The Almost Final Thank You

At the end of the Secret Pal swap, you're supposed to say who your secret pal was.

My Pal did everything right - right down to including a card in the last package with her blog address and her name. Which I promptly misplaced.

I also sent an email a couple of days ago to the address that she's probably not checking any more in which I pointed out that I am a complete idiot.

So, here is my thank you to my still no-thanks-to-me secret Secret Pal.

Oh, sometimes I just hate being me.



Isn't that a beautiful package? I think it's beautiful! That picture shows a pair of Regia Silk in color 0184, some beautiful Lana Grossa Meilenweit bosco in 3513, some scrumptious Hill Country Yarns Instant Gratification sock yarn (100% superwash merino) in a colorway called cowboy, and finally 3.4 ounces of Freckle Face Fibers 100% blue faced Leicester in a colorway called caravan. This just might get me to learn to spin - with the boring plain wool I got with my spindle first and then this. It's really lovely.

Secret Pal 13 signups start October 15. I was a horrible pal this time around. I think I'll sit the next one out, since I'd have to keep up with it during the holidays, which I don't do well to begin with. I'll be following along, though!

Overdue Photos - Thank You Secret Pal

I generally have a rule for myself. I may not use anything from my secret pal packages until I've taken photos.



That's an absolutely unbreakable rule for candy.

I thanked my SP for the package off-line and promised photos.



Well...it was 6 balls of yarn, not a scarf and 4 balls of yarn.

Really. She would not have stolen from me the pleasure of knitting that scarf. The yarn I turned into Harlot's one row scarf is two skeins of Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes) on size US11/8mm needles. That was lovely yarn. It made great airplane knitting. I almost finished the whole thing flying one way from Hartford, CT to Las Vegas, NV.

The other lovely yarns are Patons Kory Socks and something I'd never seen before - Debbie Mumm Traditions. Debbie Mumm appears to be the JoAnn Fabrics house brand, and it looks like it's meant to be a Noro knock-off. Um, Noro is nice stuff, but I've never gotten my hands on any Noro that was as soft as this. (Oooh! An excuse to go fondle a skein of Silk Garden! Nope, not as soft.) And this is superwash. I like it!

Thank you Secret Pal!

Stuff

Yes, I'm alive.

For some silly reason I thought I'd blog from Vegas. Don't ask me what I was thinking. I have no idea. I spent the week at a conference and had a great time.

I owe you pictures of the second box I received from my Secret Pal. I sent a thank you and then knitted two skeins of yarn on the plane despite my intent to never use anything from my package until I've taken pictures. So when the photos eventually arrive here, there will be four skeins of yarn and a scarf, instead of the actual package contents of six skeins of yarn.

If that doesn't show I liked it, I don't know what will!

We had no power at my house for several hours this week. A local road was closed while they took care of the tree that was jealous of the phone poles. You have to enlarge this photo to actually see the tree - it's between the two utility vehicles. What you see in this photo is actually a leaning phone pole next to the tree. It was closer to cleared up than not when I took this photo.



I'm still re-setting stuff on timers. Since I got a battery-powered alarm clock, I haven't had any nervous nights over potentially missed alarms due to mid-night power outages.

I'm two questions behind in the SP12 questions of the week.

Question #9:
Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?

Well. Let's see. No, I never have. We don't have a fair in this town, but we do in the town where I grew up (one town over). I think if I were going to enter my knitting in a fair I wouldn't do it there - I might do one of the larger regional fairs. If a bunch of friends were doing it, I might be more likely to bother. I don't generally go to fairs. Fairs are OK, just not the first thing on my list. I've never regretted giving a fair a miss.

Question #10
What Olympic event would best describe your knitting/knitting style?

In order to come up with some sort of answer to this, I really am going to have to think waaaaay outside the box, aren't I? Gaaaah. This is why I am not a successful writer. I'm too literal. I can knit pretty quickly, but I'm not up to Olympic speeds, so I guess that leaves out swimming, the luge, speed skating, ski jump, etc. Sometimes I do cables, so I guess that would be gymnastics? But what's lace? Javelin? And I rarely ever do colorwork, which maybe is more like couples ice skating? I have no idea how to answer this question. Obviously I should've surfed everyone else's answers and come up with something utilizing everyone else's creativity!

