Monday, February 26, 2007
Wimper
I had used one of Lucia's calculators to design a sweater for Nick a few months back. Well, I can't find my copy. Plus I really want to do a top down raglan instead of doing pieces. And right now I can't seem to get to her site. This could just be a case of my isp being a shit. Then again, she has had problems with her server before.
I have The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns,
but their raglan sweaters are done from the bottom up.
In Knitting Without Tears,
EZ doesn't give an actual pattern stating, cast on xyz stitches and do this. And her patterns are bottom up too.
All of the reference books I have by my desk show raglans knit either from the bottom up in the round or in pieces. ppppppppbbbbbbblllllllllllllttttttttttttttt Not what I want.
Of course, I could go search through the 100 or so magazines that I have on my other bookshelf. But um that would be very time consuming. Anything I found would most likely be sized for an adult and not a child. It probably wouldn't work for the yarn that I want to use either.
I'll probably end up measuring the sweater I already started to see what my gauge is with the yarn and needles I used. I really like the fabric it created. I'll have to crunch those numbers with the pattern in the KHBoSW and do it bottom up. sigh
On the good side of things, we have survived the blizzard. Um yeah, so it really kind of missed us for the most part. The 2 foot drift of heavy slushy crappy snow I shoveled out from in front of the garage door sucked, but really I don't think that even 3 inches of snow was really added to the rest of the yard.
We thankfully didn't loose power either. I do believe there are still about 200,000 people in Iowa without power. The majority of them are in the northeastern part of Iowa. Thankfully, the folks have power too, because if my power goes out, I'm heading out there. hehe The longest I've dealt with a power outage was maybe 4 hours. The power went out in the middle of the night. It did wake me up though cause the silence woke me up! hehe I sleep with a big box fan on year round. Drives me nuts trying to sleep when it is totally quiet. When I was pregnant, my dad would come into my room in the middle of the night and turn my fan off because he was convinced it was bad for the baby for me to be cold. Um yeah, I would wake up 5 minutes later and turn it back on. hehehe I've infected the kid with the whole fan thing. He has woken up because of the fan going off in his room too.
Nothing interesting on the knitting front to report. I did wear my green socks today though. I so can not wear them with my black boots though. I think my left foot was swollen or something because boy howdy was it tight fitting. No problems when I switched over to my sneakers though. Looking at them now that I've taken them off, it amazes me just how freaking huge my feet are. The socks look HUGE now that they have been worn. I think I should have made the ribbing at the top a little longer. They are just a tad bit loose, but they stayed up pretty good.
I wore the socks today as a moral boost, because I went to the clinic for some training for the aide job. Well it turns out that it wasn't training I was going in for. It was a stinking interview. Yuck!! I hate interviews. That is why I work for a temp agency, so I don't have to interview for jobs. lol I dressed nice and actually did my hair. There was hairspray involved people! I don't do hairspray on a normal basis. I was only there for 15 freaking minutes. By the time I got back to the house, there was a message that they want to go ahead with my training though. That starts tomorrow. I'm going to have to go and buy a new pair of tan pants and a dark polo shirt. The tan pants I wore to the laundry have some black marks on the legs that just won't come out. Guess it is a good thing that the ex put some money on my debit card. :) And before anyone says anything about spending child support to buy myself clothes, think about it. I'm buying clothes that I need to wear for a job to earn money to support said child. Not like I'm going out and buying sexy lingerie. Not that I'm in any mood to be buying that sort of thing. Might make myself some though. hehehehehe
Ok, time to go cook some dinner and spend some time with the little hellion.
edit: Was just adding links to a few things in the post and I'm now able to get over to Lucia's site. Musta just been a temporary glitch.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
I hate snow
So I got the snow blower going and opened up the garage door. There was about 2 feet of snow directly in front of the door and in front of the car. :( It took me about 5 minutes to work the snow blower through the drift and along side of the car. The main bulk of the driveway only had a little bit of snow in it. Unfortunately, there was a foot of sloppy slushy snow at the bottom of the drive. No way in the world was the snow blower going to move that crap. Took me over a half hour to do the end of the driveway with the shovel.
Next, I decided to try and use the snow blower on the sidewalk. One little problem with that. When I put the blower into gear and gave it a push, I realized it has a freaking flat tire. unnnnnnnngggghhhhhhhh When I try to push it forward it looks like the tire is going to come off, so I had to put it in reverse and back it into the garage. And that of course meant that I had to shovel the whole dang driveway by hand. My back is killing me. What is worse though, is my hands. Because the snow was so wet and it was so warm out, my hands got all wet and I've got raw spots on my palms and a couple fingertips. And yes, I did change gloves once.
