wearing lately on my runs! Check out my newly knitted running gaiter and hat, as well as my new headlamp. If it weren't for these items, and also my fleece headband and weatherproof jacket, I wouldn't be running in this crazy weather we've been having. Besides what you see, I'm also wearing a fleece jacket and longsleeve tech shirt under my weatherproof jacket. Crazy cold! Luckily, my Land's End running pants have kept my legs warm enough. If it gets down closer to zero degrees though, I'll probably have to wear warmup pants over the running pants.

Since the gaiter turned out to be a success on my frigid runs, I cast on another one, this time in 100% merino and in warm, squishy brioche stitch. I think this second gaiter will be even warmer than the first. I've gotten almost seven inches done and am considering continuing on into a balaclava by binding off about one-third the stitches for the eyes opening. Gotta measure my face first, though! As for knitting any other winter running accessories goes, I might knit some warm, closely knit mittens for single-digit temps.
The mess of yarn and stripes you see in the last picture are from when I was knitting the plaid intarsia hem of my Laura's Cardigan. It took patience and effort, but I believe it will be worth it in the end to have that nice little detail which balances out the rest of the sweater design. Currently, I've finished one short sleeve and have cast on the other. The only knitting left after that will be the neckband, button bands, and collar. I'll have to record how long it takes me to weave in all those ends!

A few weeks ago, I finished my first audiobook, Water For Elephants. Now I'll be ready for the movie when it comes out next year. After seeing Christopher Waltz in the movie Inglourious Basterds [sic], I'm looking forward to him playing August. He's perfect for that role.

After finishing Water For Elephants, I decided to finally listen to all the Harry Potter books. So far I've been loving it, sometimes even listening while I'm running. I've been lucky that my library has been so speedy on my requests for them to date.

That's it for now!

Maze Jumper and Toque FO Pic

2010-11-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

Marie finally wore her maze jumper and toque to school, so I snapped a few pics, this one being the best of the lot. Doesn't she look cute?!! For more project info, here's a link ;-)

Around Halloween I cast on for a long-awaited cardigan pattern, Laura's Cardigan. Lots of progress on that, so I'm hoping to have a new cardigan in the near future. I love the fall colors I chose for it!

As for reading and running, I'm getting more of the former done due to a cold. But, I hope to get some running in when the weather warms up this weekend. I just finished the audiobook version of Water For Elephants and am now thinking of revisiting HP7 since the movie is coming out this week.

Columbus Half Marathon 2010 Race Report

2010-10-19T02:02:00.000-05:00

What a difference seven weeks made! Seven weeks ago, I was happy just to finish my first half marathon and happy that I did it in just over 2:30:00. Since then, I altered my training, lost a little more weight, and had the confidence to set a race goal. I turned out to have an amazing race!!!

It didn't start out so amazing... The night before the race, I had to put my kids to bed when I really should've been in bed myself. I got to bed an hour late, and then it took me forever to fall asleep. Just as I was finally drifting off, my daughter crawled into bed with me because she'd had a bad dream. After trying to endure her constant tossing and turning and providing heat like a furnace from Hades, I finally got out of bed to carry her back to her room. Not ten minutes later, my son began crying really hard and wouldn't stop. Poopy diaper? Since I was the only once who heard him, I had to go get him and change his diaper. By the time I took care of him and crawled back into bed, I only had one and a half hours to sleep before my alarm went off at 5:30. Yep, you read that right: 1.5 hours of sleep before the race! I wasn't very pleased about that. I cried a little.

When my alarm went off, I was so tired that I hit snooze. Bad idea. Luckily, getting ready and eating my pre-race breakfast went without a hitch. I had instant oatmeal, half a banana with peanut butter, a small glass of milk, and some coffee. Later as I sat waiting in line to get into my pre-paid parking garage, I was really regretting hitting that snooze button! Since I was behind schedule, I had to rush to the porta potties and then try to push my way through the non-moving crowd to Corral 3. It was so crowded that I didn't notice that there was a small opening in the fence by one of the Corral 3 flags. Luckily, a race official directed us to the opening just before the singing of the national anthem. Since it was shoulder to shoulder like cattle, I didn't have room to stretch. Not being able to stretch was icing on the cake considering that it meant my lower legs might be in jeopardy for the race. With all the hindrances I'd endured leading up to the race, I was a little mad. Then... something good happened.

The starting gun went off for the elite runners. The crowd cheered, music was playing, and fireworks went off. What a big to-do this was! It was exciting! All the sudden I got fired up. I could feel the energy of all the runners around me. Sometimes being pissed off can be a positive because I turned all my pre-race frustration into excitement and motivation. I had the desire to get out there and run like mad! It was amazing to be among so many fellow runners all going a long distance, half or full. As we scooted toward the start, I was ready to go! My watch said 7:40.

Just like my first HM, the first three miles were crowded with not too many opportunities to easily pass people without exerting some effort. But once I felt warmed up at Mile 3 in Bexley, I began my quest to run my pace. My legs felt great and the racewalkers were annoying me. I wanted to get around them. My goal was to visit all the water stations but make them extremely brief and not walk between them for as long as I could. My time goal was 2:24:00, or at least better than 2:31:43 (my previous time). So, I needed to aim for 11:00-min miles. I'd made it through 10 miles at that pace in my previous HM before "the wheels came off."

At Mile 4, my watch said 43:xx. Then at Mile 5, my watch said 53:xx. At Mile 6, it said 1:04:xx. Wow, two minutes ahead of pace?! That was unexpected. I wasn't pushing hard yet. I was just going at a pace that felt good. Since I had the time and truly thought I had to pee, I stopped at the next set of porta potties. It was a short line, but I got in there and surprisingly discovered that I didn't need to go. At all. Huh?! Two minutes wasted! Once back on the course, I panicked and sped up my pace to put this mistake behind me. At Mile 7, my watch said 1:17:xx. Whew, back on target for pace! Not good enough, though; I wanted to get back under 11:00 again, darn it! Around Mile 7, I'd taken a strawberry CLIF Shot and some water. The gel kicked in somewhere between Miles 8 and 9. I pushed the pace the next few miles and got it under 11:00 again. The only things that challenged me at this point were the blinding sun on Third Street and the upcoming large groups of marathoners.

It was running down Third Street that I first encountered several teams of marathon runners. For the first time since the beginning of the race, it was difficult to pass without effort, especially around Schiller Park. This was a blessing and a curse: a blessing because these groups literally kept me from walking since I was surrounded at times. It also helped me keep a steady, mindless pace. While I was still pushing the pace, somehow I also felt like I was drafting these groups which gave me the break I needed to endure the final stretch up High Street.

I passed Mile 10 and saw that my watch said 1:49:xx. In my previous HM, this was where the wheels fell off. Fortunately in this race, I still felt okay enough to squeeze out 3.1 more miles and was determined to not let things fall apart again! Since it became a total mind game at this point and I got panicky, I suddenly "felt tired." This pissed me off since I knew I had the training to finish this thing right this time. So I began passing people to take my mind off the final miles. At Mile 11, my time was 2:00:06. That meant I had nearly 30 minutes to run 2.1 miles. Booyah! I smiled and felt like I got a second wind! That's just what I needed as motivation to get up the one major hill we had in the race. Many runners didn't make it up the hill. It was the first time I noticed people who weren't racewalkers walking during the race. Thank goodness I hadn't walked yet and had run 11 miles in training because I got up that hill running, even if it was at a slower pace.

I don't remember my time at Mile 12 because I was trying to pass people and ignore how far away Nationwide Boulevard seemed. But, I do remember rounding the final corner and seeing my family and the awesome downhill finish. I got so excited that I totally gunned it at the end! It was so nice to finish sprinting down that hill, knowing that I'd done my best and surpassed my expectations. Not counting the 15-sec water station breaks, I'd run the entire 13.1! Holy crap!!! My training runs always included walking breaks, so this was quite a feat for me. Two other things astounded me: 1) My legs felt fine the entire race; and 2) I had the energy to sprint at the finish.

After the race, I enjoyed the food, drink, and music. After my family left, I lingered a bit, listening to the band while sitting on the sunny lawn. It was gorgeous out!

As I said earlier, I did a few things differently this time around for my second HM. First of all, I didn't even plan on running this race. I thought I was done when I did the Spirit of Columbus Half in August. I actually laughed when my friend Ronnelle suggested I also run the Columbus Half. But, while I reduced my weekday training schedule, I found myself continuing to do long runs in September, steadily upping the mileage until I finally broke down and registered at the end of the month. Not having the mental stress of training for a race for many weeks, reducing my weekday training a little, and being more aggressive (less walking breaks and higher mileage) in my long runs helped tremendously. By allowing my legs to recover more during the week, I had more productive long runs. I also lost some more weight which helped reduce my pace some and seemed to make my long runs a bit easier to endure. I felt so much stronger and faster in this race :-)

For the knitters: I bought some girls over-the-knee striped socks in pink, charcoal, purple, magenta, and silver metallic to convert into some excellent arm warmers to wear at the race. All I did was cut off the toes and make a small thumbhole in each heel. Voila, $2.00 arm warmers! Sure beats the boring $20 ones ;-)

It's Nice When Hard Work Pays Off

2010-09-19T23:29:00.002-05:00

All in all, today was a very good day! Lost some more weight, made it outdoors to do 8.2 miles despite the sketchy weather forecast, and fit into a pair of jeans shorts that I haven't been able to wear since B.I. (Before Ian: Fall 2006). Yep, I'm feeling mighty fine! Btw, these are the first pics I've taken of myself (below the chest) since March 2009 - that was the last time I, a "sweater knitter," knitted myself a top since I'd gained too much weight to satisfactorily knit any of the patterns I had queued. (Usually, I choose close-fitting styles. Those have been out of the question until now.)

The week before my half marathon (8/29), I dipped down to 149.4 out of sheer nervous energy. It was the first time I'd gone below 150 since December 2007. I knew it wouldn't last long: soon after that weigh-in, I carb and water loaded for the race, making a special trip to Hometown Buffet to aid in my endeavor ;-) So I didn't see that number again until last week when I hit 149 on the dot. I got excited until it jumped back up to the 151 range for the rest of the week. Bah! I'd seen enough of that number. This morning when I stepped on the scale, I wasn't expecting anything different. Imagine my surprise when I saw 148.8! Knowing that I had a long run (i.e., major calorie burner) later today, I was stoked.

It took me forever to get around to doing my long run this weekend. I got up early to my alarm on Saturday and realized that I didn't have the energy or hydration level to do a long run: 6 hours of sleep and not enough pre-hydration. Oops. Instead, I slept in on my one day to do so, and then watched the Buckeyes beat the Wildcats. Since I'd skipped my run, I decided to at least go for a short 2-miler before dinner to warm-up for the next day and to add more to my weekly mileage. My easy 2 miles turned out to be very slow because I walked the first 11 minutes. My tendonitis was flaring up again. Not fun! I crossed my fingers that the 2-miler would ultimately loosen up my right anterior tibial tendon (in English: near the inside shin, below the calf muscle). It helped: I cranked out 8.2 miles tonight! I did my 7-mile out-and-back, Antrim to Worthington Hills, and then I finished with one lap (1.2 mi) around Antrim Lake. I won't lie - that last 1.2 miles were challenging; I was D-O-N-E at 7. But, I had some good tunes to motivate me, and I kept telling myself it was only another 12-14 minutes. I stopped my watch timer for 3 minutes to pause and gather myself at the deck on the lake before completing my run. Somehow the legs kept moving, and I only walked 30 seconds of it. 892 calories burned - yeah!

After showering, I noticed a pair of old shorts that had fallen off a stack of clothes - clothes that are too small for me. I checked the size: 10. I already wear a few 10's, but not many that are non-stretchy fabric. I thought I'd try them and see how close I was to fitting into them. Turns out, I fit into them perfectly. Non-stretchy jeans shorts. Woohoo! Payoff for all my hard work and determination! I guess I'll have to see what else fits again...

I also have knitting news for today: only 2 more chart repeats on Marie's maze jumper. After that, I only have the bibs in front and back plus the straps. Can't wait to start some new projects soon!

Race Report: Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon 2010

2010-09-12T03:44:00.001-05:00

Wow, am I a procrastinator or what?! It's been two weeks since I ran my first half marathon, and I'm just now getting around to posting my race report... so glad I already posted the pictures and video!

Race Week:
The week before the race, it was taper time. So, less running, rest, and lots of water and carbs :-) Since my right leg was bothering me (more on that later), I only ran twice that week and less miles than scheduled. Carb loading was pretty fun! To be cautious, I did my pre-race pigout two nights before the race at Hometown Buffet. Oh my, did I ever enjoy eating what I wanted and in whatever amount desired! I even drank regular Barq's rootbeer -- a favorite! Turns out that I only managed two plates rather than my usual three. But, I hadn't been to a buffet like that in ages. I guess I get full faster now, which is fine by me! The night before the race, I dined in and made a Macaroni Grill Basil Pesto Chicken meal with garlic bread but no salad (following the "no roughage or fiber before the race" rule). After laying out and preparing my race day outfit and gear, I sipped on water until bedtime. Surprisingly, I feel asleep faster than I expected considering: 1) I was nervous, and 2) it normally takes me a while to wind down. However, I seemed to stay in a light dream state the entire night, waking up every hour or so, which is not my typical sleep pattern since I normally sleep like a bear.

Race Day Morning:
It's amazing how fast I got up out of bed to turn my alarm off on race day. Nerves. I got dressed and had oatmeal, peanut butter on a banana, milk, and some coffee while nervously pacing the kitchen. Once I realized that I was pacing, I sat down to drink my coffee. It was the last moment of quiet I'd have before the race since I knew my mind would really start to race while driving there. Just before walking out the door I suddenly remembered to spray sweatproof sunscreen on my shoulders and arms (Good thing because I would've gotten burned those last 5 miles!).

The drive there followed part of the race course, so I passed a few water stations and mile markers. Despite the distraction and excitement of seeing the race setup, I couldn't help but notice how long the drive felt. Was I really going to be running this? 13.1 miles?! The most I'd run in training was 10 miles the week before, and that seemed like forever! I was really hoping that adrenaline would be my friend and get me through to the end. When I started to think too much about the miles, the drive there turned out to be my mental pep talk. I told myself the following: 1) I trained 3 months for this and was ready, darn it; and 2) I was going to walk through every water station and drink water, even if I didn't feel like having water or walking.

The race starting point was at a shopping mall. Luckily, since the race was small, there was ample parking close to the start. When I say close, I mean that I could've gotten out of my car when the gun went off and not lost any time ;-) It was 7:00 a.m. and I had a half hour till race time. After putting on my hat and grabbing my Shot Bloks and mp3 player, I headed to the porta potties on the opposite side of the road to stretch. Soon after I finished stretching, I noticed the porta potty lines getting longer, so I got in one. Relieved I got to pee, I headed over to the start and waited, occasionally chatting but mainly staying quiet and taking in my surroundings. There were no corrals since it was a small race. While shaking out my legs and loosening up my ankles in anticipation, I realized I hadn't put BodyGlide on my thighs. Oh freaking crap! This was 5 minutes before the start. I immediately hurried over to my car, got in, and furiously coated my thighs. There was NO way I was going to run 13.1 miles without anti-chafing balm on my thighs, unless I wanted to start a fire. Whew, that was close! When I got back to the start, the anthem had started, and then we were off!!!

Mile 1:
My little clip-on mp3 player was set to play all songs alphabetically. That way I could count the total number of songs after the race was over (35!). First song? "4 Minutes," the Glee version of Madonna and Justin Timberlake's song. Good way to start! I kept the volume low so that I could still hear nearby people talking. Even though we were under 1000, it was closely packed that first mile. The pace felt slightly faster than I intended and turned out to be 10:51. Oops, too fast!

Mile 2:
I didn't want to tire out too early, so by the second mile I managed to slow down and get behind a pair of younger women who held a steady, comfortable warm-up pace. We turned onto a quiet road that went downhill with houses on one side and a mist-covered field on the other. I made sure to enjoy the shade and cool temps, knowing that later, the last 5 miles of the race were out in the open sun -- this on a forecasted 90-degree day. (The sun is my kryptonite, so I cherished the shade I got in those first 8 miles!) I didn't look at my watch at Mile 2 because we had our first water station. Since I didn't turn down my music, I accidentally grabbed Gatorade. Oops! I took a sip and tossed my cup, then grabbed some water. After a few small sips, I started running again. Small sips and very brief walking were the norm at these earlier stations. I wanted to follow my water station rule, but I also didn't want to waste time either while I still had lots of energy.

Mile 3:
After that first water station, the course took us another easy mile to the bridge that crosses the Scioto. There were a few residents standing at the end of their drives watching us pass by while they enjoyed their morning coffee. Most politely smiled, but there were also a few who cheered us on. That felt nice because I knew there wouldn't be many spectators until the finish due to the race course logistics. After all, this was a scenic race course that didn't have many safe places for pedestrians. After turning to head toward the bridge, I walked and sipped some more water and took off. This is where the pack dispersed!

Mile 4:
Oh, yeah! Downhill time! It turned out to be the biggest downhill we had. Many runners, including myself, took advantage and flew down to the river. When I got to the bridge, I normalized my pace and looked ahead to the hill taking us back up. No problem! It wasn't as steep or as long as the downhill. We turned right onto Riverside Drive, which would take us the remaining 10 miles into downtown. No more turns - this was it: Now we were following the Scioto the rest of the way. I was looking forward to this stretch between the bridge and Griggs Reservoir at Mile 5. There were going to be some really pretty views of the river and a small inlet. When I got to the stone-bordered inlet, I saw some great blue herons and ducks. A few of the early morning sun's golden rays pierced through the dense mantle of trees surrounding the inlet. As I stared at the mist-covered scene, I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second. I think that's when the first race photographer, unseen by me, took my picture. Instead of looking peaceful and content, as I knew I was, I looked like I was asleep! I don't remember where the Mile 4 water station was, but I do remember realizing that I was going to make it 5 miles without walking (between water stations, that is). Woohoo! I felt pretty good! Near the end of this mile, I caught up to and followed an older man who looked to be well over 70. I stayed behind him until the next water station and never saw him again since he skipped it and I did my usual walk-and-drink routine. Beat by a 70+-year-old man! Oh well, good for him!

Mile 5:
As the older man passed by the water station, I decided to take both water and Gatorade. I still only sipped, but I made sure to drink both. I could tell it was getting warmer. We were now in Griggs Reservoir: a 2-mile park along the Scioto River. This is where I began mentally breaking up the course into segments. I'd just done 3 miles to the bridge and 2 miles to Griggs. Now I had 2 miles through Griggs. My time was 55:something, approximately an 11:00-min mile. Well, all right then!

Mile 6:
I was still feeling good, although I could tell that I needed to get my Shot Bloks ready soon. There was GU at the last water station, but I declined it since I'd brought my own energy chews. My family would be near Mile 6. So just before going under a bridge before the water station, I stopped to walk and chew a couple of Shot Bloks. When I'd finished chewing, I reached the water station. There was another race photographer taking pics at about 5.5 miles. I wasn't expecting him and stepped in a rut right before he snapped my photos, so you can toatlly see my reaction. Oh my, my race photo prospects weren't looking too promising at this point!

Mile 7:
After running about a half mile past the water station, I saw my husband with our 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. They were near the relay exchange point at Mile 6.55. I waved hi and grabbed a quick sip of water (an extra station!), this time while running. Only a half mile more of Griggs! There was a water station at the top of a short but steep little hill when exiting the park. I didn't let myself stop running until I got up to the station.

Mile 8:
Now came the one hilly portion of the course. It was gently rolling hills for exactly one mile. Believe it or not, this felt pretty good on my legs. As I mentioned earlier, I'd been having issues with my right leg: medial tibial stress syndrome, otherwise known as shin splints. Going uphill stretched out all the right muscles, so I didn't mind breathing harder to enjoy a good stretch. The biggest and last uphill of the race, right before the Mile 8 marker, turned out to be not scary at all. I quite enjoyed it! Why? Besides getting a good stretch, there was a water station at the base, and my family passed me by in their car just as I started to ascend (while running!).

Mile 9:
With my spirits buoyed, I experienced a second wind. I hadn't noticed I'd lost any pizzazz until this happened. 8 miles was the last distance I'd run solidly in training (10 being my longest long run). So from here on out, I didn't know what to expect of my performance. Since I felt great at this point, I decided to go with it and pick up my pace for the next mile. When I got to the end of this mile, I planned to eat some more chews and follow it up with an easy mile. Mile 9 felt awesome! The best and fastest mile of the race! And then I noticed the sun...

Mile 10:
This is when I started to slow down a bit. I'd already planned to, but I also felt like I needed to due to the rising temps and sun. I don't even remember which stations had sponges, but I took them all when I came to them! This mile was slow and, for the first time, I walked once between water stations for one minute. Time to reserve some energy. When I neared the Mile 10 marker, I wondered if I could pick up my pace again. As I thought about this, I realized I had a possible blister developing on my left foot. Really?! After all the BodyGlide I slathered on my feet? My mp3 player, which was still on songs beginning with B's, started to play "Blister In The Sun." Now that was funny! Oh, the irony! I got a mini third wind from the hilarity and picked up my pace as I crossed over Mile 10. Blister schmister!

Mile 11:
Energy renewed, I decided to do this mile at a faster pace, but with a few 1-min walking intervals. Luckily, I was running when the third race photographer snapped pics. I didn't even see him/her. As I approached the water station at Mile 11, my family were all shouting at me across the busy road, but I didn't see or hear them. Fortunately, I was running when my husband was taking video with our camera, unbeknownst to me. A lady at the water station shouted, "Just 2 miles to go!" I got excited, but I also realized that this would be a trying 2 miles. I didn't have much energy left. I would be running in spurts.

