El fin

It ain't pretty but it's done. I think there were seaming issues - well, I know there were seaming issues. We'll see what happens, but not for a couple of days. I don't even want to look at Thorn for a couple of days. I think the next couple of days are going to be devoted towards picking up all the random scraps of Thorn yarn, the 3 copies of patterns, tucking the needles away, etc.

OH! I've never done this before but I've seen it in other places so here goes. I'll perfect it later.

Pattern: Rose by Alexandra Virgiel
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine in Grass
Started: Opening Ceremonies, Feb. 10, 2006
Finished-ish: Closing Ceremonies, Feb. 26, 2006

The Knitting Olympics has been a very interesting experience. I've learned that I can actually finish a project in a reasonable amount of time. I've also learned that I have issues with competition, especially if it's with myself. I've dealt with tendonitis in both wrists/forearms and more sore shoulder and back muscles than I can conveniently count, just to try to get this done on time. Thank goodness for the miracles of modern technology.

I don't think I can face Inny for a little while. I think I need a couple of weeks of fluffy projects. Wrap up K2, start on mystery project, start on whatever project Holly cons me into later this week.

The CA race today was boring as all get out. Too many grooves, pack got way spread out, it was a real yawner. Jimmie didn't quite have the car to win, but was fortunate enough to have some other guys have some trouble and ended up with a 2nd place finish, behind Kenseth (so at least RR's happy). I'll take the good finish with a loose race car and the week off. Especially when 20 & 16 have bad weeks. Next stop is Vegas in two weeks.

I thought the flame extinguishing for Turino was a little anti-climactic. I'm usually ready to bawl like a baby but this was just so sudden. And the whole bride thing was just a little strange. I'm choosing not to discuss Ricky Martin. Do you think it felt strange to perform facing an audience of clowns? That has to be just a little strange.

Close but no Cigar

I'm not gonna make it.

There, I said it.

Thorn isn't going to get finished by the end of the Olympic Closing Ceremonies in less than 36 hours. The only way it was going to happen is if I finished a sleeve today, a sleeve tomorrow, and seamed on Sunday. The body's done - always good news - but I hit a snag with the sleeves and I had to fire off an email to the talented designer to beg for her assistance. The master plan is to start the second sleeve at work tomorrow and hope I have a message waiting for me when I get home tomorrow.

Elizabeth has finished at least one beautiful baby blanket and has started on number two. I took this pic of the completed one while I was hanging out at her house on Monday watching Doris Day movies. Pay no attention to the crumpled Thorn in the corner. She was well into the next blanket - a neat corner-to-corner ribbed (or striped) pattern.

Since I can never manage to finish one project without daydreaming about the next, I started a list of projects I wanted to tackle in 2006. It's a little ambitious, a little comical, but mildly feasible.

Sweaters: Inny*, never-ending cardigan* (definites); Alice, Somewhat Cowl, Rogue (maybes)

Socks*: Jaywalkers, Lava Flow, basic

Misc: Pasha*, Booga Bag*, Coronet, baby blanket*, scarf. Penobscot Bay hat.

I already have the yarn for most of them; the Somewhat Cowl will probably be the most expensive but we'll see what happens. I'll undoubtedly end up buying a little souvenir yarn at Why Knot Knit next month (it would be rude not to buy something).

For Stephyliuhoo who is slightly more than 2

Just over fifteen years ago, I was introduced to Steph against my will - I later came to find she felt the same way. Those who know me know the stark terror I feel upon being forced to meet new people and my trepidation at meeting Steph was no different, particularly since Tom was forcing us on one another. If you asked him today, he would tell you it was because he knew we would get along, being the all-knowing, all-seeing demigod that he is. She and I both know he was sick of us and looking to foist us on one another and leave him out of it.

