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Thursday, February 13, 2003

Dude, it is so addicting to read blogs... I just came home from my doctor and the first thing I do is read and post... do I need help. On the other hand, I haven't read craigslist in days. My blog now controls my life. I bought Vogue Knitting at Borders. I was looking for Spin Off but I will have to subscribe to it. I can't find it anywhere. This means I will have to spin instead of reading about spinning. So I can make more yarn and dye more yarn and knit more sweaters. :)

posted by Stella 8:05 PM

Stella's still sick and decided to stay home. I think she got really dehydrated cause she likes cardio and hates to drink water (yuck, ugh, eew, it's sooo gross). And, Tuesday, she fell off her bike in the middle of rush hour in the middle of the intersection at Market & Kearny and busted her knees bad. Pity, please? Guardian angel obviously watched over me because it happened during a green light and I was able to get up right away, pick up my bike and run to the sidewalk. But it f*****' scared me!!!

I followed Indigirl's lead and wound some balls of my scary Kool-Aid yarn and knitted a swatch. Much prettier. Doesn't look like hamburger anymore. Actually wouldn't mind having a sweater out of this.... :) The bears like it!

So today's goals for my blog: find out how to do the comments, and make some more links to other fabulous blogs, and make a button. I wonder if anybody is actually reading this.

posted by Stella 1:53 PM

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Stella got sick today.. :( I had to go home early and reschedule my psychiatrist appointment (sounds ominous, doesn't it? Yes, I need headshrinking). I tried felting last night, in my big giant pot, but no felting occured, again. I guess it doesn't work that way. I simmered and stirred for an hour, along with a towel in the pot for extra friction, but alas. I'm going to have to try again at the laundrymat. Hope they fix their hot water problem soon.

(does this remind you of Bridget Jones?)

On the other hand, I finished knitting Julia's sweater tonight! Happy happy!!! It is sooo cute. I need 4 buttons and that's a excellent excuse to go to the fabric store. I would like some that look like pearls. Pictures to follow.

And now, I get to think about my next project! Even better! I'm thinking socks from variegated yarn with that cool looking heel from Wendy's page. Or the cute little Debbie Bliss Fair Isle sweater, but yet another cardie for Julia? I need to find out if this one fits first (she lives in Germany). But, I know this is digressing, I might also force myself to finish the Hawaiian applique first, and start a new knitting project as a reward, next month, when I get paid. Doesn't that sound vernuenftig?

OK, I'm off to wind a ball from the Kool-Aid wool... and order in some Thai food.

posted by Stella 8:25 PM

Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Life in the City - I tried felting at the laundrymat but it didn't work. Here I was following Bonne & Wendy's instructions (of ChicKnits & Wendy's blogs). And then something was wrong with the washers - I only got freezing cold water, even though I had my machines set on warm and on hot (grumbling). But I didn't want it to ruin my entire day, which had been a bitch anyway at work, so I put on my positive thinking cap and here is what I learned. Lamb's Pride is machine washable on COLD. No felting occured, so that's good in case I make a sweater out of it. And even though I used Fuchsia, it didn't bleed. So I will try again tonight, at home, in my kitchen, using the big giant dyeing pot instead, and simmer the fuzzies in controlled, scientific environment.

posted by Stella 12:00 PM

Monday, February 10, 2003

Progress pictures for my Fuzzy Feet:

It's time to felt tonight! How odd to try to do something one usually wants to avoid at all cost. Makes me feel like running a redlight.

Yes, it's also time for the first shameless cat picture. Here is Sunshine, after a night of sowing his wild oats - totally knocked out.

Also, found instructions on internet on how to do tubular cast-off. I will try this on the band for Julia's sweater so that I don't have to knit a looong bad 5 stitches wide. I want to just pick up the stitches along the edge, knit 5 rows in "moss" stitch and cast it off in a pretty way.

posted by Stella 1:12 PM

Sunday, February 09, 2003

Quick blog today - I'm sleepy, work was sooo stressful last week it took me all weekend to recover, and I'm still not quite there. I went shopping on Haight Street, got some good deals at the Gap (and found a cool free sweater in a box on the sidewalk, no I have no pride, it's nice brown velour, mmm) and searched in the bookstore for a knitting reference that doesn't cost a lot. I want the Vogue reference. I liked the Reader's Digest one, but the illustrations were kinda... ugly (no offense). I wonder if it can be found on EBay, or half.com. Mostly b/c I want to do "tubular" cast-on and bind-off. I also want the Rowan Magazine 25. Really bad. I wanna make Chicknits Lacy Cardie. Don't worry, we won't into each other wearing the same thing, we are too far apart! :) Off to the Fuzzies. Gotta finish the second one.

posted by Stella 6:38 PM

Saturday, February 08, 2003

Talked to my grandparents this morning. I had to congratulate my Opa for his 89 birthday. I told him he would make it to 100, and he said "at least!" How is that for positive mental attitude? Made me happy. Shared the Fuzzy Feet with Oma and she was excited about me knitting socks. She said my Dad was asking around in his town if anyone knew how to knit them. Hmmm... is this a hint? I have to wait, though. I can knit socks with a pattern, like the Fuzzy Feet, but not just on a guess. My Aunt was there also, and I sent her the url for the Fuzzies. She sent me a pair of socks for Xmas. I finished the lace for Julia's sweater yesterday, too. It was much easier at home on my couch than in the bus. (Yes. I stayed at home on a Friday night and knit. And I'm proud of it. Wanna make something of it? I went to the gym first and ran 3 miles & did 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Yes, I do have a life.)

posted by Stella 12:13 PM

Knitting goals for this weekend - sew together Julia's sweater, knit the front band and knit the second fuzzy. I was thinking it might be warm enough to sit in Golden Gate Park and listen to the drummers while knitting. Sounds nice, doesn't it? :)

posted by Stella 12:13 PM

Friday, February 07, 2003

Yes, it's Friday! God, I don't want to work today <ugh>. I almost finished the first Fuzzy yesterday.. I don't know how to "graft". But I made it around the heel. I am so proud. This is something I could never do when I knitted before. My Grandma knitted socks for as long as I could remember, and I tried to learn it from her. But this is the first time I did it on my own. Thanks, Knitty! :) Now I need to do some research on grafting. Nothing the internet can't tell me about, I'm sure.