Mile 12:
The mile that lasted an eternity! I walked a lot more than I wanted to and dearly hoped that adrenaline would kick in when I got near downtown. I could see the skyline at this point and was nearing the big highway loops. This is where I looked at my watch and knew that, if I pushed it, I could make it under 2:30:00. I had 25:00 to go 2.1 miles. So doable, if only I hadn't just run 11 miles. If only there were shade! It was getting hot, and at this point I was double fisting the water and Gatorade - chugging, not sipping. This was the hardest mile. Make it end, I thought! When I reached the last water station, I strolled while finishing off my Shot Bloks and drank every last drop of water and Gatorade. There were sponges! I took my sponge, lifted my hat, and squeezed water on my face. Then I squeezed the rest down my back, holding the cold sponge at my neck. Stupid sun, I'll show you!

Mile 13:
This was it! The last mile (and a 10th)! Finally, I got some shade by going under the big highway loops. This helped a great deal. I was able to run in spurts of about 2 or 3 minutes. When I finally saw the last landmark, a train underpass, I decided that I wouldn't be walking after that point. There was a slight uphill, but I knew the finish line would be visible at and not far after the top.

Finish Line:
As I neared the finish line, I could hear The Blackeyed Peas' "I Got A Feeling" playing. The MC was calling out the names of finishers. Oh, cool! I didn't know that they did that at half marathons. Once more, my family was there to cheer me on and take video. After passing them, I had about 100 yards to go. I sped up just a little, sticking to my habit of finishing every run strong. I didn't feel the elation or sense of accomplishment until 10 yards before the finish line. It hit me all at once, and I did a little fist pump before I crossed over! I also remember saying, "Woohoo!" I got my finisher's medal and put it on immediately before grabbing some Myoplex and water. Before my family caught up to me again, I remember thinking to myself, "I did it!" Just then, I recognized the next song that had started playing as my family walked toward me. It was "My Hero" by Foo Fighters, which happens to be one of my favorite Foo Fighters songs! It was so fitting because my daughter's first words to me were, "You won, mommy!" You know what, I felt like I had won: I'd completed my first half marathon!

Half Marathon Pics and Videos

2010-08-29T14:04:00.000-05:00

Mile 5, Griggs Reservoir, Upper Arlington

Mile 11 Water Station, just west of Grandview Avenue

Crossing the Finish Line

Finish Line Photos

Reviews and More: Knit Picks Fall Yarn, Twist Collective, and Knitty

2010-08-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year when cooler weather knitting looms not too far in the future. All the fall yarns and patterns stir up my excitement and imagination as to what I'd like to knit. Meanwhile, it's the perfect time to get late summer and early fall projects out of the way. More on those later.

Right now I want to list all the new colorways of Knit Picks yarns that struck my fancy. And here we go...
WOTA Bulky: Anchors Away, Vacation, Garden Party
WOTA: Bramble Hth, Black Cherry Hth (not new, but I've never noticed it before!)
Palette: Opal Hth, Bouquet Hth
Swish DK: Pampas Hth, Squirrel Hth
Swish Worsted: Lotus, Twilight, Lost Lake Hth, Marble Hth
Gloss DK: Guava, Gulfstream
Capra: NONE
Andean Treasure: Grove Hth
City Tweed DK: Tanrantella, Toad
Stroll Sport: Rouge, Baltic Hth, Jack Rabbit Hth (not that I'll ever buy sportweight)
Stroll: Agate Hth
Stroll Hand Painted: Watermelon
Imagination: Wild West, Ruby Slippers, Mermaid Lagoon (not actually new, but new to me)

From the new Twist Collective, I like two patterns: Coventry and Hawthorne. Coventry almost looks capelike. It's cute, swingy, sophisticated, and the cables are interesting! Hawthorne looks to be a good combination of garter stitch and lace, and I like the heavier weight. From the new Interweave Knits, I really like Leyfi Pullover! Normally, I despise the look of yoke-style patterns and have always been super picky as to fit and shaping since IMO they don't flatter most body types except those who are lean. But this one is truly awesome. I like the see-through yet modest leafy lace at the neckline, shoulders, and long sleeves; the lines that the lace creates are appealing to the eye and draw the eye away from the waist (a plus for most of us). And lastly, from Knitty: Coquille. I can see using Knit Picks Imagination or Stroll HP. I like the vertical lines, colorway changes, and near ruffles at the base edge. It looks like a fun knit!

Now back to my knitting plans. Currently, I'm working on a pair of Butterfly Garden socks for Marie with leftover Crazyfoot yarn. Lucky girl, huh?! On a sidenote: the yarn, a single ball, got tangled between these two socks a few nights ago, and it took about 6 hours over 2 nights and watching the latest Rambo twice in a row (WTH?!!) to untangle the mess. Anyway, I'm sure I'll cast on yet another pair of socks after that. But, I plan to re-focus my attention on finishing Marie's cotton mosaic tunic and my purple drapeneck top. Then, I want to begin my Laura's Cardigan, and following that, Opulent Raglan. I still have some light green yarn I intended as pajama pants for Ian. Also, I have a little bit of Christmas sock yarn left.

Lately, I've been searching for patterns specific to running: handheld water bottle cozies and hands-free music player holders. There aren't any knitting patterns for what I have planned with the water bottle cozy. Time to be creative! I'd like for it to be a full-bottle cozy (I just got a 17oz/500mL BPA-free plastic bottle) with the following unique additions: 1) a knitted-on "knucks grip" (i.e., holes for each finger) and a snug hand strap for added support; and 2) an optional afterthought pocket for ID, money, cell phone, and energy chews/gel that sits lengthwise on the far side of the bottle. It would be nice to drink water any time I want on long runs without having to tense/grip my hand around the bottle the entire time. Yes, they already sell things like this at stores and online. But, I thought it might be fun to come up with something myself via knitting ;-) For the music player holder, I want it to fit snugly on my upper arm, have cord management, and possibly have an adjacent pocket wallet (to hold the same items as the bottle cozy). Another running accessory that I've read about lately is arm warmers. There are female runners, elite and novice, who wear short-sleeve or sleeveless technical shirts with full-length handknitted armwarmers so that they can adjust to the varying temperatures during a race. It would be nice to roll them down from the top and have a convertible mitt (newborn style) to expose your hands if you get warm. Sometimes jackets are too warm for me once I'm warmed up, and then I have to suffer through wearing them heavily tied around my waist. Adjustable armwarmers might be the answer to this problem!

Metamorphosis

2010-06-28T11:40:00.001-05:00

Once I began running back in 9th grade, I knew I wouldn't quite be happy with myself if I weren't running. Being an on-again off-again runner for decades, I can tell you this: not running is like being on the sidelines of life. I feel like I'm missing out and don't feel quite alive when I'm not running.

I love the challenge, the scenery, the strength, the confidence, and the fitness that come from running. The challenge of running really represents me as a person. You have to have considerable tenacity to run: no wishy-washy wimpy resolve allowed. As for enjoying the scenery, that's because I love the aesthetics and the experience of running. The beauty of the outdoors, feeling one with it, and using the senses are important to me. I'm totally an outdoors person. The strength and confidence running gives is priceless. I feel like I can tackle many things in life thanks to running since running and life are such parallels. Last, but not least: fitness. Over the years I've discovered that I'm a vain person who can't feel good about myself unless I look and feel good. When I'm not running, I feel like I've essentially given up on myself. I can't be proud of or confident in myself when I've let myself go. Some people who lose weight still aren't happy when they reach their fitness goals. Me? I've always been happy when fit.

I'm not completely fit and fabulous yet, but I'm getting there. Change feels really good, and there is so much to appreciate already. So far I've lost more weight than I ever have before, which is quite a feat. I can run 2 miles at a 9:30 pace, which for me is pretty fast. I can run as far as 5 miles, and this week I'll be running 6 for my long run which is totally uncharted territory for me. More and more clothes are beginning to fit again (major yay!). I'm starting to get back what resembles a waist again. The appreciation list goes on and on...

Knitting News: I've finished the legs of my Kai-Mei socks and started the heels. Can't wait to get to the lace that begins at the gusset and wraps around the instep. Marie's maze jumper and my purple drape neck top have been long neglected, so I hope to get those out again. However, I'm trying to re-read the Twilight books through Eclipse prior to opening night this week. So, I've only been working on the socks.

I finished the Butterfly Garden socks. See here if you haven't checked them out :-)

Finally Got That Sock Project Bag!

2010-06-12T01:53:00.001-05:00

Here are lots of pics of my new dellaQ Rosemary bag in use. The socks in progress are my Butterfly Garden socks using KP Stroll Tonal. I can fit one 100g cake of yarn, my 2aat socks, my folded pattern, and in the front pocket, my cable needle and cell phone. Check it out :-D The color is called seafoam; it's an iridescent green. In some of the pics the bag actually looks more purple than green, but it's not. This bag is going to come in really handy when I want to take my sock knitting to the playground with the kids. The straps are just the right length to sit on my left wrist if I need to stand or move around (i.e., chasing kids). Yay, no more Ziplocs!

I believe it was Della Quimby herself who convinced me to get this bag! Cool, huh?! She was at Yarnmarket Thursday night for the Ravelry party. Jess, Casey, Mary-Heather, and Sarah were on hand to mingle with Ravelers who had the privilege of enjoying catered Panera meals and perusing the entire Yarnmarket warehouse. Before the evening ended, I purchased my dellaQ bag, and most of my fellow knitting group members from GK2 (Gahanna Knit Knite) got to chat with the Ravelry peeps. They are just as sweet and humble as they've always been. To cap off the night, my knitting friends and I went to Max & Erma's where we stayed way past our usual knit knite time. Good times!

In non-knitting news, I bought the Eclipse soundtrack. It's already on the LG phone that I use as an mp3 player while running ;-) My absolute favorite track is My Love by Sia. Haunting, beautiful, and hypnotic. I think I like it as much as Breathe Me! Other favs include Let's Get Lost (Beck and Bat For Lashes) and Ours (The Bravery). The soundtrack really fits the mood of Eclipse. Really, I think each soundtrack has fit each respective movie perfectly.

I've been listening to the Eclipse soundtrack a lot while sitting at the computer or while running, getting excited about the movie. Can't wait to go see all three movies June 29th! Yes, that's right: I'm going to see Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse at Movie Tavern where they serve food and drink to your seat. So, the only thing to worry about is getting up to go to the bathroom, ha!

BTW, the last pic is of the hybrid heel I made for these socks. If you've heard of a mini gusset/flap with short rows, toe-up or cuff-down, that's what I did. For my toe-ups, I did 6 pairs of gusset increases followed by a Sherman short row heel and faux flap on the original 32 stitches. (In addition to the link I just gave, here's a handy chart with numbers.)

Specs: I began my Sherman heel with a pair of wrapped stitches just outside the middle 32. Also, I slipped the first stitch of each row after the pivot row, as suggested by others. While working the 2nd half of the short rows, I did an Eye of Partridge pattern keeping a pair of knit stitches just inside the encroachments as a buffer (So for RS rows, I began each row with "s1, k1," and ended each row with "k1, k enc."). After the short rows, I continued around the instep and began the mini heel flap (picking up the two wraps). I continued the Eye of Partridge pattern while decreasing the gusset stitches to make the flap, reducing my heel stitch count to 33. To get rid of the last gusset stitch on the right, I continued around the instep and did a k2tog on the first 2 sts of the heel, completing the flap.

Happy knitting!

Butterfly Garden Socks CO

2010-06-05T00:19:00.001-05:00

These are my Butterfly Garden socks (a free Knit Picks pattern). The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal Sock in Summer Blooms. The only mods I've made so far: change the toe increases from m1 to kfb, and increase to 64 sts rather than 60. The pattern on the instep runs up to the ankle after which there will be a butterfly. Can't wait to see how these turn out!

Since the colorway is called Summer Blooms, I thought I'd include a pic of the roses I cut today from my rosebush :-)

An Afternoon in the Garden

2010-06-03T16:42:00.000-05:00

Who needs a fancy-schmancy mud bath when you can have one of your own in your own garden?! I do believe that Ian likes mud. As soon as I finished digging, preparing, and planting a flower garden, Ian went to town like the boy that he is :-)

Little Ampersands

2010-05-31T16:24:00.000-05:00

Marie's Ampersand socks are finished! Here are the pics. For info on sizing it down to fit her 5yo feet: Rav link.
Pattern: Ampersand (upside down) by Bobbi Kraft; original Ampersand pattern by Kirstin Kapur.
Yarn: Kni Picks Felici, Marsh colorway, <1 skein
Needles: US1 KP fixed circulars, 2aat magic loop
Notes: Fun knit! See above Rav link for technical details. Basically, I followed the pattern directions for the toe and stitch pattern. Then I did my own thing from then on, never printing out the pattern.

Felici Ampersand Socks FO

2010-05-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

Check out the details on Ravelry :-)

Pictures of the Day

2010-05-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

Ampersand socks progress, Marie catching a butterfly, and Ian in his "feed me" monster shirt. In case you're wondering, Marie has some grape jelly on her mouth from just eating lunch. She had her kindergarten screening today!

Shrimp and Grits

2010-05-02T01:12:00.000-05:00

Dinner Tonight: Spicy Shrimp and Grits

We moved back to Ohio from North Carolina July 2006, and this is the first time I've tried to make shrimp and grits. I put together ideas from several recipes and came up with this. Since Jared doesn't like seafood, I gave the rest to my parents.

Ingredients: grits, milk, half-n-half, butter, cheddar cheese, pepper, tabasco, salt, shrimp, scallions, red bell pepper, garlic, oil, lemon juice, real bacon bits, flour, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes.

In other news, I've CO for Ampersand socks using KP Felici in the Marsh colorway. I'm about halfway done with both legs. Marie's Purple Maze jumper is going well. I'm about halfway done with the pattern repeats for the lower section.

Since I'm On A Roll...

2010-04-28T03:18:00.001-05:00

Tonight I ripped out the bind off to Ian's Trellis pullover and re-did it using a looser bind off. Now the collar doesn't stand straight up; it's floppy enough to turn outward. Here's a pic.

The bind off I used is called Sarah's Favorite Cast Off (SFCO). Between each knit or purl stitch on the bind off row, you make either a forward (M1F) or backward (M1B) loop. Forward loops precede knits, while backward loops precede purls. If you forget which direction to make the loop, just remember that the working yarn from the M1 loop has to come out the back before a knit and vice versa for a purl. For example, let's say your first two bind off stitches are both knits. You would K1, M1F, K1. There are now 3 stitches on your right needle. You pass the M1 and rightmost stitch over the leftmost stitch. If your next stitch is a purl, you'd make an M1B followed by that purl. Again, you'd pass the M1 and rightmost stitch over the purl stitch you just made. This bind off is similar to JSSBO (my favorite toe-up sock bind off!), but you employ forward and backward loops (M1s) rather than forward and backward yarnovers.

Now for some fun! Here's an edited photo of me using a feature called "Coloring Book" effect (Kodak EasyShare). It looks like a sketch, and my hair looks like something you'd see under a microscope. Weird, huh?! I've been playing around with my new camera and picture software :-)

Stolen Moments Wrap

2010-04-26T13:24:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Stolen Moments Wrap
Yarn: KP WOTA Bulky, 2 skeins Wine and 1 skein Cherry Cordial Hand Dyed
Needles: Harmony US 10 straights
Notes: Used a twisted loop CO using my right thumb. To get the extra twist, you mimic what's done in German Twisted CO: Holding needle in left hand, go under right thumb loop and then down into it from the top (Confused? Look up any German Twisted CO video.). For the BO, I used JSSBO. Using the loose CO and BO helped when it came time to block. This wrap grows a bit upon blocking.
Comments: This is a comfy wrap to have around your shoulders. Actually, it's my first wrap ever! I enjoyed the fairly mindless pattern and trying out the Harmony needles. (Sorry in advance for the crappy cell phone pics.)

Finished Cherry Edwardians

2010-04-26T13:05:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Edwardian Boating Socks
Yarn: KP Stroll Tonal, Queen Anne 1 skein
Needles: 2.5mm (US 1.5)
Notes: 2aat, substituted slip stitch heel, decreased toe to 11 sts
Comments: Fun at first and loved working with this colorway, but I'm really looking forward to making socks with my Christmas sock yarn! The linen stitch wasn't hard, especially if you switch to Continental. However, a whole pair of socks with it made the process slower. They're pretty, but I'm glad to be done!

Tonight's WIPs: Purple Maze and Stolen Moments

2010-04-15T01:16:00.003-05:00

Purple Maze Jumper WIP

Stolen Moments Wrap WIP

You Should Try It! A Stir Fry I Actually Like

2010-04-13T23:41:00.000-05:00

After following a friend's suggestion (thanks, Brandy!) to check out a stir fry recipe by Jamie Oliver, I made it tonight for dinner. Very, very tasty -- a total win!!! I forgot the beansprouts, but hey, it was still awesome. I had to make a couple of substitutions and alterations: I used red pepper flakes instead of a red chile, refrigerated ginger paste instead of fresh ginger, refrigerated minced garlic instead of fresh garlic, lime juice instead of fresh lime, and whole cilantro instead of only the stems. The mixture of ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, scallions, cilantro, soy sauce, honey, and lime juice turned out to be a great combination! I never would've expected the cilantro to work well with the other ingredients, but it was surprisingly good. If you've run out of dinner ideas, or this just sounds good to you, try it! Oh, oops! I guess I should mention the other main ingredients: sliced top loin of sirloin, sugar snap peas, chow mein noodles, and beansprouts (which I forgot). Here's a pic :-)

In knitting news, I'm nearing the toes on my Cherry Edwardians, have gotten about one-third of the way through my Stolen Moments wrap on my new Harmony US 10 straights (LOVE!), and am still ploughing my way through the 2-color mosaic maze that is Marie's Maze Jumper. Since I just recently received a Knit Picks coupon that's good till April 23rd, I'm also trying to decide what I'd like to buy with it. Ah... decisions, decisions! ;^D

In running news, I've recently (finally!) experienced improvement since I started running again about 3 weeks ago. Saturday, I pushed Marie in the jogging stroller and felt like I had a breakthrough run! I felt like my breathing was under control, my legs felt okay, and my energy level wasn't that of an out-of-breath beginner. Now, if I can just get to the point where I'm running the entire time after my 5-minute warmup walk, I'll really feel back in the swing of things.

Final Pic: Mi Escuelita (w/buttons)

2010-04-11T23:53:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Mi Escuelita (Knitty)
Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Sport Weight (Deborah Norville Collection)
Needles: US 4
Notes: Omitted the back cables and added slant inset pockets. Changed the method of the shawl collar by picking up stitches around the neckline and working upward with yarnover short rows.

Normally, I don't like knitting with acrylic yarn, but this blend is nice. The pockets were made by starting them as afterthought pockets with waste yarn. I picked up the top live stitches to knit the liner downward and the bottom live stitches to knit the outside slant upward. At the pocket top, I used a three-needle bind off to join the two layers together. For the short rows, I placed markers in the same spots as the pattern directions and kept working four stitches past the previous turning point, beginning with four stitches past the markers. To keep the shawl collar folded in front, I folded the corners down and sewed the edges.

In other knitting news... I found a copy of Knitting In Color by Margaret Radcliffe at my library today. It's a fairly new book that I've had my eye on. If you want to know anything about color knitting of any type, this is a very thorough book. I can't even list all the color knitting topics here because it would be too tiresome. In short, this book leaves out nothing. By the way, I learned that the colors I chose for Laura's Cardigan (an upcoming IK pattern on my queue) happen to be a tetrad: a fortunate coincidence in my choice of colorways. Yay! :-)

Future Project Ideas

2010-04-09T20:29:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Kristie tipping us off last night of the free Knit Picks sock pattern downloads for the new Stroll Tonal sock yarn, I added 3 more sock patterns to my Ravelry queue: Butterfly Garden Socks, Evergreen Socks, and Bare Bark Socks. This action led to about an hour of rearranging and editing my queue. It's nice to be reminded of patterns I've had saved there for a while, as well as see new ones. I came across a pattern called Stolen Moments Wrap by Amy Swenson. The recommended yarn per Ravelry says 3 skeins of WOTA Bulky, Gloss HW, or Cadena. It just so happens that I have 3 skeins of WOTA Bulky from a discontinued Knit Picks kit I recently acquired. The kit pattern is meant for a beginner (i.e., boring to non-beginners like myself), and I knew that I wouldn't use it. The Stolen Moments Wrap will be a perfect pattern to substitute for this yarn. The colors are Wine (2 skeins) and Cherry Cordial (1 skein). I'm thinking that I'll use the multi-colored skein in the middle of the long wrap. I'm happy that I found a pattern that will go perfectly with this yarn! It looks like it'll be a good TV knit.

At the top of my queue is a long list of socks patterns for all the sock yarn I bought after Christmas. When I run out of yarn, I have more sock patterns ready to go. Of the 3 Knit Picks patterns I mentioned above, I LOVE the Butterfly Garden one! In the latest issue of my newest favorite online free pattern magazine, Petite Purls, is a girl's sock pattern called Just-Spring. It's very cute and has beaded, fold-down cuffs! Two other patterns I really like are Sacre du Printemps and Simple Skyp Socks. I have many others queued, but those are the ones at the top.

For the fall, I have a vintage tweed cardigan I want to make for Marie called Chanelette, another adorable pattern from Petite Purls. Since it calls for an aran weight yarn, I'm thinking KP City Tweed in either DK or Bulky depending on which size I choose to make. City Tweed has such nice colorways, and I still haven't knit anything in it yet! For myself, I'd like to make one of two patterns: Tweedy Aran Cardigan or Ariann. Whichever I choose, I'll eventually knit the other, too. Another sweater I'm interested in making for myself is Skara Brae from Twist Collective. The stitch pattern goes very well with my Knotty or Knice socks, and I could match them perfectly in color by using the same yarn colorway as my socks, Tidepool Heather (Knit Picks).