Through the years, our friendship has grown from passing poorly-encoded notes back and forth on 2nd-floor Chalmers to all-night Gin games while listening to OMD to her feebly trying to teach me to drive stick-shift (and consequently killing her alternator...). The repeated roadtrips to Gambier, the addictions to soccer & knitting & DMB, the trek cross-country (and the exploding Doritos outside of Denver). The MLS Cup from Hell (eventually) and the gazillions of hours spent late night on the phone.

Now she's happily ensconced in Sacramento with her hubby, pup and two slightly neurotic cats. We don't see each other nearly as much as we once did, but Steph - I love you to pieces and wish you the happiest of birthdays.

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!

Atta boy! Yesterday was the 48th running of the Daytona 500 and Jimmie pulled it off, holding off Newman for green-white-checkered finish. The masses are unhappy - shocking! - but he didn't cause any wrecks, he made it through without Chad. I'm so proud of them. I couldn't even write about it yesterday - adrenaline level was still way too high. Controversy and all, it's just too bad Chad couldn't be there.

I was also having MAJOR Thorn issues last night. I could not decipher the pattern at all and was getting VERY frustrated. By the time I finally cracked the code it was around 12:30 a.m. or so, so I settled in to "The Thomas Crowne Affair" and "Speed" and hacked my way through it, finally turning in at 4:00 this morning. Good thing I had today off work.

Went over to E's house this afternoon and had some tasty frozen 'za and spent the day knitting and watching movies. She knocked off one of her baby blankets and is well into another one. I don't think I'm going to finish Thorn in time for the end of the KO, but I'd better get going.

Team IAHF Updates

Okay, I know you guys out there are knitting, even if you aren't reading my blog, so it's time to chime in. Where do you stand on your Knitting Olympics' projects?

Thorn is at 11" and holding. I hope to get to the end of the body work tonight and start on the V-neck split tomorrow morning before heading out to celebrate Thea's birthday. How does one explain that they can't bowl due to a knitting injury?


After extensive blog-surfing, I've come to realize that our team was not the only one to stumble out of the blocks. Virtually every one that I read bore some mention of frogging or tinking or having to set aside out of frustration, so keep at it, gang! Here we have the Terrible Threesome examining Stick's work on the Kitty Pi-zza. Apparently she was so excited about being done with the bottom of her catbed that she just...stopped. Rumor has it she's almost done with the new-and-improved Kitty Pi with walls so we'll see what happens.

Elizabeth and I are going to take advantage of our 3-day weekend and so some knitting on Monday - I'll be sure to get some pictures of her blanket. Updates on Melyssa's scarf can be found on her blog. As for Steph, she's off for a romantic weekend with the hubby (and the puppy) to Cupertino so maybe she'll give us an update when she gets back.

I Did Not Have Knitting Relations with that Yarn

I came across a knitting blog while I was at work this morning where the blogger mentioned that they were 'Kwaning' the Knitting Olympics - dropping out due to injury or risk of injury. I have to admit, I'm right there with them. I've been moaning for at least the last 24 hours that my back and shoulders have been bothering me, as well as both forearms, so the common sensical people in my life have been telling me I should take the evening off.

This is how I spent my night - Thorn was strictly a spectator...really...I swear. Well, maybe I just knit a little bit. I mean, have you seen the neurosis-inducing countdown clock on the Yarn Harlot's page? What's a pinched nerve when faced with that? Okay, so the Olympics were over by the time I took that photo (it's somehow even more fitting that it was a Bond movie). I blog-surfed and IM'd and knit just a few rows of Thorn to stay in the game. I had a heating pad stuffed down the back of my shirt to attempt to keep my back muscles relaxed. We'll see how I sleep. Thorny's comin' along though - 11" down.

