Knitting in Prymnumber

Something is better than nothing (??)

2012-02-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm a blog slacker. So sue me. If I had one wish right now, I'd wish for Hermione's Time Turner. Wouldn't it be neat to travel back in time? (No, I'm not talking about "fixing" regrets, I'm talking about being able to do more because you can essentially be in multiple places at once!)

So to make up for my past blog-slackerness, here are some of the stuff I've done/am doing in the past few months (in random order)

My first mystery KAL (knit-a-long)! I'm currently addicted to socks. SOCKS!

iPad cover for Tim (his design, I'm just the knitter)

My new hobby, boy it's a challenge learning a new craft/skill

Socks for Steven

Single-skein, garter-rib hat

2011-11-29T16:51:00.001-08:00

My new hero....

Thanks to Sister Diane for sharing this picture from Allison Hoffman!

2011-11-13T11:08:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I attended my cousin's wedding in Hawaii. It was an elegant and touching celebration, with a bunch of fun sprinkled throughout. To this day I'm still amazed by how gorgeous Stella is. All right, I confess, I'm a little envious too. I mean, look at her? Who wouldn't be?

There was a special special photographer just for the guests during the reception. This picture should give an idea of the mood of the occasion (I'm the one red, on the left).

Oh what fun we had!

2011-11-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

Our friends Elaine and Craig just welcomed their first baby into the world. So cute!

Sweater so far

2011-10-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

The pattern is a take off of Pink by Wendy Bernard. I added the cable down the front; most likely I'll do something similar to the sleeves. The raglan sweater is knit top-down, in the round (read: no seams!). Yarn is Malabrigo Merino Worsted in the Stonechat colorway. (It is s SOOOOO soft. I kept petting it as I knit.)

I'm hoping to finish this in another couple of weekends. The weather has turned and I can't wait to wear it!

Rows and Columns

2011-10-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Oooo. It's been a while. I've been knitting but haven't had time to put up pictures. Here are 2 of the most recent projects. The bunny is a gift, and the hat is unclaimed. I made it on a whim to try a new technique. Isn't it cool how the colors came out? In knitting, it's easy to make rows of changing colors but columns are harder. This "knit-one-below" technique I used on the hat allows me to make columns with relative ease. Neat, eh?

But now I'm done, I'm not sure what to do with the hat. I'll probably donate it.

Ruffles

2011-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago I had to fly to Florida for work. The 7+hours-each-way flight gave me plenty of time to knit. Prior to the trip, I had restarted a pair of socks I first tried to make 3 years ago. Back then I didn't have the best of instructions and I messed up several times before finally putting it aside. But I never gave up. Recently I decided to try again, this time armed with a better understanding of socks and a good technique book. This trip provided the necessary opportunity to focus.

Result? Hee hee. I learned lots and had lots of fun making up the pattern as I went. Maybe I'll wear it out to dinner next time. I mean, who doesn't love a bit of frilly ruffles on their feet?

Finally, a picture!

2011-08-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

I finished Sandy's cardigan a while back but finally I have a picture to show!

Sandy looks so naturally cute!

Quick one to share

2011-07-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Work, work, chores, chores, Tim, Moose, and perhaps knitting. My life in 9 short words.

Did I mention last time that the cardigan was finished? Sandy promised me a picture when the weather becomes bearable for the wearing of a wool sweater. I must say it looked nicer off the needles than on the needles.

Now I'm making myself a pair of toe-up socks. I tried on the first sock last week and, boy, it's too big (again!). While I love the colors of the yarn, I'm not so happy with my gauge. Oh well, I'm not ripping this sucker out again. I'll plow through and give it to the first person whose feet fits. This pair taught me a lot and I (think) I will be ok letting it go.

And one more for the road (I did not make this):

From Mochimochi Land
http://mochimochiland.com/2011/07/simons-family-photo-crew/

Time proves elusive once again

2011-06-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite quotes is by John Lithgow. He said "Time sneaks up on you like a windshield on a bug."

Two whole months zips by in the blink of an eye, and yet I never seem to quite grasp this reality. Can someone please make people quantum mechanical? Then it'll be natural for us to be in two states at once. No more having to decide between chores and knitting, walking Moose or relaxing with Tim at home. Yes? Please??

Back on Earth, some knitting updates. I am still, yes STILL! working on Sandy's cardigan. I'm almost done with the second sleeve, and next I need to block and sew the pieces together. A few more weekends...sigh.

My knitting time has been relegated to a few hours on weekends, and I spend a lot of that trying to figure out where I left off. Not very efficient, and I'm so tired of this project. But the dogmatic finisher in me plows on. I will do a happy dance the day the cardigan is DONE!

I am also knitting a creature. Sometimes I want to keep my hands busy, but I need to pay attention to something other than the pattern. So brainless projects like dish towels or creatures come in handy. I've cast off a dish cloth already. Wanna see?

Creature needs a name!

Dish cloth

Oh, and some pictures of past sweaters. They were Christmas gifts, and finally I got to upload them.

Mike, my Father-in-Law

Francine, my Mother-in-Law

Lastly, my brother a new baby girl. Everyone in my family is going nuts over her, and the women have lost control at stores buying every girly outfit ever made. Melanie is a cutie though, and her baby powers are immense. Behold!

http://eliandjen.blogspot.com/2011/05/mikey-holding-melanie.html

The dryer just buzzed; back to work...

Wow

2011-04-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

Is it really April? Did I blink one too many times yesterday? What happened?!?!

This seeming-time-warp is marked by my progress on Sandy's cardigan. I started the project 2 months ago and it is still not done. I've worked on it fairly steadily almost every night, but man, it iss slugging along and I so want it to be done.

So here it is so far. Back, left side, and most of the right side are done (picture was taken last week and I've progressed). Now I have to power through the sleeves then sew it all together. Then I will do a little happy dance!

Late night mistakes

2011-03-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Wow...it is March. I am reminded of a quotation I read a while back: "Time sneaks up on you like a windshield on a bug." (John Lithgow). Any who, moving on otherwise I'll start anticipating Christmas (in 293 days by the way).

I was working on Sandy's "Lace and Cables" cardigan yesterday. I knitted most of the day, then some more before bed. At about midnight, I looked down and...woah...where are the last round of cables?!?!

