Month: November 2003

Can You Feel the Love?

Sarah General

Because I sure can’t. The evil company still hasn’t released our cell phone numbers for porting, despite the fact that we’ve badgered them every day (except Thanksgiving – I’m sure they have families too, even though they work for the evil company.)

I’m not terribly thrilled with the new provider, either. I mean, they’ve at least been consistent in what they’ve told us (the e.c. hasn’t been) so I believe what they’re saying, but I don’t get the warm fuzzy feeling I should be getting about how far they’re going to resolve this. As in, why on earth are we sitting on hold with the e.c. instead of them?!?

Yes, I know, I basically signed up to be a guinea pig for this process, but it’s my blog and I’ll whine if I want to!

Maybe Now’s Not The Best Time…

Sarah General

…to mention that I have all of my Christmas shopping done?

I really can’t understand why people would torture themselves by getting up at 4AM and getting in fights over parking spaces and such, just to save a couple of dollars. My shopping is done, and I saved money by doing it early, carefully planning what to buy and where to buy it, and using coupons if I had them.

Of course, this is the first year I’ve gotten my shopping done before Thanksgiving, but I had great motivation – the nearest mall has recently expanded into something so huge it’s ridiculous, and I just have better things to do then spend hours finding parking and standing in line.

Now if I could just finish knitting everything…one more done. See? Over there in the sidebar? All right, back to knitting.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sarah General

This day and your life … are God’s gift to you, so give thanks and be joyful always!
– Anonymous

Eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, and be thankful for everything wonderful in this world.

Knitting in the Dark

Sarah Crafts

I knitted an entire Christmas gift (minus the bind-off edge) in the car last night…and since we started our trip well past sunset, I did it all in the dark! It’s amazing that I didn’t drop or twist any stitches. It didn’t hurt that there were lots of headlights all around us, so I could hold up my knitting and check it occasionally. It was strange, though – I was working with a rather bright striping yarn, but it just looked gray in the headlights, so I didn’t get to see the color pattern it made until we got here.

Six gifts done. I brought an obscene amount of yarn with me (half of a very large duffel, plus a basket and a couple of tote bags) so that I can get to at least the half-way point of finished gifts before we get home…we’ll see! :)

(At least my shopping is completely done. All the time I’d spend waiting in long lines at the mall can instead be spent knitting!)

What the…?

Sarah Crafts

OK, now I’m ticked. I just discovered that the top six rows of the hood and all of the edgings of this mystery knit, knit out of the same dye lot as the rest of the sweater, are a noticeably different shade. And we’re not talking “daylight noticeable”, we’re talking “tungsten noticeable”. Same. Dye. Lot. Do I frog? All of the ends are hidden already. I was actually pretty pleased with all the stitches I picked up. I think I might cry.

I suppose I should get to work, and try not dwell on this all day. If anyone has any suggestions (besides ripping) I’m more than open to them. (Of course, the only two other options I can think of are to overdye the sweater (not going to happen – intarsia, remember?) or just live with it (which is probably the most reasonable thing to do, right?))

Switch Day!

Sarah General

If all goes well, by the end of today I will no longer be held captive by my current evil cell phone company. And I’ll get to keep the number I’ve had for the past 6 years!

I’ve got my plan and my phone picked out. I was briefly tempted by the camera phone, but…I just can’t see myself being happy with such low-res pictures, especially since it (obviously) doesn’t have a flash. Besides, Denis and I getting the same model phone means we can share car chargers, batteries and desk chargers…which is a big deal, not to need two car chargers in each car (believe me, this has been a problem, switching cars, forgetting to switch the chargers, needing to make a call on a dying cell phone…and not being able to plug it in.)

The only catch might be if they can’t promise the switch will be completed by tomorrow afternoon – we’re headed out-of-town, and it’s not a good idea to drive 300+ miles without a cell phone. But taking the new service along for the trip would be a good way to test-drive the coverage along our normal route, so hopefully this will all work out.

Who Knew?

Sarah Crafts

So, the general rule of thumb for yarn amounts (and time spent knitting) is: back of sweater = 1/3, front(s) of sweater = 1/3, sleeves = 1/3. I guess it didn’t really hit me that a hood is probably another 1/3. (Yes, that adds up to more than 1.) Not that I’m running out of yarn, it just surprised me, that’s all.

Oh, and intarsia, while it came out fairly well and is marginally fun to do, is not something I’d contemplate for a larger project (like something me-sized) at any point in the near future.

I’ll stop now, before I give something away. One of these days I’ll get back to knitting things I can show pictures of. Right this minute, I have 5 out of 22 gifts done. Two more are almost done, and two others are about half done. The rest of what’s left are teeny-tiny things…well, sort of. I’m not panicked. Yet. Ask me again in a week or so.

Music to Soothe…

Sarah Dogs, Music

Do you think dogs appreciate music? I recently bought myself some new piano music – Jim Brickman’s Peace – and as I was playing through it last night it got me wondering. My dogs seem to completely settle down when I start playing piano, even if they are in the midst of puppy “zoomies”. My cousin’s dog even howls along to the radio whenever Celene Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” comes on…of course, we’re not sure if it’s because he likes that song or hates it!

Music is such an integral part of my life that I would like to think that the little doggy sighs as they lay down in the living room doorway are due to an appreciation of the music. Either that, or they’re sighing over the fact that I’m in a room they’re not allowed in…

Yarn Temptation

Sarah Crafts

I need help! Elann has a new yarn on their site, Sierra, which is a wool/alpaca blend… I’ve been dying to knit the Green Mountain Gardens cardigan from the Green Mountain Spinnery book, but their yarn (while lovely) is way expensive…and I think this would make a good substitute, assuming I can come up with a colorway that works with the colors of the yarn available. The Eggplant and Plumberry shades are calling me…as are Spruce, and Ocean, and Mid and Dark Indigo.

Should I? Can I really justify buying another sweaters’ worth of yarn, when I have a fair isle vest and another sweater I haven’t even started yet? It’s such a good price, and such gorgeous colors.

Help!!!

Must. Knit. Faster.

Sarah Crafts

Knitted things have been just flying off my needles! I finished the patchwork sweaters, but final pictures will have to wait for a good blocking and some good lighting. (No peeking, Mary!)

I started another mystery project, and I’m already about halfway through. I love little projects!

I also managed to get to the yarn shop in between all of my other errands this weekend and buy the yarn for the rest of the things I need to knit for Christmas. Hmmm…how many days are left?