Sunday, June 10, 2007

It was a nice day today. I heard from my daughter who is studying in Italy (loves Florence, Rome - not so much). She and her classmates were at the Colluseum and had a birdeye view of the rioters down in the street who were protesting the arrival of the current US president. There was teargas and carabinieri (sp?) everywhere. Thankfully, they were safe but it gave me pause...

Also, I had dinner with my friend Laurel who is slowly recovering from a broken ankle. Plus, she just started a new job. A little stressful, no?

Now I am awaiting my "baby" sister's arrival tonight for a quick visit while she's here in the DC area on business. I always have fun whenever either of my sisters visit...the fun usually consists of too much wine, too much food, more wine, shopping and then more wine...and food...and did I mention the wine?

And, I casted on for my next big project, the Katharine Hepburn Cardigan from Lace Style. I really love this book; there are so many really pretty patterns in it. But the main reason I bought is was this sweater...I sure hope I can actually finish it for the Fall (this Fall, y'all!!!)



KH ready for her close-up:



The yarn I'm using is sooo yummy...super soft and easy to work with. It feels absolutely fantastic. It's Knitting Notions Classic Merino Sport in the Dark Rose colorway. It's kettle-dyes and contains gentle variations in color that my camera just can't pick up and each skein has 390 yards!!. My one concern is that the wonderful Catherine Harrison of KN only had four skiens in each dyelot so I have 4 +1. I think it will be okay - I'll just blend two lots into the back where there should be plenty of room to "stretch" the colors together. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS YARN!!!

And what was my dog, Fred, doing today? Mostly this:



The elder statesman (13 1/2) up close and personal:

Eileen has arrived! June 7, 2007

Well, it's taken a whle and other projects have come through, but I finally finished my "Eileen" tank from No Sheep for You edited by Amy Singer. The "Eileen" pattern was great for a newbie lace knitter. It was designed by Jillian Moreno whose directions were clear, the chart super easy to follow. After a couple of false starts with different yarns, I settled on one of my new favorites Knitting Fever's King Tut cotton in color #1130 (orange) that I found on eBay. Gotta' love eBay! I made a few tiny changes to the design. #1 - I made it a bit longer, #2 - I did not add the edging to the armholes, and #3 I shortened the armholes (the full 8" for my size would have been way too long). My upper arms are basically like big hams and they do not require enhancement of tight tank armholes...I think the scoopy armholes are much more flattering.

So here she is: Eileen



But wait, there's more!!!



And more...



And still more... And this, my friends is the money shot!!



I would like to give a big shoutout to my Thursday knitting pal NittanyKnits for the excellent lakeside photography! Many thanks!

Now, when the lace shrugs from Lace Style get back from their trip to Italy, I will post pictures of them as well.

I have been a finishing fool of late! My Mom would have been so proud!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Because I have some pix of new FO's BUT they're still sitting in my camera instead of here...

You Are the Index Finger

You are ambitious, driven, and capable. You aren't afraid to take responsibility for your actions - or place the blame on whoever deserves it. You are honest, free thinking, and objective. You see things in your own way - and you aren't afraid to let everyone know about it. You get along well with: The Thumb Stay away from: The Ring Finger

What Finger Are You?

I'm Back! Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Yes, here I am; alive and well. Went to Sheep and Wool - yes, of course I bought more yarn. How silly of you to even ask!

On a sad, very sad note, my favorite TV show of all time, Gilmore Girls, ended yesterday. I sobbed like a fool during the last fifteen minutes! It was like losing multiple members of your family all at once. I'm still sad...Thank goodness for DVR!!

And now, the moment I'm sure you've all been waiting for. At long (LONG) last, the Doctor's Bag from "Knit 2 Together" is done! Done!! DONE!! Woo-hoo! I still have the blister on my finger from sewing the lining in! The bag is done in Manos del Uruguay in Cherry held double. I went down a needle size from the 11US the pattern called for to a 10.5 US to get gauge. I hope you can tell from the photo of me that this bag is freaking huge! It's meant to be a sort of carpetbag - a weekender if you will. It may, in fact, be a weeker if your clothes aren't too big!

A special shoutout to my pal, Javejem, for her picture-taking expertise! The background is the courtyard at the USDA in Beltsville where we work. It's really quite lovely. Here goes:


The stitch detail displayed hanging from a tree...



Lovely among the azaleas...



Wildlife and wild lining...



Okay, so I may only be 5'3" tall, but this bag is big...



Freaking Huge!!!!!!