Tuesday night was the February Cheap Eats outing. Miko was the lucky bachelor dining with 4 lovely ladies: Jo, Joan, Elizabeth and myself. Elizabeth dodged the photo by going to place our order steak frites order. Jo attempted to take my camera to include me in the next round of photos - I'm sure you can guess how that worked out. We had a rather lovely red wine, escargot (already out of the shell, thank goodness), our respective steak frites and a tasty plate of mini assorted desserts. Good times.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Melyssa, Pam & I got together Friday night for a rousing kickoff for the 2006 Knitting Olympics. There was chinese food, spinach-artichoke dip, wine, chocolate and a whole lotta yarn. We cast on our respective projects while waiting for our chinese food to arrive. I - of course - had to frog and recast on (twice!) using the long-tail cast on method. Blech! I can NEVER manage to measure that out correctly. No, Melyssa hasn'thad too much wine already, I promise.

Angus and I were kicked off the scarf couch, but I think that ended up being a blessing in disguise as we witnessed the ball-winding debacle. I made a handful of mistakes over the course of the rest of the weekend which required frogging and unknitting, hence Rose's renaming to Thorn. I'm also knitting it in a bright grass green so Rose seems a little less fitting. I spent virtually all weekend working on Thorn and watching a great deal of the Olympics and some NASCAR on Sunday. I've got right around 6" done so far. Unfortunately I can't get a good picture of the detailing at the hem. I think it's a good thing I've got dinner plans tomorrow night; I think my wrists could use a breather.

*sigh* Chimmie finished 5th in the Budweiser Shootout but had his original Daytona qualifying run DQ'd and Chad bounced from Daytona this weekend. Temp crew chief, new spotter, no love at restrictor plate tracks anyway - this is not going to be a pretty weekend.

My apologies

Looks like the meteorological community got it right this time:

<--- Before

Of course, couldn't it have managed to come down on Sunday instead of Saturday. Will likely still have work tomorrow.

After --->

Olympic Spirit

(settle in - this is a long one)

I am a band geek.

Normally, one might say "I was a band geek," but a) Melyssa would laugh in my face for using the past tense and b) when you're as big a band geek as I was, it's hard to toss that all aside just because I haven't played my flute regularly in 17 years.

Today marks the Opening Ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino (not just the Knitting Olympics in Arlington) and I have had John Williams' "Olympic Spriit" stuck in my head for DAYS! It would've been fall of my senior year of high school, I think and we did this whole 'Olympics-themed' show in marching band, complete with replacing our feathered plumes in our hats with tiny colored flashlights so we could form the Olympic rings on the field and march in circles. This dramatic piece of choreography was performed to none other than "Olympic Spirit." I think we played the main Olympic theme, too, but Spirit sticks out in my mind.

Sam says it's nearly time to Cast On for the Knitting Olympics! Not even all of Team "IT'S ALL HER FAULT" can get their act together.

• Stick will be casting on her Kitty Pi at 2:00 p.m. EST
• Steph will be starting her Zeeby's Bag at 5:00 PST (don't get carsick!) on her way to the U.S. v. Japan soccer game in SanFran.
• Melyssa, Pam & I will cast on once the official Opening Ceremonies have begun on NBC tonight at 8 - that should give us plenty of time to scarf down Chinese food.
• Elizabeth will be off eating her brother's cooking (mmmm!) and will work on an existing baby blanket that she's trying to muddle through (the backlog is unspeakable).

Our good friends at the National Weather Service have issued a Winter Storm Watch for tonight through tomorrow evening: "A SWATH OF SNOWFALL OF 5 INCHES OR MORE IS LIKELY ACROSS THE AREA...WITH ACCUMULATIONS UP TO TEN INCHES POSSIBLE." Uh-huh. Suure. This could mean one of two things: it's either going to rain for the next 48 hours, or we're going to get two feet of snow. Regardless, it should make for good knitting time.

Last Minute Knitting

I'm trying to plow my way through the heel of K2 before tomorrow so I can at least be that far along before tossing it aside for the next two and a half weeks (or until Rose becomes too unwieldy to take on the metro, whichever comes first).

