Bron's Blog II

Not Enough Yarn, But A Lovely New Book

So things even out in the end.

I was this far into my Pineapple Pullover, when I realized I wouldn't have enough Brilla to finish it:

I realized, however, that I DID have plenty of Knit Picks Shine Sport in my stash (originally meant for the Katherine Hepburn cardi, but this need was more pressing.):

I'm actually going to like this much better. It's a thinner yarn than the Brilla & it will make a lighter, better draping sweater. :) The Brilla is so heavy (and I only have 12 balls!) I might end up knitting it instead of crocheting. We'll see - it's back in the stash for the time being.

I got a great new book:

Yes - it's a compilation by Reader's Digest which really gave me pause, but ..."Hey Mikey! I liked it!" The cover sweater of course, that goes without saying. But inside there's something for everyone too:

(I LOVE this afghan!):

Etc., etc., etc. I really didn't find anything truly hideous in the whole book (which is saying something) and lots of things I could see myself making. My intuition about this book was working over time - I managed to order two! I'm going to send this one back as soon as the other (cheaper) one gets here. ::wink:::

So - all you crocheters out there: Check this one out if you have a chance. There isn't much avant garde crochet in here, but lots of very nice, timeless patterns that most of us can appreciate. :)

A quickie sickie update: Called my Dr. yesterday at 9...called again at 3 & was told that "Mondays are always a bad day to get messages to doctors and having them call. It's just so busy." Yep - I'm sure it is. However I ALMOST WENT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AND AM STILL FEELING THE EFFECTS! (Ahem...I'm better now.) She took my info & swore she'd give it to the nurse. At 4:22 I get a call from the nurse who takes down ALL my info yet again & swears the Dr. will call back before 6 PM.

It's 6:55 AM the next day. I don't think he's calling, do you?

Sigh.

How Bron Got Her Groove Back

Thanks to those who asked after my health yesterday - it was touch & go there for awhile. I haven't felt pain like that for 25 years - back when I was diagnosed with an ulcer. I almost went to emergency twice, but since I wasn't vomiting blood I held off. The medicine needed to work it's way out of my system and I think, this morning, the worst is over. I'm still weak & shaky, but better.

I've never had a bad reaction to any type of medicine - talk about a surreal experience.

This proves that I can crank out blog entries from death's door! (Although I think I might be a little too dedicated. Next time I'm that sick I might skip the blog, OK?)

Yesterday, halfway through Holey Cable, I discovered I didn't have enough yarn to complete it:

I can't even express my disappointment. ;(

Here's Doug's "Zipo":

I'd taken it off the needles to rip back & correct something when I held up & realized it was about 3" too big. Sigh.

At that point I officially had nothing except Aztec Waves on the needles and I STILL wanted to crochet something.......

This magazine (one of many my friend Daniela has sent me from France) jumped out at me:

And this pattern in particular caught my eye:

I realized my new Brilla would be perfect for it:

Although I don't read French, I didn't have to translate because a detailed diagram of the pattern was provided:

It's a top-down construction a la' Doris Chan (although a bit easier than her patterns are) and I had no trouble figuring out what to do:

This is going along swimmingly - I've even figured out what to do when I split for the arms & body - and I'm really excited to see how it will turn out. If I love it, I'm going to tackle another pattern or two in the same magazine. There's something very liberating about only having a diagram to crochet by and making up the details as you go. :) That's what I call fun....and yeah, I've got my groove on, baby!

Thanks again, Daniela! You see - I eventually get around to using what you send. :)

Things That Cheer A Person Up

I'm in the midst of a rather severe reaction to a new medication and won't be able to talk to or see my Dr. until Monday. Sigh. The pain I'm going through is secondary to the crushing disappointment I'm feeling now that I know I won't be able to take this medication to ease my condition. I won't go into details but I think there is one other I can try - hopefully it doesn't have the same effect! My "thing" isn't life-threatening, but I've lived with it for 30 years and was hoping modern medicine had finally found, if not a cure, at least something to help!

So - to distract myself and my readers from my whining, I'll show you the last of the yarn (I swear!) that will cross the threshold any time soon. ::wink:: Both from Elann, I took advantage of the full bag sale on Gedifra Beauty Cotton and bought two of "Peony":

If I'd known how nice it was, I probably would've ordered more....so it's just as well this was a sight-unseen impulse purchase!