Et tu, HBO? March 28, 2007

"The die is cast." and I am in mourning. Deep, deep mourning.

No, it's not because the half completed back of my Elaine Shell ("No Sheep for You") died a horrible death by frogging last night. It is because of the demise of "Rome" on HBO. I know what the TV-people are saying...it was only supposed to be a one season mini-series and getting that extra season was a bonus. I know all that. But I still feel cheated!

For those of you who didn't watch it (and yes, some of you may not have been very much into the violence and nudity - but hey, come on people - it was Rome in the days of the Caesars for gods sake!!), this version starts with the first one who named himself Emperor...Julius to the common person and ended with his successor, Octavian. The story followed their lives as well as those around them: relatives, senators, friends, and enemies alike. And parallel to life at court was the tale of two friends - Pullo and Vorenas - who served together as soldiers. This was, perhaps, the more compelling story...to see these two men take such different paths after their service ended and then to end up, together as brothers always.

It is so very hard to describe just how good this series was. There aren't enough superlatives to explain the skill with which each actor portrayed their character... Not household names, at least in the US, Polly Walker as the lusciously scheming Atia (mother of Octavian), Ray Stevenson as the brute with a heart Pullo, Kevin McKidd as a haunted Vorenus. The list goes on and on with not a mis-step in the casting at all as each performer painted their role with so much color and depth that I believe I will actually miss them! And, of course, the characters themselves besides the ones, above, there was Servillia, Livia, Octavia, Agrippa, Marc Antony, Cleopatra....and on and on...

If only the show would go on like "I, Claudius" did back in the day. Then we were treated to the full retinue of Caesars from Julius to Nero who fiddled while Rome burned in the last episode; we passed through the very bad, bad boy Caligula and his Uncle Claudius....ah, me.

If you have digital cable go fetch this progam from OnDemand. It is well worth your time. And see "I, Claudius", too.

At least I can look forward to Battlestar Galactica starting another season...in fracking 2008!!!!

To paraphrase: HBO, you came, you saw, you conquered. Me, at least.

Salve', Citizens.

Happy Birthday to Me!!, Thursday, March 22, 2007

Look at all my pretty, pretty presents from my dear sisters!!



From the chef-sister a whole pile of goodies from Williams-Sonoma! My fave! The French Bundt pan is just beautiful - almost too pretty to use. So really, come on now, surely I can't use those gorgeous towels to wipe anything up! No way! And I sure hope she doesn't expect me eat those cakes with those teensy-weensy spoons!

I love everything!!!



And from the doctor-sister a whole pile of books. She's been listening to this author, David Rosenfelt, on books on tape - uh, actually books on download and thought they were a hoot. They are set in the homeland, New Jersey, and although none of us lives there anymore we read the mystery series set there; you know, like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.

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I can't wait to start the first book. As for the cakes, which should the first one be? Chocolate? Lemon? Vanilla? I do love the lemony things! It probably doesn't matter since each mix starts out with the baker creaming 2 sticks (1/2 pound) of butter!!! That cannot possibly be bad! Yummmmmmmm......

Thank you, thank you, thank you, my loves! I heart you both!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Javajem says to me... Friday, March 9, 2007

There I was, minding my own business, when my pal at work, Javajem, shows me a Humor Survey being conducted by a fellow knitter. How could I say no? And how can you??? It's not short but rather insightful...after careful analysis of my responses I am.....well, you can read for yourself.

You filled out a questionnaire to assess your learning style along four scales: active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal, and sequential/global.

Your learning styles are: balanced active-reflective, balanced sensing-intuitive, verbal, balanced sequential-global.

• active: you learn by trying things out, and enjoy working in groups.
  reflective: you learn by thinking things through, and prefer working alone or with one or two familiar partners.
• sensing: you are concrete, practical, and oriented toward facts and procedures.
  intuitive: you are conceptual, innovative, and oriented toward theories and underlying meanings.
• visual: you prefer visual representations of presented material, such as pictures, diagrams, and flow charts.
  verbal: you prefer written and spoken explanations.
• sequential: you have a linear thinking process, and learn in incremental steps.
  global: you have a holistic thinking process, and learn in large leaps.

Rebecca's sense of humour is most similar to:

• People in their 30's
• People from: United States of America
• Of gender: Male
• Who speak: English
• Your sense of humour is similar to those with a balanced active-reflective, intuitive, visual, and global learning style.

If you'd like to take this survey, contact Eve Forster at Queen's University.