Nothing to report
No, no I don't have anything to talk about right now.
All I have been working on are two super-secret projects. One is about half-done and has a looming deadline. The other is... ten percent? I think? It's big. And time-consuming. And Secret. And so gorgeous that I really, really want to take pictures and show them off, but I can't. Why, yes, I do plan to taunt you all until the holidays. Or until the project is finished and I can move on to something else.
The smaller one should be done sometime in the next week, and then I can both a)start on something that I can discuss, and b)wait until the recipient sees it and then post pictures here.
Well, I guess the other thing I have been doing is altering some shirts for a fellow fencer. I'm down to the last one at this point, but it's a bit more time-consuming than the first three were. Not much, just this is the only one that I have had to mess with the hem instead of just making the darts bigger.
Actually, that might be kind-of interesting to write up. Anyone interested in learning how to alter shirts?
High-water cozy?
Well, the alphasmart cozy went through the wash twice, and has come out like this: It's a bit short, isn't it? I think I made a math error, but even if I didn't, that was the point at which I ran out of yarn. The second version will get cast on once I check the numbers a second time. I am toying with the idea of having it be bottom-up (starting at the base of the keyboard) instead of top-down. Which would be more irritating as a finish: grafting 35 stitches on each side (70 total) or dealing with a 70 stitch two-sided cast-on?
Dusting off
I (finally) got a picture of the socks I knit for the Husband! This was the first time I think I actually talked him into putting them on, since I finished them up just when the weather turned warm. They now reside in his sock drawer, and will remain there until October. The knitting status might be a little quiet for a while, because I am getting a jump-start on some holiday knitting and at least two of the people that I am working on things for read this blog. So, you might get cryptic, photo-less updates, but that will be about it. Sewing, though! Oh, do I have sewing lined up. As soon as I have my iron back, I am going to knock together a summer skirt, I have some (paid!) alterations work lined up for next week, and I have picked the Tudor Monstrosity up again. Why are you on the floor? It's not that funny. Last night, I went through the fabric stash (no, I did not take pictures) and found all the pieces. This morning I started on the last bits of seam finishing on the underdress bodice. The state of the dress is pretty much the same as it was in this post from July 2007. I also tried on the corset and bodice last night, and they all still fit fairly well. I think I might have cried if they had not, because I do not have enough fabric to re-cut the bodice and still get enough skirt out of the whole thing and the corset took forever and I really, really don't want to have to re-sew all those boning channels. I did decide, after all, to hand-sew the whole thing. Maybe not the skirt seams, but everything else will just be less frustrating that way, even if it is more time-consuming. This is going to be my hand-work for the next week or so (waiting on some supplies ordered for Giant Secret Knitting Project), and I will see how far I get. The hard work on the underdress (the pattern, mainly) is already done. I just have to execute the plan.
How would you combine the two?
Writing and knitting do not generally go together. This is not to say that there is not a lot of people who do both, just that it is hard to do both at the same time, what with it being hard to type with yarn wrapped around your fingers. My script is not done. Not even close. I do, however, have a much better idea of what I need to do with it, now that April has given me the kick in the pants to get started in the first place. But what, you ask, have I done with the month besides not write? I am working on an Alphasmart Cozy pattern, that's what. The yarn is the very last of the leftovers from the Harry Potter scarves of two years ago. I think I might have done some of my math wrong, but we shall see. Probably I need to lengthen the straight bit at the bottom. The trouble with felting things is that you cannot really tell before you felt them how they will look afterward. The swatch, for example (that felted rectangle on top of the Alphasmart) started out as a 5.5" square. Now it is about 4.5x4". It shrunk more vertically than horizontally. The cozy will probably do the same. The other reason it looks a little strange is because I ran out of yarn just before I needed to knit the flap that would close up the bottom. Fortunately, that is the least-important part, fit-wise. We will find out the next time I wash a load of sheets or towels, which will probably be this week. After I see what modifications I need to make, I will knit a new one in the yarn left from my sweater (that I just realized I never posted pictures for). I have about half again as much of the sweater yarn than I did of the scarf yarn, so it should be plenty. Maybe after the Alphasmart is no longer naked I will be able to get some writing done.