I did a quick sweep of the room and did manage to find the other six balls of Shine for Rose, so at least I don't have that to worry about. They were hiding under my unfelted BottomsUp bucket hat so I went ahead and threw that in the wash (after a year, maybe two, of sitting in the bin). I ran it through twice, but I think I may have been a little overzealous. It almost appears to be more bowler-like in shape than buckety. Bucket-ish? Poor little Pook - forced to model a lopsided red felted bowler. At least he's a good sport about it. Brutus would've laughed in my face.

So, do I get to count the BucketBowler as an '06 completed object or does it get attributed to '04, which is when I probably finished knitting it? It might have been early '05, I suppose.

I think after the KO are over, I may have to embark on a UFO tour. Finish the scarf I started while Melyssa and I slaved over fixing my computer (well, she slaved; I knit). Inny, Kermit & Banff - obviously. The top down cardigan REALLY needs to be addressed. Well, I'll have a better sense of what I have on tap after this weekend.

To hell with stashbusting

Went to late night at Knit Happens tonight - I had to buy a needle for Rose for Friday. However, one little ol' Addi Natura wasn't going to be enough to get Hol's initials scribbled on my Insatiable Knitter card so I HAD to buy this yarn. Isn't it purdy? Will I ever make anything out of it? Well, that's always the trick question, no?

The crew at late night named the goat which roams through my room and gobbles up things I need - Igor. Of course, I immediately made the requisite Young Frankenstein 'EYE-gor' reference and we all giggled. Life's good with yarn and humor.

I frogged my last attempt at Soleil and dug out ye olde ball winder so I can make nice neat little bundles in preparation for Rose. I still feel like I'm missing skeins somewhere along the line, but I can't figure out where else they would be. I'll go digging through the usually hiding places tomorrow night and see if I find any double-secret hiding yarn. I know it's going to take more than six balls of Shine to pull this off. We'll see what I can dig up.

Last but not least, we have the mystery yarn. Between Inny and K2 and Rose and the rest of the crap I have on needles, I'll have to make the time to make something fun with this:

Yes, it's blurry on purpose. It just adds to the mystery.

Stroll Around the Grounds Until You Feel at Home

I've been listening to Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits all day - I'd forgotten how much I like this CD. It always makes me think of my friend Cat and freshman year at KC.

And it's helping me stay calm. I just checked the gauge on the swatch I made for Rose and I'm a full stitch off - looking at 4-4.5 sts/inch instead of 5.5. Methinks I should've put Inny and Kermit down last week and swatched a little sooner. I'll drop it another needle size and try another swatch tonight and hope for the best. I'm supposed to go to yoga tonight with the roommates so maybe I'll try to knock it out before then (and not use training for the Olympics as my uber-lame excuse for blowing off the gym). If I was super coordinated and confident, I'd work on the swatch while at the gym, but I just don't think I can pull that off. I still haven't recovered from the tragic World Cup viewing while on the treadmill incident of '02.

And I lied - I went ahead and cast on Kermit part deux (henceforth known as K2). I decided it was probably better to go ahead and start up right away rather than leave the yarn and needles languishing. Although, I think my sock theory of starting sock 1 of a new pattern before finishing sock 2 of the old has some merit - wouldn't you think you'd be less likely to get bored with the pattern? No? Well, okay...

I had to perform an emergency cableotomy on Inny last night. Apparently I repeated a two-row pattern of a cable and didn't notice it early enough to make my life easy. I should've taken pictures of the procedure, but I was afraid to put down any of the three dpns or two circulars I was using in order to pick up the camera. In the end, all's well that ends. I think she'll be okay; she's in recovery.

Voila!

Okay, it's slightly mutated but I finished Kermit part 1. The toe grafting is a little wonky and of course I haven't woven in the end - I am still me after all - but it is all done. It'll prolly be a little while before I cast on the 2nd one. I'll prolly work on Inny and then Rose for the Olympics before I head back to the 2nd sock.

P & I spent the day in knitting mode. First we went on a field trip to Knit Happens where she got her first touch of Cashmerino (I think). It was love at first fondle so she decided to get some to make her own scarf with - she can't wait to start on it for the Knitting Olympics. After we left KH we headed back to her place and spent the afternoon watching part of The Truth about Cats & Dogs, The Breakfast Club and the first half of Super Bowl XL.