I'm sure there's more to say. I just have no idea what that might be at the moment.

SP Question of the Week #6 & 7

Yes, I missed one...

What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?

Socks. I wouldn't so much say it's my favorite project as the project I pick when I can't decide what to do or want to be able to do without having to learn something new. It's more complicated than a scarf, smaller than a scarf, more portable than a scarf, but about the equivalent of a scarf for me.

What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit?

In restaurants and at conferences and meetings. I don't knit at work work meetings very often, but occasionally I'll either be very ... agitated ... and since everybody knows knitting calms me down, I'll knit through a meeting once in a while. But it's rare to find me without knitting at any other meeting! If I had a TV, I'd knit while watching all the time.

I don't knit in bed as often as I used to due to recent abdominal issues. I'm not sure my sweetheart has reason to find this an improvement.

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?

Someplace comfortable to sit and either a presentation or conversation.

Coming soon: a picture of why I just ripped back and re-knit a sock in a yarn that I don't particularly like.

Secret Pal Question of the Week #5

1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?

We quite enjoy Portland, Oregon.

2) Where is one place you’d like to go?

The moon. Mars as a close second. I'd be quite happy to settle for the International Space Station.

Hey, you asked!

SP Question of the Week #4

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?

I have no bulky yarn. Occasionally I think I might like to make a scarf out of a bulky yarn, but I don't have any. And by the time I go shopping, I forget that I wanted bulky yarn, so I never get around to picking some up.

I'd also like to try out Louet Gems one day. And I'd like to maybe knit up a scarf in a skein of Manos del Uruguay. But I've got stuff in my stash that will keep me happy when I start thinking those might be nice. My lack of anything bulky leaves me ... kicking myself for never thinking of buying any bulky wool.

2) What yarn do you never want to be without?

Sock yarn. Superwash wool. At the moment it feels like I have too many multi-colored skeins and not enough single-color skeins. I knit socks and fingerless gloves for quick projects I can use to play with stitch patterns. Socks keep me out of trouble.

SP Question of the Week #3

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?

Well, that's a tough one. As soon as I want to make something and don't have the right yarn for it, I don't have the right amount of stash. I suppose for me content is more important than quantity...sort of. I guess the perfect stash would be enough to make a sweater out of everything ... so that I could make a bunch of smaller items with the leftovers. Right now I find myself wishing I had more solid colors, because I'm playing with my Japanese knitting books, and cables and lace seem to show up (show off?) better on solids than variegateds.

On the other hand, define stash? I think for me it's more than just the yarn. It's the books/patterns/sources of assistance as well as the tools. I'd consider my Ravelry account to be a kind of stash, since it's a stash of everything from organization to inspiration. The yarn stash is too much with nothing to make from it. And it's too little - or just wrong - if it doesn't lend itself to being made into something.

So I suppose I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect amount of stash. I think it's a perpetual work in progress. And like anything else tightly tied to an attempt to foresee the future, occasionally you have to go through it and decide if it's something you want to keep, use, or find a new home for.

Maybe the next question will be a little easier? Nah. I think too much.

Thank You Secret Pal!

I'm showing this package in two parts. First the fun stuff:

That's a Japanese box for small stuff, a notepad and some cute buttons, a very cute postcard, a kitty cat bell, airplane-safe scissors (I could've used those last week!), a pair of charmed needle-holders, a multi-yarn separator, and a reminder to use my bookmooch account! More of that stuff is Japanese than I mentioned - and she told me where I could get more! Oh, that's tempting.

But there was more in the box. There were to balls of Bernat Matrix in a nice silver/black combination. And a well-filled-out bag. A Sephora bag? That's a very luxurious bag, about the right size to hold a sock project. So I peeked inside and was surprised to find a pair of balls of Patons Kroy! And what a nice color combination!



What a great package! Thank you Secret Pal!

The SP12 Question of the Week

So, the question of the week is: As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?

Endless hours reading, bicycling and programming on my father's TRS-80.

It's funny, during the period that I'm thinking of, I wasn't knitting much. Actually, I never knitted much as a kid, but I did go through phases when I'd knit stockinette squares and tubes. I didn't actually make anything until my late teens.