I started out in my 2 work jackets with a scarf and a hood up. First the hood went, then I took of the scarf. Next I lost the second jacket and I even tried to go without gloves all together, but damn that hurt my hands. Not from the cold but from the shovel handle. I ended up putting on a crappy old pair of gloves that allow very little hand movement.
It took me almost 2 hours of digging, but the driveway is all clear now. I'm sure it is going to turn into a sheet of ice when the temps dip tonight. Not much I can do about that though.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the neighbor try to get in or out of her side of the driveway. hehe She has an even bigger drift of snow in front of her garage door than I had. And as soon as it gets a little colder, it is going to turn into a big ole block of ice. So is the foot tall pile at the end of the driveway. No way in freaking hell am I going to help her out. This is one time that she is going to have to shovel because there is no way to get into the driveway let alone into her garage. hehe I'm so mean.
Well, I'm off to take a shower and then head to mom's. Cross your fingers that my fingers won't be too sore to knit. sigh
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Congrats
Right now all of Northeastern Iowa is under a freaking blizzard warning. They are talking a foot of snow here in addiction to the ice and rain. Right now most of the roads are closed. Many large highways are closed because of multiple downed power lines. There are over 100,000 houses without power right now. Scary chit man.
I have a feeling that we will not be leaving the house again tomorrow. Today we stayed in the house and played games on the pc. I only opened the door once, turned back around and grabbed a blanket. hehe
I'm supposed to start training for the clinic job. I may not take it though. Got a call from my mom that they aren't even going to pay me $7 an hour for it. Ummmmmm I ain't going anywhere for less than $7. So Monday, I'm gonna give the temp agency a call. Plus I have no clue if the roads will be opened back up. If there is no school, I'm not going anywhere.
I finished the hat and booties for my cousin. I'll get a picture of them before I give them to her. My mom wants me to add ribbon to them. It's not enough that I made the damn thing without even using a pattern. They aren't "pretty" enough for her. My question is, who the hell puts ribbon on a stocking cap??
I've started a scarf using the bright green sock yarn. I was going to add in the yellow stuff, but upon winding it, I realized it had pink and orange in it too. It just would be too much competition with the variegated green yarn. I'm doing a basic feather and fan pattern. I'm thinking it looks quite lovely. The yarn is nice and squishy and stretchy. The only part I'm not liking is how the bottom of the "waves" rolls up. Depending on how much of the yarn I use up in knitting the length, I'm thinking I'll put a very simple single crochet edge around the whole thing.
What Your Soul Really Looks Like |
You are a warm hearted and open minded person. It's easy for you to forgive and forget. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds. You believe that people see you for how you are, not how you look. But deep down, you know that's not exactly true. Your near future is in a very different place (both physically and mentally) from where you are right now. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust. |
You Are 52% Abnormal |
You are at medium risk for being a psychopath. It is somewhat likely that you have no soul. You are at high risk for having a borderline personality. It is very likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at high risk for having a social phobia. It is very likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at medium risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is somewhat likely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer. |
hehe Always knew I was weird, but I thought I was weirder than that. :OP
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
300!?!?!?!
Nick says his momma is crazy for doing this stuff. lol I took that picture a few days ago before giving the kid a hair cut. He looks much better now. lol
And yes, this is my 300th post! More details on that at the bottom along with the crappy contest info.
Here is the bright ass yarn that I'm going to make a scarf with. Believe me, in person, this yarn is much brighter. Almost neon looking. I've got a black coat, so I'm not worried about matching colors. I'm pretty sure that it's from Fearless Fibers. She does some really amazing colors.
Now a bit of advice. There is an eBay store called Knittems. You might be tempted to buy one of their huge 2 lb "skeins" of yarn. Don't do it!!! Well not unless you have a huge, I mean huge, swift to hold the yarn. Otherwise you are going to end up with this.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Is it me?
Not a whole lot to report here. I ripped back the purple baby hat because I forgot I wasn't making a preemie hat and boy howdy was it short. hehe I'm about halfway done with the decreases. Maybe I'll have pictures later.