I started to "fix" the problem by dropping the stitches down 4 rows then reknitting the cables. But my eyes were droopy and the lacy yarn-overs got in the way. So in a fit of frustration I ripped the stupid thing back. All the while mumbling to myself "don't fix mistakes when you are tired. Go to bed. Tomorrow it'll be less tangly and easier to fix." But I can't leave a knot or unfinished business alone, so how can I let a mistake be?

Well, my brain went on strike so I had to set it down. And it was a good thing.

This morning I woke up still thinking about the cardigan. (I'm not obsessed....I'm not!). I reviewed the offensive row and it's not so bad! 1/2 hour later the cardigan is fixed and all's right with the world again. Yeah! Wanna see?

Also, I took a break last week and made myself a cowl. It was cold and I wanted something warm around my neck.I made up the pattern and used up some left-over yarn. 2 New Years goals in 1 project. How awesome is that?

A family of hats

2011-02-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

I'm amazed by how far one can stretch 2 balls of yarn. I made 2 adult hats and 2 preemie hats all from the same 2 balls of Naturally Caron Country.

My favorite is the pink and gray preemie hat because I made up the “design” (if you can even call it that). I used some leftover Lion Brand Wool-Ease for the pink stripe, and just LOVE how the colors contrasted. Very cute! It is such a freeing feeling to make your own designs. The phrase "I can do anything I want!" kept popping into my mind while I was knitting. =) What a thrill!

Mitts for Me!

2011-01-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

I finished the fingerless mitts last week. It was a great way to use that odd ball of yarn I had lying around. I used the mitten pattern in Ann Budd's "Handy book of Patterns" but left out the finger-tips.

I had enough yarn left over to fool around a bit. So I made an impromptu mug-cozy-bookmark-headband-thingy. Fun!

Next up is hat #2 for my mom. This time the darn thing better fit or it will become a hand bag.

2 fingerless mitts at the same time

2011-01-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

I'm making myself another pair of fingerless mitts. I love my first pair but it is (or is it "they are") so worn out! These things are great at keeping my hands warm while allowing me to use my phone-and-podcast-player.

I decided to make both mitts at the same time, on 2 circular needles, from the same ball of yarn. In other words, frequently tangled needles and yarn causing much gnashing of teeth.

Here is the beast, in its "harmless" state:

I hope to be done with them today so I can start my mom's hat (#2).

Half an inch

2011-01-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ahh... I learned the significant of 1/2 inch yesterday. I made a hat for my mom that turned out gorgeous. Great colors and not bad knitting for my first fair-isle project. But when my mom put it on, it was 1/2 inch too tight and 1 inch too short. Sigh... Back to the drawing board. I *will* make her a hat that fits!

Here's is the hat, which I shall be wearing now.

And poor Moose had to wear a cone for the past week. He scratched his right eye somehow and it got all red and swollen. For 4 days Mr. cone-head wobbled around and bumped into everything. On one hand it was super funny and cute, but on the other hand it was sad to see him so flustered.

But the cone is off now and his eye is all better. Thanks to Dr D at Companion Animal Hospital!

Bob and Jane

2010-12-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

2 little cuties designed by Anna Hrachovec, each takes 2-3 nights to make.

Left one is Bob, right one is Jane. Philippe and Betty might be joining the party!

Wow wee Wow Wreath

2010-12-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

How cool is this! If Tim and I get a wreath, I hope it will be as fun as this one (from Tahki Stacy Charles).

On a knitting note, I finished the Ganomy hat by Elizabeth Zimmermann. This hat is for me. Walking Moose in the dark and cold is no fun, but now I have a funny hat to make things better! =)

Next up? A BOB! (you'll see!)

From Moose and my (almost) daily walk

2010-12-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

This is what Moose and I see now on our (almost) daily walks. Fall colors are so beautiful!

Moose hat

2010-12-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

I finished Tim's moose hat over the weekend. It was my first real color-work project.

I made it out of some Eco Alpaca by Cascade Yarns. Very soft and fuzzy. Purrrty!

Thanks for giving!

2010-11-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

A few quick updates on recent happenings.

First, Tim and I got away to Sonoma a couple of weeks back. We revisited 2 wineries we've previously liked - Kaz and Imagery. The owner at Kaz (Mr. Kaz himself) gave us an impromptu demo of how wine is made (by hand). At Imagery, a place specializing in esoteric wines and local art, Tim was blown away by the blueberry port.

We also tried 2 new wineries. One of them reminded us more of Disney Land than wine. The other was B.R. Cohn (I never knew the history of this Cohn guy!). Here are some pictures from B.R.Cohn's front entrance. Fun!

We stayed at the local Best Western. It is a down-to-earth H(m)otel and walking distance to the Sonoma square. The square is about as "downtown" as a Northern California small town gets. More importantly, it is where The Girl and the Fig lives. Yummy.... We ate like royalty.

Some pics from the Square. Here is Tim in front of the historic Sonoma Mission.

A random (shall we say artsy?) shot taking with my Android phone (NOT the iphone because I can indeed make and complete real calls!)

Lastly, I finished 2 projects recently. A simple cabled hat for Tim and some fingerless mitts for me. Both made out of the same yarn (Araucania Nature Wool) and both easy-peasy. I told Tim I am only going to knit small stuff between now and the end of the year. I like it! Instant gratification (at least, as instant as it gets compared to sweaters).

Happy Thanksgiving all! Thanks for happy giving! Happily giving thanks!

Hat no more

2010-11-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

Up until 2 days ago I was happily trying a new technique: stranded knitting with 2 colors. The end result was suppose to be a moose hat for Tim. Well, attempt #1 at color work did not go too well. The stitches were puckering and the hat was TOO small. So, what is a sane woman to do? Act like a frog and "rip-it" of course! (!! LOL !! OMG !! I'm *so* funny. I crack myself up, right hon? ;-)

Here is the hat's short live, in pictures:

Before (nice new yummy yarn)

During (questionable moose-bottom)

After (nice yummy yarn)

Well...attempt #2 will happen, soon.

What is one thing that made you happy today?

2010-11-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

One of the (many) knitting forums I subscribe to posed this question:

What is one thing that made you happy today?

This being fiscal-year-end-HELL-week-at-work for me, I had to think hard. But here is my answer in pictures. How would you answer?