But I remember my grandmother worrying that I'd ruin my eyes from all that reading.

At my grandparent's house, where I actually spent most of my time, I didn't have a bicycle, so I did a lot of reading. Their house is now mine, and I still don't do any bicycling to speak of - my grandfather built his house near the top of a rather steep hill. So did my father, but we were located on a fairly flat part and there was a small, sparsely-populated block with a slight rise where I would go back and forth for hours. I never much liked exercise, but I'd put up with pedaling uphill so that I could turn around and coast back down it.

But on rainy days, when I was with my parents and not my grandparents, I'd spend hours in front of the computer, writing programs in TRS-80 Basic level 1 and then later level 2. One year I even got to go to computer camp. I was never so happy as I was that year with all those other kids (you know, they were mostly boys?) who were as addicted and even more addicted to making the computer do stuff than I was. It was really great.

It was kind of like last week.

I'm too lazy to do this right

I got my act a wee bit in order. Not in order enough to put this where it belongs - in the sidebar. Later. After I come back from my vacation during which I will try to re-learn enough Perl to keep up with everyone else and make sense of the master class we're attending after the main conference has ended. (I'm going to YAPC. I'll be the idiot knitting. You won't be able to miss me.)

Anyhow, "this" is my Amazon SP Wish List. I now have more than one wish list - I used to have one in which I mixed up books people had recommended to me with books I really wanted but didn't want so very much that I had run out and gotten them yet, so I really wasn't so keen on publishing it for my pal to shop from.

Speaking of things I really wanted and ran right out and got them, I'll post a full library of Japanese knitting pattern books that I've splurged on. Later. When I get back. Or you can check out my LibraryThing list in the sidebar.

Favorite Summertime Drink

Well, Secret Pal 12 is off to a bang, to say the least. We've got our matches and we've got our first question - what is your favorite summertime drink?

If there is one thing I do, it's over-analyze. Does this mean alcoholic? We don't really drink anything special in the summer. What do I drink the most of anyhow?

In truth, I guess the answer really has to be water. I prefer carbonated water, but still, it's water. My favorite all-time drink is coffee, but in the summertime when I'm thirsty I'll go for water. I like it with no ice, and maybe some lime, lemon, or a dash of something else for flavor. We've flavored it with extracts imported from Sainsbury's (yes, a grocery store in England), with such exotic combinations as lime and ginger. But it's important that it not be overly-flavored and even more important that it not be too sweet. If I'm going to satisfy a thirst, the plainer the better.

How dull, eh?

[I edited this post because the first time I published it, I let the spell checker trick me into calling the grocery store, "Salisbury's." Oops.]

SP 12 Questionnarie

Possibly more important than the answers to the questionnaire may be a bit about my personality.

- I like to play with yarn. If I got a couple of balls of yarn every so often I'd be quite happy. One ball of yarn is usually not quite enough to do anything with, even though I bought that One Skein book.

- I like gadgets. Don't assume I have them all. Those little inexpensive extras, like those blunt plastic needles to darn in the ends, are the things I misplace.

- I do not need things to be brand new. I participate in freecycle. I like used books, CDs, DVDs, etc. I was CHARMED when my sweetheart bought me clearance chocolates after Valentines Day for my birthday (three days later). An email with a link to your top-ten favorite free internet patterns will MAKE my day.

I hope that helps. Here's the questionnaire.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

It depends on what I'm making, but basically I prefer stuff I can throw in the wash. That said, I really like the feel of real wool. Man-made fibers are ok, as long as they're not the standard Red Heart acrylic or similar.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I've got a nice circular needle holder, and the rest are in ... drawers and a pencil holder.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I learned young - by the age of 10, I'm sure. My grandmother taught me to knit continental, as she was from Germany. I consider myself intermediate - but that's patchy. I'm having difficulty putting a sweater together and I'm knitting fancy lace patterns out of my Japanese knitting books. So I knit scarves and socks mostly.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

My Amazon wish list is a bit odd - it's full of stuff that other people recommended to me and I haven't gotten around to. In fact, much of it I may end up borrowing from the library. I'll go on there and put up a knitting-related wish list and post a link to it from my blog. I'll also get my rear in gear and update my librarything list with all the knitting books that I already have.

