Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Just a regular old day...with some SPIRIT thrown in!!!

Today is the end of Spirit Week at my school. Why they chose a three day week? I have some suggestions, but they're not important enough to worth mentioning. But the cherry on top of the Spirit Cake is that our grade won. And all we had to do was wear some wigs, some maroon, and some team t-shirts and we were good to go. As easy as that. And what did we get to play then, with the whole school watching? Deal or No Deal.

It was totally reconstructed, except school style. Our school counselor was Howie Mandel (or whatever his name is, I don't care enough to know) with a bald cap on, the teachers were the girls with the "brief cases", which were actually manila folders, a dealer was down in the office on a walkie talkie, and the prizes were up on a computer screen that showed up on the wall. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE, you should have heard the booing when we lost it) wanted to win the grade dance that was offered as the second greatest prize (the greatest prize was winning a movie in the auditorium). But what did we win? Five extra minutes of lunch. Whoop-de-freakin'-do. And that was the offer from the dealer. Ifthe boy playing hadn't taken that, we would have gotten an apple or a cookie for every person in the whole grade. The other grades were cheering, and we wanted to wring their necks since we were in a bad mood and were all upset at what we'd "won". On the other hand, I was talking (ok, ok, complaining) to the vice prinicipal, and he said he might be able to talk to the prinicipal to at least get us something more that we could celebrate with. Good ol' Dr. Bell.

In other knitting news I finished the lace dish cloth, though I messed up and lost a stitch at one point (probably one of those tricky yarn-overs) and the pattern got out of order. It looks ok to a knitter, but to a non-knitter, you won't notice. Trust me, I asked my mom, and all she said was "What mistake?". I began an entrelac dishcloth, but that didn't work out so well (the side edge started to go sideways and then everything else crashed from there, literally) and was quickly frogged. Then I decided to cast on for the Spiral Rib Bag, but I "misread" the pattern and didn't read the part that said "cast on with waste yarn", which means that I should have used a provisional cast on. And the provisional cast on is what I've been doing (correction, attempting) for the last half-hour before I gave up and decided to do it in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now I have tomorrow and Friday I get to veg out with no school as well as the weekend. Knitting, here I come!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

47+2=49

I've got another one, courtesy of Limey from the KH forum:
48. I've encouraged a Limey knitter to knit in the round and put her straights in storage for the time being.

And another:
49. I like encouraging a Limey knitter to do things, especially since she listens.





The week from hell (or at least limbo)

I know, I know, I haven't been around very often. And I am truly, very sorry. But I have an excuse, and a good one too! My dog didn't eat my computer, and aliens didn't hold me hostage. I was sick with something. What I was sick with? I don't know. But I was sick, let me tell you.

It started off last Sunday, when I was babysitting and started to feel sniffly and very tired. I was sure that it was a cold, though I told the people that I had allergies because that's what they assumed (my eyes were red too). But I knew it wasn't a cold, I could feel it. I can just tell about these things. But I came home, told my mom I felt horrible, and she thought it was allergies too. She gave me a Clarinex and slet me skip dinner. Surprise, surprise, the Clarinex didn't help, and still felt bad, though I managed to eat a lot of Townhouse crackers and two bowls of pasta.

The next day was Monday, and I was grateful that we didn't have school because I felt horrible and I have already missed a lot of days. I went to school the next day though, but I missed Thursday and Friday because of lack of sleep and nausea and a hacking cough. I felt better later afternoon Friday, and invited my friend over to watch Little Miss Sunshine (great movie by the way, but is pretty innapropriate). We ate more pasta and bread and then made plans to go to Close Knit, a yarn store nearby, the next day.

Saturday I felt much better, and was able to go to Close Knit without feeling like I was going to puke. The weather might have helped me feel better as well, because it was a nice sunny day and we were outside for at least half an hour. I got some yarn for my mom's Mother's Day top that she was eyeing since I got needles for ML. We went to the mall and then back to her house. I was planning on sleeping over her house, but couldn't fall asleep and finally left at 1 AM in a frustrated heap. Sunday was horrible, I felt nauseous all day. I ate almost nothing but Saltines and was worried I wasn't going to make it to school the next day.

But, of course, I couldn't get to bed Sunday night. I ended up falling asleep at 1 AM after some Benadryl and a stint at the computer. Monday I made it to school, but was faced with the horror of missing work, disecting frogs, and a test I didn't know about. Yeah, I know, fun day huh?