Wrong Tree
I think I have been asking the wrong questions regarding my hobbies. This whole time I have been concerned with which ones I enjoy most, and trying to carve out time for those from the rest of my schedule. That question really has no answer. I think I need to start asking what I want to accomplish with them, not individually but as a whole. What do I want to do with myself? My hobbies are all things that make me less dependent on others, except fencing. Knitting, sewing, baking, and gardening are all activities that produce (or can produce) necessary objects: clothing and food. Writing is a bit trickier, but it does provide me with entertainment. Fencing dose give me focus when it comes to fitness, which I cannot manage on my own. Exercise for the sake of exercise is not really my thing. Looking at my hobbies in that light, I am not doing too badly. This last month has demanded a lot of work in the "garden", so I have had less time to spend on writing, knitting, and sewing. Things in the garden are about to slow down now that most everything is planted, so I will have more time to focus on writing for the rest of the month. All we have is time, and as long as I am using mine in at least one way that I enjoy, I will try not to feel too frustrated (why no, my script is not going very well!). This is also going to have to change how I look at sewing plans, come to think of it. Last week, I actually had to purchase a pair of pants because I put off making them for too long and had a pair die on me. I needed a pair for work more quickly than I would be able to make them, so off to the mall I went. In the future, I need to look at sewing the way I do baking: plan ahead and make time, and make sure the ingredients are on-hand early. Er, materials. Whatever. Meaning, I need to go buy some black pant fabric sooner rather than later, so i can replace my black pin-stripe pants before they fall apart. Working this out has made me feel better about the whole situation. Hurray for early-morning epiphanies before tea! Also, garden pictures!  Chives and potential carrots  Giant Italian Parsley  Spinach This is what is out so far. I have my pepper plant still inside for at least another two weeks, depending on weather, and the basil is too tiny to think about going outside yet.
With my head cut off
Posted by Elizabeth on 04-03-2010 at 10:28 am When did I become such a busy person? Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons (when I'm not working) are fencing practice, Wednesdays are write-ins, and there is usually a movie night sometime during the week. Last night was the Script Frenzy kick-off, and we have another write-in for that on Saturday afternoon/evening now. In about half an hour, we're going to get haircuts, then it is off to the mall or grocery store, haven't decided which yet. This Sunday I'm apparently attending a bar-b-que hosted by one of Husband's friends/coworkers, and next Saturday is given over entirely to our once-monthly D&D game. In between all that, I have been trying to write, bake, garden, knit, sew, and spin.
I hate to say it, but I think I am going to have to start giving up on hobbies. Spinning is the one I am least infatuated with (I like it, don't get me wrong, but it won't ever be an all-consuming passion), so I think after I finish the fiber I am spinning now, that one is done. Sewing is on hold for a bit. I need clothing a bit more quickly than I am able to make it, so I am actually going to buy some this weekend. Just a pair of pants, but I had a pair die this week and it is leaving a gaping hole in my wardrobe. My closet is not particularly full, so when something dies it needs to be replaced.
Baking at the moment is largely limited to quick breads and muffins, anyway. Experiments will wait until after April (and the Script). I think do I need to defrost that pumpkin puree this week for breakfast muffins and something to take to the gaming group.
I am only knitting on one thing right now. Shocking, I know, but I only have two things on the needles at all, and one is the Sock Yarn Blanket, a v-e-r-y long-term project. The other is a pair of socks for the Husband, which might as well be called a long-term project. I am about halfway through the foot on the second sock (toe-up, so I have the heel and cuff yet to go). After that, I think I will start on my mother's birthday/Christmas present (depends on when it gets done, her birthday is early November). I have to find the right kind of lace weight for it, though.
That is what is going on, and that is probably enough of a ramble for a Saturday morning. The script is going relatively well; I have not really done anything yet today but I am caught up for yesterday. Today will be mostly outlines and character notes, which will actually end up in the final game. I think that means I can count it for my page count.
Tutorial: How to use a scale
I have recently been doing a lot of baking and trying to improve my techniques. One of the biggest issues that I was running into was that all the good baking books (good here meaning technique books, and not books full of good recipes) give their recipes primarily in weight and not volume. My birthday was last month, and my husband bought me a kitchen scale (mine is the red one). We had done a bit of research beforehand to figure out what I needed, and this was one that fit the bill fairly well. With most scales, there are two numbers you need to look at. The first is capacity, or how much the scale can hold. The second is readability, or how accurate the scale is. These numbers are usually expressed as (capacity)x(readability). In the case of my scale, the capacity is 11 pounds, and the readability is 0.05 ounces or one gram, so 11 lbs x 0.05 oz. Now, the readability does not mean that the scale can accurately measure down to 0.05 oz, or whatever the figure happens to be. It means is that whatever value is displayed on the scale can vary by as much as the readability value from the actual weight of the thing on the scale. It is kind of like a margin of error, in that the readability is how far off the display might be. For example, if I weighed out what I thought was six pounds of flour, it would be within 0.05oz of six pounds. This is plenty accurate when dealing with quantities of this size. The trouble is when you get into smaller quantities. According to the baking book I have been working out of ( How Baking Works), an acceptable range is usually ten percent. To figure out the lightest thing you can weigh with relative accuracy on the scale, then, you would multiply the readability by ten. So, in my case, the readability is 0.05 oz (or 1g). I can accurately weigh 0.5 oz (or 10g) and be sure that I am not off by more than ten percent of the total weight. I have seen a lot of people weighing smaller amounts of, say, yarn for a sock yarn blanket swap. Several of these are around 5g. These amounts can be weighed on a scale like this, but you have to realize that when the scale displays an amount, it can vary the amount of the readability from the number displayed. In my case, this means when my scale says "5g", the yarn could actually weigh anywhere between 4g and 6g (1g away from 5g). So, to have at least 5g, you would have to keep adding yarn until the scale reads 6g. It will actually weigh anywhere between 5g and 7g, but the minimum weight would be the required amount, and you wouldn't be shorting any of the swappers. If any of this is not explained clearly, please comment or e-mail and I will happily try to clarify. Similarly, if I have gotten something completely wrong, please let me know and I will correct it.