I'd been waiting patiently for weeks for the Brilla, only to have it go on sale the same day I was having my teeth drilled for crowns! There was some left when I returned (although several colors had sold out) and I was in a quandary as to what to buy. Because I have so much red, pink and green in my stash, I finally decided to go neutral with a lovely brown:

This will be great to crochet with - not too thick. It's the yarn called for in the Baroque Jacket pattern (which is also found in The Happy Hooker.) I made one a a few years ago from Elann's "Lara." Anyway, when figuring out how much Brilla to order, I went by the yarn requirements for Baroque, figuring I'd have enough for a long & lacy crocheted something-or-other. :)

But sometimes ordering sight-unseen doesn't work out quite as well. Here are two books I picked up from the Knit Picks 40% off sale and, although they are both quite nice, neither one are really "me." So - if anyone out there would like one or both, Shadow Knitting is $10 and HP Knitting is $8 (includes media rate shipping anywhere in the country):

Both are pristine, both will be nicely packaged in padded envelopes for their journey to their new home/homes. :)

Here's a little something I picked up from a friend. I helped her out AND I got a great deal on an iPod Video. Now this really, really cheered me up:

Even though I have to deal with Apple's proprietary iTunes for my songs (there are ways around it for Nanos, but not for the Video I found out yesterday), the video capability is SO worth the extra trouble. This way I'll be able to take TV shows I've missed to school & watch them during lunch or prep periods without worrying about burning them on DVDs and taking my portable DVD player. This will be SO much easier! (And yes - the first thing I did was buy a 16 show pass to "The Daily Show" - Jon Stewart is a god..... hehehehe)

I'm still desperate to crochet something - anything! - and finding nothing that strikes my fancy. I'm taking a second look at this:

As a stash-buster if nothing else.

Have a great weekend!

To File Under: You Couldn't Make This Stuff Up If You Tried

Our pediatrician of 14 years has lost our children's medical records. Well, I should say they WERE missing, but they found Colin's info a few months ago...just not Dylan's. The last 4 years of Dylan's shot records (the Hep A, Hep B, Tdap, etc. - the really important school ones) are gone - as if they never happened. And what info they can find on Colin has some of Dylan's stuff mixed in. For example, I took both boys in for physicals - they have no record of Dylan EVERY being there and have COLIN down as having Pectus Excavatum (when it's really Dylan) and COLIN being the one referred to a cardiologist (when it was DYLAN!)

I truly have never heard of anything more f**ked up in my life. And the condescending b**ch on the phone was no help. "Gee, Mama - your son needs some shots!" No, b**ch, my son needs a Dr's office that doesn't lose 15 years worth of information!!!!

Snap: They don't even have it IN THE COMPUTER! When the hard copies were lost ALL THE INFORMATION WENT WITH THEM.

Now I get to go down the high school & find a hard copy of Dylan's shot record and take it in to the Dr. so they can have it on THEIR records. I did go there today but the nurse doesn't report to work until the 1st, so I'll need to go BACK next week since none of the info is on the computer. Sigh

The Dr.'s nurse kept saying, "We don't have a record of that" and I finally said, "I don't care -you'll have to take my word for it. He HAD to have had his Hep B shots or else he wouldn't have been able to attend school!" "Well, that's true. But we still don't have record of it." Well, tough!

Dylan has all his shots together with Colin. I DO have Colin's complete shot record. Looks like I'll need to go down to the office one last time (before we kiss this outfit good-by!) and get it straightened out.

I can't believe how angry I still am at the appalling incompetence shown by this office. I'll be damned if Dylan has to have all those shots over again! I can't help but think that would be unhealthy at best, dangerous at worst.

So - how was your day?

Persephone's Pomegranate

I can't see these in the garden:

Without thinking of Hades and Persephone.

It seems I've eaten seeds of the pomegranate for knitters, because I keep coming back to UFOs. (Way to tie my garden in with my knitting, eh?)

Here's my latest resurrected project:

Not sure what you're looking at? That thing in front is a sleeve and the cross of the "T" are the front & back...see?:

It's "Holey Cable!"  by Amy. While I was talking to her about her new design, Sprout, I found myself assuring her (even though I'm sure she'd forgotten I started!) that I'd finish Holey Cable one of these days. Well, the minute I said it, I couldn't get the sweater off my mind so I pulled it out & got back to work.

I really will have this finished sooner rather than later. ;)

I survived the dentist - he's really wonderful. :) I had no pain at all and feel great today. The temp crowns are very comfortable in my mouth too. His assistant obviously knows what she's doing, unlike the other assistant from hell! We've had this dentist for a couple of years & it's the first time I've had any serious work done. Doug loves him (and his mouth has always been a disaster) so we're both relieved & happy to have finally found a dental "home."

I'm off this morning to see my Doctor. I'm trying to get everything done before school starts again. Wish me luck - I'll be talking about sleep & other issues that have been plaguing me for awhile.