Last night, I couldn't get to bed again. Not being able to fall asleep is very frustrating. You lie there, thinking about going to sleep with your eyes open and why you can't go to sleep and when will I fall alseep. My mother angrily gave me another Benadryl ("I told you not to come in my room! Why didn't you just stay outside! You're invading my privacy!") at 12 AM. I didn't stay in bed for much longer, and finally decided to camp out at the computer again and wait until my eyelids got heavy. They started to droop around 1:30 AM, and I fell asleep about 15 minutes later. So there's my excuse for not writing. Is that good enough? I told you it wasn't your standard "Dog ate your computer" excuse.
I also started a top down raglan based on http://www.glampyre.com's Boobholder using some cheap Cottonease from Michaels. I'm loving the stuff, though the cotton part of it tends to split a lot and doesn't have a lot of give. The color is a little bit deeper than in the picture, but you get the idea. I'm sick of knitting the stockinette already, but I still have a good ten inches to go. *Sigh* the hardships of knitting.

I recently put my sweater on hold (gladly) to knit dishcloths for my dad's second cousin's wedding shower (I have no idea how she is related to me, but I'll just call her a bride). At first I decided to do http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer04/PATTpetitchou.html Petit Chou, but I put it off and put it off and finally decided that dishcloths were good enough anyway. I've started one using the English Lace Pattern from Loop-D-Loop's Cashmere Lace Blouse, and I like how it's coming out so far. I only wish I could memorize the pattern though, instead of having to look at it every other row. Maybe memorizing comes with skill

The Lily&Cream is for more dishclothes. I picked this up at Michael's last night, but my dad and I took forever picking out the colors because we didn't know what would go in her kitchen. I really think I should have taken along my mom for that. The Simply Soft is for a Spiral Rib bag from One Skein. I might not have time to get that done though, because the wedding shower is on Sunday. Maybe if I knit fast enough...

One more bonus pic: It's the yarn for my mom's tank. The color is brighter though, but I had to take the picture without the flash because no one wants to see ugly neon orange.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Where, oh where did the sunshine go? Where, oh where can it be?

That is exactly what I'm singing in my head right now as I look out the window to see a swimming pool in my neighbor's yard. When will the rain stop?! I know the old saying "April showers bring May flowers", but this is ridiculous. It has been raining for two straight days, and school was even canceled today because of flooding. Of course that means more knitting time, but I have been feeling headache-y and sniffly since yesterday. After waking up I feel even worse and I also have a very dry mouth because I can't breath through my nose. I have to tell everyone, I have not been a happy camper these past two days.

On another note, I finally finished my Magic Loop socks! I didn't have time to get a picture though, because I was so behind on time trying to finish them. My mom had to wrap them for me while I was upstairs changing out of my pajamas and into something decent (my Sesame Street t-shirt). I ran all the way over there (almost forgetting an umbrella, which was the stupidest thing I've done in a while), gave my "employer" the socks, and ran upstairs to go say hi to the little boy. He opened them, but didn't seem too happy. All that for nothing! My god, I was shaking trying to finish my socks, ran all the way over here, and he doesn't even like them. I was disapointed, but when I got home my mom said that she though it was odd to be making a pair of socks for her, but once she tried them on she wasn't able to take them off. She said it would be the same thing when he tried his on as well. That made me feel a little better, though I was horribly sniffly around that time and nothing cheered me up too much.

But one thing that cheers me up is that my Options arrived! I was so happy seeing them in the mail that I tore open the box without scissors. I immedietly organized everything into little packets with the cable size/needle size written on the front. I'm planning on trying them out today on another pair of Magic Loop socks for me this time with some Cascade Fixation. Wish me luck!

Monday, April 9, 2007

My Creative Streak

I have this English teacher, see. And she assigned us to find 15 of our favorite poems. "Ok, easy enough," I said to myself and I gathered 15 poems from books and the Internet and brought them in. Then she announced to use that we were going to be writing poems based off of the ones we gathered and that they were due in two weeks. All the mouths in the class literally dropped.