I would have had the hat done, but I decided to work on the pink sweater. I do believe I've managed to teach myself how to knit backwards with a bit of speed and accuracy. I would have gotten more done on the darn thing if I the yarn wasn't so splitty. I keep finding spots where the yarn has split and there is a stitch made only with part of the strand. So, I had to keep dropping stitches back and fixing them. I've actually gotten pretty good at that too. hehe
I know I mentioned a contest the other day. Not that anyone asked me for details or anything. :OP This here post makes 299 posts. I'm thinking that if someone, anyone, comments on my next post, I'll just have to give the first person something. That is assuming someone actually comments. I think I'll have to get the big tote out from under the bed and see what pretty sock yarn I can come up with.
I'm thinking I need to make myself another scarf. This time out of wool. I've been wearing an old acrylic scarf I made a few years back and I'm really just loving it. It is super long and I can wrap it around my head twice, but it just isn't very soft. I think I have some bright yellow and bright green sock yarn in the tote. Maybe I can combine the two and get a bright ass funky scarf out of it. hmmm
Lots to do, lots to do.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Bout time
Turns out I may not have to miss a few of the ladies too much. I've got a line on a part time job at the medical facility that is attached to the hospital. It is 2 or 3 nine hour days a week helping patients sign in and get to their appointments. I've got to call the lady at the temp agency and see about doing orientation. Hopefully, if I do get the job, I'll be able to have lunch with a couple of the ladies that I really got along with. :O)
In knitting news, I've started a baby hat in Caron Sayelle in Spring Blossoms Ombre (0391). A distant cousin is having a baby and they are pretty sure they are having a girl. The mom's favorite color is purple, so hopefully she will like the hat. I want to make a pair of booties too, but I'm not sure if I have a pattern that uses worsted weight yarn. I may just wing it with a toe up generic sock. Cross your fingers that the little dear will be able to wear them before she is 2 years old. hehe
I got out the nifty knitter and I'm working on a hat for myself. I've got a huge head, so I'm using the burgundy loom and 2 strands of white acrylic. It's left over yarn from Nick's sweater that I got off of eBay. Hopefully it will fit. If not, then Nick will just have another hat to wear. If it doesn't fit him, I'll just have to save it for donation at some point or another.
I still haven't gotten my other hard drive all set up. I can't seem to get it to see my modem. It works just fine on this hard drive tyvm. heh I think I'll reformat it again since I haven't actually installed much of anything on there yet. I finally got rid of the viruses on this darn drive, so I think I'll just use this one for my craft stuff. I'll move all the graphics programs and such onto the larger hard drive. If I can't get the internet working, I'll see if I can't find a 40gb or less external hard drive that I can transfer files on.
Once again my mail at Yahoo is locked up. I can't open anything received since yesterday afternoon. Why is it that this only happens on the account I pay for?? I've got a couple free accounts that I've never had a problem with. If my isp account would actually download with any sort of speed, I would go back to having this account be a free one. But unfortunately, my isp mail is twice as slow to download as my Yahoo account. sigh I swear I need to get out of this one horse town and get a cable connection. heh
Ok, I'm off to work on my hats.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Knitting?
Talk about scary
When I came back in my room I could hear it again. I shrugged it off assuming that it was my neighbor's alarm clock.
Then it hit me. It sounded just like our smoke alarms!! So I got dressed and went over and banged on her door.
Turns out that she was warming up her car in the garage and didn't open the door up all the way. The carbon monoxide detector was going off and she couldn't turn it off. She ended up having to call the maintenance guy. He is a nice guy and came over to check to make sure mine hadn't gone off too.
For about a minute there I was pretty damn scared. I've got tons of stuff in this house and if there was a fire it would go up like a tinderbox. shiver
Saturday, February 10, 2007
hmmmmm
I also went back through to count up how many comments I've gotten on this crappin blog. Turns out I've had 211 comments on 293 posts. Doesn't sound too bad until I realized that most of my comments occurred in 2005. I would get 3 or 4 comments on each post. Any more I'm lucky if I get 1 comment on 1 out of every 5 posts. lol I guess I'm slipping.
Nobody loves me any more!!!! wwwwwhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaa
hehehehehehe
Well the major thing that has cut into my comments is that my biggest 2 commenters aren't in the blog world any more. Jon has gone and gotten him a man and deleted his blog. I can't even express how much I miss that boy. Anyone heard from him?? Laura still has a blog, but she hasn't posted in months and months. But, she has found a new calling in life with the Preemie Project.
Oh well. I'm just gonna have to start commenting on all the blogs that I read a little more often. Maybe they will come visit me too. hehe I read a lot of blogs, but I don't comment nearly as much as I should.
Btw, I wasn't able to find a dentist to see me today. I'll give my regular guy a call on Monday, but he isn't going to be happy with me. It has been far too long since I've visited him. He is a sweet guy but I have a phobia about dentists. Just have to be careful to chew on the left until I can get in to see him.