Knocked out a few rows of Inny this afternoon, too. There's still no way I'm going to finish the back before Friday but if I can knock out a couple more inches, that would be groovy.

Memo to my Doctor's Office

The next time you tell me to drink 32 oz of water first thing in the morning and not use the bathroom until after my sonogram, it is the worst kind of sadism to have a FREAKIN' WATERFALL FEATURE/FOUNTAIN hanging in the waiting room! That's just cruel!

Memo part deux: trans-vaginal exam? Not as much fun as it sounds. I'm just sayin'.

Nine more inches to go on Inny. I'd love to finish the back, front, whatever side this is before the Knitting Olympics start. I just don't think it's going to happen. I still need to swatch Rose sometime in the next nine days, too. So much knitting, so little time.

The roomies and I went to yoga last night and today we're all pleasantly achy. Not in pain, like I was last time, but just kind of stretchy sore. We were supposed to go to the gym tonight, but thta didn't exactly pan out. My goal is to go to the gym 9 times this month - once every three days. It sounds like a ridiculously easy goal to attain, yet I'll be I somehow manage to blow it. Only time will tell.

VERB! That's what's happenin'!

It finally happened - what every English major dreams of. My name has now become a verb. Not my real name, of course, but my less-than-double-secret-name, Jingle.

I was informed this morning that apparently, in certain circles, "to be jingled" means to have other persons have intimate physical relations disturbingly closeby. For example, "Liz is worried about being jingled this weekend because she is in a condo with mostly couples." The high council is still working out the exact usage, but this is the gist of it.

And YOU - and you know who you are - don't even THINK about blaming this on me!

Monday meanderings

It's Monday night which means I'll be hard-pressed to turn off Animal Planet's Animal Cops (Michigan, SanFran, Houston, etc) marathon. I don't know why I watch this show - it usually just pisses me off. I could never be responsible for dealing with people who abused animals. I'd be arrested for beating the crap out of somebody.

Blew off SnB - again. Went to dinner and did a few rows of Inny tonight. Here's where she stands:
Slowly but surely. I was going to make the 'long version' but I think I may measure the hem-to-armhole distance on something that I know fits and see if it's closer to the short version or the long. Yes, I'm saying this largely because I'm tired of knitting it already. I am SUCH a process knitter. "What? I've mastered the 36-row repeat? Bored now..."

I worked on Kermit while waiting for the staff meeting to start this morning. People were most impressed, although I think it was more the self-striping yarn than anything else. I've turned the heel and have about an inch, inch and a half before I get to start to close on the toes. The picture makes it look kind of wonky - actually, my knitting makes it look wonky - but we'll see if it works.

Apparently there's some low-grade chatter going on about going on an Alaskan cruise in '07. I was fairly excited about going to Puerta Vallarta, but this may actually take precedence. I HATE cruises, but they keep coming up with ones I want to go on! Actually, an Alaskan cruise would probably be the last one I would take. At a glance, it looks like the price range is around $800-1000, not including the flight out to the West Coast. I guess I'll start saving money for that as soon as Italia is in the books.

Speaking of Italy - we have a SUPER tentative master plan. Leave the second week of Sept. and head to Venice, spend 3-4 days there, take the train to Firenze for a couple of days there, then train to Rome for another handful of days. If it ends up being too tight, we may cut out the pitstop in Firenze and maybe I'll just go back for a couple of days after Melyssa has to leave. She's a little more hamstrung by vacation time and work schedule than I am.

And your Team Hangover captain is...

moi.

[Thanks to Beadslut for the nifty button that perfectly describes my day]

Last night was the holiday party and for some reason I decided to be stupid. Didn't eat enough, didn't drink enough water, and drank too much beer. Damn you Coors Light! I don't even LIKE Coors Light. There was dancing and drinking and kick-ass brownies. And contraptions that I couldn't begin to explain the uses of.