5. What's your favorite scent?

Rosemary, Mint, Lavender, Rose, Cinnamon.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I will admit to really liking SweeTarts. And chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

One of these days I will learn to spin. I garden, but not well. If I'm trying to unwind and I'm not knitting, I'm reading.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I've recently started hanging out at last.fm where my username is procrastinatus. I would like some recommendations of artists to check out. I started out listening mostly to Neil Gaiman's radio, most of which I like, but I've branched out to playing similar artists streams. I've recently enjoyed similar artists to: Snow Patrol, Jonathan Coulton, James Blunt, Coldplay, Dido. I was thrilled to find the Arrogant Worms are available on their site.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I do not get along with orange or coral, unless is as a complimentary color in a mix. If I have a huge pallet of colors to choose from, I will avoid brown and red, as well. I actually am quite fond of black, as well as blue and green and violet and even sometimes yellow. I really like lemon yellow. Mmmmm, lemons.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am currently without pets. I have been considering rabbits and/or chickens. I think I will spend quite a bit more time thinking before I do anything. I may take up vermicomposting again - that's essentially raising earthworms.

I am engaged, which is quite a surprise, as I had decided that I cared too much for this guy to marry him when we moved in together fourteen years ago. A friend of mine informed me just today that the main character in a television show (I've never seen it) called Foyle's War bears an uncanny resemblance in humor and mannerisms my sweetheart. I don't know if that's true, but if so, I'm sure I'd like the show!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves - sometimes. Hats - all winter. Mittens - rarely. Fingerless gloves are cool. Ponchos - never.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks. Each time I go to a new section of the sock, I'm sick of the last one. It's perfect for my short attention span.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Socks. I'm about to frog the Mystery shawl back to my last lifeline and get on with it. And a scarf. The scarf is so I can play with a pattern out of my Japanese pattern book.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I was in love with my Addi Turbo circulars until I got my hands on the Knitpicks circulars. They've got pointier ends. It turns out, I'm a circular needle person. People who used to know me would be shocked.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Actually, Yes!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Two years? Three years? It's a purse - I've got to block it and sew it together.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

I don't think I'm particularly partial to any of them, really. We're actually attempting to create a new one, though. Beagle day. It's a bon-voyage party to be held for the H.M.S. Beagle, which left port on December 27.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Giraffes!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I subscribe to Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and Cast On (the knitting guild one). I just let my subscription to Piecework expire.

I will admit I've been eyeing the Harmony circulars at KnitPicks. A long circular somewhere in the range of 0-4 would be really nice.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Yeah - finishing. How Garment Shaping Really Works. I also don't like the DNA pattern on the classic DNA scarf, so I keep failing to develop a DNA pattern that I do like. So I keep knitting swatches (scarves and socks) to get a better idea of exactly how all these stitch combinations work. I can't seem to get my brain around what I'm trying to do ... someday.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

foot length - 9.5"
ball circumference - 9.5"

23. When is your birthday?

February 17.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

heh heh...I'm procrastinatus. Whiningprocrastinator was too long.

If you scroll down to the bottom of my blog - under the weatherpixie (which may or may not work anymore) on the right hand side here - I have links to my answers to SP8 and SP9. I'll eventually get around to moving them higher - and I'll see if I have another set of answers - I thought I participated in SP11, too. And I'll update my wishlist and put a link there.

But right now I'm going to bed.

Murderers and Secret Pal 12

First I want to ask you to help a friend of mine, who's a mystery author. This week she was the featured blogger on her publisher's site and she did something a little different from what they wanted her to do. You know, marketing departments want you to push your books. She wanted to muse about murderers. As you may know, comments are king in the blogging world, and she needs all she can get. So if you find the topic interesting, please go put in your two cents worth!

Secondly, Secret Pal 12 has opened for sign ups! They're doing things a little differently this time. I hope it works better for them. If I read the blog correctly, sign ups close on May 30, and I think they're limiting participants to 300.

If you're still reading, let me tell you how I've recently wasted a lot of time - go to You Tube and search on Derren Brown. Watch as many as you can in any order that strikes your fancy. He's addictive.