Well, I'm gonna go work on my gloves and then hit the sack. I'm pooped. I'm still thinking on which yarn to pony up to one of the few people who stop by here. Definately going to be sock yarn. Most likely something I got off of eBay or Etsy. We shall see. We shall see.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Someone up there hates me
But nnooooooooo I had to eat it.
And now I have a broken tooth.
About 9 years ago, I had 2 root canals done but I never had the money to have the crowns put on. I hadn't had one single problem with them in all this time.
Until now....
The back of one of the teeth is loose and wiggling all over.
I have no clue if there are any dentist's offices open tomorrow. None of the dentists in the yellow pages says that they are available on an emergency basis or are open on the weekend. I haven't seen my regular dentist in quite some time. I wouldn't doubt it if he wouldn't see me. I know one time I got hurt and knocked my front teeth backwards and he just was sick that he didn't get my call.
gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I need to get my shit together and figure out what I have left after my bills are paid off and file my damn taxes. I have another tooth that is broken and I know he will insist on fixing that one too.
Excuse me while I go and have another drink and thank God that I don't grind my teeth.
One more day???
I suppose I should be flattered that I'm in such demand. Somehow, it doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy. Seriously, I think she just doesn't want to train someone for just one week of work.
The good news is that I won't be going in until 8:30. The bad news is that I'll be working until at least 3:30. I'm glad I'll have more time with the ladies at work. I do really like several of them.
Just a taste of the chill here in Iowa.
The neighbor lady finally decided to shovel part of her side of the driveway. I say part, because there is still a large portion full of snow near our garage doors. Something is better than nothing.
No new knitting pictures. I just haven't added much length to the scarf and I haven't worked on anything else. I do need to make a baby hat and some booties for a cousin. Her favorite color is purple and so far they are pretty sure they are having a girl. No sight of a winkie in any of the ultrasounds. I've got some variegated Caron Sayelle in a purple and cream color.
Nothing else of interest to report. Hopefully this weekend I'll be rebuilding my computer and I really need to get some housework done. Mom will be bringing the kid home after school all this week and as the house is now, she would freakin kill me. She is a total neatnik. I am not. hehe
Ok, I'm off to watch the news and eat a little dinner.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
2 days
Finally got the whole kid getting to school problem. Not before I had a total freak out.
Turns out my mom didn't actually get permission to take the kid to school each morning.
I found this out at 5:30 this morning while driving to work.
Turns out Dad is working the overnight shift and will be home before Mom has to leave for work. So, the kid is spending the night at my folks house. Dad will be taking the kid to school.
I have no clue what I'll be doing next week. I'm actually hoping for a few days off. I need to recover from all this 4am shit.
I'm gonna miss the gals that I've been working with. I intend to give at least one of them my email address. I'm trying to infect her with the fiber love. hehehe She knows how to crochet and has knit in the past. I gave her two skeins of silver fun fur shit to make a scarf with along with a scarf that I knit up for my sister in law but never gave her. I've been trying to show her again how to cast on. She has a baby blanket she wants to get finished for a friend of hers first though.
Susie just had a contest on her blog. I jokingly asked if that was how people got all the comments, running contests. She told me I should run a contest on here. lol It might happen. This is post 291. Maybe I'll give something away when I hit 300 posts. I'm sure any comments I might actually get would be from someone who's blog I read since only about 5 people actually read my blather. lol All I know, is that whoever does win better like sock yarn. I've got more sock yarn than I could ever knit up.
Anyways, it's time to hit the sack. Might leave the tv on so I can watch LOST. Love that show.
Night, night.
Monday, February 05, 2007
pictures
First my finished green socks.
The heel on the left one does fit. I just didn't pull the sock on all the way I guess.
The foot detail.
Instep/heal area.
And the blue scarf I'm working on. Skein included to show scale.
Close up.
I only did a little editing on the brightness and contrast. I didn't touch the hue and it is pretty true for both the socks and the scarf. And yes, I crocheted the afghan in the background. It is done in the afghan stitch with Lion Brand Homespun. The stuff pills like shit but it is soft and warm and that is the only thing that really matters.
So, is this camera a lil better than the old one? lmao
Excuse me while I cry
For starters, it is freaking freezing here in Iowa. -10 before you add in the windchill. They delayed school 2 hours today and it looks like it will be delayed 2 hours again tomorrow.