Those two weeks went quickly and the deadline approached: Friday the 30th. After reviewing our poems, the teacher gave us until over the break to bring in the 15 poems which I was especially grateful for because I only had three handed in at the time. But like any obsessive knitter would, I knitted the whole week and didn't bother to write any poems. Enter my panic Sunday night. I realized I had to write a good 11 poems for me to get an A for this project and began frantically gathering new (*cough**cough* shorter *cough**cough*) poems for me to write up, because I had chosen some hard poems and knew I couldn't get the ones I had chosen originally done on time. I found a few good short poems, and managed to write some decent crap (I don't write well under pressure; the mood has to strike me) that hopefully she will accept.

But by the time I had stayed up as late as I could, I only had 11 poems. So I set my alarm for 15 minutes earlier (6:00 instead of 6:15), planning to finish at least 3 more poems and that maybe I could write one in homeroom. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way. I woke up, took a shower, got dressed, got some breakfast, and then sat staring at the computer for five minutes before getting up the mojo to write something. I wrote some stuff and then began to cry because it was even worse than the crap I had written last night. And I couldn't even get it to match up with the rhyme schemes of the other poems on top of that. I went on KH and skipped 2nd period (complaining of a stomachache) which is my English period and everything was fine. I knew I would have to face my English teacher eventually though, so I went to see her after school to hand her my 11 poems. She took one look at me and said "Come to me 1st period so we can look over them then". I can't tell you how happy I was. I didn't even tell her I didn't have the 15 poems, I just nodded and walked away before she used her awesome English teacher powers to realize that I didn't do my homework (teachers are like that, you know). So here, in all there glory, are my favorite poems that I've written.

The Sun Outside
The sky sits snugly in my window
Bright yellow, deep blue and clouds so white
The sun gives off a bright, burning glow
That I adore so often, although
I find I have learned to dread the night.

I sit by my window every day
And cherish watching the waning sun
Flits across sky as if to play
With my eyes and the clouds as its prey
Glad for the games it’s finally won.

Time passes and moments quickly fly
Out of my window and to night
Where the moon appears and rises high.
I lost chance to say good-bye
To my friend the sun and all its light.

Until day arrives, I disappear
To fill my mind with thoughts of the sun
While sleep surrounds me the sky grows clear
As the moon goes down and time grows near
For the dawn to come and light to shine.
Based on “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost




A War Not Over
What happens when we start a war?

Loved ones are gone
And sometimes they don’t come home
Battles are won or lost
We move on
What happens when guns are shot?
The soldiers we knew are dead.
They are brave, we are not

Who will stop the war?
You and you alone.

If not you, then who?
Based on “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes


Baby Bird
Baby bird lies in my garden
Its breathing slows, almost stops
Wings are twisted at its side
In the flowerbed it’s caught.

A walk outside leads me to it
As tears roll down my face
I slide my hands underneath it
To beat its losing race.

I lay it on my pillow
And pat its small wings down
It lets out a tiny cry
So grateful to be found.

I remember that spring day
When the baby bird did die
Its tiny last cry haunts me
Though I know I did try.


Based on “I Have Not Told My Garden Yet” by Emily Dickinson


A Joyous Greeting
The waves eat up the sands
With foamy fingered hands
As light dances down with glee
The clouds you can only see
But the sea has a gentle croon
That calls up to the moon
“Shine on us!” the sea sings
A joyous greeting.
Based on “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost


What Hope Needs
Hope grows like a fire big and bright
Starting out as a spark with no light
It seems there is nothing there at the time
But wait long enough and soon you will find
That the spark is growing at rapid pace
Although the blowing wind is trying to chase
Away the light that the spark is casting
It doesn’t work; light is everlasting
It continues to grow until it is massive fire
Proving that to have hope, you need desire.
Based off “Life” by Sir Walter Raleigh


An Old Man’s Last Memory
I see a man standing with lantern in hand
Light is cast on his feet as he walks toward the tall lighthouse
Only he knows what has happened where he stands
All those joyous years ago when all his loved ones where here

He has shaken and cried to the beat of hearts
Of people close to him. He has laughed with old buddies that
He hadn’t seen in years, because of depart
His life is on this beach, where he comes to see one last time

He heads toward the lighthouse and opens the door
Looking around at what was once his before he grew older
He walks inside and greets the walls before he
Says a teary good-bye to his last living memory.
Based off “I Hear An Army” by James Joyce


Brother
My brother never leaves
He never leaves me, but I admit
I have not earned his trust at all
He is kind when I’m mean
And even kinder when I’m not
I don’t deserve it
We are family and will be
Through the hardships that
Continue to test us, brother.
By Sarah Lewis, based on “Kin” by Carl Sandburg

One Kind Soul
Only one kind soul is needed
To make a young person smile
And while only for a while
A new friend is quickly yielded
Based on “The World’s Need” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox


Here is also an update on my socks. I have gotten considerably farther due to some car knitting.