Just give me a pill and I'm a happy camper. ::Grin:::

I'll leave you with more garden lilies:

(I waited 4 weeks for those buds to open! I had no idea of the color since the previous owner had planted them.)

My Fuchsia is still going strong:   

And here's a gorgeous sunrise....

Crochet Ennui

I think I've started & abandoned at least half a dozen crochet projects in the past week. Nothing was really doin' it for me until I decided to strike out on my own. Yes - I'm designing a little something. We'll see if my grandiose ideas work out. ::wink:: One thing I know for sure: designing in crochet will always be easier for me than designing in knit. Having only one hook & one loop to worry about makes creating something a breeze.....well, I HOPE so at least!

Thanks for all the compliments on Bob yesterday. :) AND for the atta-girls regarding my yarn price/LYS rant. It's always nice to know there are so many kindred spirits out there.

Now that Bob is complete I still have a couple of mindless stockinette-type projects in the works - details on those next time. (One is a resurrected UFO!) Because even though I might have a bit of crochet ennui, I don't have a shortage right now of want-to-knits. Jillian is going to be solely responsible for me breaking down & making Ariann. Bonne Marie is one of my fav designers - I know I can trust her patterns explicitly.

But even without Jillian, I'm getting into enough trouble on my own. As part of Knit Picks big 40% off book sale, I purchased this Couture Knits by Jean Moss. Blogdom's been strangely silent about this book, unless I just haven't happened upon the right blogs. I'm very impressed with the book and here are some of my favorite designs:

These two with caveats - the first without the incredibly high neck in back:

And this without those awful bobbles:

(I've never understood the knitter's fascination with bobbles. Ugly little knitted warts in my opinion! ha!)

Jean Moss is known for details and it shows in every design. Whether or not I'll ever get around to any of these remains to be seen, but I really love looking at them!

Send good thoughts my way...I'm off to have two crowns done today @ 8:30. The first time I had a crown done (at a different dentist) he ended up sending me for a root canal ($1,000!) and then he had his assistant put on a temporary crown that lacerated my gums & made my mouth fill with blood. But it was OK - it didn't last long - by 11 that night the freakin' thing had cracked & broken off my poor little tooth stub. I refused to go back & have it replaced. (Wouldn't you? I swear that place was something out of "Saw.") So I ran around with no tooth for 3 weeks until I got my gold one installed.

Is it any wonder I switched dentists?

Oh - as long as I'm sharing dental horror stories, the dentist I went to before THAT had a hygienist who deliberately did NOT clean teeth well in order to hasten decay & make more $$ for the dentist through fillings & crowns. (Yep - it's really true. When I went to a new hygienist she said it looked like my teeth hadn't been cleaned in 5 years. Isn't that charming? After my last cleaning had been 3 months before.) Although the one time I went in to have a cavity filled because the tooth hurt, the dentist refused to do it. He said I had to have a crown instead for $600 more. That's the day I took my aching tooth elsewhere.

Dentists...not my favorite people!

:::whimper:::

Lucy In The Sky With Bob - The End

Completed 7/22/07 @ 8:30 PM. So technically both Deathly Hallows and the sweater were finished last weekend. :) Score!

Back:

STATS:

Pattern - "Bob" from a years-ago issue of Knitty.

Needles - size 8 Knit Picks Options.

Yarn - 9 skeins of "Love it" from Berroco in the "Lucy in the Sky" color way.

Mods - I made the sweater about 4" longer to use up most of the yarn.

Thoughts - The neckline is a little loosey-goosey. I'm going to go back & slip stitch around the opening so it doesn't fall down my arms. The yarn is a wee bit thinner than a normal worsted weight (not, for example, as thick as Cotton Ease) so things are a little stretchier. I do really, really like how the striping ended up around the neck. It looks like a yoke and as though I intended it to happen, but it was really a happy coincidence. :) I was thinking during the knitting phase that it would be nice to have purple end up next to my face - it's the most flattering color out of the 5.

The yarn has two major points in it's favor: the cool self-striping and it feels very good when worn. I was concerned while knitting because some skeins (not all, though!) had an acrylic-y feel to them. But once it's knitted & on your body, you don't really feel any difference. Although the difference in the skein's feel is definitely a quality control issue for Berroco.

One big black mark - I think the yarn's too expensive for what you're getting. Was the sweater you see worth $80? (Actually closer to $90 when you include shipping.) No- not really. You can talk about the "joy of knitting" that is "beyond price" until you're blue in the face but the fact is that I enjoy knitting (and the resulting item) a heck of a lot more if the cost of the yarn was reasonable.