There are so many patterns I didn't mention! That's all right, though, because it feels really nice to have a heavily loaded knitting queue! -- 5 pages on Ravelry, to be exact :-) Without mentioning pattern names, I have plans to knit an illusion blanket for each of my kids, steek, knit lace shawls, double knit, and make cowls. SO, soooooooo much to knit!!!!!

Vestee FO

2010-04-08T14:42:00.000-05:00

Oops! I forgot to blog about Vestee (a knitty pattern). I used Naturally Caron Country in Foliage. Very splitty yarn and not the most pleasant to knit with for that reason. But, it makes for a comfy sweater. Actually, I'm not quite done with this because I need to fix the BO on the collar. It's not loose enough. When I get that fixed I might take a picture of Ian wearing it, though it's way too big for him right now.

Since Vestee is too big, I have some mushroom-colored yarn to make Ian a second sweater. Not sure yet what I want to make... I might just wing it because after a while, I get tired of looking through patterns.

New WIP and Cherry Edwardians Update

2010-04-07T00:14:00.003-05:00

Finally, I have a picture of my latest project: Maze Toque and Jumper by Celeste Culpepper (Ravelry project link). It was a pattern that used to be available exclusively through Knit Picks. I bought it back when Shine Sport used to be called Shine since there wasn't a worsted weight version of it then. The colorways I chose are Serenade and Green Apple. You can't see the colors at all in this cell phone pic, but they go together very well! The stitch pattern is a Barbara Walker mosaic stitch pattern. So far, I'm about two-thirds of the way done with the first of ten 16-rnd chart repeats on 224 sts. This is fun and interesting -- and totally new to me! It's my first time doing mosaic knitting, and I like how I only have to hold one color at a time.

Project Notes: For the cast on, I used JSSCO (Jeny's Stretchy Slipknot Cast-On) instead of longtail. Why? I couldn't fathom screwing up the length of my tail yarn with 226 sts! So, I did the single version of longtail using only the working yarn. It took longer, but I didn't waste any yarn and it looks nice with my garter stitch edge. Plus, I got practice using a new technique. For the garter stitch edge, I chose to knit this flat to avoid a jog. I know very well how to do jogless garter stitch ITR, but I decided to take the easy, mindless way out. To accommodate the seam, I cast on 2 extra stitches. To join ITR after finishing the garter stitch, I put my 2 live extra sts on locking stitch markers to be seamed up later.

Here are my Cherry Edwardians (aka Edwardian Boating Socks)! The Knit Picks Stroll Tonal Queen Anne colorway is so lovely and makes me smile, especially now with all the trees in bloom. This pattern isn't difficult, but you definitely can't be distracted while knitting it.

Project Notes: I modified the heel turn directions since the original directions left holes at the turns. Instead of turning immediately after each decrease, I worked one more regular knit or purl as I usually do. Problem solved :-)

Chile Rellenos Recipe

2010-04-06T03:15:00.002-05:00

Before I forget how I made these delicious chile rellenos, I thought I'd share my recipe here! We had them for dinner, and I must say I'm proud of myself for sticking with my imagination on the ingredients because I love how these turned out! Since I didn't keep track of recipe amounts, I'm just going to explain what I did step-by-step.

Jackie's Chile Rellenos Recipe
Broil 2 poblano chiles in the oven until the skin is blistered. Make sure to turn them with tongs occasionally to brown on all sides. Remove from oven and place in closed plastic bag for 30 minutes to sweat. Remove the skin, cut one side lengthwise, and remove stem and seeds. Roll open and lay flat, ready to stuff. Brown a small amount of ground beef in a skillet. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder. Just before completely browned, add diced onion. Turn the heat down to medium. Add green chiles, taco seasoning, pat or two of butter, a couple small cubes of cream cheese, skinned and diced tomatoes (seeds and juice, too -- everything), and 2 Tbsp salsa. Turn off heat. Fill the chiles with the meat mixture and a good helping of a shredded blend of Mexican cheeses (I like the all-white, authentic variety). If you have toothpicks, use them to hold the chiles closed. Separate 2-3 eggs from their yolks. Beat the whites and yolks separately (Why? IDK, but many recipes have you do this... ). Mix the yolks into the whites. Place some flour in a second bowl. Carefully lower your stuffed chile rellenos, one at a time, first into the flour bowl and then into the egg bowl. In each bowl, make sure your chiles get completely coated. This is tricky! Use your hands to carefully lift each stuffed chile into a greased baking dish. Place remaining meat mixture around the chiles. Bake for 25 minutes at 350, or until coating is lightly browned. Remove from oven and top with more salsa and shredded cheese. Return to oven for 10 more minutes. Enjoy!

ETA: I just realized how silly the packaged apple sauce looks next to my from-scratch chile rellenos! Oh well, at least the applesauce is organic and unsweetened, and it complemented the spiciness of the entree ;-)

Mi Escuelita FO Pics: Part 1

2010-03-31T00:27:00.002-05:00

I haven't sewn the buttons on yet, but here's a sneak peek of Marie's pink Mi Escuelita cardigan. Near the end of knitting this, I was sweating it because I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn. It turns out I did with just a little to spare. Thank goodness because JoAnns no longer sells that particular line of yarn any more.

In other news... I've been running (again) for a week. Well, make that jogging/walking! It's always tough getting back into it. Today I mapped my run in advance on mapmyrun.com and went 3.4 miles. I'll admit it was grueling. In fact, I'm still feeling like I got the wind kicked out of me. Can't wait to be in shape again!

We ate the homemade chicken noodle soup I made yesterday. Using split chicken breasts, I first made broth in my crockpot keeping the carrots, onions, and celery and skinning and chunking the chicken. I saved that in the fridge and finished the soup today by adding cooked kluski noodles and storebought chicken broth (since there's not enough homemade broth to compensate for the chicken and noodles). Yum, yum!

If you've never seen the movie Stand and Deliver, I highly recommend it. This is on the heels of hearing today that Jaime Escalante, the movie's inspiration, just died of cancer. It's such a cool true story. I used to show that movie to my high school math students, college-prep or not. You know it's a good movie when kids who hate math love it! Edward James Olmos does a great job portraying the main character.

In case you haven't seen my video postings on Facebook and Ravelry, CBS did a story on Sunday morning related to knitting and Ravelry. Last year sometime, Mo Rocca made several knitters angry by saying that homemade sweaters "itch" on the NPR show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! A group on Ravelry was formed in response, and Norah Gaughan (a famous knitting designer) took it upon herself to choose a pattern and yarn for multiple knitters to make Mo a sweater to prove him wrong. Franklin Habit, a knitting designer and comic, along with some other Chicago-area knitters presented Mo the sweater on the very NPR show where Mo made the infamous comment. I really enjoyed reading about and watching this story, especially since Mo took it upon himself to learn how to knit. Btw, there are some nice, close-up pictures of Mo's sweater on Ravelry. Another btw: Thanks to CBS plugging Ravelry as the "Mecca for Knitters" and showing the cute new login page, Ravelry experienced a swell in membership on Sunday. :-D

My Cherry Edwardians

2010-03-28T23:50:00.001-05:00

Here are my Edwardian Boating Socks IP with the new Knit Picks Stroll Tonal (Queen Anne colorway). The cell phone photo shown here doesn't quite do it justice. It's an awesome range of peachy pink dipping into a slight touch of yellow, just like the cherries for which it's named. The pattern I chose is supposed to look like the oars of a boat flanked by linen stitch. I thought the linen stitch might be too tight or too stiff, but that hasn't been the case since I've been conscious of my tension while doing it. I CO double the amount of stitches and decreased in 2x2 rib on the first round using k2togtbl and p2tog. Aren't they pretty? I love the new tonals! My next Stroll Tonal purchase will be Blue Yonder where I'll revisit Cookie A's Pomatomus sock pattern.

Late last night I finished Marie's new pink cardigan, Mi Escuelita (from Knitty). Once I get the buttons sewn on and take some pics, I'll do another post. That won't be till Friday at earliest. Luckily, it fits her just right and will make a nice spring sweater to wear over short sleeve shirts on the preschool playground or at the zoo. The shawl collar turned out really nice and cozy, and I think Marie is digging the slant afterthought pockets I added to the pattern.

Now that I'm done with Marie's cardigan, I'm going to focus more attention on my Cherry Edwardians. Of course, I have to have a sweater on the needles to balance out the sock knitting, right?! So... My choices are: 1) start Ian's brown cardigan, 2) start Marie's mosaic tunic, 3) finish Wright (my purple drapeneck top), or 4) start Ian's pajama pants. With the exception of Wright, I want to finish these projects before I begin my long-awaited short sleeve Annie Modesitt cardigan. Oh (sigh), so many projects and not enough hours in the day to knit everything I want to! Such is the pleasantry of being a knitter :-)

I Want a Sock Bag...

2010-03-14T22:11:00.004-05:00

...and here's a picture of what I want inside.

See the two snap yarn guides? Required! My bag also needs a snap-on, preferably padded carrying strap (as this one does, though you can't see it) for my wrist, purse, or beltloop. I want to be able to carry 2aat magic loop socks in my sock bag. If I could make this myself, I would! Too bad I don't know how to sew. Shoot, I would've cranked this out this weekend. Maybe someday, eventually... I guess the GoKnit pouch at Knit Picks would suffice for now, although I'm not sure if it's big enough for 2aat magic loop, and it doesn't have the 2 snap-on yarn guides inside. There's also the possibility of knitting and lining a sock project bag. I've perused several small bag patterns on Ravelry, including a cute beaded one that could be lined and made larger to accommodate 2aat sock knitting. I've never lined anything before, but I bet one of my knitting buddies who also sews could guide me. Hmm...

Besides the bag shown above (see this etsy link for more pics and details), I've seen some other desirable features to consider for a sock project bag. I've seen a few bags that have separate drawstrings and carrying strap(s), and I've seen some that have a single drawstring that is worn on the wrist (although you can't attach it to a bag or beltloop). I've also seen where the base of the bag has an insert that makes the bag stand upright if sitting on a counter. My head spins with ideas when it comes to sock knitting project bags!

There aren't many sock bags out there for 2aat sock knitting, and I'd love to see more, or at least larger ones that could comfortably hold 2 50-gram skeins. See, now that I've finally been on the sock knitting bandwagon for some time, I'm getting weary of using plastic Ziploc bags. I want a real sock knitting project bag!

In other news... I started a cardigan, Mi Escuelita, for Marie. Surprisingly, I like the acrylic yarn I'm using for it. It's by premier yarns, the Deborah Norville Collection: Serenity Sport Weight, in pink. So far, I'm loving this cardigan. I've omitted the cables on the cardigan back, and I'll be adding slant pockets. This should be a cute playground sweater for her!

Ian's longsleeve Vestee is done -- and is too big for him to wear just yet. I set out to make him an over-sized pullover since he grows out of clothing fast, so I got what I wanted. Ha! Ah well, he'll eventually be able to wear it, right?! The pattern was easy. The only thing I really changed was the collar; instead of making it separate and sewing it on, I picked up stitches around the neckline and did short rows. I also upsized it to a 3T with lots of ease and changed the raglan decrease pattern, too: instead of having 2 stitches between decreases, I made it just 1 stitch. No pics yet, but when I do take them, I think I'll have Marie model it since it fits her better.

Ravelympics: My Final FO

2010-03-01T16:42:00.003-05:00

Pattern: My So Called Scarf
Yarn: Classic Elite Miracle
Needles: US 8 bamboo straights
Notes: I used 40 sts for mine and did single purl ridges at each end.

Ah, the comraderie --cyber and IRL-- of one great big KAL! This has been a lot of fun partaking in my first Ravelympics. What I thought was a conservative estimate of what I could get done turned out to indeed be a challenge. In fact, I was still working on my second and final project past midnight! It's satisfying to know that the "scarf that never ends" is FINALLY DONE -- it only took 4 years! I'm not sure that it would've gotten finished if it hadn't been for Ravelympics. Ravelympics provided a helpful platform for finishing a super-annoying UFO. Long, thin scarves are NOT my cup of tea! Many other Ravelers were doing the very same thing with me in WIPS Dancing, so I felt the cyber support. Many times I clicked the "love" button on people's projects on the Finish Line threads (I regularly followed 3 threads total) who hadn't yet received any love/recognition, especially if the projects were nice or took considerable effort. For Team GK2, I made sure to comment on and/or favorite each member's finished Ravelympics projects (and some WIPs) on their project pages. Hopefully, I recognized all of Team GK2's finishers on their respective project pages. If not, I apologize! I tried my very best to be a conscientious teammate :-)

Ravelympics also brought colorwork back into my knitting, and what better way to do it than a KAL on a small project? Kim reminded us of the possibility of weaving in the strands to avoid snags from rings and such since we were working on fingerless mitts. I ended up using the weaving method, although only to secure strands longer than 5 stitches. It worked out great because my two strands never once got twisted.

Non-Knitting News
It's kindergarten registration in Upper Arlington. I can hardly believe my oldest will be starting school next fall! She's more than ready to go, and I can't wait to see how she does. We're enrolling her in the alternative elementary which is a school that takes an informal approach to learning. They don't teach strictly to a test, and they deem the arts as important. The assessments are very different, and they focus on thematic units of study that integrate multiple disciplines. The idea is not rote memorization, but teaching students how to think and how to work responsibly with others. It will be interesting to see teaching/learning methods that I learned through UNC-Chapel Hill come to life. Since it's a school of excellence with distinction and in a good school district, I'm not too worried... just very curious to see it in action. The kindergarteners who spoke on information night were very impressive -- their vocabulary and reading skills were well above what I expected for the average kindergartener. Creativity and critical thinking were on display. Marie, being the social and creative little bug that she is, will thrive in such an active-learning environment. I'm excited for her. If, for whatever reason, it shouldn't work out, it's only kindergarten!

Finish Line: Winter Twilight Mitts

2010-02-22T09:31:00.004-05:00

My first of two Ravelympics 2010 projects is done! Here are my Winter Twilight Mitts, finished yesterday thanks to the chance opportunity of getting away alone (gasp!) to a nearby coffee shop. It's amazing how productive I can be when not being impeded by my kids!

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette, Blue Note Heather and Black, 1 skein each
Needles: US 1.5 magic loop; US 1 dpns (for BO and starting the thumb)
Notes: Decreased 8 sts evenly on the round right before the 2x2 ribbing begins on the mitten top (56 sts total) After taking pics, my mitts checked in at "Spa Kookaburra" to receive a softening treatment. I tried them on first thing today post-treatment... Love them! BTW, I just had to paint my nails dark blue to match :-)

Are You Excited? I Am!

2010-02-11T23:24:00.003-05:00

I passed on the Knitting Olympics back in the pre-Ravelry days, and I passed on Ravelympics two years ago. I must've been crazy not to participate because everyone chattered on about how much fun they had. Well, I'm not missing out this time around! Tomorrow night at Team GK2's cast on party for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games, I plan on starting Winter Twilight Mitts. These mitts have been on my favs list, queue, whatever, for a long time... and I'm finally doing them! Thanks again to Kristie for scanning the chart and flipping it to make things easier. Can't wait to knit them with Karen and Kristie! When I get the mitts finished, I have an unfinished My So Called Scarf to do. After that, I'll go back to my two current WIPs: Bright and Vestee.

For tomorrow night's festivites, graciously hosted by Kim aka Tarheelfan on Ravelry, I'm making crockpot lasagna. Mmm, yummy! The online recipe looked easy and got great comments, so I'm excited that I'll be able to contribute a main entree from scratch with ease. Can't wait to see what everyone else is bringing! To my fellow teammates from Team GK2, see y'all tomorrow night :-D

ETA: I totally forgot to mention the original reason I was going to post! Over the last few days, I've finally re-organized my favorite knitting links/bookmarks. It's been awhile, mainly because it takes time to do. But I'm so glad I did because, not only is everything easy to find again, but I got to re-discover some wonderful, resourceful links. I've collected quite a few :-)

Wright Was All Wrong

2010-01-29T23:15:00.002-05:00

Have you ever made so many mistakes in a knitting project that you don't even know what size you're making anymore? I screwed up the shaping on my drape neck summer top Wright so many times that I had trouble following it while making a matching piece. Tonight, I frogged the entire thing, and I was probably about 75% done with the project. Sometimes you just need a fresh start when there's too much wrong going on! What's funny about this is that the yarn I'm using was already frogged from another project. No worries though, I'm still going to knit this pattern :-)

Nalu Mitts and Cell Cozy

2010-01-26T01:52:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Nalu Mitts
Yarn: fingering weight natural beige 2-ply alpaca
Needles: US 2 and US 3 magic loop
Notes: No mods to pattern. I used smaller needles and lighter weight yarn and therefore had to make the larger size. Love these! They're so soft and comfy :-)

Pattern: improvised
Yarn: Imagination (Knit Picks) in Lost Boys colorway
Needles: US 1 dpns
Notes: Magic CO; stockinette with incs at bottom. At the neck, I switched to 2x2 twisted rib and made eyelets for the closed drawstring. Drawstring was made by doing a cable CO with 64 sts followed by a traditional BO and joining ends.

Nalu Mitts Are Blocking :-)

2010-01-24T23:05:00.002-05:00

This evening before dinner I finished my alpaca Nalu Mitts (Rav pattern link). So now they're blocking after a nice Kookaburra bath. Can't wait to wear them with my Meret! Now the only outdoor winter accessories left to knit are my hibernating My So Called Scarf and my Ravelympics project, Winter Twilight Mitts. So now I have 3 WIPs: a cell phone cozy, Wright, and Vestee.

After reading through the Twilight series twice over the last few months, I've now started re-reading Tolkien, beginning with The Silmarillion. It's my third time reading it, and the last time was over two years ago. I love reading about all the stories of the elves, wizards, and Numenorians way before The Hobbit and the LOTR. After reading those books, I'd like to re-read the last Harry Potter book. It's hard to believe, but I've only read Book 7 once!

Though the skies have been completely dismal, I'm glad that the sidewalks and streets are now clear of snow and ice. That means I can run -- good thing, too, because I need it! On Saturday I got so restless that I took Marie to Antrim Park and we walked around the lake once. It felt so good to get the blood pumping in my legs.

Going back to Twilight... I read that Howard Shore will be doing the musical score to Eclipse. Woohoo! He's done the following movies, to name just a few: all three LOTRs movies, The Game, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, High Fidelity, Crash, The Departed, The Silence of the Lambs, Late Night with Conan O'Brien (title theme), and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (title theme). Since I'm anticipating that this will be the best of the Twilight movies (it's the best book IMO), I'm excited that the music promises to be good, too! The actors seem pretty stoked about this third movie and its director.

Two Berets To Show

2010-01-21T00:23:00.004-05:00

My goal to use up all the natural alpaca yarn gifted to me this summer is almost complete! Here are my latest FOs. The beige beret is Meret by Woolly Wormhead. This pattern was very well written, and I love how it fits. No major mods: just a tubular CO and holding the yarn doubled to match the pattern gauge. The gray beret is Beret de Printemps by The Knitist. Of the 6 skeins of yarn (3 each natural color), I have one skein of beige fingerweight alpaca yarn left, so I think I'll make Nalu Mitts.

Note: the mitts shown with my Beret de Printemps are my Evenstar mitts.

Yarns Revisited

2010-01-17T00:44:00.004-05:00

Before revisiting two yarns, I have an FO update. Tonight I finished my Beret de Printemps made from the remainder of my sportweight gray alpaca yarn! It's done soaking in Kookaburra and is now blocking on a dinner plate. This pattern was different and kept my interest. A very good TV knit, I must say. It looks cable-y, but only consists of knits, yarnovers, and decreases. I followed the basic skeleton of the pattern but modified it for size and lighter yarn weight. Can't wait to wear this because it already looked cute when I tried it on while in progress! Now I'll finally have a hat to match my gray coat. Next up will be my blue and black Winter Twilight Mitts and eventually my icey light blue My So Called Scarf so that I'll have a full ensemble of knits to wear with my coat. (All my other hats/gloves/scarves match my brown/cream winter coat.) Actually, I've already been wearing my gray fingerless Evenstar Gloves with my gray coat. But, it'll be nice to have two choices of mitts to wear once I get my Winter Twilight Mitts done!

What I really wanted to blog about tonight is the yarn from two past FOs: Tangled Yoke Cardigan and my Pomatomus socks (see pics below). I used Telemark and Imagination, respectively, both from Knit Picks. The Telemark has been wearing insanely well! I've been wearing my TYC a lot the past week or two with all the recent cold temps since it's my warmest cardigan. Seriously, there is little (and I do mean little) to no pilling, even on the INSIDE! If I ever want to make a ski/outdoor sweater out of sportweight yarn, that will be it because it's so sturdy. Imagination, on the other hand, tends to pill and felt easily with wear. However, I'm really liking this effect on my Pomatomus socks. These socks are working out great as nice, warm socks to wear around the house or with boots out in the cold while shoveling snow for 3 hours. They're so warm that I can't wear them to bed! If you have cold feet, I highly recommend Imagination.

2009 Knits Collage and 2010 FOs To Date

2010-01-11T02:06:00.000-05:00

Yay, I finally got around to making a collage of my 2009 knits! 5 sweaters, 2 summer tops for Marie, 1 skirt, 8 pairs of socks, 2 dishcloths, 3 toys, 1 headband, 1 bag, and 1 pair of fingerless mitts. Two notes on the pics: 1) The Tangled Yoke Cardigan pic is a WIP. I thought this pic showed the tangled cables and buttons best compared to the FO pics; 2) The fingerless mitts pic is not the actual pair since I gifted the original pair to my mom. This pic is of the 2nd pair for myself which I finished today. The originals were the longer pattern length, unlike what you see here.