I forgot to wish everyone a happy Easter in my sugar coma. So here it is:

Happy Easter everybody!

Sunday, April 8, 2007

I better get some nice thighs soon (and some socks)


In my language, that means I went hiking yesterday with my dad and brother (and dog) at Ramapo Reservation. It was cold, but beautiful once we reached the top. Besides, I had on a few layers and my hand knit arm warmers and hat with me. I was prepared, don't you fretting mothers worry.

Every time I go up there, I feel like I'm staring down at a tiny piece of the earth from space, or I'm at the top of the world staring down. You get this amazing feeling of hope and happiness and life, all rolled into one. I just love going up there, even if it is a long way up. The view never ceases to amaze me. After we got down from the mountain, it was around 4:30, so we went and ate an early dinner/late lunch sort of thing at KFC (warm, mashed potatoey goodness). I love their mashed potatoes, no matter how fattening. I need some fat.

I also started a pair of socks for the father of the little boy I babysit. He's turning 51 (I think), and I decided to make him a last minute pair of socks. Yes, I used Red Heart Supersaver, for all you yarn snobs out there, but I dare ya to sue me. It was cheap, and it was the only manly color I had with me. Besides, they're washable, and what father of a two year old doesn't like washable? A crazy one, I tell you.
I'm using http://www.cometosilver.com/socks/SockClass_Intro.htmsilver.com/socks/SockClass_Intro.htm, Silver's Sock Class. This tute is awesome, but I tried at least five times the night before and kept losing stitches and adding stitches, and I just couldn't get it (I blame it on the lack of sleep and food, considering it was 11:00 and I hadn't had dinner). I went to sleep, knowing it would click in morning and it did. I started with grey Woolease though, but I switched to Red Heart because it doesn't split as much. So far, I'm loving these socks because I always have a bad case of SSS (Second Sock Syndrome, for all you non-knitter's out there, may God have mercy on your souls), so two at a time socks always get my seal of approval. I am using Addi Turbos that cost me three hours of babysitting (which comes up to $21!), but they are definitely worth it. They are the perfect needles. They never snag on the yarn, and no matter how small the stitch, I can always get it on to the needle no problem because the needles are so slippery. Now I'm leaning towards a set of KnitPicks Options, because everyone at KH said they were great. I'm torn between a set of Denises though, because they offer more needle sizes and are cheaper. I will probably end up getting the Options though, because they had then nickel-plated needle like the Addis. Anyone who disagrees with me now, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Here are some more pics from Ramapo. I hope you enjoy!

Friday, April 6, 2007

17+30=47 (The number of things about me I have written)

