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Saturday, March 15, 2003

Progress on all fronts. I did the hideous federal taxes. I should not complain, so far I'm getting $200 back and it was very easy because I had just one job and Grateful CAD was completely inactive (no 1099's).

I finished the back of the Lacy Cardie <big smile> last night. And I decided to rip the SL sock and get some #1 needles. The yarn is too pretty to waste and make something that won't fit quite right.

My friend Andrew from work is leaving and going back to school, so last night we threw him a little party at Scoma's, a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf. As I mentioned a while back, I need to do some PR with the boys at work. I was torn between wanting to go for a fun break, and wanting to avoid it all. I knew this place was $$$, I was hoping to get away with spending about $30 for a dinner, but ended up paying $80. Gulp. No food is worth $80. The wine was the culprit, but it wasn't that fantastic either. It was peer pressure. I had to go to show my face & fix up relationships, but $80?! I really don't think that's right, especially to people on the admin staff who'd work for a day just to make that.

Well, time to get ready for my date... paint my toe nails pretty, do some laundry and do some general weekend chores. Jane is having a BBQ tomorrow, so lets hope the weather keeps up.

posted by Stella 10:37 AM

Friday, March 14, 2003

G-d, this week stretched like rubber. I had to verify it was Friday this morning, I was convinced it was still Thursday. No progress on taxes, except I did take the W2 to work, so if there is no work to do after I blog, I can do that. There may be a refund, and that may mean new yarn, or even, "Poetry in Stitches". And, once I do it and get it over with, there will be no more worry <smile>.

Here is a progress pic on the Sherbet straight laced socks. I cast on 4 st less than for the Sunset socks, because they became a little baggy. I'm using the same #2 needles, but they look suspiciously long and skinny. (OMG - am I subconsciously making a willie warmer? Is that were my mind has been?) They look ok on, but a little stretched. Is that good or bad? Is it possible to make socks with a number of stiches not divisible by 4, if I redid them with 2 more stitches?

hmm... try again?

Actually, I do have a date this weekend with a guy I met last week. He seemed nice & layed back and made me feel at ease. He's from UK - which makes me feel like Bridget Jones. I need to ask him about his political convictions considering that the Brits are Bush's ally. I am like, seriously against this war - I say, Go Dixiechicks, and had I known about the protest this morning in SF, I'd be blogging from the jail right now. No, wait a minute, there probably is no internet in jail, so I'd be sitting in a circle, singing protest folk songs!

posted by Stella 11:57 PM

Thursday, March 13, 2003

Stella started her taxes! She used Turbo Tax on-line last year, and despite the completely distasteful nature of the whole process, she remembered her User ID & password. And all the repetitive information is still there. That's as far as I got though. My W2 is at home, of course, never opened.

The lacy cardie is progressing nicely. I'm shaping the armholes and they are making a very pretty curve. I used to know how to knit sweaters without a pattern but I just did drop sleeves. (This was when I was in highschool, before I became a quilter). I think this one will look very fitted and tailored:

I admire those of you who can design sweaters. I can follow patterns, even difficult ones with practice. I can also develop and change an existing pattern, like the straight-laced socks, which I'm doing toe-up. But to totally make something up from thin air, that has never happened to me. Same thing for my quilts - I follow patterns, or I let patterns inspire me, but I've never created a totally new one. It's the limit of my creativity. Or, maybe that's the difference between art & craft, and I'm "just" a crafter, not a fiberartist.

posted by Stella 11:45 AM

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

I can tell I'm getting a cold (ugh)... but at least work is slow again. My co-workers said to stay home, but my response was, why waste a sick day when there's nothing to do at work? I might as well be sick here and sneak in a blog. My mental health is recovering, though. Feeling better about myself and more self-confident.

I read Kate's blog today and suddenly, I just love the cheesylove sweater. So I went to the knitty archive & printed the pattern. I might just have to knit it, too. It reminds me of Jackie on "That Seventies Show". Now, does Miss Janice have a blog, too?

In case you hadn't noticed - I wrote down 100 Things About Me. There is a button hidden below the Weatherpixie. So, if you are curious, you may read it. It was a v. introspective process and made me like myself (hey, free therapy!).

Oh. Another thing I decided to like are these cute beaded stitch markers that I see everywhere. What a great reason to go to the bead store! Probably not a huge expense if you just make a few.

Here are a few links for your inspiration (just random selections from a Yahoo search I did:

Sarah Peasley whose markers you can find at Threadbear
Sara Schley
The Wool Shack (for those of you in Oz)
Creative Fibers (for those of you in MN, you can take a class)

posted by Stella 1:53 PM

Monday, March 10, 2003

I did lots of knitting Sunday... I worked on the Lacy Cardie:

(mouse-over me to see me bigger)

I wound some nice center-pull balls from Lorna's Lace's Sherbet:

And I started to knit the Straight Laced Socks from it:

But I'm doing them toe-up instead.

I told my Mom about the toe-up method, and she said, yes, Oma had called her and told her about it already, but she couldn't visualize it. I'm glad. My grandma is very depressed due to going blind, and I wanted to give her mind something to think about she would enjoy. It worked!