First:

And a lot of others:

http://www.katharinemulherin.com

http://alpaca-yarn-shop.com

http://www.bamboofabricstore.com

http://phoebeontheroad.blogspot.com/

http://theflitterknitter.blogspot.com/

Sweater

2010-10-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is what I've been working on lately. The pattern is called "First Class Leisure Pullover" by Katherine Hunt and the sweater is for Tim's step dad. I used Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed, and man is it luxurious to work wiith. Moose agrees too. In fact I think he wants it to be HIS sweater.

(By the way, I had this sweater laid out for all of 30 seconds before he plopped himself on. And he refused to budge after finding out how soft this thing is....)

Last night I added the collar to the sweater. Now the only thing left is to sew the sleeves on and seam up the body. Can I just say I LOVE working with chunky yarn!

The word "On"

2010-10-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

I have this mild infatuation with the "I'm on a horse" Old Spice guy. OMG he is awesome. So you can understand why I so appreciate this precious video of Grover. Thank you my dear DEAR friend Heather for sharing! This just made my day!

Beards

2010-09-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

Why grow one when you can knit one!

(Originally from http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4816842&fbid=437826519462&id=97925624462)

Bunch of nerds

2010-09-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

I attended Oracle OpenWorld on Wednesday. Talk about the gathering of a bunch of corporate nerds! At least I got to see some old friends.

From the left:
Tim (old coworker), Me, Sandy (my best friend), Mandar (one of my old bosses)

No (Apple) software!

From the left:
Me, unknown guy who hijacked my conversation with Steven, Tim, Steven (another old boss now friend), Sandy (my best friend), Mandar (who yelled at me once for not prioritizing my tasks right)

Humph

2010-09-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today was a Humph day. Bad mood in the morning, bad mood in the evening. Watch out husband!

Scaruffle

2010-09-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the scarf-ruffle I made for Rushan (the newly wed). After blocking, this lacy number came out pretty nice! I mailed it to Rushan last weekend; yesterday she sent an email thanking me. I hope she likes it!

The pattern is from Clara Parkes' "The Book of Wool." I used a lace-weight yarn of unknown fiber and source that I got from someone's destash.

And now the sun is setting earlier, my walks with Moose usually end with this view of Oracle (see the moon?). I am thankful to live in this town! (Picture taken from my phone, the HTC Incredible*)

And of course, here is the little Moose with a rawhide bone almost as long as he.

* HTC Incredible - A non-Apple phone that I can actually call people on without having connection problems!

Friend

2010-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who I'll call Preety. I've known Preety for a long time and I've always felt she's a special person. Well, I found out today she's going through hard times with her marriage. Her husband doesn't want to try to make things better, but she is still fighting to hang on. And to add to the tangle, baby #2 is in the "oven".

She loves her son, and she loves her husband. And she is saddened by the state of things. She keeps saying "if only I can do the right thing, then everything will be all right." But she doesn't see that she is only 1/2 the partnership and it is not her job to do everything. When two people agree to meet somewhere, they both have to come forward towards the middle. One person can make all the effort and go as far as he/she can, but if the other person doesn't budge, then the meeting won't ever happen.

I'm saddened by her sadness. And at the same time, thinking about her situation makes me appreciate what I have. Tim is a good husband and he *does* want to work the kinks out. Our values and world-view pretty much align. It's a good marriage by all measures and I do take things for granted sometimes.

I am sad for my friend; I hope she comes to peace with her husband and herself.

Ingenue

2010-09-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

Finally, a month after the knitting was done, I blocked the thing and took pictures. In a knitter's mind, that's when a project is Done.

Here it is: Ingenue for Tim's mom

She picked the yarn (good old Cascade 220) and the color (#9442). Last time Tim and I visited her, we went to Alpaca Direct, the only yarn shop in Brentwood. The little store had a pretty good selection of yarns; I came out with not only Cascade 220, but also some Plymouth Baby Alpaca chunky. Mmmmm! So soft!

Here is the sweater on the blocking board. The edges are *not* suppose to be curly! (Arg!)

Update

2010-08-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I last posted! In the past few weeks I finished a sweater for Tim's mom and a scarf for my friend Rushan. No pictures yet since I still need to block the 2 pieces. Tim says he will get me a dedicated "blocking" bucket for my knitting (thanks Hon!). I can't wait since it'll make the job much easier compared to using the bathtub!

It's also been a busy month for us! My friend Rushan (for whom I made the scarf) got married. Her husband is French and I swear the entire French population showed up at the wedding. I never knew there were so many French people in the Bay Area!

Here is the Bride and me at the shower:

And the Bride and Groom (aka Benoit)

Now the whole family!

(The little girl on the low left was just the cutest! She was so bubbly and full of laughs!)

Migraine

2010-08-02T04:59:00.001-07:00

I was hit by the worst case of migraine yesterday. The vomit-inducing beast reared its head right after lunch when I started seeing bright spots. We were out and about, and I managed to get some chores done. As soon as we got home, however, I just died on the bed.

For the the rest of the day I was debilitated and whiny. Thankfully Tim was so helpful; he took Moose out when I couldn't bear the thought of being vertical, and he got himself dinner (even though I knew how much he would have rather stayed at home).

I went to bed around 9PM after attempting (unsuccessfully) to knit. The nice thing is that Moose decided to join me in bed and keep me company! =) He's such a sweet puppy.

I feel better now after a long night's rest. I am hoping and praying the monster stays away. I don't get
migraines often, but when I do it knocks me down like nothing else.

Busy busy, just not busy with the things I'd rather be doing!

2010-07-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Work is busy busy busy. And nothing like agreeing to take on a contract job (outside of my regular job) to make things even busier. But the amazing thing is that I seem to be getting more done. Pressure = productivity? Hum... I hope my boss doesn't' find out.

Grumpasaurus

2010-07-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

I finished Neil's Grumpasaurus! This was a fun but fiddly project; very cute once done. I can imagine all sorts of different facial expressions and “hair” styles to put on this little guy!

Next up is the Ingenue sweater for Tim's mom.

My family

2010-07-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

My Mom, her husband Hans, my brother, his wife Jen and I all got together yesterday for dinner. I gave my mom the shawl and, guess what, she liked it! Here she is modeling it for me; I think my mom looks beautiful!

And here is my nephew at 15 months. What a ham!

p.s. All these pics were taken with my new HTC Incredible (you may call it the iPhone killer). =) I can't begin to express my crush on Google. I just love everything they do.

62" x 25"

2010-07-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

62" x 25" is the dimensions my mom's shawl. I hope she likes it!