Working things out
My husband has large feet, and you know what they say about men with large feet. They wear large shoes. And therefore, large socks. Of course this is about knitting! Where did you think I was going with that? Anyway, yes, large feet. He usually wears about a size 15 shoe, and his feet are actually right at a foot long. As a result, he doesn't get that many pairs of socks. At least part of the difficulty is that I am constantly afraid of running out of yarn for said socks. The top-down style with a heel flap is my favorite way of knitting them, and they fit his feet the best. However, this requires that you know you have enough yarn for a given length of cuff before you start, which is not particularly certain with a foot of knitting to go after the heel. Naturally, I started looking for alternative sock patterns. Short-row heels don't fit him well. The gusset is pretty necessary. Now, I know that there are patterns out there for toe-up socks with a heel flap ( Widdershins being a good example), so there must be some sort of recipe for this kind of sock, right? They have the same thing for toe up socks with a short-row heel, after all. But my google-fu availed me not. I did find a toe-up, multi-size pattern from Wendy Knits (the fingeringweight Toe-Up Slipstitch Heel Sock), but again, it's a pattern and not a formula. Long feet are shaped funny, and I need a formula. I was beginning to think that this was some sort of closely-guarded, sock-designer trade secret that was only transported in a briefcase handcuffed to someone's wrist. Then I found the Toe Up Heel Flap Sock Formula post on Forward Motion, where she discusses the exact same problem, and did enough of the math for me that I can work things out from here. The thing I am going to change about her instructions is that the gusset on the sock will start about four inches from the end of the sock, not two and a half. Deep heel flaps are a good thing. I am also probably going to turn the heel and add ten stitches instead of eight, since the Husband's heels are also fairly narrow and need a deeper curve than eight stitches would allow for. What does all this prove? I am better at geometry than algebra, largely. Anyway, here's the picture of what is done so far: The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Sweet Pea color. It was the most interesting manly colorway I could find at the store. We'll see how long this takes...
Finally, something finished!
Remember the yarn I showed you in this post? I have turned about half of one skein into these: The pattern is the Rona Cuffs (Ravelry link), and the yarn is, as mentioned, from Missouri Alpacas. Both the yarn and the pattern were a dream to work with, but the real love is saved for the cuffs themselves. I am absolutely in love with these cuffs. I love the way the edging resembles Gothic architecture, I love the yarn, I love how warm they keep my wrists. Usually I wear them over a pair of driving gloves, which makes the whole thing function better, but they also do well to bridge the gap between sleeve and pocket while walking. I am trying to decide what to do with the remaining skein and a half of yarn. I could, possibly, be able to make a cowl that has the same edging, but only on one end. My grafting skills are not up to making it on both edges. I might be able to work something similar for the other end, but it would pretty much always be tucked inside a coat and wouldn't matter as much. If I ever figure it out, I will let you all know.
On the 'Nip
My cat used to be completely indifferent to catnip. I tried her on a couple of catnip toys and she had no interest whatsoever. After a while, I gave up. A couple of months ago, we ran out of the brand of cat treats that she likes (the ones that don’t make her sick), and every single store in town had quit carrying them. Of course, we found some on Amazon.com and ordered a case of six packages. I think we still have three in the cabinet. The seller included a sample of catnip, which, given the cat's history, I figured would be largely ignored. So, I left it sitting on the kitchen table and didn’t think anything of it. An hour later, I walked into the dining room and saw the cat sitting on the table, licking the plastic packaging that contained the ‘nip. Since she seemed so attached to it, I made her a toy with the catnip stuffed inside, but that was months ago now. That toy has started to lose it’s scent, so I went to the health food store down the street with the bulk spices last week and got another baggie-full. Since then, she has been standing in the kitchen next to the pantry, meowing and looking confused. Today I felt bad enough for her that I knit up a couple of these bunnies. To get the picture of her with the bunnies in it, I had to chase her off the counter where I did the stuffing. Does this make me a pusher?
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