My bestest friend in the world, Jeannie, came by on a surprise visit and brought me Fish Food to cheer me up after those loosers at Cal Poly rejected me. A true friend.

And then, I met an interesting guy who I had met on craigslist, for dinner. He was nice. Probably not "The One" but, a nice person, not creepy or weird in any way. Restored my faith in internet dating a little, as in "Wow - there actually are nice people out there!."

And here - the laziest cat in the world, ever:

posted by Stella 3:26 PM

Saturday, March 8, 2003

Part II - and I'm not ranting this time... check out my new "in the works & dreams" column! I coded it all by myself! I'm very proud. I actually did some Dreamweaver research and found instructions on line. Cool, huh?! (for a non-techie chicky) I have to scan the picture of the lacy cardie & add proper credits (Monday). Jenanne graciously let me use the SL picture. Thanks, girl!

I'm going to make some mango salsa and ply homespun & cast on for the straight laced socks with the beautiful Lorna's Laces sherbet sock yarn. And cruise craigslist, hehe.

Oh yeah. I got a rejection letter from Cal Poly today. So I'm not going to be an architecture student for the next 5 years, at least not in San Luis Obispo. Darn. Have to keep working.

posted by Stella 7:10 PM

I feel hung-over and I wasn't even drinking... how does that happen? I went to the gym after work yesterday, and then to the second gallery opening. (I fixed the link below, btw.) I liked Thursday's opening much better. I was supposed to go with my friend April to this one, but our schedules didn't match. She was there earlier and left after 10 minutes, according to our mutual friend, whose photography we had come to see. This was at City Art Gallery in the Mission. I just don't like the Mission. It is full of a mix of creepy, dirty panhandlers, ultra-hip cool young people and too many Mexican guys who stare at me & say stuff to me. I keep giving it a try and hang out there, and everytime I end up waiting for two MUNI's to get home and it's a nightmare. (F*** it, I'm just a Haight chick.) The gallery was very crowded and Kent did not have a lot of time to spend with me. I'm too shy to introduce myself to strangers, so I looked at all the art (his was the best, though), returned a cell phone call from my poor neurotic boss and went home. My glamorous city life.

Well. It's supposed to be a knit-blog, right? I would love to stay home and knit. But I keep getting the message from people that I should be out and about, partying on the town, taking advantage of the city has to offer (what is that, exactly?), blablablahhhh. I'm comfortable at home with my cats, on my couch, with my knitting, or quilting, or sewing. I think my living room is a nicer place than any bar. I'd rather have friends over here than go out and meet strangers in crowded places. Why is wanting to be alone or at home such a social demerit? Should I pay a therapist $100/hour to find the answer to that question? I feel like an island. But I think I'd rather work on being happy on a deserted island with my knitting than at pretending to be hip & comfortable in places like the Mission. <sigh> I'm never going to work this out.

posted by Stella 10:31 AM

Friday, March 7, 2003

Yay Friday! I'm so glad I've made it. I went to the Black & White Gallery opening last night and it was v. v. cool. No anxiety except for a few butterflies in my stomach before I walked in. Jeannie was with me so that made it fun. Click on Shows & Receptions and you'll see some of the art I saw yesterday. Not for the easily offended! Stella got to steal some hugs from a special somebody, too <wink>.

Anyway. No knitting took place yesterday, but I'm carrying it with me wherever I go. I've fit in a few rows on the MUNI this morning. Nobody cares or asks questions. People in SF are so very good at looking blase. You could knit naked on the bus and they wouldn't bat an eyelash.

Time for a mid-morning break!

posted by Stella 11:23 AM

Thursday, March 6, 2003

I forgot my camera yesterday, but I took pictures with my phone. It kinda worked - not very high resolution, but here is Muir Beach:

A very creepy naked guy tried to move in on me, so I had to leave. (I wasn't naked and it wasn't a nude beach, as far as I knew.) So that was relaxing but disgusting at the same time. I drove up to Stinson Beach and had lunch, then down to Mill Valley where I had a latte & hung out in the bookstore. If you saw "Basic Instinct" - that's the town where Sharon Stone's character lived.

Before I left, I ripped the part of lacy cardie where I should have been decreasing. And when I came back, I stayed up late to knit it all back. I think I'm obsessed. Thank you everyone for the compliments so far! I first saw the pattern on ChicKnits site and then hunted for the magazine it was in. I think Bonne modified it for larger needles (I can't do that yet, I don't know how).

Anyway. I should really do some work here.

posted by Stella 12:09 PM

Wednesday, March 5, 2003

Mental Health Day for Stella. As you can tell workload at my job is feast or famine. So today I'm taking off. Working on coolifying the blog and will hit either Muir Woods or any beach today. I need beachglass (and big trees).

I have to rip some of the lacy cardie.... sooo sad. Yes, it is an art in itself to understand the instructions. I knitted 18cm instead of 18 rows of pattern. Question: If the pattern consists of a 4 row repetition, and the instructions say to knit "18 rows of pattern", does that mean to knit 18 rows, or 4 x 18 = 72 rows? I'm a little afraid to rip b/c I don't know if I'll be able to pick up the stitches again. Maybe I should just start a new project and let this one marinate for a couple of days.