And of course I have to add gratuitous pictures of the world's cutest Moose:

One of his favorite sleeping spots is in the crooks of our legs

Grumpy old Moose at the dinner table (he must take after Tim)

One day

2010-06-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

One day I will have so much money that I won't have to work. I'll have so much that I can....(sigh)...an email just popped up. Back to the grind.

Swatch for a shawl

2010-05-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about a shawl for my mom. I know the yarn I wanted to use, but I did not know the pattern. So for the past week I've been playing around with different stitch patterns. And ! tada ! today I know what to do.

Here is my small and unblocked swatch of the Woodland Shawl by Nikol Lohr.

This is the front (RS) of the swatch.

This is the back (WS) of the swatch.

The swatch is knit with 2 strands of Adagio held together. I did 2 repeats plus an extra 5 stitches on the right side. Can you see how the darker purple on the bottom blends into the lighter purple towards the top? Neat, IMHO. I’m going to keep this gradation in the actual shawl.

I think this will be a good project!

Dinosaur

2010-05-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

This was a quick knit and good as an “oh-I-don’t-care-if-the-seams-are-not-perfect” project. Plus Moose seems to not mind it today. Yesterday he was trying to claim it as his toy. =)

Blogger Layout Sucks... and my finished sweater

2010-05-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

Google Blogger layout is sucky unless I want to manually change the html. I mean, what does one have to do to get pictures and fonts to align right?!

Anyway, here is the finished February Lady Sweater!

I don't have a stash

2010-05-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

From Ravelry:
(click on image to see it better)

February Lady Sweater

2010-04-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Since finishing Leo's kid's sweaters, I've dove (diven? doven? divination?) headlong into my current project: the February Lady Sweater. It's the second sweater (cardigan really) I've made for myself and boy oh boy it's easy and fun. The top-down-raglan-plus-lace construction is seriously addicting. I can't knit just 1 row.

Here is the cardigan so far (2 weeks in the making):

And here is a sleepy cow. =)

work

2010-04-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Is it ok to get depressed about work? Sometimes I just want to say "F it! I say NO to all-things-I-must-do and YES to all-things-I-want-to-do. Screw this adult thing!!!"

Then I imagine myself running around like a heathen (a favorite word of mine lately). I'll be wielding knitting needles and grabbing at anything that looks like yarn.

Boys

2010-04-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hey! Leo sent me pictures of Dom (older boy) and Nico (younger boy) wearing the sweaters! How cute is that! The kids must have a good looking mom! ;-)

I'm on a horse

2010-04-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed by the recent Old Spice commercials. I'm not the only one who thinks they are hilarious. Now coinciding with Apple's latest marketing push, here is a video that ties both together. LMAO!

Hoodie update

2010-03-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Coming along! 1/2 a sleeve + a hood left to go, then I'll be sewing it all together!

Feels like an itch you can't scratch

2010-03-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

I want to knit. I want to finish Dominique's hoodie. But I can't because I have work to catch up on. I'm working on a new project for Finance, and the woman responsible for rolling it out to the field is on my butt like a mongrel on a roast. So I'm working on a weekend as usual, catching up.

At least I like my job and I find work satisfying. I wonder what I'd be like if I ended up in a field I don't like. (cut away now to daydream scene, with clouds and harp music) Anyway...my brain is trying hard to distract me from the task at hand.

So knitting....I'll just have to be a good girl and not scratch that itch. Or only scratch it a little bit...tiny bit. ;-)

Edit:

You know, my manager and co-worker are also working. I just got emails from them about some other issue. And I bet Leo, whose kid I'm knitting for, is or will also be working this weekend. So now I feel like a whiner! Well, a little licking of the wounds doesn't hurt. But I'm certainly no exception amongst the crowd I work with!

Gratuitous Puppy Picture

2010-02-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

(It's a stuffed beehive on his head. The holes are for the bees to hide in.)

When the Stash Attacks

2010-02-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

While browsing one of the many knitting related websites I frequent, I came across this bit that made me laugh out loud.

When the Stash Attacks:
Creative Techniques for Concealing Your Yarns

Gender Games
If you're a woman and your housemate isn't, play the gender card to its best advantage: Go to Sam's Club or another similar bulk discount outlet and get the biggest box of sanitary napkins you can find.

Oh man. Why didn't I think of that earlier?! hum.. I think it's "that" time of the month again.

Does Equis and Old Spice

2010-02-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I talked to a friend a few days ago. After 20 years of marriage his wife decided she needs a break. I called and we talked for a while. The conversation was all over the place; we talked about everything from Sarah Palin to when he might be coming to the Bay Area. After hanging up, I could not decide what's more shocking: the news or to hear his voice quavering.

My friend has been one of the most solid, upstanding man I've known. He's the kind of guy who would run into a burning house to save a mangy dog. He is the kind of guy who, in real life, undersells and over delivers. He actually completes tech projects early and under budget! (for those of us who are in this field, that is the most amazing fact of them all.)

So to see that other, vulnerable, side of my friend is incredible. It hits home how hurt he is. He told me his wife came back one night to pack up cloths and some food before taking off again. I can't imagine the anguish of having to watch this happen. My stomach turns just thinking about it.

I admire my friend for reaching out for support. The fact that a guy actually stops to ask for directions is....you pick a word. My friend brings to mind the Dos Equis man, or that Old Spice guy. Except perhaps a bit shorter and much more approachable.

(puppy)

For you non-knitters

2010-02-13T07:25:00.000-08:00

A muggle posted this on Ravelry. Some insightful observations and valuable lessons for all you uninitiated non-knitters! (Tim can testify on the validity of #8.)

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/remnants/970491/1-25

I am not a knitter. I joined Ravelry to see where my girlfriend spends her time on the internet lol. In the 10 or so months that she’s been knitting I’ve been secretly/overtly observing and documenting this crazy thing called yarn and what it does to people. These things I know to be true.