All the sweaters made for me were completed by late winter. After that, I made lots of smaller projects, especially socks. Socks became much more common for me to make in 2009. You'll notice two Sheldons and the Lola Bunny. Knitting toys were a first in 2009. There was one project I actually finished prior to 2009 (Blaze: the olive green zigzag yoke sweater). I included it here because I ripped out the BO, tinked back, and fixed the fit of the yoke so that I'd finally wear it and consider it a true FO. So glad it worked out because it would've killed me to frog those time-consuming cables.

The block of 4 FOs in the second collage are my completed 2010 FOs to date: Lullaby Jr (blue-violet), toe-up/no-purl Monkey socks, Blue Step Baby Booties, and Evenstar Gloves. The Monkey socks were completed in 2008. But, just like my Blaze sweater, I couldn't wear them and needed to re-do the tight BO. After ripping out the original BO, I went back and did a JSSBO. Much better! The Lullaby Jr socks were made for Marie toe-up to match my cuff-down Lullaby socks. The Blue Step Baby Booties were my first time doing brioche stitch. And finally, the alpaca Evenstar Gloves were my first LOTR-inspired project. They are nice and super warm, and I enjoy wearing them at the computer when my hands get cold.

I have so many knitting projects planned, new and resurrected. Before starting the short-sleeve Annie Modesitt cardigan (Laura's Cardigan from Summer 2009 IK), I want to get all hats and mitts done. Karen and I are going to do a Winter Twilight Mitts KA using Knit Picks Palette. I've always wanted to make those! I also have two berets and one more pair of mitts planned, although it's possible I might wait to do those. My cell phone and handheld electronic sudoku need cozies, and Marie and Ian could use an extra sweater. I haven't even mentioned all the new socks I'll be making with my recent purchases, and I haven't decided what project(s) I want to complete during Ravelympics! It's definitely nice to have so many patterns, ideas, and yarn lined up :-)

...And Here It Is

2009-12-30T03:34:00.005-05:00

Yarns and Colorways
Comfy Sport: Fedora, Planetarium, October, Cypress, Honeydew
Felici: Marsh
Stroll Kettle Dyed: Wine

Besides Knitting...

2009-12-28T00:16:00.003-05:00

Sudoku
I've been obsessed with the White Elephant gift I got at Christmas! It's a Techno Source illuminated pocket sudoku. It has over 1 million puzzles, an LED light (love that on my Light Wedge!), an extra stylus, a notes feature, AND a feature that allows you to input your own sudoku puzzles to solve. My, oh my, this has been a time killer both good and bad! Even though it's too easy to be challenging for me despite the 4 difficulty levels, it's still fun because of the touch screen and stylus (as opposed to my usual pencil and click eraser) as well as it being a nice time filler when needed. Plus, I could always input my owner higher-difficulty puzzles to solve ;-)

The Princess and The Frog
Marie and I went to go see Disney's The Princess and The Frog yesterday afternoon. We both loved it. It had a nice story, and I especially liked the main character and the music. If there's such a thing as animated cinematography, I'd say that the animated cinematography of the bayou was awesome (check out the firefly part)! I'll admit to getting teary eyed a few times throughout the movie, not because it's sad or anything, but because of all the feelings it evokes. I'm glad Disney finally got around to making this.

Kids
Out of nowhere, Ian decided to try using his fork tonight with his pasta and chicken! We'll have to see if he keeps it up tomorrow... He loves his big Lightning McQueen car we got him for Christmas. At first he was afraid of the sounds it makes when you push the buttons on top (still is actually, but we've turned the switch to "off"). Yet, now he carries it around, kisses it, and sleeps with it. So cute! Marie loves her Ariel jewelry set and light-up Ariel tiara and has been playing with all her (old and new) dolls and doll house. This is old news now, but I have to mention how much Marie enjoyed painting some leftover Christmas salt dough ornaments that we'd baked a year or two ago. I got out some paint and glazing spray for our snowman and Christmas tree. They turned out really nice! Oh, and Ian looked so cute at Christmas in his first plaid flannel shirt -- my adorable little boy :-)

Reading
I'm still re-reading Breaking Dawn, probably delaying a little since I'll be taking a break from the series after this. I wouldn't mind reading the last Harry Potter book a 2nd time or re-reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for a 3rd time. Those are books I enjoy reading during the cold, winter months. I still have a couple of books to read that my brother got me a while back as gifts: The Terror by Dan Simmons and The Last Man by Mary Shelley. We'll see. I'm now on Goodreads which has some neat reading lists by genre. Somewhere out there exists a site that recommends books based on titles you input, kinda like Pandora yet not as complex, but I can't remember the name of the site...

Music
While looking up a song on YouTube, I came across a Kings of Leon song that everyone but me has probably already heard: Closer. I really like it despite its simplicity and repetitiveness, probably because I go for emotive, driving songs like this. The lead singer has a gravelly voice perfect for this song. Can't help but like the YouTube video I found that uses it. If you're not a Twilight fan, you can minimize it while listening, although keep in mind that the song is about a lovesick vampire according to the lead singer ;-)

Three posts in one day, wow! I guess most of the time I have nothing to say. Then when it rains, it pours. See ya in a month I suppose, ha!

Baby Booties for Isla: An Enjoyable Technical Knit

2009-12-27T22:52:00.004-05:00

Recently on Ravelry, I found a cute little pattern for my new niece Isla: Blue Steps Baby Booties. Using 1 circular needle, it starts on the midline of the sole with a closed CO (I used the Magic CO) and a garter stitch sole. After the sole, brioche stitch is used, continuing to work upward ITR. Side note and warning: If you knit Continental Combined, brioche stitch is very easy and extremely enjoyable and addictive! To BO, I tried out Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy BO (JSSBO shown here by Cat Bordhi) after tinking my too-tight k2togtbl BO. JSSBO worked really, really well and fit easily over Isla's foot. This pattern encapsulates so many techniques or methods I like that I really enjoyed doing this pattern, start to finish. I highly recommend it! Unfortunately, when we tried the booties on at Christmas, they were way too small. After all, the pattern is for newborns, not 1-month-olds like Isla. So, now I'm going to re-knit them larger. No problem. I think I'll CO 28 stitches this time...

BTW, I thought I'd share something I un-vented, as EZ used to say, which I'm sure many other knitters have also discovered. When I was first doing the Magic CO and beginning the garter stitch ITR to make the sole, the midline was too flat and indented because the first garter ridges surrounding the flat CO end up farther apart from each other relative to the other garter ridges of the sole. Since the Magic CO creates a complete purl ridge on the WS when casting on, I decided to use that feature by beginning the booties on the WS of the work. How, you might ask? Instead of rotating the needle tips around vertically 180 degrees like you usually do to begin knitting ITR, I rotated them around horizontally (toward myself) 180 degrees. As long as your needle tips end up pointing to the right and you see a purl ridge between the needles facing you, you've got it right. For the first round, I knit all the stitches just like you would in garter stitch after a round of purl. Then on round 2 (a purl round) I began the pattern increases as written. No more wonkiness at the midline, and you can't even tell where the booties begin ;-)

Last night I worked a bit on Wright. I'd like to get that done as well as Ian's long-sleeve Vestee before Ravelympics begin. Other small projects OTN that I have: Marie's Lullaby socks and a pair of Evenstar Mitts for me. I'm not sure if I'll get to them or not, but I also have queued a hat (or two!) and mitts set using some beige alpaca yarn. I also would like to knit something besides booties for Isla such as Pepita and Cozy Hooded Sleeping Sack.

A presto! Ciao!

Winter Project Bliss

2009-12-27T21:49:00.003-05:00

After receiving a Knit Picks gift certificate and some Christmas gift money, I've decided what I'm going to get with each. Last night I ordered Knit Picks yarn for the cardigan shown here called Laura's Cardigan by Annie Modesitt. It's from Interweave Knits Summer 2009. To qualify for the free shipping, I also ordered some US4 Options tips and some sock yarn. Comfy Sport is the yarn I'm using for the cardigan. It's machine washable and is a cotton blend like the pattern yarn. Thanks to seeing someone's nice FO pics on Ravelry, the colors I chose: "fedora" brown, "october" orange, "planetarium" blue, "cypress" green, and "honeydew" yellow-green. For sock yarn, I chose Felici in the Marsh colorway and Stroll Kettle Dyed in the Wine colorway. I'm thinking Ampersand or Groovy Socks (link to FO pics using the exact colorway I ordered) for the Felici, but haven't yet decided on a pattern for the Stroll Kettle Dyed (maybe something by Cookie A?).

With a portion of my gift money and a Barnes & Noble gift card, I plan on getting some additional sock yarn at the LYS and the book Sock Innovation by Cookie A. Usually I purchase all my sock yarn from Knit Picks, although I've used Claudia Handpainted (awesome!), Saucon Sock, and Regia Bamboo (wears/washes extremely well!) -- all from Knitter's Mercantile. Some yarns I'm interested in: Malabrigo, Lorna's Laces, Claudia Handpainted (again), KPPPM, and Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Since I'll probably get something variegated, I already have a pattern in mind: Herringbone Rib Socks. I'd also like to get some fingering weight yarn to make the Winter Twilight Mitts.

With all this new yarn, I'm going to have to get busy finishing my current WIPs!!! Motivating me will be the upcoming Ravelympics since our knit knite group has decided to be a team this year. In addition to my WIPs and upcoming projects I already mentioned, I still have even more winter projects queued. I'm really enjoying the overflow of ideas and yarn at this time of year after spending months doing scrap yarn projects (speaking of which, I should take a picture of my now smaller scrap stash)! The last time I had this many knitting projects lined up was summer 2008 when I last got a Knit Picks gift certificate and cranked out a plethora of sweaters. Good times :-)

Up next... the baby booties I've been working on!

Evenstar Mitts Done and Knitty Thoughts

2009-12-14T12:31:00.005-05:00

No pics, sorry! But, I finished my Evenstar Mitts. While watching The Notebook on tv, I zoomed through the rest of mitt #2. What a fun cable pattern! It kept me interested, and I was able to do the mitts entirely in combined knitting. These days, I've been doing lots of combined knitting due to the projects I've been working on. Anything with a mixture of knits and purls... Anyway, I soaked my mitts in Kookaburra. So, they smell wonderful and are ready to be worn :-) Of the 3 hanks of grey alpaca yarn I have, I only had to use one plus a smidge of a second hank. That means I can make a beret or slouchy hat to go along with the mitts - yay! Now, I'm also considering what hat and mitts to make with my beige alpaca yarn... BTW, here's a pic of the alpacas from which my yarn comes:

Sometimes, I just can't wait to cast on some projects. This particular time, it was a little pair of copycat socks using my leftover Stroll Handpainted in the Lullaby colorway: I'm making Marie a pair of Lullaby socks to match mine. Since I don't know how much yarn I'll have for the leg, I'm making them toe-up. Using the numbers from MSKS and incorporating a gusset/heel turn/flap, they should look nearly the same. I say nearly because I think I'll do eye of partridge on the flap rather than heel stitch. It'll be fun to work out how to mimic the 2-stitch garter edge while making sure to use the outside stitches to eat up the gusset increases. BTW, for the first time ever, I like how the toes look! Normally, I'm dissatisfied with toe-up standard or round toes thanks to the unevenness in half of the increases when doing 2xML (2aat magic loop). I did a Turkish CO --for kicks, of course, since I normally do the Magic CO-- and then did a standard toe using kfb so that the bar is one stitch inside each edge. Somehow I managed to keep the increases at the beginning of side 2 on each sock from being loose. I didn't do anything different in tensioning my edges, so go figure!

Besides casting on Marie's socks, I've also been working on Ian's Vestee top. For some reason, it's taking longer than usual. Probably because, instead of being mindless like I thought, I'm actually having to pay attention every other round when doing the [k2, p1] part of the seeded rib pattern. Not a lot of fun so far, this project.

Winter '09 Knitty is up! I like the drawn in, ribbed waists of Spoke and Zora. Mr. Darcy is a keeper, as well as Bitterroot with its beautiful stitch pattern and beads. Vroom is cute, and I could totally see Ian wearing that. It's been fun looking at the sock patterns. Just recently on Ravelry, in disecting toe-up heel turns, someone had mentioned there existing some sock patterns that do a W&T heel turn without increases (followed by a fixed flap). Saviano from this issue of Knitty does just that. I've done the kind where you stop short of doing all the gusset increases because you do increases on the W&T heel turn ( a la Wendyknits slipstitch heel). I wonder which I'd like better: increases or no increases on the heel turn? I've done the heel extension method where you pick up stitches to make a horseshoe right before doing the heel flap. But, I haven't done the Fleegle heel or Wendyknits' gusset heel which both skip the heel turn and don't have a fixed set of flap stitches. They look enticingly easy and very similar, but I'm not sure if I'd like the look of the back or sides of the heel since it's not perpendicular and fixed like a traditional flap. OK, OK... I'll quit blathering on about the technicals of toe-up sock heels!

Today Marie had her last day of preschool before the break. Her class put on a really cute Christmas program for the parents. It was hilarious seeing 4-year-olds trying to sing and move in unison. Some kids just stood there smiling and frozen rather than participating. ...Uh oh, my 2.5 hours of peace will be missing until January 4th!

Note To Self

2009-12-04T23:21:00.002-05:00

Do not machine dry a knitted garment made from Knit Picks CotLin with any other knitted garments. How do I know this? I washed my red CotLin Henley Perfected together with my blue Tubey sweater made with KP Swish Worsted and two pairs of socks made from KP Stroll. They washed up just fine, but came out of the dryer as if I'd washed my CotLin garment for the first time. That CotLin REALLY, REALLY sheds! My lint screen was heavily coated. Normally, I wash the CotLin top by itself. But now that I have a humongous bottle of Kookaburra, I decided to do a load of handknitted items. Never, ever again will I be drying that CotLin top with other clothes, especially knitted ones. It took about 90 minutes to get all the embedded lint and fuzz off using a combination of a used dryer sheet, a disposable razor, and my lint shaver. Whew! It wears me out just thinking of it...

I wish I had pics to show because I've definitely been knitting. Since I last posted, I finished my bluish-green Knotty or Knice socks and used the leftovers to make Marie a matching pair. Hers were slightly different though in that I knit hers cuff down, did a garter-edge heel, and did a round toe to finish. As for my sportweight grey alpaca Evenstar Mitts, I'm just finishing the afterthought thumb and will be starting the 2nd mitt soon. I keep forgetting about my purple drapeneck cotton top but hope to return to that at some point. Oh, I also started a longsleeve green Vestee for Ian.

My favorite online language learning site Babbel is no longer free. But, I liked it so much that I decided to sign up for 3 months with 3 months free since I'm a longtime member. However, once my 6 months is up, that'll be the end :-( S0, I'll have to rely on sites like busuu.com and livemocha.com to keep the language learning alive. On Babbel, I've worked up to over 2500 vocab items. Along with that, I like to casually read my old Italian grammar review textbook from college to supplement the vocabulary building.

Have you noticed that there's no mention of me running since September when the weather got cold? Not a coincidence, unfortunately. I don't really like running in any season but summer up here in Ohio. I never had to worry about running on ice or snow in the dark when living in North Carolina. However, I'm mentally ready to start up yet again. I need it. Can't wait either because I miss how good I feel when exercising regularly. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back down to my healthy range of 125-130 pounds. I haven't seen that range since before kids. I think I was about 130 when I was in prime shape from being in both marching band and running. The biggest difference between now and then, other than having all the time, freedom, and opportunity in the world to workout, is that I'm really going to have to watch my caloric intake this time around. Being 36, I can't only eat healthy anymore; I also need to eat smaller portions. I love food, so eating often is easy, but reducing portions will be tough for me. That's the key, though. When I worked out really hard for 6 months nearly 2 years ago and then when I ran in August and September of this year, I didn't pay attention to portion size, and guess what? I didn't lose a single pound. Back in my twenties, if I'd been working out like that, I would've dropped pounds easily. Not anymore. Just gotta accept that my metabolism isn't what it once was.

Beauregard Bear and His New Hoodie

2009-11-16T10:16:00.004-05:00

Gosh, not having an operable digital camera has really affected my blogging frequency! I have pics today, but they're from Jared's cell, so not the best. However, since I have something to show, I thought I'd post :-)

Last Wednesday, my daughter's preschool teacher handed her a tote bag with a teddy bear and journal in it and told her that she was to take care of "Beauregard" for two days until her next day of preschool. When we arrived home, Marie asked me if I could knit something for Beau. So, I took his measurements and some scrap KP Andean Silk yarn and made him a little hoodie. This was a fun project because I got to make something from scratch and try out top-down short row sleeves.

Details:
I CO and did 1x1 ribbing at Beau's tummy. After working stockinette ITR up to almost his underarms, I did some decreases at the sides since his chest was smaller. For the armholes, I placed 4 sts on holders on each side. Next I began shaping the armholes at the front and began the front opening. Using kfb at every front opening sts, I separated every other stitch and placed them on two needles, one in front of the other. Then I worked each front side separately, shaping the armhole and keeping the opening edge in seed stitch (i.e. moss stitch, UK). The back was shaped the same way, and I added one set of short rows below the neck so that the neck would be higher and help the hood sit better against the neck. For the hood I kept all the stitches I already had OTN, picked up a few more at the sides of the neck, and did kfb increases in every stitch (on the next row) except the seed stitch border. After that I still had to do 4 more evenly spaced increases so that my stitch total was somewhere near what I had earlier at the hips. I used a three-needle BO to finish the hood and also when joining the shoulders.

The next part was something I'd never tried until now: top-down short row sleeves! I used US4 dpns (3 sizes smaller than the US7's I used elsewhere) to pick up stitches around the armhole, making sure to use at ratio of 3:4 for horizontal/vertical areas and a 1:1 ratio elsewhere. Leaving the bottom armhole sts that were on holders alone, I took the top 4 picked-up center shoulder stitches and worked short rows back and forth, wrapping one more stitch each time at each end from the picked up armholes stitches. This meant working a wrapped stitch and then wrapping the next new armhole stitch before turning. When I ran out of stitches to wrap on the RS, I continued across the 4 held armhole stitches (picking up the last wrap when I came around to it) and finished the sleeves ITR with a new color. They (the sleeves) are not perfect and they don't match since I ran out of green, but they sure were fun to do! In retrospect, I need to figure out a better way to hold all the picked up armhole stitches because here's what I had: 4 armhole sts on a holder, 2 dpns at the sides, and 2 circulars at the top. Maybe I could've done each sleeve entirely on 2 circs with no dpns? Hopefully, there exists a simpler way of doing this method of sleeves specifically concerning needle placement, and I just haven't discovered it yet!

Other knitting news:
Hopefully, I'll remember to take and upload pics of Jared's finished black lattice stitch socks and of my new WIP Evenstar Mitts. I'm just about finished with my tidepool heather Knotty or Knice socks. I modified the toe and heel a bit, so I'll be blogging about that soon. The new Twist Collective is out and fabulous as usual. I've already faved the patterns I like on Ravelry. Hopefully the next IK preview will be out soon since subscribers will be receiving their new issues soon. The cover jacket looks really nice!

Socks, Ice Cream Cake, and Twilight In Italiano

2009-10-14T16:08:00.003-05:00

The black socks are done and just in time for Jared's birthday yesterday! I'd share pics, but our camera is broken. I didn't waste time casting on for a new pair of socks with Knit Picks Stroll in tidepool heather ;-)

For Jared's birthday, my mad scientist ways paid off in the form of a decadent homemade ice cream cake. The layers, from bottom to top: chocolate-covered grahams, raspberry sherbet, hot fudge, Reese Cups, chocolate ice cream, chocolate Coolwhip, and chocolate sprinkles. I wasn't too sure about how the Reese cups would taste in combination with the other ingredients, but I was pleasantly surprised. Jared, aka "Mr. Picky," was certain that I must've followed a recipe and was therefore impressed with my effort. The only part I took from a recipe was the base of chocolate-covered grahams and raspberry sherbet. Success! ...and many days of ice cream cake.

Lately, I've really been having fun reading a few Italian fansites for the Twilight Saga. It's so cool! I'm constantly learn a combination of formal and informal Italian via vocabulary and idioms used for pop culture, music, and movie-related topics. I'd checked out some Italian knitting sites and blogs, but reading the Twilight fansites are more fun to me.

Speaking of Italian and Twilight, I recently noticed the word for werewolf, thanks to the upcoming Twilight movie New Moon: licantropo. When I saw this, I immediately thought of the movie Underworld and the characters called Lycans. Who knew?! I didn't realize that the word Lycan used in that movie wasn't made up. Hmm, it must have Latin origins...

My quest to intuitively learn and not memorize F2L algorithms of the Rubik's Cube is going well. You could really separate the algorithms into two categories: those that immediately make sense, and those that take some deeper processing (specifically the ones that flip up the R-face or the F-face 180 degrees). There are a couple that actually lie somewhere in between because the white part of the corner piece gets flipped a new direction and therefore requires a changed approach compared to those algorithms where the white corner piece remains unchanged in relation to its adjacent edge piece.

The kids have been loving The Muppet Show dvds I've been bringing home from the library. Just while typing this post, my daughter asked me to put The Muppet Show on. She also has fallen in love with the Johnny Depp remake of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I won't tell you how many times she's seen it in the last two days :-)

JSSCO and JSSBO

2009-10-04T14:11:00.003-05:00

Well, no new knitting pictures since I'm still working on the same black socks. I still haven't uploaded Ian's birthday pics. But when I do, I'll have to share a couple of them. Gosh, I haven't blogged for a while. I think the rain and change in weather, Marie being in preschool (early mornings), and not having any news about my current knitting project have fueled that.