Started to write down 100 Things About Me, and came up with 77 before it was time to leave and go to Pilates class yesterday. It made me feel much better about myself. I like this person who is writing the list! List is continuing in my head and will be posted soon (like tomorrow). So y'all can see Stella is a little freaky!

posted by Stella 9:18 AM

Tuesday, March 4, 2003

Work seems to have returned to a normal pace. People are acting civil and boss has promised to write memo explaining once again how things are to be done. I'm not holding my breath but it's good to know he's in my corner.

I started knitting the lacy cardie from Rowan #25. The pattern looks pretty and is easy (but not boring).

(mouse on me)

I also bought the Rowan Calmer Collection (mostly because I need to be calmer) and I love, like everything in this book! I really want to make Loll and Hearten. Now, can I justify having 2 sweater projects going at the same time? It's a lot of $$$ to invest. But, thicker yarn would be so much better for my wrists.

And my mood disorder is acting up. I know it's a delayed reaction from the last 2 weeks of stress. I just want no more anxiety attacks, please. It comes and goes in waves. So I'm doing what's good for me: eat/sleep right, exercise, catch negative thinking and nip in bud, and this blogging, I have to say, is good therapy, too.

I've got 2 art show openings to go to with my friends this week, too, which should be fun. Unless I let it psych me out, thinking about being around crowds of strangers (ugh).

I've been thinking about the 100 Things About Me - I wonder if that might be a therapeutic thing. And would anyone be interested?

posted by Stella 1:20 PM

Sunday, March 2, 2003

I'm turning into geek girl! I managed to learn about "behaviors" so if you mouse-over some of the pictures on the blog, you will get a bigger pop-up window. I am so smug. What can I say. Too bad about the dot.com bust or I could become a coder. As it is, I'll have to stay a CAD geek instead. Or become an architect and be broke forever.

I bought yarn for the Lacy Cardie from Rowan #25 yesterday, too. I decided to go with baby merino, called Bebe Lang, instead of cotton as in SF, you can freeze your *** off all year long. Allison & Sarah at Imagiknit know what they are doing! I followed their advice, and my swatch came out perfectly - 34 st/10cm. Happy happy.

I did feel post traumatic anxiety yesterday. But I dealt with it by knitting & watching nature shows on baby seals & otters on Discovery channel. Awwwwwww. And then I watched "Kissing Jessica Stein." Now is she gay or not?! I'd like to know, b/c whatever she is, that's me.

posted by Stella 11:05 AM

Saturday, March 1, 2003

New look for the blog! I think I like it. It may need further refinement. But at least, it's not so damn pink anymore!

So. After 2 weeks of work-stress + PMS hormones related craziness, I've met the 2 deadlines and inner tension has receded somewhat. Now I have to work on my PR at work and make amends with my poor coworkers who are running around headless after they crossed my path.

This weekend, I will only do what I love - knit, spin, blog, go to yarnstore, buy the Rowan Calmer book, hopefully find yarn for the Lacy Cardie, go on a bike ride, cook, bake bread, whatever. And I will not allow myself to even think about work, or have any anxiety attacks. No xanax induced naps. And if I don't get everything done, that's OK, too.

ps. I do NOT know where/why/how the hideous pink on the right is coming from. I hate it. I can't find a reference to it in the code. It's a total bug. I have to leave it alone for a while and hope it will go away. I need help from a techie chick. (Got rid of it!)

posted by Stella 12:32 PM

Friday, February 28, 2003

I fininished my sunset socks. I used Wendy's generic toe-up pattern. Thanks Wendy, it totally worked! I was surprised that the heel is actually done the same way as the toes. So that's easy, you only have to learn one new thing. The thin needles (#2) are really hard on my wrists, though. Maybe sock knitting is not the best thing for me. If you can tell if I did it right or wrong, any comments are welcome.

(Note to self: learn how to make a larger picture pop up in a separate window. - well I learned it - move mouse of heel pic :) )

ps - yes, Stella loves cute stuff, but this page is getting way too pink for her! So she'll make it look a little different next week.

posted by Stella 5:45 PM

home

"The Wheel"
Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann

The wheel is turning
and you can't slow down
You can't let go
and you can't hold on
You can't go back
and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you
then the lightning will

Won't you try just a little bit harder?
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?
Won't you try just a little bit harder?
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?

Round round robin run around
Gotta get back where you belong
Little bit harder, just a little bit more
Little bit farther than you than you've gone before

The wheel is turning
and you can't slow down
You can't let go
and you can't hold on
You can't go back
and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you
then the lightning will

Small wheel turn by the fire and rod
Big wheel turn by the grace of God
Everytime that wheel turn round
bound to cover just a little more ground

The wheel is turning
and you can't slow down
You can't let go
and you can't hold on
You can't go back
and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you
then the lightning will

Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?
Won't you try just a little bit harder?
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?

 

Taseti

Sunshine

in the works & dreams

Alice Lacy Cardie Loll Hearten Straight Laced Socks Kool-Aid Sweater