Yarn is NOT string and should not be referred to as such.
Knitting needles are not sticks,stix, or styx.
Casting on is NOT a fishing metaphor.
Yarn comes in different weights, colors, styles. Kind of like drugs.
People dye their own yarn with varying degrees of success.
Knitting is taken everywhere. No exceptions are to be made.
Fun fur is frowned on by “real” knitters.
“Lemme just finish this round” is a lot like me saying “Lemme just finish this round of video games” fair enough
A collection of yarn is a “stash” much like drugs.
Yarn barf is actually a thing.
Ravelry has a weird economy of bartering. Yarn can be exchanged for other goods not related to yarn. ????? Weird.
There are knitting groups, where other like minded knitters knit together and (this part is an assumption) talk about how knitters should rule the world.
Do NOT sit on or around yarn left on the sofa. This will cause knitter in the other room to jump up and rescue said ball of yarn from your evil ass.
Thank goodness there are no shows about knitting on Primetime TV.
Stitch markers are NOT earrings.
Lots of knitters have kittehs. You know who also had them? Witches.
If I want something, “Did you want to go to the yarn store?” are the first words out of my mouth.
Yarn stores are populated by alpha knitters. Some stores are better than others. Michaels is not a suitable substitute for a yarn store.
The needles that are attached with wire to each other, do not make good nunchuks.
Kitteh won’t chase a ball of yarn no matter how many balls you throw at his head.

These things I know to be true.

ARG!!!

2010-02-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

Work is killing me!!! Just because the Finance people have to close our books for the quarter, doesn't mean the whole world must say "how high" when they say "jump.'

Scattered mind

2010-01-26T07:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had mornings or days or weeks when your mind feels like a bunch of marbles scattered EVERYWHERE? I've been up for an hour and I swear I haven't looked at anything for longer than 2 minutes. And in those 2 fleeting minutes my eyes don't want to read or see what is in front of it.

The more I want to get something done, the faster the clock seems to tick. Some say they like the sunrise. Well I don't because it means the rest of the world is waking up and this time is no longer all mine. I get a twinge of regret that I wasted so much time. But honestly, the waste was not for the lack of trying!

Man, this is going to be a long day.

Marble = synapses in my brain

Bowling ball = work

What I really want is to knit.

Sweater #1

2010-01-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

So I'm knitting 2 sweaters for my coworker's boys. My coworker did the thing that many knitters love: he made a special request for hand-knitted items. =) It makes me smile just to know he appreciates what I do (at least, that's what I'd like to think!).

So here is sweater #1 for Leo's 18 month-old Nico. It's a boat-neck sweater with a wide body. The sail boat in the middle fits the sweater well, don't ya think?

Sweater #2 just got cast-on, and hopefully I can finish it before the older boy Dominique turns 7!

Lastly, a gratuitous picture of our little boy:

Time flies

2010-01-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

Wow...I can't believe Christmas and New Years day passed already. It really is the year 2010! I've worked at Verifone for 2 years, while Tim and I have been married for 2 and a half. Wow Wow Wow.... amazing how time flies.

Speaking of Verifone, I found a video that actually makes my company look "cool." If you want to see a part of our business, check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0UphTWfjVg&feature=youtube_gdata

Tim and I were recounting some of our most memorable events in 2009. Moose definitely was one of them. He's cute beyond believe and has a pension for things in our laundry basket. He also loves to drag the socks off my feet then bury them. Here's what I mean:

Moose with one sock successfully taken off my foot:

See the buried sock "treasure"?

How do others see you?

2009-12-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Be careful! It's a time sink...
.
www.youjustgetme.com
.

Cuteness and "The Bizarre and Brilliant World of Knitted Science"

2009-12-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

Science From Discover Magazine:

Emily Stoneking had been knitting conventional, cute frogs as toys for some time when she got the idea to slice one open. Want details? Want more?

Cuteness from our own little boy:

Moosey is staying with mom at grandma's (the Asian one). Lady, the grand-aunt beagle, is getting used to this furry ball of energy.

More you ask? OMG! Are you kidding?

What should I knit next?

2009-11-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Woo HOOO!!! I finished sewing in the ends of Sandy's sweater on Wednesday, and gave it to her on the same day. Hopefully I'll have a picture of Sandy wearing the sweater to show and tell!

Here is the finished sweater (sans Sandy).

Seems like I'm on a roll with cabled sweaters. But you know what I want to knit next? (Well, other than the hat I started this morning. It's getting cold and I need a new hat.) I am itching to make a top-down, seamless, boring old in-the-round sweater for me, in some kind of brown yarn. NO patterning, NO bright colors, NO sewing of sleeves!! Just plain stockinette around and around and around. I so need a break from having to think!!!

I'm thinking of making Ingenue or Pink from Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits. Hum.. in brown? Hum....

Fiscal Year End

2009-11-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

My company's fiscal year ends on Oct 31st and this is always the busiest time of year for us. For the past 2 weeks I've been hit with one issue after another. And of course all has to be resolved YESTERDAY and all are CRITICAL!!! Meanwhile my manager is also asking how my "regular" projects are going. Fun.

But last weekend I did have dinner with my brother, his wife, and his very cute baby boy. My mom and step-dad (that sounds weird.... we usually just call him Hans) were also with us. I finished adding buttons on to Mikey's jacket and here he proudly shows it off:

Work brain! Work!

2009-10-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had moments/hours/days where your brain refuses to work? I just farted around the web for an hour while work email piles up. But my brain says "ah...feeling lazy...don't want to be think." Sigh... I'd be very happy if I knitted instead of whatever I do "brain farting". I don't watch TV so maybe the web is my distraction of choice. I applaud those people who read as a distraction. At least that's somewhat useful!

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/15-brain-stop-paying-attention-zoning-out-crucial-mental-state

Back from Sydney!

2009-10-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

We are back from Sydney and boy did I get some knitting done. Sweater sleeves all done and I started a sock on the trip as well.

Moose and sweater

Sock so far!

And just to prove we actually were in Sydney...

Koala Babies:

Opera House:

Darling Harbor:

Some more pictures (including ones of kangaroos and crocodiles):

http://picasaweb.google.com/chen.irene/AustraliaOct2009

Sleeve fish?

2009-09-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

One down, one to go! Does a set-in sleeve remind anyone of fish?

Sleeve Front

Sleeve Back

Chicken

2009-09-15T23:16:00.001-07:00

Free association time:

1. Knit chicken

2. Cooked chicken

3. Chinese chicken!

4. See the squid? Knit the squid? Nice squid!

Making things

2009-08-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

For 10 minutes yesterday I was torn between doing chores and sitting down to knit. Last week the chores won, but this week I decided to knit.

And here is the result! I got the body of Sandy's sweater done! All that is left are the sleeves and neck. Woo Hoo!!

This is the front of the sweater (see the neck opening?). The back looks very similar except without the neck opening.