In knitting news, I finally read about and watched Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off (Knitty link and Cat Bordhi video) and her follow-up video of a complementary cast on, Jeny's Stretchy Slipknot Cast On (her blogpost here). JSSCO and JSSBO are specifically meant for ribbing -- ribbing that really needs superior stretch and can still bounce back. JSSCO and JSSBO not only has great stretch and bounces back, it also creates the hinged edge that you want for ribbing. To me, JSSCO is just like longtail CO except that you're using only one strand of yarn. It's simply a single CO version of longtail! In longtail CO, you're drawing a second strand of yarn (from the index finger) through the thumbloop; whereas on JSSCO, you're drawing the thumbloop yarn itself through the thumbloop: a series of continuous slipknots. Cool! Hey, if Cat Bordhi gushes over something, it must be cool, right?! As a sidenote when speaking of toe-up socks (i.e., closed toe CO, Cat Bordhi says in the article on Knitty: "Judy's Magic Cast-On and Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off are real soulmates."

In non-knitting news, I'm still doing Babbel in italiano, learning how to do the 3x3x3 Rubik's cube faster (see this site, noting that I do the top layer using Steps 4, 5, and 6 of this separate method) and yet still intuitively, and reading (re-reading actually) Twilight. On the last topic, I'm re-reading to differentiate between the book and the movie better. BTW, at a high school marching band contest yesterday afternoon, I heard a band do music from Twilight. It was Bella's Lullaby I believe. Anyway, I'm not looking forward as much to reading New Moon since that's all about Jacob.

BL Starts Tonight! and Restarted My Socks

2009-09-15T14:44:00.003-05:00

Season 8 of The Biggest Loser begins tonight at 8:00! I'm excited because the previews look really good. There are always changes and sometimes new themes from season to season. This season focuses on second chances. Sounds like nothing new considering that's what the show is all about, but this season looks really positive. A former contestant returns and there's a contestant there who lost her husband and two kids in a car accident. It looks like the entire group meets together to introduce themselves, and they train with both Bob and Jillian rather than against each other in two separate teams. Can't wait to see it all start tonight!

On the knitting front, I've frogged and restarted Jared's lattice stitch socks since last posting. The unevenness of the stitch pattern from switching back and forth between knitting styles, and forgetting and not being able to see where I was (hello: black yarn) which resulted in errors caused me to start over. In starting over, I discovered that I'd gotten better at casting on 2aat cuff down. Knitting in one style, Continental Combined, has worked well with the purl stitches of the lattice stitch pattern. Something else I changed was to alternate Longtail CO with German Twisted CO (for the purls in my 1x1 rib). The CO edge looks entirely like longtail but will have some extra stretch from the hidden German Twisted CO stitches.

I have to mention the specifics on how I CO 2aat magic loop if it helps anyone else having trouble. I do the method where you CO all of Sock 2 followed by half of Sock 1, then the second half of Sock 1. Instead of pulling out the loop right away after CO all of Sock 2, I wait until I actually get to that sock on the 1st round so that I don't have to stress out over stitches twisting. After transferring Sock 1's stitches to the other side and facing the front side of those transferred stitches and holding the tail and working yarn, I turn the work around so that my left hand is ready to CO the second half of Sock 1 onto the same needle that holds Sock 2's CO stitches. The reason I CO Sock 2 first is so that when I turn my work around to begin the first round, my two working yarn strands coming from my single Ziploc bag aren't twisted in the home/starting position. Waiting to pull the loop out and knowing how to twist the tail and working yarn to CO the second half of Sock 1 made a BIG difference for me (less stress!). The same two principles could be applied to the other method where you CO half of Sock 1 first, CO all of Sock 2, and then finish CO the second half of Sock 1. I'm now seeing the appeal of why knitters might want to CO all stitches for both socks at once and pull out the loop for both so that your home position is in middle between the two socks. :-) You could hold off on pulling out the loop on Sock 2 with this method until you get to that sock on the first round.

Speaking of CO magic loop 2aat, I also read something I want to try for toe-up socks. Toe-up 2aat CO is super easy, but the increases at the beginning of side 2 for magic loopers can look crappy because of the cable separation. Some Ravelers suggested working each toe separately until the toe increases are done, then put both socks on the same needle. Sounds good to me! I'm going to do that on my next pair of toe-ups.

I also wanted to blog about a recent park visit but will wait until next time since this post is already long enough!

100% Bamboo?

2009-09-10T21:49:00.005-05:00

Recently I read a thread on Ravelry that was very interesting, especially since I just bought a bamboo blend yarn. The Ravelry thread references a recent FTC Consumer Alert on the fiber content labeling practices of companies who sell clothing, linens, or other textile products. Here's the FTC Business Alert concerning bamboo labeling. These alerts were preceded by the FTC charging four companies with deceptive product labeling and advertising concerning bamboo. As of August 2009, all fabric labels now have to say something like "rayon from bamboo" or "bamboo rayon" rather than just "bamboo" since the majority of bamboo fabric is actually rayon. Also, proof (via testing) must be shown for products labeled as "bamboo" or those claiming to be derived from bamboo.

So what's all the hubbub about? Truth in labeling and possibly misleading "green" claims. Up until the FTC blew the whistle on the four companies, many products labeled as bamboo were in fact rayon derived from bamboo. Is rayon derived from bamboo still considered bamboo? No. Let me quote the FTC: Even when bamboo is the “plant source” used to create rayon, no traits of the original plant are left in the finished product. So, not only could companies sell rayon labeled misleadingly as bamboo. They could also get away with labeling products as bamboo rayon even if they were produced from cellulose resources other than bamboo. Their thinking? If there are no traces of bamboo left in the end product, why not use a cheaper cellulose source? With all the attractive qualities naturally inherent in bamboo, people might want to know if they're in fact buying bamboo or be certain that their bamboo rayon is actually derived from bamboo.

I'm no expert in the least. But from the little I've gleaned, bamboo can be processed mechanically or chemically. One process method that qualifies a fabric to be labeled as bamboo is mechanically crushing the woody parts and retting it with natural enzymes. Since this is the same process that's used for linen, sometimes the resulting fabric is called bamboo linen (or bamboo litrax). Chemical manufacturing processes and technologies other than the viscose process (to make rayon) are appearing which are more eco-friendly (e.g., the lyocell process, the process used to make TENCEL, can be used on bamboo cellulose) and are trying to retain bamboo's natural properties. See here and here for more information on how bamboo fabric is processed.

Truth in labeling and advertising. Are you getting what you think you're paying for? BTW, my bamboo blend yarn is labeled "rayon from bamboo." However, the website lists it simply as bamboo. The yarn is Spa by naturallycaron.com. Well, at least the yarn label is accurate. I found all this bamboo brouhaha interesting since it relates to yarn. I love my Regia Bamboo Jaywalker socks! I've also used SWTC Bamboo which is listed as 100% bamboo, and I have to say that I believe the label because it has a slightly scratchy, linen-like feel to it compared to some other bamboo yarns to which I've been exposed.

Verde: A Final Pic and Lattice Stitch Socks CO

2009-09-09T00:03:00.001-05:00

Though it's been finished for weeks now, I finally braided the drawstring cord for my Verde string bag. I think it looks complete now so I thought I'd include a pic here, especially since it contains some new yarn in it (can you see it?)! On Labor Day, I used a gift card at JoAnns to buy some Country and Spa yarn (both by Caron) and some Serenity Sport Weight yarn ( a Deborah Norville line by Premier Yarns). The gears are turning inside my head as I plan exactly how I want to make Marie and Ian hoodies and Ian a pair of soft pajama pants. I browsed patterns on Ravelry last night to help steer me toward which features I want to include in my knits. At the moment, I definitely know that their hoodies will be pullovers, not cardigans. Everytime I make them a cardigan, it almost looks too fancy to wear at the playground. So this time I want a sweatshirt-style hoodie. Oh, and I do want to have either a handwarmer unipocket or two separate pockets on the front for their hands. Stitch patterns, cuff, hem, and neckline details are still on the drawing board for now... Eventually, I'd love to learn how to line my knits, especially hoodies and bags. Wouldn't that be nice to have a fully lined hoodie for chilly fall days or, at the very least, lined pockets for your hoodie?

Originally, I did a very nice tubular CO for Jared's Lattice Stitch Socks. Since you can really see the green and blue jewel tones, I decided to keep this picture. The second socks picture is the newly re-done German Twisted CO. Since that picture, I've finished 1.5" of ribbing and started the lattice stitch leg pattern. My borrowed audiobook of Pride and Prejudice is due tomorrow at the library, so I've been listening to the last of the CDs at night while knitting these socks :-) I'm so glad that I originally read P & P nearly last of all the Austen books because it's so superior to the others. That's saying a lot, too, because the other books are excellent. Each Austen book has a certain draw to it from the storyline. P & P has the best combined qualities of all the other books. ...In my opinion, of course.

While out shopping for yarn, I also went clothes and shoe shopping. Target had a bunch of stuff on clearance, so I grabbed some things for Marie and Ian. At Kohl's I found some Avia trail running shoes that are very comfortable and sturdy and some casual short sleeve tops that were on sale. My old running shoes were cold in the winter here because they only had thin see-through mesh on the toe area. These new shoes are all-season, so yay! Now that I'm equipped with the right shoes, maybe I'll finally make it through the winter here, running, for the first in a long, long time (college maybe, definitely high school). Winters were so mild in Raleigh that I've been a wimp each winter since moving back to Ohio.

Marie starts preschool tomorrow! It's hard to believe that from now on, she'll be in school most of the year. It's only 2.5 hours 3 days a week, but still... wow!

Lullaby Socks FO

2009-09-05T23:39:00.004-05:00

Pattern: MSKS Vertical Lace w/Twisted Ribbing
Yarn: Stroll Hand Painted in Lullaby colorway
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) KP Options fixed circs
Notes: Frilled CO 120 sts. Decreased down to 60 sts in ribbing pattern on 1st rnd. Garter-edged slip stitch heel. Standard toe (I think? The directions seemed slightly different to me.).

I love these socks! I actually stalled my knitting of them at times to delay their being finished. The yarn's colorway is beautiful, and the socks are very cozy :-) Next up are socks for Jared. He picked out the stitch pattern and the colorway of KP Stroll (midnight heather: black with jewel tones of green and blue).

After exactly one week off from mildly spraining my left ankle, I went running tonight. Marie wanted to go, too, so we took the jogging stroller. A good run! This afternoon we went to a cookout over in Hilliard where we had really yummy food. North Carolina was brought to mind with the pulled pork and corn casserole. Friday morning we went to the zoo with Karen, Brandy, and kids. The red panda (visible for once) and tiger (being fed!) were especially fun to see.

Green River Ordinance: Live @ The Basement

2009-09-02T22:56:00.006-05:00

Oh my, what a fun night out! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening. It's been quite a while since I've gone out with friends and felt giddy and carefree. Last night was perfect because it was just me and my good friend Ronnelle going to see Green River Ordinance, my new favorite band.

We got to The Basement early enough to chill and have drinks, catching up on anything and everything while sitting on one of the many couches aligning the right wall. For the first time in a long time (years) I ordered a couple of drinks at the bar without having to worry about anything else at that moment. After a second drink (I actually got a beer for my second drink, if you can believe that), Ronnelle and I grabbed a spot along the upper railing at stage right. The Basement is a very intimate venue, so you can stand pretty close to the band. GRO started about 8:00 and played for about an hour, ending with their current hit single Come On. When they played my favorite tune Endlessly (click here for that performance) halfway through their set, I sang along softly and took it all in that I was listening to them live 15 feet in front of me and not on YouTube. So cool!

After GRO finished playing, we lined up for autographs and to purchase their CD. I got both the lead singer (Josh Jenkins) and one of the guitarist's (Jamey Ice) autographs on a poster. (Thank goodness for Sharpie markers because Ian later spilled water on my poster. >:-s) I also got a free promotional CD on which is an acoustic version of a song I really like called Piece It Together. Later after the line died down, Ronnelle and I went up to the lead singer so that Ronnelle could snap a picture of us with her phone. Neither of our phones have a flash, so what you see in the above pic is what you get. Editing could only do so much. Looking at that picture now, it makes me laugh because it looks like I'm leaning away from Josh. Ha, silly girl! It's just a picture.

Yesterday afternoon before the concert, I had emailed 107.9 (radio) to say that I liked Green River Ordinance and to please keep playing their music. Well, after getting home last night, I noticed that I'd received a response from the station operations manager who said that if I got his email in time and called, I could come to the station to watch GRO's interview and performance which, btw, played today around 1:00 PM. I would say "Darn, I missed it," but... Here's the podcast and photos!

Every day I have fun doing all sorts of things on a small scale. But I realized after last night that I need to get out more often. Not a lot, but just enough to allow myself to be giddy and carefree on occasion and remember what it's like to be me, Jackie, regardless of age, kids, or whatever. Here's a pic, which you'll probably recognize as my new avatar. Don't I look happy about my impending girls night out?!
Quick Knitting News:
I got my Knit Picks order of sock yarn in the mail today :-) Midnight Heather and Tidepool Heather Stroll. Yay!

Socks, Ankle Scare, and GRO Concert

2009-08-31T12:32:00.003-05:00

My Lullaby socks are on the final stretch. So... I'm already thinking about ordering some more sock yarn, especially since I'm planning to make Jared some socks, too. He, of course, likes black and dark blue :-\ Good thing I'm getting some practice right now with dark sock yarn!

Friday night I almost sprained my left ankle, which would've been the third time. After getting up from the couch (knitting), I didn't realize that my left foot was asleep enough to make it vulnerable while walking. All I did was walk from the living room to the bedroom where I then lost my balance on my left foot. Luckily, I caught myself before putting my full weight on it. I only felt a slight pop and didn't notice any immediate pain or swelling. Saturday evening, I still went running and it felt pretty much OK, although I treated it cautiously and went running earlier than usual. Yesterday afternoon, I took Marie and Ian to the zoo where I walked around for a few hours. Today, however, I do notice some slight swelling and faint bruising. Darn! It's my running day, too. So, I guess it's time for RICE instead.

During this short post, I've had to get up to change a poopy diaper, change a DVD twice, get a box of crayons and markers, make some chocolate milk, move something out of reach, and have Ian beg that I share my lunch with him even though he already ate. So you can understand how excited I must feel to get out with a friend tomorrow night for a girls night out! We're going to a concert at The Basement to see Green River Ordinance and NEEDTOBREATH : featuring Griffin House. I've never heard of NEEDTOBREATHE or Griffin House. I'm just going because I want to see GRO! GRO opened for David Cook a few weeks ago, and I'm glad that they're back in Columbus so soon.

Can You See Any Purple?

2009-08-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight while sitting out back before sunset, I took these pictures in the hopes that I could capture better the purple hues in my sock yarn. Not quite sure if I succeeded... But, at least you can perhaps see better the lace pattern I'm knitting. It's a 5-st vertical alternating lace with twisted rib. How long do you, those who regularly knit socks, knit your sock legs? I'm thinking of knitting this one about 6" maybe? Almost mid-calf is my goal. This has been such a fun knit, all because of the combination of yarn and pattern. I've got the simple 4-rnd pattern memorized and therefore can enjoy it from here on out. Love it!

I meant to mention on my last post that I've been listening to my first audiobook. I checked out Pride and Prejudice (thank you so much knit night ladies for planting the seed) and have been listening to it at night while knitting or surfing the net when everyone else has gone to bed. It's more enjoyable than I thought, listening to a book being read. Next, maybe I'll see if the library has the Jim Dale audiobooks for the Harry Potter series :-)

Outdoor Fun and Finished Socks

2009-08-25T13:45:00.006-05:00

Oh, thank goodness. My strawberry latte anklets are finally done! Here they are:
Pattern: Simple Toe Up Anklets (Rav link) by Rachel Calado
Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted fingering yarn in Strawberry Latte colorway; Regia Bamboo
Needles: US 0 KP Options fixed circulars
Notes: I substituted a Sherman heel and reduced the length of the ribbing. Instead of doing 2x2 rib, I used 1x1 twisted rib. For my BO, I used EZ's sewn BO worked on the WS. Gosh, it's been so long since I did the toes, I might've changed the short-row method on those, too -- can't remember, other than that I used the Magic CO as my provisional CO.

So now I'm down to two projects OTN: Wright and Lullaby Socks. Knowing me, I'll get the itch to add a new WIP! I'm already thinking of making a sweater for Marie and Ian's Winnie-the-Pooh bear. Also, I love making pajama pants for Ian. ...and both of them will need a cardi and/or pullover hoodie for the fall ;-)

Speaking of fall, that's what it felt like on Sunday! I took Marie out very near where I grew up to walk and play at Prairie Oaks on Big Darby Creek. Before ending our visit at the play area on the west side of the creek, we walked the greenway trail from the east side to the pedestrian bridge. As we approached the bridge, we had to let a long line of people on horseback go first. Marie had a hard time budging me from my viewpoint on the bridge as I gazed at the winding creek. During our visit, we listened to the loud chorus of insects that are much amplified when visiting prairie or woods. I love that sound in late summer and early fall! The flowers and tall prairie grasses are so beautiful this time of year.

Yesterday evening, we went to the OSU football team practice at the stadium. As we walked along the Olentangy from the Lane Avenue bridge toward the stadium, we counted 6 blue herons fishing in the river. I love those birds! We had 4 resident blue herons at Lake Lynn in Raleigh, a 5-minute walk from our home. Every time I went running there, I'd look for those herons as I crossed all the many bridges that edged the lake. I'm so glad that herons live here, too. Marie, Ian, and I saw a huge blue heron at the zoo recently. It was standing in front of the lake as we headed toward the pedestrian tunnel. I've also seen a heron at an inlet of the Scioto while heading to the zoo on Riverside Drive. I think that a visit to Pickerington Ponds may be in our future!

Started My Lullaby Socks

2009-08-22T17:31:00.005-05:00

It took several attempts and froggings, but I finally got my Lullaby Socks cast on Friday afternoon. For me, casting on two-at-a-time cuff down literally gives me a headache. When I'm concentrating on knitting one sock's CO sts, the other sock's CO sts get twisted. Once they're twisted, I have a hard time righting the stitches since I'm not able to tell whether I've fixed the twist or not, or whether it just happens to be loose between CO sts. When my head began to pound Thursday night from my casting on attempts, I decided to put off casting on again until the next day. Friday afternoon, I decided to try the Frilled CO mentioned in MSKS. Somehow I managed to keep all those stitches from twisting -- yay! Since taking the above pictures, I've completed 16 rnds of the lace pattern on the legs with 10 rnds of ribbing in the suggested rib pattern (P1, K2, P1, K1-b).

In other news, a friend's mom passed away this past week after a 2.5-year battle with cancer. Her name was Alice and she was 72. My friend is the youngest of her 10 children. Alice and her husband Robert had married in 1959 and lived on their farm for nearly 50 years. They recently had moved to Delaware to be closer to family. I feel bad for my friend because one of her sisters died from cancer back in 2004.

Tubey Tank Done

2009-08-20T13:40:00.001-05:00

Here's my lastest use of scrap yarn: Tubey Tank. Luckily it turned out overly long as planned so that Marie can wear it next summer, too. I finished it while watching Pride and Prejudice which happened to be on TV last night :-)
Pattern: none
Yarn: various scraps of dk cotten blends
Needles: US 6 16" circs
Details are on my project page on Ravelry, but basically this is just a 3x1 rib tube top with a drawstring closure. The color changes are at the beginning of the round which I placed at the left side. I really enjoyed knitting this entire tube top in Continental Combined! It's not often that my entire project is ribbing. The last time I did a full project in CC was my Marine Tubey sweater and before that my Central Park Hoodie where there were columns of purl between cables and ribbing. It really does make all the difference in the world in evenly matching purls with knits and helping avoid the forearm fatigue from throwing (or the finger fatigue from flicking, if you knit Continental) the yarn on all those purls. It sure was nice to lazily pick both the knits and the purls, mirroring each other exactly in movement. Can we say, "Ohmmmmmm." Oh BTW, doesn't Marie look like she's wearing a big girly tube sock?!

Luckily, Marie actually likes this top (compared to the white halter tank I just made her). She says that she'll wear it. Whew... Good thing because I think it's cute. I like the colors, and I know it's comfortable on her. Until I finish Wright for myself, I'm going to not let myself CO for any more kid projects. ...which reminds me...

Good news: I'm down to just two (although soon to be three) WIPs! Wright and some Claudia Handpainted anklets. I'm frogging some sportweight socks today to make my KP US 1 fixed circs available to knit my first pair of MSKS socks in KP Stroll Hand-Painted Lullaby yarn (see previous post for pics). I still have a cell phone cozy on my US 1 dpns, but it's hibernating for now.

A Tracy Flick Moment and Yarn-y Loveliness

2009-08-17T17:01:00.006-05:00

For those familiar with Reese Witherspoon's character Tracy Flick from the movie Election, you'll understand what I mean when I say that my husband had a Tracy Flick moment. I'd gotten tired of cleaning all the toys off the living room floor and decided to give up doing it until someone else wanted to lend a hand. That was weeks ago... Thursday night when I came home from my weekly knit night, the living room floor was clean. I guess hubby stepped on a sharp-edged toy and heard tribal voices inside his head, hence the Tracy Flick moment. :-D (Actually, you could also say a Rachel Barry moment, too, but you get my point.) He proceeded to have my daughter help him put away the toys. Ahhh... yes (sigh). BTW, the floor still looks good four days later -- wooHOO!