Those of you who've been around for awhile, might remember my rant of '05. (Linked for those who don't.) Suffice to say I still feel the same way regarding local yarn stores AND big name yarn companies. The cost of yarn wouldn't be an issue with me if I just made 3 or 4 sweaters per year. But I've been in my new house 2 months and finished 5 sweaters PLUS a resurrected sweater UFO. And a purse. And half a dozen dishcloths & a couple of pot holders.

And a partridge in a pear tree.

Just sayin'.

NOTE: Since my rant, my LYS has moved from it's tiny quarters to a larger, well-lit store. I've never visited but I've heard it's much, much better than it was. :) At least in regard to space issues. Ahem.

Next time: Some knitting eye candy courtesy of Jean Moss and scenes from a garden, courtesy of Mother Nature. Also - another resurrected UFO and maybe something new.

Happy Monday!

 

I've Resurfaced

The mailman snuck the book into the mail box yesterday. Not sure how long it had been there, but I discovered it at noon. Aaaargh! Precious reading time lost! After getting #1 son to a B-day party, I settled in to read. 6 hours later I was finished, with a few breaks for food & potty. ;)

I won't go into detail, but I'll say I was pleased with how well everything has been tied together & how many plot points are finally explained. I now know which two Rowling "didn't intend to have die" but there's a certain symmetry to it that appealed to me.

I can't say more without revealing too much. There were at least 3 places where I was tempted to cry, but not over what you would think. ::wink:: I need to go back & reread it slowly, just to make sure I've got everything straight.

The book is fast-paced and very well written. A very fitting end to a series that's kept me hanging (along with millions of others) for years.

I know all the arguments against Harry Potter. And I know if I hear one more person sniff disdainfully and say, "It's hardly great literature," I'll smack 'em. Hard. I would counter that it's hardly great literature if no-one reads it. (Sniffing disdainfully back at ya.) After all, what makes literature "great?" Good writing, timeless stories & universal themes. Um....check. Great literature does NOT mean archaic language, obscure dialog & glacial pacing. (I have a degree in "great literature" - it ain't all it's cracked up to be.)

The Harry Potter books are written for a generation who relates much better to M. Night Shyamalan than W. Somerset Maugham. Beating your breast & declaring the end of civilization as we know it because kids happen to like video games is...pointless. (Yep - let's close that barn door after the horse has escaped.) There will always be a place for what has come before (from Tom Sawyer to The Lord of the Rings) but to be stuck with the "classics" in a time warp robs a person of the enjoyment of the very real literary contributions made in the past couple of decades. By (gasp!) modern authors....who are keeping pace with our evolving society.

I won't even dignify the whole "Harry Potter is of the devil" crap with a rebuttal. Although I will say that last night the whole family watched, "Jesus Camp" (we were sickened and disgusted...if I lose readers over that comment, so be it) and I found it ironic that HP was mentioned (if he had lived in olden days he would've been put to death by GOD!) on the same day I read the last book.

I'll be back with pix of a finished "Lucy in the Sky with Bob" shortly. ;)

In the meantime - go read a book, will ya?

Ouch!

I'm losing Bloglines subscribers right & left so I'd better talk about some knitting, first thing. (Ha! Their loss, eh? ::wink::)

Here's the other half of Lucy In The Sky With Bob, almost complete:

The striping was definitely more regular in this piece than in the other:

But it's all good. :)

I'll finish up the bodice ribbing this morning (hopefully right after I publish this entry) and will cast on for the sleeves asap. We're expecting company tonight so I'll be distracted for a bit with cleaning up, but I plan to get at least a few inches of sleeve complete. Then I'll knit madly Saturday morning until the UPS guy gets here with you-know-what. (Evidently the mere mention of HP makes people run from my blog...or perhaps it was horror at my new glasses? hehe)

In any event, I'm still on track to have a finished sweater AND a finished book on Sunday.

Does life get any better than that?

You Won't See Much Of Me The Next Few Days

I'll be using my new glasses:

To re-read this:

In preparation for Deathly Hallows on Saturday (I'm going to have to write a post dedicated to HP & how I feel now that the story is ending) and I'll be watching this (why, oh WHY did they cancel it???) and knitting on this:

(Which I think looks like something Mrs. Weasley would knit, don't you??) in hopes of finishing it by this weekend.

Other news:

** My Caddy is finally ready: $225 to fix one hose. (Yeah...someone got "hosed" alright!)

** We have MORE skunks! Two more were caught in traps last night & one more is still on the prowl.

So - what's exciting in your life these days? Do tell!