Still working on Julia's sweater lace edging. I thought I would enjoy this more, but I can't memorize the repetition. It's frustrating. Maybe it's frustrating b/c I tried doing it in the bus. But last night I just didn't feel like working on it, and I did the fuzzies instead. Now I feel guilty. I always do when I work on a new project before finishing the old one. Five more repetitions to go. Then finish sewing it together, and I can send it off.

 

Thursday, February 06, 2003

Here is the beginning of my very own Fuzzy Feet! This is way fun. I knitted so late last night I almost passed out on the couch. I love DPN's. They look so impressive. Drop the jaw of the fellow MUNI riders.

... oh and here is today's Get Fuzzy cartoon from the newspaper. Cracked me up. Makes me wonder why Sunshine and Taseti haven't gotten into my yarn yet. (Cruise back to Gratefulcad.com and you can find my shameless pet dedication page, if you really care) I'm feeling paranoid about posting it here. There is a copyright note on it. Does that mean I'm not allowed to copy it onto my page, or am I just not allowed to make $$$ of it?!

posted by Stella 2:45 PM

Wednesday, February 05, 2003

Went to Imagiknit tonight after work. I found out the 33 Ashbury/Stanyan goes right by there. This could be dangerous. It's a really easy way to get home from there. I got some Lamb's Pride in Fuchsia for the Fuzzy Feet and the DPN's I needed. I still want to make the beautiful lacy cardie on Chicknits site but I can't find the pattern. <sigh> Progress pictures tomorrow of the Fuzzy Feet.

posted by Stella 8:07 PM

The Kool-Aid wool dryed and looks pretty. Pretty good for the first experiment, anyway. I think I want it to be darker colors, so I might overdye it. But it's the first wool I have ever spun, and so I might just let it be. Who knows if I'll ever knit anything with it.

I decided to do the Fuzzy Feet Felt-Along. :) The directions are printed out and sitting on my desk, and they make everyone smile who comes into my office. (Obviously, it is not too busy today.) I was knitting Julia's sweater's lace earlier. I'm going to ImagiKnit after work to pick up some needles (DPNs). I might recycle the Lamb's Pride sweater UFO but I really want a different color. I love the berry color on the Knitty pattern.

On the coding front - look, I learned how to make buttons! And I want one of those cool talk-back thingies. And join a ring. Soon.

posted by Stella 10:30 AM

Yayayay...the Kool-Aid experiment worked. The stuff is good for something! It smells soooo good. I dyed 2 of my first hand spun skeins (approx 2.5 oz each) with the recipe at the piper. It worked! It rocks. I used Cherry, Black Cherry, Grape & Fruit Punch flavor. I followed the directions, pretty much :) I didn't let the wool soak 30 minutes, because I was tired and it's late & a school night. I mean, I did laundry at the damn laundrymat, folded, put away, vaccuumed, and the dyeing project was my reward for doing all that work. I was behind b/c I played all weekend... see below. I'm exhausted, as usual. But in the end, after microwaving it for about 5 times, the dye solution was clear. Now it's drying out back.

posted by Stella 9:48 PM

Sunday, February 02, 2003

hello all, back from the mountain bike ride. It was awesome!!! My first ride off road. It was great fun. I was in Fairfax and stopped at Rainbow Fabrics, bought some wool for spinning. It's already dyed blue. Then I stopped at Cala and bought 3 Kool-Aids - Strawberry, Tropical Punch and Grape. Yuck. I'm never going to drink that stuff. It's for dyeing some skeins I've already spun. I need Cherry though. Hope the Albertson's has it.

Yes, it worked. Thank you for the cute fat kitty template. I've got my knitting links up, and other crafty links, too. (am coder girl now!) yayayayayay... now, how do I put up cool pix to go along with my comments? Other than having left the camera at work again. Hello Kitty worked! lookit!!! Having pictures of my knitting would help, I bet. I will take stuff to work Monday and photograph it.

 

posted by Stella 9:17 AM

Oh Christ. I figure out how to manipulate the code but it doesn't look cool.
posted by Stella 9:17 AM

yay.... Gratefulcad now has a working link to the blog. :))) Back to, how the heck do I make it look cool.
posted by Stella 8:52 AM

And, I had an idea on how to change the looks of this page, too. hehehe Now what was it? Oh right. Check out the code in Dreamweaver.
posted by Stella 8:45 AM

OK., I slept over this. And this morning my brain rememberd my index is saved as index.htm not html. I am so clueless when it comes to this. Lets see if this makes the link work on Gratefulcad. Drumroll....
posted by Stella 8:44 AM

Now how the heck do I edit the looks of this page.... do I use Dreamweaver or do I do it from here, somehow???
posted by Stella 11:07 AM

cooooly I guess it was just a time delay.... :))))
posted by Stella 11:07 AM

aaaaaaarghhh
posted by Stella 11:05 AM

Hmmmm, still confused.... I guess I'm not a coder girl yet
posted by Stella 10:59 AM

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