Note: Skip to end of post for pics of yarn-y loveliness if desired ;-)

Friday was our 10th anniversary. We took the kids to the zoo and enjoyed the afternoon. Then we all came home and had some Donatos pizza. Marie got hot at the zoo and asked if she could wear the Dream Swatch headband I recently knitted while walking to the car. So that's what she's wearing in this pic.

Since last posting, I celebrated my birthday. We went to see David Cook that evening which was fun because it had been a while since I'd gone to a concert. I loved the opening band Green River Ordinance, as many of you already know ;-) When I went to last week's knit night, I received a very nice present from my knitting bud Kristie: a signed copy of More Sensational Knitted Socks!! I've been wanting that book forEVER, and she surprised me with it. Kristie got it signed by Charlene Schurch at Sock Summit which we all got to hear fun stories about, not to mention fondling all the lovely haul of yarn-y goodness she brought back with her. Kristie didn't have a class with Barbara Walker, but she got to speak to her at an impromptu moment during the summit. She also had a class with Jess and Mary-Heather from Ravelry. Lucky woman! Nearly all, if not all, known knitting designers were at that event. How awesome it must've been to be there in the midst of knitting greats and enthusiasts!

Speaking of Barbara Walker and luck, that made me think of the really cool article I recently read in the Fall 2009 issue of Twist Collective. If you have time to read it, it's worth it (as is viewing all the nice fall patterns -- I like so many, I can't narrow them down yet to my favorites!). Elizabeth Zimmermann's goddaughter Joan Smith walks into a knitting shop. She introduces herself and asks to have a sweater EZ knitted her decades ago repaired. Besides the story, what's also interesting is the EZ sweater design because there are none like it in all of EZ's books. Next up to read, time willing, is the accompanying Twist Collective article "The Tale of the Green Sweater" written by Joan Smith.

Pattern: a modified Katja.
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby (yes, I still have some)
Needles: US 5 KP Options 24"
Notes: This summer halter tank is written for up to 24 mths. I sized it up to a 5T with a 24" chest circumference. I knit the tank seamlessly ITR, added a garter stitch division, and then added some 12-st feather-and-fan lace after a plain stockinette portion. So, I guess you could say this was a Katja-inspired tank for my daughter. She didn't like it at first, but warmed up a little to it when she noticed that Cinderella wears white... Maybe she'll warm up to it more next year -- that's what I'm hoping since I made it big enough for her to grow into.

Last, but not least: YARN-Y LOVELINESS!! This skein of beautiful sock yarn from Knit Picks arrived in today's mail. Squee! (Did I really just use that word?!) It's the Lullaby colorway of the new Stroll Hand-Painted. As with my photos and those on Ravelry, the violet shades don't show up as well. There is a good deal of violet in this yarn, about a 50/50 mix. It could be this dye lot, but I think it's just hard to capture on film. I love it all the same! This afternoon, I browsed FOs of all available MSKS patterns on Ravelry and made a list of contenders. (A little voice inside me is also pleading, "make Hedera or another Pomatomas." But I will not stray!) Next I plan on reading the book between now and Thursday's knit night, hoping to wind my skein into a ball while there (please, please Julane!). I wonder if I could get away with separating the skein into two balls using a scale (crosses fingers hopefully)...

Oh yeah, one more thing: it's really, really muggy outside tonight. How do I know? I went running around 8:00 PM. Though I've missed a couple of times for whatever reasons, I've been running since August 1. Tonight was a challenge, not only due to mugginess which I'm used to after living/running in Raleigh for 8 years, but also because all my running intervals ended uphill! Yeegads, that was tough. But, it felt good: I felt every last bronchiole (and their respective alveoli) of my lungs functioning and blood coursing through every last capillary. At the end of my run, I finished with walking lunges up the driveway and a set of lateral squats. I've worked up to 5 minutes of running at a time with short walking intervals in between. So, I'm running more than half the time. Once I make it 5 or 6 weeks in, I should be fine. I probably won't be running the entire time at 5-6 weeks, but my body will feel more up to the task at least and the habit of running will be developed.

Getting Things Done

2009-08-06T13:48:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was all about cleaning up the kitchen and catching up on laundry. With two kids, it's easy to let things slide, especially in the summer when there are places to go and things to do. My return to running and working out seems to be what spurred this cleaning stint. Normally, I sit a lot throughout the day. But after shocking my metabolism by exercising for the last week, my body has been in recovery/adapt mode. I feel like I need to do something at times rather than sit... similar to the need to knit or do sudoku while watching TV to keep my hands and brain from being idle.

My goal is to run 3 times per week with off days of working out to my Cardio Max and Power Sculpt dvds (The Biggest Loser). When I alternated these two things last spring, my legs looked the best they ever have even though I didn't quite get down to my goal weight range at the time. The endurance built by running and the strength and power built through all those lunges and other aerocircuit moves are a good combination. Just yesterday, I was reading that the best way to maximize weight loss is to alternate two types of cardio (and be sure to include strength training, of course). That's exactly what I was doing last year, and it worked. Actually, I've been able to lose weight with just running. But by including workout dvds that combine cardio and strength training, I'm able to sculpt and tone my legs in a way that running isn't capable of on its own. Plus I like getting my upper body more muscular along with my legs so that I look more balanced.

My first time back running was last Saturday, and I followed that up with a run on Monday. The first run didn't make me that sore, but the second one sure did! Even my feet hurt (from all the extra weight I'm guessing). The first time I ran with my daughter in my jogging stroller, and the second time I didn't. Maybe I pushed myself hard to compensate for not having the stroller? My time on the second run was 36 minutes with 19 of that running. It felt so nice to be outdoors, alone with my thoughts and challenging myself. At the close of each run, I did some walking lunges up the driveway followed by stretching. I should've run or worked out yesterday.
But, after standing on my feet all day cleaning, I decided to postpone until tonight after knit night. Then tomorrow I'll run.

Now that I'm done with the Dream Swatch headband, I thought I should CO for an upsized girl version of Katya (a baby girl tank). I've already made the cups and straps and have joined in the round. The pattern is now tucked away while I knit rounds and rounds of stockinette with some possible rounds of purl/garter.

Dream Swatch Headband FO

2009-08-03T15:01:00.005-05:00

Pattern: Dream Swatch Head Wrap by Wendy Bernard.
Yarn: Knit Picks Essentials Multi in Confetti, 1 skein divided and held double
Needles: US 5 KP Options

Notes: I only did 2 pattern repeats and CO 2 extra sts on each end (14 sts total). I ran out of yarn before the headband became long enough to use as a wrap. So, I sewed on a button with my last bit of yarn to use with the holes that fall naturally in the center of the headband (between pattern repeats). Since there are a series of holes, the headband is adjustable.

Now that I've made this, I might at some point have to make Calorimetry for when the weather gets colder. I have a blue fleece running headband, but it's not for extreme temperatures unless it's worn under a hat. I'd also like to make a beret or some other slouchy hats this fall/winter...

This weekend I made more flax seed hair gel (FSG). For the first time, I added some rosemary and oregano per a recipe variation. The rosemary smelled wonderful and mixed well with the lavender EO I added later on. However, my next batch will probably not have any herbs in it (or, maybe only the tiniest pinch of rosemary) because I like the lavender on its own. Many people add a variety of things to their FSG, but I like it very simple. The only extra ingredients I might add, other than the EO, are honey and aloe vera gel. This stuff works so well under regular storebrand gel. If it were strong and heavy enough, I'd wear it alone. But, it's too lightweight for my hair (like the weight of a mousse) unless I put in several handfuls. Anyway, I thought I'd share a pic of what the FSG looked like cooking on the stove. The whole process of making FSG only takes 10 minutes, 6 of which are for boiling. What a cheap and fast way to make an expensive storebought gel!

And finally, recent pictures of the kiddos:

Fall IK and fall previews; Return to running?

2009-08-01T22:26:00.003-05:00

I got my Fall 2009 Interweave Knits in the mail today! Wow, didn't the preview just go up not too long ago? I haven't looked through it yet, but right off the bat I like the Farmer's Market Cardigan. Once I've taken the time to really scrutinize each pattern, I'll mention more patterns that I like :-)

Another knit blogger mentioned that Vogue Knitting has their fall preview up. Congrats again to Saunielle for her pattern which is in this issue (see this link for 360-degree view)! Also, Jared Flood has a very nice collection of patterns coming out for Classic Elite Yarns, Made in Brooklyn. His attention to detail is impressive as always. I've always liked his style. BTW, now that Knit Picks has City Tweed HW, I can finally make his Morningside Neckwarmer. Lastly, from looking at the Knit Simple fall preview, I'm interested again in making a moebius cowl. I want to do the moebius cast on that Cat Bordhi shows on YouTube. You work from the center outward in the round :-) If interested, here's a dissection of the different types of moebius construction...

Every time I get on Ravelry, I check to see the ever-growing stash and projects of the new Stroll Hand Painted by Knit Picks. I'm loving the Lullaby colorway -- WANT! The more I see Ravelers' stashes and WIPs, the more I'm liking Lullaby and Make Believe the best. BTW, I like how the Stroll Hand Painted is dyed like Imagination rather than Stroll Multi -- less chance for pooling.

My Dream Swatch Head Wrap is coming along nicely. I'm only doing two pattern repeats so that it's more like a headband. Also, I'm doubling the sock yarn, Knit Picks Essential Multi in Confetti leftover from making "Louie" (Lola) Bunny.

Tomorrow, the family's going to our first Clippers baseball game in the new stadium downtown. From the outside, it reminds me so much of the Durham Bulls' ballpark. Can't wait to see if the inside is the same, too! If so, it'll be classy and modern with the feel of a real baseball stadium. I love that it's downtown and in the Arena District.

Oh gosh, I almost forgot to mention that I... went running tonight! Actually, my intent was only to take a long walk. I had my daughter and the jogging stroller with me. She walked about 1/4 mile and decided to sit in the stroller for the remainder of our outing. She asked me, "Mommy, can we go faster?" I said, "OK, maybe a few sprints here and there." She liked it so much when I ran that I felt like I had to keep it up. I ran for 3-5 minute intervals, only walking long enough to catch my breath. What was strange was, despite being my heaviest ever (30 lbs overweight), I didn't feel bad at all. Normally when I haven't been running for a while, I feel pretty rundown only 10 minutes in, both my muscles and my breathing. Tonight, I felt fine. It was perplexing to me that I was easily pushing my 30-plus-lb 4-year-old and that my deltoids weren't burning too badly from the constant contraction. Well, I'm pleasantly surprised and feel the stirrings of motivation! Maybe I'll be able to enjoy running once again this summer. I need it. It's been a while since I ran regularly. January - May 2008, I trained for a 5K to shed baby weight. Though I did get back into decent shape and lost about 8 lbs, I didn't enjoy it thanks to some lingering postpartum issues. Since I didn't experience any issues on tonight's run, I'm looking forward to hopefully enjoying running as much as I did back in summer 2004 (pre-kids). That was the last time I truly loved running and was in great shape.

Lola Bunny Finished and Bequeathed A New Name

2009-07-29T23:49:00.003-05:00

Meet Louie the bunny! This little guy is already snuggling with my 22-month-old boy tonight. Yet, I managed to take a few pictures before introducing him to his owner. The yarn is Knit Picks Essential Multi in Confetti; 2 skeins held double on U5 circs, magic loop. The only mods I made to the Lola Bunny pattern were to: 1) CO provisionally via the Magic CO so that I could continue working the opposite direction without having to pick up CO stitches; and 2) omit the tail. I did make a tail and sewed it on. But it ended up looking like Louie was, how shall we say, pinching something. So sorry for the foul description and resulting mental image I just presented to you. However, now you can see why I took the trouble to carefully remove the tail asap. Anyway, here are the pics!

Lola Bunny Progress

2009-07-29T00:12:00.000-05:00

Here's the final picture of my Chinese Waves #2 dishcloth. Originally, it looked a bit ridiculous because I ran out of yarn halfway through. So, I folded it in half and sewed it closed. Much better, and I kinda like the spongy feel. I think I'm done with dishcloths for now. Although, if I feel motivated enough, I'll make some Tribble kitchen scrubbies.

I'm making good progress on Lola Bunny (see picture). I got a lot done while my daughter was away at grandma's! I'm currently working on the ears and have the bum, tail, and face after that. The face is done with embroidery floss, which I already have in my cross stitch supplies. Can't wait to see the end result -- Ian has already become interested in it and likes the colors of the yarn :-)

Sometimes when I'm checking the Ravelry forums, I stop and search for new groups that might interest me. Last night I thought I'd check to see if there was a group that speaks Italian. YES! When I went to their forum, there was an Intro thread entirely in Italian. Since it was too late, I only read the first page of posts. But, I plan on reading them all (9 pages) and adding one myself. It's cool to see a wide spectrum of skill levels from beginners to native speakers. I think I'll learn a lot. And they're talking about knitting! In addition to this new Rav group, I've favorited a couple of Italian knitting blogs and sites to check frequently, not to mention some links to real Italian recipes, all in Italian. It's a fun challenge. I'm still doing Babbel, too, where I've built up to 1085 words and 800 or 900 some phrases. For grammar, I've been reading some of my college texts. Re-learning and remembering all the different verb tenses is probably the most challenging thing for me and my 35-year-old brain. Funny, that, because in college my biggest hindrance was vocabulary which is now easy for me in comparison. Back then though, I didn't have interactive sites like Babbel to build up my vocab...

Ciao!

Verde Bag Pics

2009-07-22T14:15:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Verde
Yarn: Knit Picks CotLin, 3 skeins (glacier, kohlrabi, lantana)
Needles: US 4, 6, 10

Knitting the lace mesh part of this string bag was my favorite part. The woven stitch at the bag top wasn't too unpleasant either. The only parts I didn't enjoy doing were the bag bottom and the fabric stitch strap. In the case of the strap, the extra time and effort was necessary to create a nice sturdy, nonelastic strap. The bag bottom looks like something unmentionable. Yet, it flattens out a little bit with ironing. The decreases and my nonelastic BO at the bag top created a narrow-diameter opening.

So... after seeing Marie model Verde and get all excited, I think I might let her have it. It's small enough for her to carry around and pretend she's Ariel collecting treasures. We could also use it to carry toys on-the-go or small knitting projects. I just know that it's not possible to be used as a regular market bag unless you're getting only small items. A cereal box definitely wouldn't fit. I think the next time I make a market bag, I'm going to do a rectangular bottom and be sure that the opening isn't narrow ;-)

I've decided to fold my latest Chinese Waves dishcloth in half and sew it closed to make up for running out of yarn halfway through making it. When I get a chance, I'll do that and take a pic. Next up is finishing my summer Berroco top Bright and some other projects that have been in letargo. I might CO for Lola Bunny today, too.

Two Dishcloths Down, Possible Tribbles To Come

2009-07-21T01:08:00.001-05:00

With all the leftover Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn I have from last year's foray into dishcloths (and since it's summer), I thought I'd make some more. Having loved the Chinese Waves pattern the first time around, I just had to make another. The second dishcloth is a variation of the diagonal garter stitch DC with a textured center using skp and YOs.

FYI: If making the Chinese Waves DC, be sure to slip sts k-wise to get a holey look which includes the illusion that one "stitch" is split horizontally by two colors. In contrast to my Chinese Waves #1, I tried slipping sts p-wise this time round, and my dishcloth looked completely different and "wrong." So I frogged and started over. Go figure that a simple twist of a stitch makes such a difference. Next up: Tribbles. Great use of scrap yarn!

Tonight I listened to a few Knit Picks podcasts since I've gotten severely behind. Of course, the first podcast I listened to was the one about the new fall yarns from Knit Picks! Next I moved on to the Cookie A. interview and various snippets of other podcasts. I still need to listen to more... so behind.

On Ravelry, I saw that I have 6 WIPs... Hmm, maybe I should label some of those as hibernating? Anyway, the projects I'm actually working on now are: Bright (drape neck summer top), Verde (market bag), and soon a Lola bunny rabbit. My 2 pairs of socks and cell phone cozy have been on the back burner. I might frog the sportweight pair of socks because they're really heavy, and I'd rather use my green skein of Louet Gems on something else, truth be told. Maybe a hat? The ankle socks are suffering from second sock syndrome all due to my not making both at the same time. Hopefully, I'll get those finished in time to enjoy wearing them this summer! The cell phone cozy... dunno... My ultimate number of WIPs would be 3: one sweater/top, one pair of socks, and one kid project.

The new Knit Picks handpainted sock yarn, Stroll Hand Painted, looks awesome! I'm so happy that Knit Picks has come out with a machine washable handpainted sock yarn. What a pleasant surprise! As beautiful as Imagination is, I probably won't ever buy any more specifically to make socks since it's alpaca (I love alpaca, but not with socks), not machine washable, and felts very easily. The colorways of the new yarn are really, really cool!

We went to the zoo today -- always enjoyable. There was a 2-week-old orange-colored baby silver langur. Just as a zoo keeper was explaining that the female holding the baby wasn't the mother, another female came over and took the baby into her arms. Supposedly, all the females were passing the baby around. The kids and I decided to take the boat ride through The Islands, and surprisingly Marie was allowed to sit by herself in front of Ian and me. Both of them really love being at the zoo.

Low humidity=good hair day; Sara Bareilles' song Gravity

2009-07-13T22:26:00.004-05:00

I just checked the current local humidity and dewpoint at 11:29 PM: 52 and 49, respectively... Meanwhile in Raleigh, NC (my former locale): 84 and 66. I actually got cold while outside with Marie before sunset. It's amazing how different 67 in Raleigh feels compared to here! The dewpoints in Raleigh never dip below 60 during the summer. My curly hair is loving this stretch of super-low humidity and dewpoints :-) Today was one of those good hair days that comes out of nowhere. Good hair days are few and far between for us curlies, so I enjoyed it all I could even though the only outing I made was to go grocery shopping. BTW, in addition to the low humidity, I've been doing two things differently: adding honey to my leave-in and adding gel after briefly plopping (not before).

On STYTCD, there will be new pairings Wednesday. Instead of going into all of that, I'll just say that I'm curious to see what happens this week. Last week's Mia Michaels dance is still in my mind, and I've managed to watch it a couple times each day. It's addictive, pun intended.

The Sara Bareilles song Gravity, which was used in Mia's dance, is so haunting and beautiful. It was a perfect match for Mia's choreography. I thought I'd share two different videos of it here. This link will take you to the music video, and here is a video from Sara herself with just her and the piano. This isn't the first time I've been impressed by Sara Bareilles. She did a beautiful song with Ingrid Michaelson called Winter Song that I found while reading someone's MySpace page. Recently, I found out that her most popular song, which I didn't care for until now, turns out to be written in response to her record label trying to pressure material out of her: "I'm not gonna write you a love song cause you asked for one, cause you need one..."

Last, but not least: I CAN TRILL/ROLL MY R'S COMPLETELY NOW. Not especially exciting to everyone else, but it is to me! It was only a few weeks ago that I finally figured out how to roll my double R's for speaking Italian. Then two or three nights ago, I had another mini breakthrough and could finally trill for several seconds without much effort or thought. Woohoo! I've been driving everyone in my household batty with my trilling. It's funny I never learned how to do this while playing the flute. But then again, I didn't need to because I was taught to use just my diaphragm to do flutter tongue (different from double or triple tonguing), kinda like lightly laughing super, super fast. It's like whistling, but to demarcate the notes you use your diaphragm muscle and not your tongue. Well... I can now cross off rolling my R's from my list of impossible feats. Yay!

Sheldon #2 Finished

2009-07-10T15:52:00.006-05:00

Pattern: Sheldon
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport, green apple and sky (1 skein each)
Needles: US2 circs and US3 DPNs

Comments: For my second Sheldon, I tried improving upon little things here and there. The most prominent improvement is the applied i-cord around the shell. If you look at the picture above that shows both Sheldon profiles, you can see the difference. All I did was insert a YO before the PU & K a stitch through the shell and attachment panel. Then when you go to pass the slipped stitch over, you also pass over the YO at the same time. The YO acts like a connector and hides any blips of contrasting color. On my first Sheldon, you can see blips of purple yarn peeking through my green i-cord. Here's the tutorial from which I learned this technique. It's one of those techniques that gets long stowed away after bookmarking and then finally gets used for something. I highly recommend it, and will probably suggest it in the Sheldon forum.

Marie is not wanting her brother to have this second Sheldon. She actually was crying about it because she wants her Sheldon to "have a friend." Uh huh, right. She's jealous and still needs to learn that not everything is hers. Right now, Ian's Sheldon is next to him in his bed to greet him when he wakes from his nap. Did I mention that he calls Marie's Sheldon "C-Pa"? I bet that's what he'll say when he notices his new turtle :-)

2009-07-09T15:20:00.003-05:00

I should be knitting right now! Oh well... I'll be getting my knit on at knit night anyway ;-)
Sheldon#2 is nearly finished, as well as my string bag.

Last night's SYTYCD was awesome. There were some standout dances and standout individuals. My favorite two dances of the night were Kayla and Kupono's "Addiction" dance and Janette and Brandon's pop jazz "Jewel Thieves." Kupono played his malevolent role of addiction very well, and I got chills when he smirked as Kayla, playing the addict, struggled to escape his grasp. Very powerful, memorable piece. Like last week's vampire dance with Sonya, I was mesmerized. They make a great pair. Janette and Brandon's combination of technique, fun, and chemistry with Wade Robson's choreography made their dance extremely fun to watch. I thought Janette looked like Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka the way she wore her hair and hat. Jeanine really shined during the jive she danced with Phillip. I can't wait to see who they partner her with next week. Speaking of which... I think the pairs should be:

Brandon and Jeanine/Kayla
Ade and Kayla/Janette
Kupono and Melissa/Jeanine
Jason and Janette/Melissa
Phillip/Randi

That's assuming Evan and Caitlyn go home. If Evan stays, then I'd pair him with... Jeanine, I guess. Whoever gets Evan is very unlucky.

