Thursday, February 01, 2007

I've Moved!

After not blogging for many moon...I came to the conclusion I really missed the interactions I had and the friends I made...so I decided I wanted to come back to the land of the living....er...blogging.

I switched to the "new" blogger....and lost some stuff and the more I thought about it, I decided an entirely new page was in order...so, stop by and check out my new digs at:

http://saharaknits.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Yes, that was me commenting...

I'm alive. A few have noticed I'm peeking in - commenting here and there.

I've been knitting, just not blogging.

I'm sorely tempted to return to blogging, I miss it! I miss the relationships very much. We'll see.

Meanwhile...yup, I'm still alive and kicking....and most important, KNITTING!

Monday, April 03, 2006

Living yes, knitting no.

Yes, I am alive. No, I haven't been knitting. Well, except for the frantic finishing of the Baby Albert Coat for the coworker's shower. That's it. Zilch.

Moved this weekend, been working 1,000,000 hours a week (it seems), and absolutely every last measure of energy is going into finishing a troupe choreography for a performance in three weeks. Yes, that means in three weeks we travel 3 hours to perform it...and it's not done being choreographed. This tells you...I'm in over my head.

But yes, I am alive, and appreciate the enquiries as to my continued existence.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Post-Olympic Debriefing

Nope. I'm not done. In fact, I did not knit a stitch on Sunday, the final day. It was Jodie's birthday and I spent it with her.

Rogue: Well, I'm at row 24-25ish on the Bloody Hood of Doom. The rows are short...but I have to pay attention virtually every row for cables and WS/RS issues and it is exhausting. Then I peeked ahead at some of the other Roguers...and saw the grafting of the cables. I grew faint of heart right then and there. I've bookmarked a tutorial on grafting the hood, and when I get to that point I will wait until the house is quiet and sit at the computer and graft it step by step. Then it will be on to the sleeves and finishing. Did I "win" Gold? Nope, but I'm very pleased with my progress nonetheless.

Lots of movie watching this weekend...The newest Wallace & Grommit, The Man, Desert Hearts, King Arthur, and O Brother Wherefore Art Thou. The music of the latter was the music of my childhood...my mother played bluegrass/gospel/country incessantly. Sometimes I just can not listen to it...but I truly enjoyed it in the movie.

Wallace&Grommit...eh, I love 'em, but this was not my favorite.

The Man - Not a "great work" but silly and made me laugh a lot.

Desert Hearts - This is an old lesbian favorite that I had never seen. Again, Eh...it was okay. Some lesbian culture icons just don't "do it" for me...like, uh, a lot of the Indigo Girls stuff...Ani DiFranco...eh. I can take it or leave it.

King Arthur - Jodie and I are both huge fans of all things King Arthur/LOTR/fantasy type stuff. This was a very different take on the Arthurian legend. Violent and bloody, but good.

O Brother - Funny...but the music really did it for me.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

What Hedrick and I have in common...

****EDIT: A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, I REALIZED HEDRICK'S NAME IS "CHAD" NOT GREG. I'M BLAMING IT ON LACK OF COFFEE....***

Did you watch Greg Hedrick in the 6 mile speed skate last night? Here is a guy who watched the last Olympics from Reno or Vegas or some such place, played blackjack and thought to himself, "Why aren't I there?" So he did something about it...changed sports from inline skating to speed skating and four years later...he is an Olympian with a Gold, Silver AND a bronze. Last night was the most exciting moment of the Olympics that I've seen so far...He was obviously fatigued but kept on...when he saw his competitor about to overtake him a few laps before the end, despite his fatigue, he said..."oh no you don't! You're gonna have to work hard to get past me!" and he took off and won Silver.

So what do Greg and I have in common? I'm pretty damn tired from my Olympian effort, that's what. But, I'm not giving up. There have been some points lost during these Knitting Olympics...but a lot has been learned.
  • Neck cable point inside out - Lesson learned: Trust my instincts
  • Mis-crossed cable on one side of body - Lesson learned: EZ's advice about "admiring" your work frequently...I could have tinked back and dealt with this easily if I'd been watching my work...instead, I didn't see it until a day or two (and many hours of work) later.
  • Shoulder seams look a little "beginnerish" - Lesson learned: Cut myself some slack. I gave myself a load of grief over this one, till I realized, hey, this is the first time I've ever gotten this far in a sweater, the first time I HAVE seamed the shoulders, so duh, it IS beginnerish.
  • Day 15 and sweater not done, nor will it be by closing ceremonies - Lesson learned: Rogue was definitely an Olympian challenge for me. I have continued on despite my falls, double-instead-of-triple jumps, and imperfect landings. I have gotten farther on this sweater in 15 days than I have in months of working sporadically on other projects. The ultimate lesson: Knit on...despite your projects imperfections...Knit on.