See, the party was at an S&M club. How I let myself be dragged into these things, I will never know. But aside from the various and sundry padded benches and what have you scattered about the cavernous, warehouse-y structure, it was kinda no big deal. Thank goodness for the shuttle buses though - finding my way to and fro sketchy SW is so not my idea of a good time.

It wasn't a particularly late night but apparently I did a fair amt of damage in a brief amount of time and I've been paying for it ever since. The good news is I talked to Santofer this morning (when they called at noon and woke me up). The four of them are on vacation in Phoenix for the tail end of her maternity leave. They were on their way to the zoo. Our lives are in such two totally different places.

I was finally able to pick up needles around 7 tonight so I started playing back my Tivo'd The Italian Job and worked on Inny. Just over 13" and counting - just about halfway done.

I'm sure this is my fault, too

You'd think I would have a ton of frequent flier miles with the frequency with which I clearly fly to Atlanta to hold a gun to Stick's head, no? She has decided to do a cat bed or two for her kids (and maybe L's) running rampant in Buckhead for the Olympics. I merely suggested it as a possible project. Yvonne has started a Team Cat Bed and Ms. Stick says she signed up for the team. However, I just checked out Yvonne's blog and she says she hasn't heard from anyone. So we'll see what happens.

My extra yarn for Rose and Inny was delivered to work today, but now - as usual - I'm second-guessing my Olympic event. I'm being seduced by Alice from Magknits. I was thinking of doing it in a mossy green and khaki instead. I may swatch the design this weekend with some of the scrap yarn I have leftover from the Blanket Which Shall Not Be Named. It's still two weeks from today so I have plenty of time to decide what I want to do; although I'll have to buy yarn next week if I decide to go with Alice.

Workin' hard...

...or hardly working?

After an incredibly productive morning - rebuilt computer and ordered new backup power sources - I've reverted back to type: blog surfing and instant messaging. I'm just putting off scheduling my sonogram and making my to-do list. Of course, I did manage to knit 15 rows of Banff while waiting for Windows Updates to load - it's the modern-day equivalent to watching paint dry.

I found this while cruising the long list of Knitting Olympic participants and their blogs and stole this from Suzy:

The list of places I've visited in 2005:
[I'm going to forget half the places I went; it's just what I do]

Columbus, OH
Dayton, OH
Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore, MD
Atlanta, GA
Providence, RI
Fenwick Island, DE
wilds of Central PA

Charlotte & Concord, NC

Amish Country & Long Pond, PA

Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Costa Maya, MX*
Ocho Rios, Jamaica*
Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands*
Princess Cays, Bahamas*

[* cruise ports]

Inny, Inny - who can I turn to?

Inny and I have had a fairly tumultuous relationship but I'm finally learning what she needs from me in order to be happy. She doesn't mind sharing my attention but she does want to receive the majority of it. She has no qualms at all about lulling me into a false sense of security before fouling me up with something as basic as a moss stitch. Most importantly, I've learned to work on other projects while watching Lost; I knocked out an inch or so on Kermit. Who says I can't be trained?

I went to KH tonight for late night - either they managed to drink all the wine before we got there or tonight was a dry night. Both are unthinkable. I did manage to knock out a couple of rows of Inny; I've finished about half of the first side so far. I shudder to think of the shoulder shaping, but I'll jump off that bridge when it comes.

This weekend is the holiday party and I'm just not that excited about it. Probably b/c I haven't been out and about in forever, but I could just as soon stay home and watch tv. When I first started knitting, it was to give me something to do with my hands while I was watching tv (so I wouldn't eat). Now I almost feel like I watch tv to have something to do with my eyes while I'm knitting.

Bought my ticket for Atlanta yesterday - all set for St. Patty's/race weekend. I think we're going to go check out the new Georgia Aquarium and maybe go on a tour at Coca-Cola. It probably won't be anywhere near as snazzy as the tour at Guinness, but little would be.