The babysitter's car has died. She snuck the kid onto the school bus this morning, but we have no clue if they will let him ride the rest of the week. Mom has to be to work by 7:30, so she can't take him to school. Soooooo if they won't let him ride the bus, I have to say see ya to the job I've got right now. Well that is unless they don't mind me coming in at 8:30. Yeah right!!
Speaking of cars, my blower motor is going out. About 70% of the time, I have no heat in the car. Did I mention that it is -10 here??? bbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I really need to call my lil bro and find out if he is able to replace it for me. I would rather give him some money than a garage that will take me for all they can get.
To top it off, Nick just called me into the living room. There is no picture on the tv. There is sound, but no picture. uuunnnnnggggghhhhhhhhh It's about 7 years old. The tv in Nick's room is about 15 yrs old and still works just fine. I do believe his tv is gonna be going into the living room for awhile.
Cross your fingers that the kid can get to school tomorrow. So long as he can get to school, I can work the rest of the week. Now, I'm gonna go take a shower so the kid won't hear me throwing a hissy fit. sigh
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Wheeee!!!
No new knitting news. I just lazed around today. I might play around with the gloves idea in a bit. Or i just might head to bed. hehe Someday I'll be able to stay awake past 9:30 without turning into a zombie. lol
Friday, February 02, 2007
well crud
Whooops!
The other temps are not coming back. I'm the lucky one. That is because they trained me on a bunch of the jobs there. They gave up on trying to train the guys on how to do anything. Talk about some slow pokes. Neither one could find his own ass with a map and a flashlight.
It's also looking like the one chick that I can't stand at the laundry might just get her ornery ass fired. She has been getting yelled at a whole lot the last week. When I left today she was in the office again getting her ass chewed out. bwaaahhhaahhhhaaahhhhaaaaa Who knows, maybe they will offer me her job since they have me more than half trained to do it. hehe
Nothing much new in the knitting news. I finally spliced on a second skein of the blue alpaca and added a few inches to the blue scarf before taking my usual nap during the news. lol I'm also seriously thinking about making myself a pair of gloves. I'm not thinking about something real thick, maybe just something to wear under my leather work gloves that I wear for driving. I've got some rainbow Hot Sox sock yarn that I'm putzing with. I had half a sock done in it and I ripped it out last night. I know I would never ever wear the rainbow socks. hehe
Out of curiosity, do any of y'all have a paid Yahoo email account? It seems like every 4 months or so I'm unable to open new emails for about 4 or 5 days. Doesn't matter if I restart my computer and clear out the temp files. Doesn't matter if I use a different browser. I can open up the new spam mail but not my regular mail. Pisses me off. Plus, I have other free accounts with Yahoo and I can read the mail just fine. It's just the paid account that is fubar. sigh
Oh well, time to hit the sheets. Need to hit the stores tomorrow. Found out I've got almost $300 on my food stamps card that is about to expire. I had no clue at all that it was on there. I haven't gotten any food stamps in a year. Gonna stock up on spaghetti o's and chicken nuggets for the kid. heh
Thursday, February 01, 2007
good news ... bad news
Nick has NOT been dealing well with being woke up at quarter after 5 every day. Each morning this week he has complained about still being tired when I get him dressed. He has also been acting up at school. Not getting his work done. Sticking his tongue out at his teacher. Still trying to kill himself. hehe He came in from playing yesterday with a freaking fat lip!! I swear I can't take him out in public for fear the cops will question me about abusing him. I don't even spank the boy.
He isn't the only complete klutz in the house either. I've got the cuts and bruises to prove it. :P
When I went to get out of bed this morning, I completely lost my balance. I wasn't dizzy or anything but I didn't even make it standing straight up before I fell over. I've got a large scrap/cut on my left shoulder from hitting my small dresser. I also pulled a muscle in my back. I didn't realize until later that I bruised my hand up too. As if my left hand isn't usually painful enough without adding a bruise into the mix.
Plus, I'm getting a damn cold. sigh I keep saying it is some sort of sinus deal. I'm all stuffed up and my sinuses are killing me. I've had a huge headache all day. So either I have a sinus infection, or a cold. Not sure which one is worse. heh
I was hoping to get my other hard drive back this weekend. My brother is saying I'll get it next weekend. :O( The one I'm using has viruses on it and I can't seem to get rid of them. Not all of my programs will work. I was able to reinstall some of them, but not all will work. It's just drivin me bonkers.
Anyways, I figure I'm just going to enjoy having a few days off of work. Hopefully the temp agency will have me back to work sometime next week, but frankly at the moment, I wouldn't care if I had a week off and could sleep in until 7am. hehehe