An Interesting Cover To Share

2009-07-03T18:03:00.003-05:00

Interesting, seeing a guy sing Lady GaGa's Poker Face O_o Kinda like it! But then again, I've always liked Chris Daughtry.

Sheldon Snapshots

2009-07-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

Since I needed to take a picture of Marie holding her new Sheldon, I decided to take a few shots of my Sheldon#2 in progress. I've already finished stuffing the body of Sheldon#2, so this time around is definitely going faster. It's funny, too, how much easier it is. I'm finding that this Sheldon's stitching is turning out much nicer since I know what to expect. I've got Sheldon fever! This little guy is fun! I'm looking forward to also making Ian a bunny rabbit (Lola Bunny) out of sock yarn. You could say I'm liking this whole "knitted stuffed animal" business.

SYTYCD was interesting this week since almost everyone had to dance their genre. My favorites this week were Janette/Brandon, Kayla/Kupono, Melissa/Ade, and Karla/Vitolio with an honorable mention to Jeanine/Phillip (only because Jeanine has been impressive each week despite her partner). Though I like Randi/Evan, their dance bored me this week. Caitlin/Jason will be on the chopping block this week I think, unless the numerous positive comments about Karla/Vitolio have been misleading. Can't wait to see if the MJ tribute works out!

Tonight is Knit Night --YAY!!!!!!

Before and After Pics

2009-07-01T18:46:00.004-05:00

This is one of those times when the before picture is better than the after one (IMO). Today, I got my hair cut the Deva method (a method in which your hair is cut dry, curl by curl), and here are pictures for your perusal. The last picture is the after picture with the original styling products in my hair. I think it'll take me a week or so to see how I like this cut using my own conditioning and styling products. The Deva products seemed to dry out and frizz-ify my hair, which surprised me.

For those familiar with Deva products, my stylist used the low-poo shampoo and One Conditioner (wonderfully scented btw!). Then she put the heavier of the two gels in my hair. After drying under the hair bonnet (or whatever you call those thing-ys), she diffused it the rest of the way. Despite the appearance of my hair in the after/2nd pic, it looked halfway decent when I left the salon. It's after it completely dried that it got super frizzy and dry, and my head began to itch slightly.

My stylist Maria was very nice, and we talked CG stuff the whole time. She knows her stuff and practices what she teaches. She really enjoys cutting curly hair. She did one whole side and stopped to compare it to the other side, which was neat.

After picking the kids up from my mom's and returning home, I rinsed my hair in the tub, then CO-rinsed and styled it with my flax seed/LA Looks gel combo. My hair (and head ftm) feel and look better now. My head doesn't itch anymore, and my hair is softer although not as soft as it was before my haircut.

Sheldon#1 D-O-N-E, Waiting To Meet 4yo Owner

2009-06-30T00:10:00.006-05:00

Sheldon is sitting on Marie's pillow, waiting to surprise her when she wakes! Can't wait to see hear what she says tomorrow morning! I finished the shell yesterday and did the rest today. Now I better get started on Ian's turtle right away since he'll be super jealous and want Marie to share her new Sheldon with him.

Since I now have the experience of making one Sheldon, I'm looking forward to knowing what to do the 2nd time around. On Ravelry and at knit night, it was pointed out to not understuff Sheldon, especially at the neck which can get limp over time and wear. Agreed, however... I think I went TOO far in the opposite direction because my 1st Sheldon's body is quite plumply stuffed! I could barely fit him into his shell (a scary moment, I must say!), even though I'd only very lightly stuffed that piece. In fact, it was necessary to sew his limbs on with the shell on. That turned out to be helpful because I was able to place them correctly. His shell will not be removeable unless he drastically reduces in bulk after washing/drying. Luckily, I don't think this matters much because I don't plan on making any Sheldon costumes in the foreseeable future, as cute as they are. Sheldon was a fun knit, especially as he gradually "came to life" step by step!

So, on to Sheldon#2 for Ian and back to finishing up my Verde string bag. Once I finish Verde, I'm going to return to Wright, my drape neck summer top. There are also some socks to finish.

Aha -- THAT Explains It

2009-06-26T00:38:00.003-05:00

When choosing the colors for Ian's Sheldon, which I'll make after finishing Marie's, I was drawn to choosing Green Apple and Sky Shine Sport. It felt like deja vu, and I wondered why... Now I know: there's a small turtle on the outside of my portable zip-up blanket in the same colors. Aha! Check it out:

BTW, the two skeins of Stroll Multi in Confetti are for a Lola (Rav link) bunny. It's for Ian because he loves to cuddle with a particular little "My First Easter Bunny" from last year that has seen better days. I really hope he'll like his Sheldon turtle and Lola bunny. He already talks to Marie's limbless Sheldon that I'm currently working on, so there's a good chance he'll take to his upcoming stuffed animal cuddlies :-)

By now you've noticed that, yes, I've finally ordered new yarn! About time, huh? The last time I bought new yarn was in January (I got Imagination and Felici sock yarn). Before that, the last time I purchased yarn was in November 2008 for Ian's Thorpe hat and mittens. Luckily my August 2008 gift certificate and Knit Picks Swish Worsted yarn from a giveway contest allowed me to spread out the following sweater projects: CPH, Tangled Yoke Cardigan, Amused, and Tubey. Also, you could say that I've been industrious with leftovers and the free single skeins of yarn I got by attending Knitters Connection last June (I guess that's what the $10 membership paid for, other than early registration.). My stash has dwindled nicely over the last year.

On a completely different subject than knitting, I thought I'd add this YouTube video in memory of Michael Jackson. It brings back memories from childhood when EVERYONE was trying to moonwalk! Enjoy.

Way To Go Nikki!!!!!

2009-06-24T15:31:00.003-05:00

Congrats to Nikki!!!!!!!! One of her designs was accepted for publication in Interweave Knits. I'm telling you, my former Raleigh SnB has had some talented ladies. Saunielle, a former member who has been published in several publications, is now studying in NYC. Now Nikki in IK -- how exciting! I'm very happy for her :-)

In case you're wondering where my previous post went, I deleted it. It was funny for a moment, but then I got over it. Hopefully, the Verde bag bottom will flatten out into a PG shape ;-)

...Back to trying to get someone to answer the phone at Shag Hair Studio. I'm interested in getting a Curly Girl cut from them. Maybe I'll try to stop in tonight for a consultation at the very least since no one is answering the phones or returning my voicemail (it's a small salon).

Weekend Update

2009-06-21T23:24:00.004-05:00

All that Babbel has helped me catch a few more things in Under the Tuscan Sun. This weekend I caught the movie on the WE Channel and noticed more of the building signs and non-subtitled dialogue. Example? Before Francesca (Diane Lane) walks into a building to sign for the house, the sign says "risparmio" which basically means savings. Many banks or financial institutions are generically called Cassa di Risparmio di (name of city). A few weeks ago, I did a vocab lesson on money and banking. Now I might just have to go back and watch The Godfather movies, especially Part II since there's a lot of non-subtitled Italian. Lately, I've tried to watch or listen to streamed music and TV programs broadcast from Italy.

The string bag, Verde, is coming along nicely. I've got about 2-3 inches to go before beginning the straps. Lately, I've been working more on that than Sheldon simply because I got tired of my kids pawing Sheldon, poor turtle. Out of sight, out of mind.

For Father's Day, we grilled hamburgers out back. Not the healthiest of meals, but we also had pasta salad, chips, and watermelon. After dinner, we roasted marshmellows on skewers to make smores from the dying heat of the grill. Before the sunset, I pumped up my jogging stroller tires, and we went for a short walk in the neighborhood. When we got back, I gave Ian his milk and Marie her hot chocolate after which they both took a bath.

Hair stuff? Though I've CO-washed occasionally since last Tuesday's olive oil DT (a complete and utter FAIL), I hadn't low-pooed. So, I broke out my Avalon Organics sulfate-free shampoo (Nourishing Lavender is the one I have) and went to town. Normally for styling, I use flax seed gel followed by HE Set Me Up Gel. But today, I skipped the FSG and only used some old LA Looks Sport Gel. It was super crunchy when it dried, but after SOTC it looked nice and felt light.

I keep hearing wonderful things about Loreal's CG conditioner for curly heads called Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Conditioner for "Medium to Long Hair That's Curly/Wavy." It's in a pink bottle with a blue band. The other versions (one for fine hair and one for smoothing) in that line are NOT CG, so beware. Many on naturallycurly.com swear by that stuff for their CO-rinse. Most people will CO-wash with something lighter like Suave Naturals conditioner and then do their CO-rinse and/or leave-in with the Vive Pro. It sounds like it works for a variety of curlies, but especially for people like me who have tons of hair. Supposedly, it feels like the cone-filled conditioners without actually containing any of them.

My...well, I should really say Marie's shasta daisies are still alive! They've completely adapted to the outdoors and are doing well. They sure don't grow fast, though, I must say. In other backyard news, we have some new residents in our birdhouse. At least we did for a short time. A pair of birds built a nest in the birdhouse, and I watch off and on one day as both birds guarded their abode. Unfortunately, I saw a black crow or blackbird checking out the birdhouse and haven't seen the cute pair of birds since. I'm guessing the thieving crow got the eggs. Mean crow!

ETA 6/27: Good news! I've seen the pair of birds guarding their birdhouse again.

A string bag, CG stuff, and cherry pie

2009-06-15T16:23:00.002-05:00

Knitting
I finally decided to make a bag out of the 3 differently colored skeins of CotLin I've had since the yarn debuted. Initially, I thought I'd make some washcloths, but now I've CO a Popknits pattern called Verde. Mine won't be green, obviously, and I hope I have enough yarn to complete it. The straps have a stitch pattern similar to duffle bag straps, so that will take more yarn... No pic yet, sorry :-) Tonight or tomorrow, I also plan to re-start Sheldon. I was told at knit night that my Sheldon might be too loose to stuff. So, I'm going to switch from my US 3 dpns to US 2 circs and magic loop it this time. Sheldon is a lot smaller than I anticipated. It's possible I might be able to use the small amount of leftover Grass Shine I have to make the body.

CG Stuff
Lots more conditioner works for me! I'd been having to use a lot of gel and other products to maintain my mop top. After reading a few of the 3b and higher subforums on naturallycurly.com, I decided to try a lot more conditioner as my leave-in. Before, I was using a quarter size at most; now I'm using a small handful. What's amazing is that my hair absorbs it all. Since upping my leave-in amount, I've not had to use as much gel. In fact, today I didn't even have to add a 2nd round of gel after plopping. So, I only have flax seed gel in my hair right now: not as crunchy.

In other CG news, I've been clipping when air drying and using tons of lavendar water spray (Tiffany's version that includes conditioner) as a touch up or styling aid.

Baking
I've made pie a few times in my life, despite the fact that I love cake more. But, I've never made cherry pie before until a few days ago because I typically like pies of the pudding variety. We had some fresh cherries and didn't know what to do with them. So, I found a recipe on the Food Network site that uses fresh cherries and their own juice (with cornstarch and sugar) to make the filling. It turned out wonderful. However, I've discovered that I'm not enjoying super-sugary desserts these days. It's been a while since I've had a fruit-filled pie, and I could definitely tell. It was like drinking regular soda pop. While it tastes good, at the same time you are aware of how sugary it is.

On A Much More Positive Note Than Yesterday...

2009-06-10T22:37:00.002-05:00

Here are some things I've been up to: Sheldon, Wright, daisy seedlings, and flax seed gel.

For those who've knit Sheldon, you'll get a good laugh out of this... I kept thinking I was working on the tail while I was knitting the body today. The whole time I was thinking, "This is quite a big tail, my goodness!" It wasn't until I started doing the decreases and looked more closely at the pattern that I realized that I had been working on the body. Sheldon's a lot smaller than I was expecting! Anyway, I'm on the head now. After finishing this first Sheldon with scrap yarn and working out all kinks, glitches, etc., I'll be ordering some new Shine to make Sheldons for Marie and Ian.

Finally, I have a picture to show of one side of Wright. As I've said before, I'm using recycled Knit Picks Comfy in Lilac Mist. I got a lot done on this on the wedding roadtrip to North Carolina.

Several weeks ago, I bought a cucumber seedling starter kit. Um, well... I over watered the poor little seedlings and they died. Sooooo, I bought some more starter discs (3/$1 at Target, no less) and planted some Shasta Daisies. Just yesterday, I separated and replanted the seedlings in a spare flat. They've been doing well adapting to their new home and to the outdoors. Can't wait to see them bloom!

And finally, homemade flax seed gel. I love this stuff! This is my second batch, and I think I got it right this time. We'll see how well it works because I made it thinner this time. I was trying for more egg white and less brown snot texture. If you're not familiar with flax seed gel, it's really handy for people with curly hair. It's also dirt cheap if you consider how much can be made from the basic ingredients and that the flax seeds can be reused if frozen. The recipe amounts I used were 2 c. water with 3/8 c. flax seeds (halfway between the 1/4 c. and 1/2 c. that are typically recommended). After boiling to desired consistency and then straining, I added lavendar EO and a touch of honey. Many people also add natural preservatives at this point like magnesium sulfate or grape seed extract, and they commonly also add aloe. But I didn't have those things on hand and don't mind refrigerating my gel anyway. Many recipes say to boil the seeds 10 minutes. I found that for me, it only took 5-6 minutes to get the consistency I wanted. FYI, a 2-c. recipe makes about 1 cup of gel. Since I made it thinner this time, I had a much easier time straining it :-) Yay!

I like the unique texture of flax seed gel. It's similar to egg whites, but thicker. So it's super slippery and provides great hold and shine when it dries. I made my FSG super thick last time, and it took some getting used to when applying. The thicker it is, the more you have to emulsify it in your hands before using. Any "crunch" can be eliminated by scrunching your curls upside down when they're dry. BTW, many times I'll combine my FSG with my Herbal Essences Set Me Up Gel or LA Looks Sports Gel to get the best results. When I use the FSG alone, I seem to need more than regular gel to achieve long-lasting results. This time I added honey, though, so I might be able to get away with less.

Tomorrow night's our knit night potluck! We're celebrating one year together (It's seems longer!). Good food, good company, and good times ;-)

I'm SO tired of cleaning up messes!

2009-06-08T20:35:00.002-05:00

Danger: Be warned that I'm NOT in a very good mood right now. In fact, I'm livid and this post will be a rant. Why? I'm soooooooooooooooooo sick and tired of cleaning up other people's messes! Whose messes? Kid messes, that's what.

Today pushed me right over the edge. I'm sending my daughter to bed as soon as she eats her dinner. I've had quite enough of that child. She somehow managed to get a hold of some Nestle Quik and spilled it all over the living room while I was cooking dinner. It's on the floor, furniture, and books. Where was hubby? Outside fixing the garage door. It's a disaster that will take quite a while to clean up. Guess what, that's just the icing on the cake for a day filled with messes and spills. I had her help me clean up the previous messes, but this one is just too much. I'm SO MAD. See ya tomorrow, I'm done. Time to go put the little gremlin to bed.

Hello Honey, I Think I Like You

2009-06-07T00:07:00.002-05:00

Well, the honey definitely worked. I loved the honey and olive oil DT so much that I tried adding a pea-size amount of honey to my conditioner today. Bam! I got excellent curl definition AGAIN. I feel I should note the rest of today's routine in case it interests you:
1. Avalon Organics Nourishing Lavendar shampoo (sulfate-free, my first time using it)
2. Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze Conditioner + honey
3. cold rinse, lavendar water spray, and 1-2 Tbsp CO for leave-in
4. flax seed gel + HE Set Me Up gel
5. plopped 5-10 minutes
6. more FSG
7. air dried 1 hour and then diffused upside down to about 80% dry
8. 1 tsp Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner slightly diluted
9. a little hairspray (Suave)
Later, when my hair was 100% dry, I scrunched upside down to get rid of any bit of crunch and used a slight dusting of hairspray again. It wasn't until this last step was complete that I was convinced. The honey made ALL the difference in the world! Since having kids, I haven't had this nice of curl definition. So, now I plan on adding a pea-size amount to my conditioner every time I do my CO rinse. It doesn't look greasy or wet, which is what I try to avoid; it looks shiny and clean. Yay, a happy hair day :-)

Knitting
Since this IS a knitting blog, I should probably mention some knitting-related stuff, too. I think I'm going to make some more Chinese Waves dishcloths with some leftover cotton yarn (Peaches & Cream, I think?). The reason: stress relief. Sometimes I just need something quick and relaxing to make. Since getting back from NC, I haven't gotten back into a regular knitting groove yet. No, I haven't lost my mojo or anything. It's just that I'm getting distracted by kid stuff, cleaning, and gardening. My mom and I just planted a flower garden and flower box for Marie and a box of herbs to sit on the deck railing (parsley, sage, rosemary, dill, basil, and oregano). At night, (besides Ravelry and blogging) I've been spending time re-learning more and more Italian vocab (on Babbel), re-reading my old college Italian review textbook, watching the new Tonight Show w/Conan O'Brien, and making and reading online about Curly Girl stuff. Hmm, I don't see exercise listed, do you?! Bad Jackie, bad. Just tonight I was saying to Jared what nice running weather it was.

Other Stuff
I've been watching So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD, Season 5) for my second summer. The most recent episode was fun to watch since they picked the Top 20 and had the semi-finalist guys and girls dancing to West Side Story. This show is my rebound from American Idol.

We went to the zoo yesterday (Friday) and were glad it was open until 6:00. The gibbons were particularly fun to watch because they were sitting under the cover of trees, scooping water into their mouths and onto their heads. I think I could see a tiny baby latched to its mother. For once, the flamingos weren't asleep. Marie still isn't interested in penguins or otters. The penguins I could maybe understand since they're usually not swimming. But the otters are, to me, so much fun! We completely skipped the east side of the zoo. So next time, we'll be starting there. One of these days, we'll aim to get there for the baby elephant viewing at lunchtime.

Ian has been talking on Marie's Cinderella cell phone lately. He absolutely loves that thing. The only thing he loves more is his bunny (and maybe his baby blankie that I made him). Marie knows how to open up Internet Explorer from the desktop and go to her favorites to start playing her favorite kid games. Recently, after getting out of the shower and checking up on her, I found her playing something on Noggin or Nick Jr. Then she proceeded to show me how she'd tried to play her Disney princess song CD, but a DVD player window had popped up instead of the Window Media Player that she was expecting. Wow, I guess she really pays attention to what Mom and Dad do on the computer because I never showed her how to do that stuff. Kids, heh.

Oh! I forgot to mention something that might not mean much to you, but it's exciting to me: I can finally roll my double rr's in Italian! The single r is simple to do (think "Dracula"), but I've never been able to do the rolled double r. Practicing over and over finally paid off. I still can't roll it for a long time or do it by itself. But, I'm definitely able to roll it long enough to be passable in conversation. Now, if I could just stop the lightheadedness (don't laugh!) and relax my jaw and tongue more, my rolled r's would sound effortless. Ha! That will take some more time and practice...

Fighting Fire With Fire (Because I'm Not Patient)

2009-06-03T10:48:00.004-05:00

CG News
After returning from my wedding roadtrip to North Carolina on Monday, I decided to go back to doing the whole CG thing with my Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze Conditioner. Starting out the no-poo regimen requires patience and time, of which I have little when I see straggly, frizzy, oily, unevenly-curled, clumpy hair. I decided to fight fire with fire to see if that would bring back some curl definition: Last night I did a DT with honey and olive oil. (I did an olive oil treatment a few years ago when I tried going CG and remembered how much my hair liked it, as well as adding honey to various products.) I warmed 1/2 c. honey and added 2 Tbsp. olive oil per the directions on the livefreelivecurly site. Before doing the DT, I thought I should remove any existing gunk from my hair. I added 1 Tbsp. of baking soda to my conditioner and followed that with an ACV rinse. Next I poured the warm honey and oil over my head while bending over in the tub. After massaging it into my scalp and raking it through my hair, I wrapped my head with plastic wrap and let it sit 30 minutes. It was difficult to rinse out, so I CO-washed. BTW, I think a sulfate-free or loo-poo shampoo would've worked better in this case because I had a LOT of honey and oil in my hair! (Next time, I'm going to reduce the recipe amounts by half.) After rinsing in cold water, I added more CO as a leave-in. My flax seed gel wasn't on hand, so I used HESMU gel and squeezed excess water out while scrunching upside down. Then I put in one clip front and center at my hairline to create more lift, plopped for 10 minutes, and went to bed. I noticed that my curls were already showing more definition and were standing away from my scalp when I removed my towel before bedtime, so I was looking forward to seeing what my hair looked like in the morning.

The first picture is how I generally wear my hair. I smooth out the curl with a round brush around my face, diffuse the rest, and then hand style; or I pin the long bangs down and air dry followed by hand styling. The second picture is from this morning after waking up from doing the DT. (I know, I'm not a morning person and this picture clearly shows that. Just look at the hair please!) More definition and boingy curls -- goal achieved! It'll be interesting to see how long my hair stays moist from the DT. I'm glad to have alleviated a few days of frizz and sped up the process of my hair becoming more moist.

Knitting News
I finished one side of Wright and am on the second side now.

Next time I go grocery shopping, or maybe sooner, I'm going to buy Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Invigorating Shampoo (although I hear the 50:50 works well, too). It contains zero sulfates. I'm also interested in Nature's Gate (Tea Tree Calming Conditioner, Hemp Nourishing Conditioner, and their Organics line of shampoos and conditioners) and J/A/S/O/N (Everyday Hair Care line and their All-Natural Specialty Hair Care line). I think these all cost around $7 or $8, so not too bad. Although, I'm more likely to buy just the sulfate-free shampoos and continue with the cheaper Suave Naturals and VO5 COs for CO-washing and CO-rinses. If I did splurge and buy one of the above-mentioned conditioners, I would use it sparingly since I tend to use a lot.