It was so hot yesterday, Moose and I didn't go for a long walk. By about 4 or 5 pm, he became restless and didn't know what to do with himself! So he started wondering the house and picking out random laundry from the hamper. No damage to the house but it was funny to see him like that!

Queen of wasting time

2009-08-20T07:19:00.001-07:00

Am I not the queen of wasting time? This is from the "Entertainment Web" (which I've never heard of before this!)

I give these guys credit for their sense of humor! My favorite 2 + 1 I'm sure is funny to 90% of the American world except I like the other ones better...

Oh Neat!

2009-08-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Totally not related to anything, but I thought this was a neat link to share

How Different Groups Spend Their Day

The American Time Use Survey asks thousands of American residents to recall every minute of a day. Here is how people over age 15 spent their time in 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-graphic.html

Knitting and Moose

2009-08-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

How boring is this blog title! At 7 in the morning I couldn't think of anything better.

I finished another travel-project dish cloth. This time I crocheted it just for practice. It was fun and was fairly quick to make. But I can tell you I missed my needles the whole time I was crocheting!

I also made good progress on Sandy's sweater; there are 3 inches left until I bind off the back piece. Each row is taking less time now that I am working on it regularly and I have the pattern somewhat memorized.

Last week I brought it to lunch and Sandy liked the pattern so far. I was worried that it wouldn't fit but when we eyeballed the size against her body, it seems like it'll work after all!

Lastly, a picture of Moosey. He's 9 Lbs now!

I want some

2009-08-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

KnitPicks is sponsoring a Zephyr Knitting Needle Set Giveaway. This company makes me weak in the knees, and they also have new products all the time. Whenever I need retail therapy (it is rare, but does happen and happen in bouts), KnitPicks will be one of my therapists of choice. Man, I want some new needles, yarn, time.... how about a winning lottery ticket?

By the way, I'm not the only one. There is a "Step away from KnitPicks" thread that is VERY active on Ravelry. The poster's first sentence starts with: "Man I need a “stop ordering” support group." AMEN!

try harder!

2009-08-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

I started thinking yesterday that I have to try and find the time to finish Sandy's sweater. Previously I was able to knit a few hours on Sundays after all the chores are done. But weekends are getting busier and busier, with the occasional work "issues" popping up.

So I'm thinking maybe I'll try knitting 30 minutes (or at least 1 row) every day. Now I just have to find the 30 minutes when I will actually DO it! Why do I have this feeling that I'm treating this like other people think about working out? I mean, I LOVE knitting. This seems so wrong!

Maybe it is because I'm now so used to spending all my time with work or Moose that knitting has fallen out of habit. I guess the effort part is to break my own habit. And lord knows I'm a habit-loving girl!

We'll see.... Sometimes goals and reality don't always agree.

Caught

2009-07-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

Moose's favorite chew things come from our laundry hamper. It's very cute but sometimes unsightly what he finds appealing.

And here is a picture of how far I got on Sandy's sweater. Of course, I have not touched the darn thing at all since the company shut-down ended.... =( Would I really have to wait until Moose is over the puppy stage before I can knit again? Waaahhh!!!

The paternal instinct

2009-07-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Wanna see Tim's paternal side? Grin...

2 needles and yarn?

2009-06-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Before said Moose, I heard there was a hobby called "knitting" which involved 2 needles and very beautiful yarn. Hum.... Maybe if I got hypnotized, I think I can recall having such an experience a long long time back....

Dream sequence (imagine harp playing in background): I am on vacation with a well-behaved Moose by my side, some KnitPicks circs* and their new tweed yarn in my hands. Lots of "nothing time" to knit and purl and knit and purl. Now I am transported to a knitting cruise out in some tropical place, I learn from the masters. I end the boat ride at Webs where I am given a HUGE gift certificate and 3 days to shop my brains out. Sigh....dreamy....

Anyway, our week-long company summer shutdown is starting at 5PM this evening. And I WILL FINISH Sandy's sweater if it kills me. I will knit until my hands bleed (or until Moose bites me) but I am KNITTING!!!! ARG!!!! Any addict who's gone through withdrawal can sympathize with me. This itch needs to be scratched NOW!

* circs, by the way, is short for circular knitting needles. My weapon of choice.

He'll cute you to death

2009-06-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

A baby's best defense is its cuteness. It works so well...

Moose cozying up to Jen my sister in law.

His legs were twitching from dreaming.

Then he flipped over.

Butt fat

2009-06-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Moose has butt fat! It's the cutest thing! It reminds me of those over-fed ducks you see at parks. They have so much excess weight that it hangs off their butts like a strapped on fanny pack!

I weighed the little guy this morning and he's at a whopping 6.4 lbs! Up 1.2 lbs from last week. Holy moly! How can something (that is not a weed) grow so fast?!

You thought this was a knitting blog!

2009-06-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done NO knitting for the past week. In fact, I feel like I've done nothing except walk and feed and clean up after Moose. In between the Moose-every-2-hour schedule, I try to squeeze in some work and sleep and making of dinner. Thankfully Tim helps with the clean up when the little guy makes a mess (so far only a few accidents). And Tim plays with Moosey which gives me some time to clean up after dinner.

Whew! It's a full time job taking care of him for the two of us!

So no knitting, and no gym. But the little guy is growing and learning! In the past 5 days, he has gained 0.4 lbs and learned to "come" and is *almost* potty trained! Whoo hoo!! I can't wait for the day when he will tell me he needs to go, instead of me taking him out just in case.

Here is Moosey on his favorite toy: Our socks.

Moosey Poo

2009-06-02T09:50:00.001-07:00

Puppies have a way of changing people. The men become the biggest softies and the women's maternal instincts take over.

With us, we feel like "real" parents for the first time. We now understand a parent's feeling that they will do (and sometimes are doing) anything for their children -- sacrifice time and comfort, work longer hours just to bring in more money, etc etc etc.

Specifically, I find myself giving up my sacred workouts and precious knitting time just so I can take care of Moose. And Tim changes into dad-zilla every time Moosey gets frightened or gets into a bit if trouble. Funny how people are wired.

Pictures? Oh you betcha. Like crazed parents with a new-born and trigger-happy camera fingers! (but I'll spare you. Here are just a few.)

New puppie

2009-05-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

See the new addition to our family! We just got him from the Oakland's HopAlong animal rescue today. He is 8 weeks old, weighs 4.8 lbs, and we named him Moose!