As promised, here is more things about me...I can't say I'll get to 100 though, because I am just to lazy for that.
18) I began knitting in Winter '05, when my friend taught me. I messed up her garter stitch scarf though, causing her to frog it and for her to hate me for a while
19) My favorite knitting magazines are Knitscene and Interweave Knits (so far. I have a tendency to buy out the shelf whenever I go to bookstores that have knitting mags)
20)I always check out a million knitting books from the library and forget to return them because I love looking at the patterns. I never end up knitting anything from the books though. One day I hope to; I'll add it to my things to do
21) I like the winter more than the summer, at least this year. The coming of spring means that school is almost over, and though kids normally like it when school is over, the school year went incredibly fast and pretty soon I'll be at another school
22) I am constantly on the lookout for vintage knitting patterns, though the small gauge tends to scare me away from ever knitting them
23) I am currently on a cotton yarn high, buying lots of CottonEase and Berroco Love It
24) I plan to make things soon, but getting started is also on my list of things to do
25)I have a very long list of things to do
26) Everyone in my family thinks I am over-obsessed with knitting. My mom and brother comment on it, my dad not so much
27) I have lots of allergies, including dogs, cats, guines pigs (ironic, isn't it, that I have all three), ragweed (and what is this stuff?), mold, pollen, poison ivy, dust mites, and more that I can't think of right now
28) I love ice cream, especially black cherry from Maggie Moo's, even though it's $4.06 (don't ask me how I know this price) per cup. I recently found out, after getting my braces changed, that I love vanilla and caramel ice cream. I'm sorry if I have dan addiction, but who doesn't have one?
29) That being said, I find it surprising that i'm not overweight
30) My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. I always get minestrone soup and chicken giardino, and sometimes get a virgin strawbery daquiri (<---sp?) if the wait is long enough
31) I went to Olive Garden for my birthday, and got some really awesome cake that my mom ate about two days later. I find it surprising that she isn't overweight either
32) Oh, and I also love chocolate cake
33) Can you tell I like food in general?
34) I am Episcolpalian (<---sp? I know, I'm so bad), but I rarely ever go to church. My dad can never get me out of bed early enough to go, and decided to give up a few months ago
35) I knit for the Seaman's Institute at my church once a month. We knit hats, scarves, vest ect. for the men in the navy. This is where I was forced to learn the purl stitch and where my obsession for knitting really began. The only thing I hate about knitting for Seaman's is that we use Red Heart (please, shoot me now)
36) I hope to go to an Ivy League college, like Yale. My mom says as long as I save the money, so so far I have about $1, 110. I know, not that much for college. But it helps in my own little world
37) I try to remember to watch America's Next Top Model every Wednesday, though usually I forget and have to watch the marathons on Vh1
38) I have only gone on an airplane twice, once to Disney in Florida and back. Don't call me pathetic, because my mom hates flying. I call it irrational, she calls me pushy, though I think the latter is worse
39) I mother's helper for this older couple (not that old, like my mom's age) with a 2 yr. old, who is just the cutest thing in the world! I love going, but I tihnk she overpays me at $7 an hour
40) I own my own digital camera, which I got this one for Christmas after I "lost" my old one. My definition of lost, however, was the most odvious place in the world: in my camera case. I found it two days after Christmas. My mom wasn't very happy, to say the least
41) i got tons of yarn for Christmas as well, but i still don't know what to do with it
42) My mom crochets and often confuses calls it knitting. She hasn't been corcheting though lately, but I'm trying to get her to make someone a hat for some new inspiration (I'll be a miracle worker if I ever get it done)
43) My mom and dad reluctantly support my knitting. They take me to my LYS whenever I need yarn, and they go halfsies (I made a new word!) with me with what I buy. This helps me be not as broke as I would be if I had to pay for all of it
44) This getting harder and harder as I get higher in the numbers. Think, think, there's lots of interesting stuff about me!
45) I have a habit of talking to myself whenever no one is around
46) I'll stop here, and finish later
47) This proves my point that I am a procrastinator

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Noob Blogger...all you vets be nice
So this is my first and only blog, and now that I've started it I have no idea what to write about. I guess I should just start with 100 (ok, maybe not that much) things about me. At least, I'll try. I have to say, my life isn't very interesting. Remind me why I started a blog again?
1) I knit (way to point out the odvious, I know)
2) I belong to http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/forum/ which is an awesome knitting forum
3) I play the clarinet
4) I am a big perfectionist. Everything I do, I try to do as best as I can.
5) That means that I usually get good grades
6) But surprisingly, I am a procrastinator. (<---sp?)
7) I have reddish hair
8) My family has no idea where the color came from
9) But my brother has the same color
10) People used to mistake my brother and I for twins
11) We are only 16 months apart
12) I have a nutso dog, named Suki (check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/36021300@N00/for more photos of all my finished stuff, pets, ect.)
13) I am 5'2" and 96 lbs, just to give you a good idea about me. I actually look taller than I am, though, because I have long legs, like the rest of my family does.
14) I am constantly getting growing pains in my legs, which I dread, especially when I have to move around
15) I have braces and an expander. I hate them a lot, and whenever I get them changed I live on yogurt and ice cream.
16) My orthodontist is very vague about when I'm getting my expander off, let alone my braces.
17) I think I'll finish up later, I should go to bed soon. Want to catch the morning episode of Knitty Gritty!I hope you like my intro to my new blog. Sorry it's not more interesting, I promise it will get more so as it goes one!