Tracy Flick lives on in Glee

2009-05-24T00:20:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite dark comedic movies from the 90s is Election with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. I haven't quite seen its match in comedic style until now. Not only has the style been resurrected, but the lead high school female character is a lot like Tracy Flick, Reese Witherspoon's unforgettable character in Election. Fast-paced wit and charm interlaced with deliciously smart musical snippets can be found in the new Fox show Glee. There were scenes in the pilot that could've been pulled directly from Election. For example, how about Rachel Berry storming down the school hallway pumping her arms while intensely fluttering voices are playing in the background... to her fake crying in the principal's office making accusations against the former glee club advisor to get him fired. I thought back to the very determined Tracy Flick running for school president and how she would let nothing stand in her way. Rachel Berry on Glee is determined to be a star using the glee club as her platform. The creator of Glee even eludes to the movie Election when asked to what he compares his movie. Oh, yes. I'll be watching this show religiously come fall. I even downloaded the highly-ranked-on-iTunes cover of Don't Stop Believin'.

From what I've heard, there is a lot of good music and guests coming our way. Kristin Chenoweth plays "an alcoholic high school dropout"; Josh Groban guests as himself and plays an "ignorant a-hole"; and Debra Monk and Victor Garber play Will Schuester's parents." One difference between Rachel Berry and Tracy Flick that I like was shown in the pilot: Rachel actually has a heart and does get her feelings hurt at times. I mean, how couldn't she have a heart with that gut-wrenching performance of Les Miserables' On My Own for her glee club audition?! That gave me chills.

On to American Idol. Yes, I'm not finished with Idol just yet! For those who either initially disliked Danny Gokey or eventually disliked him, I found some hilarious, tension-releasing, South-Park-and-LOTR-infused commentary videos on EW by Michael Slezak and Kristin Baldwin:
Danny Gokey's exit recap video - Part 1
Danny Gokey's exit recap video - Part 2
Idolatry 5/10 - Part 2
I love the South Park graphic! If you don't have time to watch these in full, just watch the beginnings of the first and third video links. I found myself completely agreeing (and laughing along) with pretty much everything they were saying. Then if you have time, check out the video series of Allison Iraheta's exit interview. Obviously, Michael Slezak adored her as much as I did.

Something else to mention before I stop talking AI is that Danny Gokey did it again... As if some people didn't already feel enough disdain for the poor guy, he screwed up on CNN's Larry King Live with Ryan Seacrest last night. Every single other contestant on the show were considerate and gracious in their comments concerning Kris and Adam. Until Danny spoke, the other contestants were reiterating in solidarity what Kris and Adam have been saying in all their interviews. Then Danny comes along and says that he thought Kris would win and gave reasons behind why Adam didn't. Arrogant SOB. Adam and Kris were sitting right there. Granted, Danny had said these same things in an earlier live blog and Ryan Seacrest was bringing it up on LKL to see what Danny had to say for a second time in front of the two finalists. The other contestants could've eaten him alive with their eyes when he was opening his big mouth to Ryan. Danny, you do realize that you'll be going on tour with these people for the summer, don't you?! Ugh. As a David Cook fan, I'm still miffed that he sang Hello on the Finale Results Show. He didn't do that badly actually, but I'm sure all David Cook fans like myself had daggers in their eyes and collectively gasped when Danny started singing that song. Danny rant finished. Check.

Did anyone watch SYTYCD? I got all teary when the blond-haired girl who lives with her grandparents auditioned and made it. Just beautiful. I also liked the girl from the Bronx who has rheumatoid arthritis. Such talent coming from people who have odds stacked against them in life!

In Curly Girl news, I found the book at a smaller branch of my local library. I took Marie with me to get that and the Sensational Knitted Socks book, which happened to be only one aisle away from the CG book. (BTW, I've already finished the CG book -- fast read.) We also got her some books and DVDs, then walked across a grassy field to the playground at Thompson Park. She enjoyed that it was just us without Ian. When Ian is with us, I can't help Marie climb on things since he's always trying to run away and explore. I got to climb on everything with her, and she loved that. Then later when we got home, I read to her all about honeybees and snakes from her library books. We're talking in-depth books here, and she had lots of questions. My favorite was, "Are there any snakes that would eat me?" Her eyes were huge when she saw the page that showed a snake swallowing its prey.

Looks like I might be doing most if not all of the driving next week to Raleigh: Jared tripped and broke his arm today. Poor thing was trying to run to get the phone (it was me calling) and got a loop of his shoelace caught on his cymbal stand. He went to an urgent care and got an x-ray done, after which they put his arm in a hard splint.

Knitting News
Not much, other than I'm at the armhole of the front side of Wright. My sportweight socks are coming along slowly. I was lucky to find the yarn for those from last year's Knitters Connection goodie bag of one-skein yarns from Knitters Mercantile. Actually, I also found that I still have three differently-colored sample skeins of CotLin (my purchase from when CotLin first came out) and a super bulky skein of black alpaca yarn (from the Knitters Connection goodie bag). Other than that though, my modest stash consists of only leftovers. I'll be thinking about what to use those skeins of CotLin for while finishing my current projects. I'll probably make a Sheldon with my leftovers of turquoise and orchid Shine (unless it's the wrong weight of Shine -- haven't checked the pattern yet) that I used to make last year's mermaid outfit for Marie.

Both Won In My Opinion

2009-05-20T22:04:00.004-05:00

Even though I knew it was a strong possibility that Kris Allen might win American Idol, at the very last second I really thought Adam would. So I'm as stunned as Kris. When I voted last night, I first voted for Kris. Then after a crisis of conscience, I voted the remaining time left for Adam. His talent and performance skills just couldn't be denied despite the fact that I like Kris's acoustic-rock style. I like them BOTH and think it's too difficult to compare them! Both really won tonight. Actually, I won't be surprised is all top 4 contestants get record deals immediately.

There were some fun duets tonight! I loved Allison and Cyndi Lauper singing Time After Time, my favorite Cyndi Lauper tune. Jason Mraz's group number and Keith Urban's duet with Kris were both enjoyable, and I loved Adam and Chris singing with Queen. I jumped off the couch when I heard the beginning of We Are the Champions. They sure had fun with that! KISS wasn't so hot, but Adam got to wear platform boots and do his rock wail. I'm curious to know what lyrics were censored on Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas. I'll have to check that out...

Oh, and I loved seeing my favorite Idol David Cook perform again! He was the underdog last year to David Archuleta, although the difference there is that he could sing just as well and often better than Archie. Like Kris, David did cool song arrangements. By the end of last season, people could clearly see that Cook was more well rounded, seasoned, and exciting than Archie. Going back to this season, I think Danny really shot himself in the foot by following in David Archuleta's footsteps. He became boring despite his initial popularity. People became more interested in Kris than Danny. Kris and Adam ultimately were the two most exciting contestants, Adam from the get-go and Kris building momentum as the season progressed.

Speaking of David Cook again: He'll be here in Columbus on my birthday... yes, that's right, MY BIRTHDAY! So you know where'll I'll be then, don't you?

Marie's Coney Island Socks Done; David Cook Videos

2009-05-18T14:04:00.005-05:00

Pattern: Two Toe-Up Socks on a Single Circular Needle
Yarn: Felici
Needles: Knit Picks Options Fixed Circulars US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
Gauge: Good question. Must've been about 7.5-8 spi. I think I knit these tighter than my recent toe-up Jaywalkers which were more like 7 spi! In hindsight, I think I was so worried about making sure the toe increases were mega-tight that I must've continued the tight tension all the way up the sock.
Notes: I added a picot bind off to make them girly-fied :-) I used *CO 1, BO 3* and a few rounds of stockinette leading up to the BO to curl the edge. I started the 1 inch of 2x2 ribbing right after completing the gusset decreases.

Since I didn't really read through the pattern closely before beginning these (other than there being toddler and child sizes and it being toe-up), I didn't notice that the heel flap was on the bottom and worked like cuff-down socks. It was weird to pick up stitches along the sole flap and follow that with a heel turn and gusset decreases! I'm not sure yet if I completely like the resulting directional look of the stripes on these socks. With a solid color, it wouldn't be noticeable. But with stripes, I'm kind of partial to the look of stripes on a cuff-down heel flap since the gusset stripes are vertical and therefore slimming. So... I'm thinking I probably like the toe-up reverse-engineered heel better since it exactly matches the cuff-down heel. The only thing to try now is the Los Monos Locos heel with a plain sole and slip stitch heel. I've got one skein of Louet Gems sportweight yarn (from last year's Knitter's Connection goodie bag) that I might use to try this. It's only 50 grams though, so I'll have to make them snug and short. Correction: Actually, it's 100 grams, so no worries.

Last night I was on YouTube and looked up David Cook to see if he performed Billie Jean or Hello in concert. MmmmmHmmmm. Yes he did, and my, my did I enjoy. Here are two videos I found. One is of him singing Billie Jean in Kansas City last summer. The second one is of him singing The World I Know and Hello acoustically at Ford Day last September. His banter with the crowd is funny in the second video. I love his acoustic version of Hello. There are some videos of him doing Hello on the Idol Tour last year that are also good, too. One of these days, I'll have to catch his show since he's my favorite American Idol!

Billie Jean

The World I Know and Hello

Yay Kris Allen! ...and Zoo Trip

2009-05-13T23:44:00.003-05:00

We have an Adam Lambert/Kris Allen finale! I'm so glad that Kris' amazing talent finally shone through to the voters. This will be an exciting show next week! With only 1 million votes separating them, I can't wait to see Kris and Adam turn up the dial. Woohoo! ...and did you see how glad they both seemed that they were the final two? The really get along well.

Did everyone see Katy Perry's cape at the beginning of her performance on AI tonight? How could you not?! I'd read earlier that Adam is her favorite according to a Tweet she made. I thought her little pro-Adam stunt was cute. She's definitely interesting to watch, to say the least.

Jordin Sparks looked nice and sounded OK. Although, I'm reminded of how less than stellar that particular season's contestants were. When I try to name all the Idols in order, I always seem to stumble on the Jordin Sparks and Taylor Hicks years.

Marie's little socks are nearing the heel. Since I'm not using any fancy stitch pattern, I've been noticing how loose the ends of Side 1 are for both socks. No matter how tightly I work the stitches before and after, I'm getting a ladder on just that side of both socks. However, the beginning of Side 1 for both socks looks fantastic. So what's up with that?! Ladders at one end but not the other? Crazy socks.

Since we have a free 30-day upgrade to TWC's Standard package from the Basic, I've been occasionally catching The Sopranos on A&E, edited of course. Oh, how I miss that show. Jared and I still need to finish seeing the last season on dvd. We were on a roll until we went from one to two kids. I've also been enjoying Food Network, too. I learned how to eye measurements and improvise from watching many cooking shows on that channel.

The zoo was absolutely beautiful yesterday. I took the kids after lunch for a nice 2-hour visit. This time we visited only the west side of the zoo since there were some animals out that hadn't been since last fall. We saw bonobos, mandrills, and okapis. Colo, the famous 52-year-old female gorilla, was sitting right in front of the window in the indoor viewing area. I promised Marie that next time, hopefully next week, we'd finish seeing that side of the zoo, including the gibbons, kangaroos, boat ride, otters, komodo dragons, and the nocturnal Australian animals. Maybe they'll have the orangutans out soon? We always see the reptiles, aquarium, and the manatees. Marie loves "driving" the boat with Jack Hanna in the manatee building! Recently, the last time we went, I took the kids inside the building next door to the barn. Ian loved getting out of the stroller to run and climb. That building lets little kids have fun and play while learning about animals and the outdoors. If I were a kid, my favorite part would be crawling under the surface of the stream water and sliding down the hollowed out log. Marie and Ian seemed to like the tree area the best. It reminded me of Raleigh's Natural Science Museum (on a much smaller scale), except that you're not allowed to touch or climb on anything.

Is anyone else still in shock that Helen won The Biggest Loser? My jaw dropped when she was announced the winner over Tara, my personal favorite and the person I thought was unbeatable. Props to Helen. You go girl! Not only did she beat all the guys, she, 48-years-old young, beat a twentysomething. Who would of thought that?! The Pink Team has had 3 consecutive winners now.

AI Semi-Final Performances

2009-05-12T23:22:00.002-05:00

Other than Kris' awesome second song, the only thing I can say about the other performances is that Round 2 with their own picks was much better than Round 1.
Danny
"Dance Little Sister" -- I probably shouldn't have listened to Terence Trent D'Arby sing this on YouTube before watching Danny because I wasn't impressed at all. His voice sounded kinda shot right from the beginning. Perhaps from singing with his throat at all the multitude of hometown visits?
"You Are So Beautiful To Me" -- Much better. However, since when is singing Joe Cocker without changing it up much good to do on American Idol? Not current at all. Bleh. And Simon? A vocal master class?! Really?!!
Kris
"Apologize" -- Considering I find this song slightly boring to begin with, I thought Kris did a decent job on it. I actually liked him at the piano since he's usually playing guitar. After hearing his first song, I was crossing my fingers that his second song would knock the judges' socks off.
"Heartless" -- What a way to flip the bird at the judges! He took a current song and made it even more current, and it sounded completely his. Big risk, lots of originality. Kudos to Kris for walking out there with just his guitar and showing that he deserves to be in the finals.
Adam
"One" -- I really like Adam, but I did NOT like this arrangement whatsoever. I held my breath while he sang the slow beginning and then shook my head in disappointment when the song picked up. I was hoping it would pick up, but didn't approve of the style. Casual or non-fans of U2 might like this, but as a longtime loyal fan, I did not. He messed with it too much and totally in the wrong way. Even Mary J. Blige knew to sing this song straight so that you can hear the lyrics. After this post, I'll have to go back and try to listen to it again, if I can.
"Cryin' -- As MJ says on her blog, not as good as "Whole Lotta Love" or "Mad World." As well as Adam always does, I'm not sure that I'll remember that performance. It was clearly more than competent, but I prefer Steven Tyler much better on this. I'm not sure that Aerosmith should be a band that Adam covers.

Overally, I think that the only compelling performance tonight was Kris' "Heartless." Everyone seemed worn out from their hometown visits, and I felt underwhelmed by what I saw, except for Kris of course. Since Adam will be the most sought out contestant after this is all over, I'm more focused on my boy Kris beating that Taylor Hicks soundalike. Therefore, I voted for two hours straight and managed to get in almost 150 votes. The Gokey Kool-Aid drinkers must be stopped. Please!

Pre-Idol Talk and Spoilers

2009-05-12T17:57:00.003-05:00

Just found out that Kris'll be singing Heartless by Kanye West. I found a version on YouTube sung by The Fray. Word is, Kris is doing it acoustic, just him and his guitar. I bet he'll take a little from The Fray's cover version. Here's the video:

Kris has to sing Apologize by OneRepublic. I sure hope he makes that song sound a little different! Adam is singing Aerosmith's Cryin' and U2's One. He's changed the arrangement of One, so I'll be interested to see if I like it. Supposedly the dress rehearsal audience liked Adam and Kris the best. Danny sounded "breathy, strained, and awkward" (according to a twitter I read) on You Are So Beautiful, backed by a string quartet. Unfortunately, his other song, Dance Little Sister, sounded decent though (grr).

Go Kris and Adam!!!!!! Oh man, I hope that Kris leaves everything on that stage and Adam shames Danny when he shows the real way to sing Aerosmith -- HA!

Jaywalker FOs and CO for Marie's Socks

2009-05-11T21:31:00.001-05:00

Can't Wait!

2009-05-11T00:51:00.001-05:00

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

AI Thoughts...

2009-05-08T23:20:00.002-05:00

Before I forget to mention it, it was Raphael Moreira playing guitar last Tuesday night for rock week!

A poll on USA Today's Idol Chatter blog has 50% wanting an Adam/Kris finale and 34% wanting an Adam /Danny finale. I feel that an Adam /Danny finale would not be very enjoyable. Kris is so much more musically interesting than Danny. If you watch Kris' hometown performances with just him and his guitar and no bandzilla, he's awesome. Kris' phrasing, tone, and originality impress me much more than Danny's loud, constrained-throat, karaoke singing. Keeping my fingers crossed that Kris and Adam knock it out of the ballpark on Tuesday.

Oh! I also have to comment on the judges' song selections. Kris got One Republic's "Apologize." Danny got Terence Trent D’Arby's "Dance Little Sister." Adam got U2's "One." ALL excellent choices for each person. I do find Kris' handpicked song a tad boring. However, it's current, it's suited for his melodic voice, and hopefully he'll skillfully rearrange it to show his originality. As for Danny, a Terence Trent D'Arby song choice is well-suited to his gravelly, soulful voice. It'll be karaoke night for him. However, he might make it too gospel-y sounding and overdo it, which is admittedly and unashamedly what I hope will happen. Adam's assigned song "One" is from one of my favorite bands ever. Of several U2 songs, I really like this one a lot and can't wait to hear Adam sing it. Have you seen the duet version of "One" with Mary J. Blige? I got to hear the original at Ohio Stadium back in college (good times!). I love the lyrics and think this could be very interesting since Adam can sing anything and yet I haven't heard him sing a song quite like this. Like Led Zeppelin's cover he did for rock week, he'll need to keep it true enough to the original and also show restraint and no Broadway leanings whatsoever. I bet Simon picked this song on purpose to show that, just like with "Mad World" and "The Tracks of My Tears," Adam can tone it down and still sound powerful and keep everyone's attention. This song is not about precision, it's about heart. I hope that Adam nails the soulfulness and drive behind the song and shows up Danny in the process.

Jaywalker Update
Oh MY, we ladies had a great time as usual at knit night on Thursday! Actually, I think I'd have to categorize it as a "best of." We dished AI and Curly Girl topics. Such a good time we had that I somehow screwed up and omitted a kfb increase on one of my sock's insteps. Those are tricky to correct when there's not any extra yarn to create a new column of stitches and you don't want to tink your work. Then later, I had some trouble with holes at the convergence of the heel flap, gusset, and leg. What I ended up having to do is go back to where there were one gusset stitch on each side. Instead of eating up the last RS gusset stitch and turning to purl back and eat the other, I continued on ITR (to the instep sts) and took care of the last purlside gusset stitch from the front with a k2tog. This seemed to work much better because when you do it as written, the heel flap ends up 2 rows higher than the instep stitches, which didn't make sense to me. I'd heard that you could do this little trick and, by coincidence, had to do something similar on my PG-R short-row toe.

Toe-Up Jaywalker Heels Are F-U-N

2009-05-07T14:17:00.004-05:00

Can I say how much I'm loving the heel of the toe-up Jaywalkers?! It's the first time I've done a toe-up heel with a heel extension that has picked up stitches. I wasn't sure how close it would look to the original pattern until I actually did the heel: it looks the same. (Note: I slightly changed some numbers to match the original, which you can read about on my project page on Rav.) The direction of the stitches in all parts of the heel are the same as my first pair of (cuff-down) Jays. Yay! My favorite part of the heel was joining the gusset to the heel with decreases -- love, love, love. Los Manos Locos (the toe-up Monkey pattern) does this, too. The difference between the two heels in these patterns is the Crazy Monkey heel has no picked up stitches at the heel turn, while the Jay heel does. The only thing I wasn't crazy about on the Crazy Monkey heel was the Eye of Partridge stitch on the sole. I prefer it only on the back of the heel. So next time I do a Crazy Monkey style heel, I'm going with stockinette on the sole.

Something else I noticed while knitting the heel on these toe-up socks: there's not as much tension. When you're doing a cuff-down heel and have picked up stitches on each side of the flap, there's a good deal of tension those first few rounds that follow. Meanwhile, on my toe-up Jays and Monkeys, there is minimal tension the first few rounds of the heel decreases, and when you get to the top of the heel, it's really fun to look at an almost-completed sock.

Besides trying the Los Manos Locos heel with a stockinette sole, I'd also like to try the toe-up heel where you put a stockinette flap on the sole and follow the exact directions of the cuff-down heel. So you pick up stitches on each side of the stockinette flap and make gusset decreases, meanwhile putting in a slip stitch pattern on the back of the heel between two markers. The demarcated line of picked-up stitches is parallel to the ground rather than perpendicular to it. I wonder how that looks... I've tried looking at my original Jays with the leg and foot switched to enable me to visualize it.

A fellow knitter shared an interesting link today. If you like hearing about the brain and how it perceives color when it relates to art, you might like this, too: http://simplyrobin.blogspot.com/2009/05/talking-about-color.html.
Color is relative? Whoa, I was skeptical until seeing this. Makes ya think!

AI? Well, I knew Allison had to go at some point. So I wasn't completely crushed or surprised that she was eliminated. But, I was a little irked that Danny survived after an ultra-bad performance. Some Gokey lovers are saying, "Well, people voted based on his cumulative log of performances rather than this past week's." That would be fine in the middle of the competition. But when everyone left deserves to be there, I think poor performances should get a person immediately booted... my favs included. On a more positive note, at least Kris made it one more week -- yay! I hope that announcing him as the first person safe last night boosted his confidence and will make him try hard next week. My wish is that Kris makes a comeback and Danny chokes big time. I want Adam and Kris for the finale!!! If Danny does poorly again and survives, I'll definitely start believing the hype about this being a culture war.

Jared said that this season reminds him of Season 3 when you knew way ahead of time that Fantasia was going to be the winner. Season 5 also had a clear front runner in Chris Daughtry, but he got eliminated almost like Adam did last week. Last year, David Cook emerged as the front runner ahead of David Archuleta, but there were enough Archuleta fans out there to scare me when it came down to the final vote. Luckily, America got that one right!