Indian Yarn

2009-05-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

My manager ("boss" sounds so cruel, doesn't it?) went back to India and asked if there is anything I wanted from that part of the world. And of course I said yarn. I had no idea Indians don't buy yarn (or knit I guess?) while it is 98 degrees outside. Huh! I wonder why? I would.

So he had a hard time finding a shop that have any yarn in stock, and when he did find said store, the owners laughed at him for wanting to buy it! (He said his own mother laughed when he told her what I asked for.)

Man, he is a GOOD manager. The man preserves through humiliation and heat and sickness in search for his goal. I admire his grit and I'm lucky he is my "boss."

So you wonder, what does Indian yarn in the middle of summer look like? I present:

Neat, huh?

Some day

2009-05-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Some day, I too shall be retired. And when that day comes, there will be no more MILLION things going wrong at work that needs my attention NOW! And when that day comes, I won't feel like there are a million things I'd RATHER do than work.

I mean, what's so bad about getting old?

Mikey with Miittens

2009-05-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

Ah hoy! I'm posting pictures of puppies and babies. Next thing you know politicians will be shaking my hand!

Here is me, my dad, and my nephew Mikey (wearing the Miitens I made for him).

(can you tell grandpa is very proud?)

(by the way)

2009-05-05T16:37:00.001-07:00

Tim and I are looking to adopt a puppy. We're looking for a small dog (hopefully still a puppy) that is one of the hypo-allergenic breads (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/allergy.htm).

If you know of anyone who knows of anyone who can help us find a puppy, please let me know!

Killing me

2009-05-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

I honestly think work is trying to kill me. For the past 2 days I left the house to 1) get the mail, 2) take out the trash. And my most proud accomplishment today is the shower I took. Yeah!

BUT! I did start Sandy's sweater! I converted the knit-flat pattern into knit-in-the-round. Man, I see why designers say it's a lot of work! Just converting a pattern is time consuming! Not only must the structure and pattern stay the same, the stitch count has to equal out at the end.

So WHY are so many patterns written in the flat?!?! I don't know anyone who PREFER to knit flat then seam. Are pattern the way they are because designers are used to writting in the flat? Maybe it's easier? But...if the audience wants ROUND, why then give them FLAT?

Anyway, here is Sandy's sweater so far (this is the bottom):

Here is what it will grow up to be:

Slowly changing babies

2009-04-30T08:36:00.001-07:00

I think my work is getting to me. I was trying to think of a way to summarize what my brother said about Mikey's growth. And all I can compare it to is the Data Warehouse concept of Slowly Changing Dimensions. Sigh.... I'm such a looser.

Anyway, I finished the Miitens for little Mikey, and I wanted to give them to my bro, like, NOW, because I was worried that Mikey will outgrow them in a few weeks. But Eli said "he's growing slow" and I can just give it to them in a few weeks when we get together with my mom.

What the?!?! I thought babies grow like weeds?! Appearantly some are slowly changing.

Anyway, I wrapped up the Miitens but hopefully when Mikey gets them, Eli will take a picture and send it to me for show and tell. =)

A baby jacket

2009-04-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

I took a class ("Simplified Set In Sleeve") with Joan Schrouder at Stitches West 2009. This baby jacket was part of the class assignment. I was confused during the class, but after the event I restarted the project all over at home. After a month of on-and-off knitting, I finished this little thing.

Joan is a WONDERFUL teacher, and I will take any class she teaches in the future!

Next up are some "Mii"ttens. Guess who I'm knitting for?

May I present

2009-03-22T16:58:00.001-07:00

Mr Husband in DA sweater:

Ain't he the hottie? ;-)

2009-03-16T17:43:00.001-07:00

-- March 14, 2009

I’m DONE!! I’m DONE! I'm DONE with Timmy's sweater! I’m still in a state of disbelieve! After about 7 months of working on this thing, I’m finally done!! And the final result actually looks like the picture! Whoo Hoo!!!

Pictures will come as soon Mr. Hubby wears the thing outside.

-- March 16, 2009

And also a "my-oh-my", I can't believe someone has the time and patience to do this. Look carefully now! It's not the real thing!

http://www.geekologie.com/2007/07/girl_knit_herself_a_ferrari.php

Almost....

2009-03-09T17:52:00.001-07:00

-- Update -- Woo hoo hoo!! Almost done! I spent literally all day yesterday putting the pieces together (instead of doing my taxes). It took about 8 hours to set and sew the sleeves in, sew the side seams, and weave in the ends on the inside of the sweater.

Now I have to weave the ends on the OUTSIDE of the sweater then knit up the neck part. Hopefully I will find time to do all that during the week. It would suck to have to spend another weekend on this sweater.

Now that it looks like a sweater, I'm beginning to feel some pride in the thingy. I'm also having hot and heavy dreams of my NEXT project (which will be for ME!!!).

OMG! Has it been that long?

2009-03-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's been almost 3 weeks since I last updated the blog! Not that I havent' made progress or done anything.

Her's a quick run down:

- Tim's sweater is 90% finished!!! I am done with all the knitting (save for 3 inches of the mock turtle neck) and I've begun putting the pieces together. I should be done with the entire dang thing by the middle of next week (at the latest). Pictures soon!

- I went to Stitches West last weekend, the...ah hem, how should I put this politely...wet dream of knitters along the West Coast. It was held at the Santa Clara Convention Center, and was a 4 day all-things-related-to-knitting frenzy. There were classes, fashion shows, dinners, speakers, and of course SHOPPING!!! Whoo Hoo!!

Here is a picture of a small part of the shopping area on the first, NON crowded day:

If you are REALLY interested (and you should), here was (is?) the event agenda:

http://www.knittinguniverse.com/flash/events/html/west/schedule.php

I bought yarn of course, and took 2 awesome, awesome classes. It's been a long time since I've been so excited about something that I couldn't sleep. Well, I couldn't sleep during the Stitches event. Whew! I am so pumped about knitting!

Doh!

2009-02-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

Knitting taught me a lesson the other day. I learned not to second-guess myself (too much) and to double check before I undo what I just did.

I came to this "lesson" because, for some reason, I was convinced I made a mistake in the way I knit the cuff of the 2nd sleeve (yes! I finished the first one!). So I ripped out the 2 inches I had already done, thinking I'm doing what every good knitter would do which is to admit my mistake and redo it so it's right. But after much time redoing and redoing a basic rib, I finally end up exactly where I started. A

and guess what? I was right the first time. I did not make a mistake (I double checked the 2nd cuff with the 1st cuff). All I did was waste a bunch of time all because I second-guessed myself.

