Time Bandits

I got sidetracked by Ravelry. I got my invitation, started exploring, started uploading projects, began looking at other members and the forums. What with everything else, I neglected to post here.


Then, on Tuesday my book came and I was not about to do anything but knit and listen to Jim Dale on my iPod. I finished yesterday evening.

Mystery Stole 3 is chugging along. During some of the more exciting parts of HP & the Deathly Hallows I would make mistakes and have to frog. I only have 20 rows left of Clue 4.


While waiting for the crashed computer at work to not do anything, I made major progress on my Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd. (Free at Knitting Daily.)


I was using up some Toasty Toes yarn and ran out. I am calling these the Gold Toe sock(s).


What with all the endless lace, I wanted some comfort knitting so began these ribbed socks with some 70% wool, 30% silk Zwerger Garn Opal yarn I got from Mary at Sangeeta's yarn swap.


And then, today, I got the wool for my Sand Dollar pullover from Knitting Nature. It is Louet Riverstone, 4 sts to the inch.


Last but not least, here is Dogwood watching the Whippeterrorists playing with their pal, Goldie.

Sports Illustrated poll on Michael Vick

I've been wanting to post something about the Michael Vick indictment but have been angry and disgusted on too many levels to be able to write coherently (or even rant). Thanks to my sister, Annie, I can at least give you this link to a Sports Illustrated opinion poll.

I really have been knitting and promise to post some pictures this week.

Mark Morford is brilliant

I discovered Mark Morford via my Deerhound owning friend, Christie Keith, who says he is a Media God. I so agree with his column about Giant Squid. We need some good mysteries.

My Hogwarts' House

The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!

<

Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest."

Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Progress, purchases & a favorite bag

After a fair amount of tinking (for some reason I kept dropping YOs), I have finished Clue 3. I am enjoying this KAL so much that I ordered Hanami and Spring Tootsies from Melanie.


Even though my Sidewinder wasn't in Time Out long enough for me to truly forgive it, I bit the bullet and finished it. This time, there was no unpleasant surprise.

Sangeeta, sadly blogless these days, had a Yarn Swap and Sale party at her house this past Saturday. I took three grocery bags full of yarn and only came home with one. That one was mostly yarn no one wanted plus enough for two pairs of socks that I got from Mary. With the money I made, I bought two books that have been on my wish list.


Knitting for Peace combines history, contact information and patterns in a well written and designed format. There is a great sweater pattern that uses odds and ends of yarn in an interesting and clever way.


So far there are two sweaters and a scarf from Knitting Nature on my Want To Knit list.


This bag from Obey The Pure Breed makes me laugh every time I use it. Check out the extensive list of breed, mutt, baby, cat and peace items available from this hilarious site. My only gripe, nothing with Deerhounds.

Happy Birthday, Baby Brother!

Note the McCarthy campaign button. But I think he still wears the same style glasses.

Hound News & Knitting

Important Deerhound News!
Extra! Extra! Cleod, a Deerhound, stars as Sirius Black's animagus in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Read about it in Christie Keith's entry over at the Pet Connection blog.


Clue 3 of Mystery Stole 3 comes out tomorrow. I have completed Clue 1.


And Clue 2.


Just one small problem. I absent-mindedly repeated two rows so the reverse chevron has a bit of a detour. At least it is symmetrical. I am still loving the Malabrigo Lace Weight. The Yarn Lounge got a shipment today of lots of delectable colors.


Laura attends Sunday Yarn Church. She has had fun making the Bubble Pullover from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan. Laura's enthusiasm inspired me to take another look at the book and now it is on my wish list.


This shot shows the hexagon sections a bit more clearly.

Jennifer, I couldn't figure out how else to contact you. I don't teach weaving but theVisual Arts Center of Richmond (formerly The Hand Workshop) offers weaving classes.

Close but no cigar

After miles of grafting, I tried my first Sidewinder on because I was a bit worried the leg would be too tight. Yay! The leg fit. Oh no! I felt something dreadful happening.


Ack! I had missed some stitches and they unraveled.


I almost frogged the whole thing in disgust but stopped myself. Put the edge stitches on some waste yarn, picked up the others. And promptly put the fiendish thing in Time Out. I really like the vertical patterning of the colors so will eventually finish them. Lesson learned - don't try to graft a gazillion stitches and teach a class at the same time.


To calm myself, I cast on some Diagonal Rib Socks, a free pattern by Ann Budd from Knitting Daily. I am using Toasty Toes yarn left over from one of the pairs that Peach liked.

Really enjoyed I Heart Huckabees. Goofy and intelligent, enhanced for me by my past studies of Buddhist teachings and French philosophy and criticism. A loving and wacko comedy with Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffmann, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Naomi Watts and the ever exquisite Isabelle Huppert.

Also saw and was touched by Imagine, a documentary about the life of my favorite Beatle, John Lennon.

Black Sheep

Black Sheep got a great review in The New York Times. I missed it but Melanie sent me the link. Wonder if it will come to Richmond?

It's a Grand Old Flag

This video was actually made for Memorial Day but will do just fine for Independence Day. Borzoi are not easy dogs to train, they are very independent (ha) and always want to know what is in it for them.

Happy Fourth, y'all!

SoS Progress + 2 movies

Finished my Horcrux socks on Sunday. They only had part of a toe left to complete when the Mystery Stole 3 clue came out. They were a quick, easy knit. Now they are waiting in the sock drawer for cooler weather.


I am not really crazy about the way variegated yarn knits up but still find it hard to resist in the skein. This Posh Yarn from The Loopy Ewe was sitting in my stash, waiting to become a pair of comfy, 30% cashmere socks. Nona recently designed socks that are knit flat & then Kitchenered. This results in vertical, instead of horizontal, stripes. I am half way through my first sock. The pattern for the Sidewinder socks is free on her blog.

Two movies so far this week -
I thought The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was stupid and boring. Even though it tried, it wasn't funny enough, quirky enough, cute enough, charming enough or touching enough. Too bad when it had a cast that included Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum.

On the other hand, Hugo Pool, directed by Robert Downey Sr. in 1996 was genuinely quirky, charming and touching. Alyssa Milano, Malcolm MacDowell, Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn and more - plus Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy) as the love interest, confined to a wheelchair with A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig's Disease).