Today at 7 a.m., a little over 24 hours from The End of the Olympics, I am about to start row 9 of the hood. I have some concerns...when I hold it up, the sweater looks long and skinny, weirdish. I'm holding out on that point till the sweater is blocked. Overall, I'm very happy with my progress and send out huge kudos to Steph for beginning it all in the end. Non-knitters may think we're crazy, hon, and hell, we ARE....but we are a breed apart. And in my book, that's a good thing.

Friday, February 24, 2006

It won't be noticed on a galloping horse, right?

Last night, I bound off the left shoulder of Rogue. Again, the "hide the wraps" thing eluded me, and I was too tired to go searching on the web for info on it...so I just did it my way. Does it show? A little, but not bad.

Then I spread it out to admire it...and realized that yes indeedio...the neck cable is a little wonky....because the "point" of the cable that winds up around the neck....is inside out. Yup...So....the cable just sort of appears out of nowhere to climb up the side. To rip it would be to take close to three days work out....and I don't have the heart for it. Kayla would probably not even realize it has a problem. Yes, I see it...and it bothers me, but I feel like I have to keep on. Not because of Olympic deadlines, but in the effort to finish it at all.

In the past, I would have shoved it in a bag and that would have been the end of it. In fact, that is the EXACT same thing that happened with MY Rogue... when I realized I had done part of the cable inside out...I lost all interest in it. True, I didn't care for the thiness of the fabric, but I was furious with myself for making such a stupid boo-boo.

This time, I said, "oh well. Finish it anyway. No...it won't be perfect. So what?" Better to be done and not perfect than never finished. I also realized that when I got to that point of the cable on this Rogue, I felt really confused by the whole WS/RS/Chart crap.. and I tried to do what I thought was instructed rather than following my instincts. I think the instinct was correct when I look back...So, I learned something.

In happy news for me...a child support check is coming. I shared I've been under some stress....well, part of that was that child support just mysteriously stopped about 6 weeks ago. Child support constitutes about 1/3 of my income and when your budget has no room for error...losing 1/3 of your income sucks. Now, mind you, Prince Charming continues to owe $28,888 in back child support and is about as reliable as a pet chicken. In fact, that deficit of child support for YEARS is part of what has lead directly to my dire financial situation today.

For several years, the state of Oregon wrote him letters. "Mr. Smith, you have 30 days to pay child support, or we will take action against you!" Three months later (and no child support), another letter would go out "Mr. Smith, you are in danger of getting in trouble with us...you'd better send some child support...or else!" They did that for three years...they did not garnish his wages. They did not suspend his driver's license. They did none of the things they have the power to do. I had numerous discussions with employees of the state of Oregon, the most memorable for me was the one where the woman says to me in a very condescending tone "Mrs Smith...we can not just harrass him if he's a little late!" I said, he hasn't made a payment in TWO YEARS! She replied "well, he DOES have rights you know!"

In direct contrast, when he moved to Massachustes...they wrote one letter "Mr. Smith, you owe $35,000 in back child support. You can not have a MA driver's license until you start paying. As well, we are garnishing your wages. If you quit your job, we will put you in jail."

God bless the state of Massachustes.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Slogging Ahead

Oh....This must be the spot I hit with the first Rogue that got me so confused I ended up stuffing it in a bag.

Last night, I made it into the neck cabling, and got thoroughly confused. It's that whole "WS" "RS" thing and charts...suddenly at around row 16 or 17, I realized...I was on the WS when I think I'm supposed to be on the RS...I finangled around....and now I think I have it right...uh...maybe. I'm forging ahead regardless. The cables appear to be coming along the right way...but frankly I'm not sure. Kayla will love it regardless of wonky cables and that is what counts for me today.

Another little "detail" that came along...the part where you "pick up and hide wraps as you bind off" part. That was another moment of...oh yeah..I had a problem with that last time....Did I do it correctly? I somehow doubt it....but the yarn makes it less conspicuous and I can live with it.

Will I finish by the Olympic closing ceremonies? Highly unlikely, but I will finish it!

While out at the local Michael's to use my 40% off coupon to buy a pair of Clover circs in a size I don't own...cause you know...one of these days I might NEED it...I stopped dead in my tracks...because they now carry Paton's Classic Wool. My. Absolute. Favorite. Basic. Wool. No other shop in town carries it...and there it was....I drooled. I fondled a little. I did not purchase a single ball...but it has been on my mind ever since....

Must. Remain. Strong.....