ARG!!! I guess it wasn't a total waste because I did learn something valuable. Sometimes, I wonder where my brain goes. This was a total "DOH!" incident!

The dogs...

2009-02-09T11:50:00.001-08:00

What if sometimes I just don't want to work?

What if the weather is nice outside and I would rather be knitting at the library?

What if I were back in school studying for another career? Nursing? Teaching? Part time at a yarn store?

What if I started my own busines?

What if I had the dog I've wanted for so long?

Sleeves

2009-02-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

First, thanks to my super-reporter, dirt-finder friend, check out these pants (and the scarf? sweater? shorts? right after). Inspiring? Heck yeah! I bet that tape hurt....

http://www.imnotobsessed.com/node/54637

Now business: I'm almost done with one sleeve for Tim's horse (for some reason, Hjalte sounds like horse to me this morning) sweater. The thing is, as I was taking pictures, I realized I knitted the main part too far and should have started the sleeve cap section an inch ago. Arg.

And the thing is, because I converted the knit-flat-sleeve-cap directions to knit-in-round-while-planning-to-work-sleeve-cap-in-flat directions, my gauge is off. Bottom line is that the stitch count is a mess and I need to spend some major time figuring out how to fix this thing.

ARG!!! Fixing things at work is troublesome enough. Fixing things with my knitting is more frustrating.

Can't I just knit stupid blankets and scarfs? Even shawls where the gauge is not that important. Yeesh...

Here are pictures of the sleeve.

There are actually 2 mistakes (the first and more minor one being it's an inch too long right now).

Can you spot the 2nd and more major mistake?

2 little projects

2009-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

I finished the front of Tim's sweater and really needed a break. So I made a hat for me (needed it because of the cold weather we've been intermittently getting), and finished the EZ bottom-up seamless yoke sweater.

Pictures!!

Doll-sized sweater in very old and yucky acrylic yarn. I never thought a yarn could feel HARD and PLASTIC after being blocked, but this one did. Well, I guess I can't complain too much since it was a freebie. I like how the colors pooled together to look almost like a Fair Isle sweater. This sweater definitely is better in pictures than in the hand!

How many times have I professed my love for Noro yarns? Oh...if Noro were a man....

The hat is made out of 1 skein of Noro silk garden (in a discontinued colorway). But look at it...isn't it beautiful how the colors come together? Of course with everything, more notes are on my Ravelry project page.

Hachoo sweater update

2009-01-11T08:48:00.001-08:00

An update on Tim's sweater:

I'm almost done with the front of Hjalte. This has been a slow and patience-testing project, but the end is beginning to seem possible. My goal is to finish the entire sweater by the end of January; Wish me luck!

Here is where I am with the front arm-hole (entire front piece measures 23 inches so far).

Here is the front and back together so far. This thing is HUGE (to me)!

An unremarkable picture of the front so far. Hum...reminds me of the back, because it IS exactly the same as the back so far!!!!!

Smile! It's a good day!

Weird!!

2009-01-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

First, I know you are dying to know how my knitting is going.

Well...I'm almost done with the front part of Tim's sweater (or, overall about 60% done). Man.... It's becoming a labor of love at this point. I love to knit it, but it's taking FOREVER!!!!

I would include pictures but the front looks exactly like the back....I mean, I could just post the back pictures again and no one would know!!

Knitting teaches me patience and that good things takes time and effort to accomplish. Arg..... ARG!!!!! But sometimes I wish it is not such a good teacher.

But here is some crochet that is TOTALLY weird!

Hun?!?!??!

If you want to see the creator, click on the image.

By the way, crochet is DIFFERENT than knitting.

Happy new knitting year!

2009-01-01T09:02:00.001-08:00

Oooooo.... 2009. Scary how time flies....

Tim and I went to a friend's last night to celebrate the new year's coming and the old year's passing. The girls started talking about new year's resolutions. We had the usual "eat healthy" and "wear a pedometer", but the best was from Heather, who wanted to "wear heels at least once a week." Apparently it made her feel girly (which, is totally something Tim deeply appreciates and totally antithetical to the way I dress). I think it's awesome of Heather to want that. I just can't imagine myself doing the same thing! My feet probably thanks me for it too.

As for my non-knitting self, I would like to

1) Accept my dear sweet husband's kind act of folding my clothes after they come out of the laundry. I am anal about the way I like my clothes folded, but he's doing his best and I need to let go of my control-complex .

2) Not tease Tim as much in public (and he promises to do the same for me).

And most importantly, knitting goals for 2009!

* Knit a project a month, 1 project must be an Elizabeth Zimmermann project (bigger than a hat)

* Keep knitting for charity

* Knit myself something(s)

* Learn a new skill every month

(Oh, and Jen P wore the sweater [from hell] I made her. She was brave as it was a dame heavy sweater, but man does it make me smile!)

This one is for the time obsessed

2008-12-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

I asked for and received not 1 but 2 kitchen timers this Christmas. Yummy..... I've been hankering for a timer that goes "ding!" and Santa was kind to me. =)

The Chicken one was from Hubby. I LOVE it!

What kind of Flower are you?

2008-12-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

Turns out I am a Sunflower! =) That made me smile. I love sunflowers. I think they are so hapy and cheerful.

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

I am a
Sunflower

What Flower
Are You?

Click on the link if you want to find out what flower you are. Pretty fun and harmless!

It warms a knitter's heart

2008-12-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

Over dinner with part of my family yesterday, my dad proudly showed off (again) the cardigan-vest I made him. Ah....a knitter's dream come true. Someone who truly appreciates what you make for them and shows it off to others.

AND, to boot, dad's girlfriend said "once he wears it, he wears it all the time!". Oh man, that warms a knitter's heart.

This is what I want for Xmas

2008-12-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

Can someone install this gadget on my computer??

I haven't blogged much because 13 hour work days really kills the energy level.

At least I made a hat for Tim in between his sweater. Now I understand how people can let knitting projects "marinate" while only half (more or less) done. I was kinda thinking I can put the sweater aside while finishing up some other small projects.

Like a hat for me, another pair of mittens, dish towels for my dad's significant other, socks, baby things for my brother's kid-to-be, anything else that is smaller than a man's sweater.

But I power on... Timmy...sweater...must...be...finished....before summer starts. RAAAHHHH!!!!