This article, "No Sense in Waiting," has been spinning around in my brain since I first saw it earlier today.
This boy has done more with sixty square feet than I've done with anything lately.
There is no sense in waiting, and if you don't, then there are no limitations. You just have to figure out what it is you want, and make it happen, no matter how big or small.
So now all I have to do is figure out what it is I actually want.
February 25, 2010
February 24, 2010
Knitting with the Doctor
It has been a long, long day, filled with a little bit of actually getting things done, some tasty cooking, recipe courtesy of the Pioneer Woman, and lots and lots of knitting while watching Doctor Who.
It was finally back in at the library yesterday. Which is why I didn't get nearly as much done today as I should have. One day later, I'm down three discs.
But I did get a lot of my sweater done. I'm through all the raglan decreases, so I've just got the ribbing at the neck, the sleeves and the button bands. Which means I could actually have a finished sweater in a few days' time. How sweet is that? Finally.
And then I can cast on something else! Yay!
It was finally back in at the library yesterday. Which is why I didn't get nearly as much done today as I should have. One day later, I'm down three discs.
But I did get a lot of my sweater done. I'm through all the raglan decreases, so I've just got the ribbing at the neck, the sleeves and the button bands. Which means I could actually have a finished sweater in a few days' time. How sweet is that? Finally.
And then I can cast on something else! Yay!
February 21, 2010
Distractions and diversions
I've been thinking about why I skipped doing a booklove post for the last two weeks, and I think I figured it out. I'm blaming sports.
I've never liked sports. Any of them. Even the ones like gymnastics and figure skating that are similar in some elements to dancing, the one thing I love most in the world. I can't even explain why ice dancing is weird to me. It just is.
But first the Saints are in the super bowl the weekend my mom (born and raised in New Orleans) is in town. So we went to a party and watched. Well. They watched, I sat in a corner and knit. And now it's the winter Olympics. I've never really watched the Olympics. Yes, they're big and exciting, but they're still sports, so I still don't really care.
But now I live with this boy, who not only really likes television, but loves the Olympics. I feel like the television has been on constantly for the last week and a half. And this is a very small house. It's hard to avoid. So not much reading has been getting done. But I'm trying.
I started reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes a couple of weeks ago, and as slow as it's going, I'm really enjoying it. I never doubted that I would, but there's still been some surprises. I don't know how I never knew that all the stories are from Watson's point of view. Especially since I know I read one of the stories in school, years and years ago, and I completely forgot that. The really nice surprise is that I love Watson as a character. He's not what I expected, from what I had seen from all the pop culture references that have come down through the years. I always had this vague feeling that he would always kinda bug me, but I'm finding him delightful. So even if it takes me much longer than I expected, I'm looking forward to making my way through the rest.
I made it to the library again yesterday, too. It was one of those days when I couldn't find what I was actually looking for, but in hunting for it, I came across other books I wanted to read even more. One is Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. One of my best friends in college had a copy of this book, and I kept meaning to get a copy and read it myself. And for those reasons that always come up with that kind of thing, I never got around to it. So when I stumbled on it, I figured it's time, and grabbed it without any hesitation.
The other book I grabbed is called Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West. I found this book awhile back at Anthropologie (my favorite store, which once again I can't afford), and I always like the idea of it. It's another one of those books that's been on my Amazon wish list for months. I started reading it yesterday, and so far it's just ok. The whole first section is short little blurbs on historical sites, and it kind of reads like a tourist guidebook. Which I guess it is, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. So I'm thinking I'll probably end up sort of skimming this first section, and I'll read the rest more in depth. But I'll still make a note of any new places I desperately want to visit someday. I'll add them to the already sizable list.
I've never liked sports. Any of them. Even the ones like gymnastics and figure skating that are similar in some elements to dancing, the one thing I love most in the world. I can't even explain why ice dancing is weird to me. It just is.
But first the Saints are in the super bowl the weekend my mom (born and raised in New Orleans) is in town. So we went to a party and watched. Well. They watched, I sat in a corner and knit. And now it's the winter Olympics. I've never really watched the Olympics. Yes, they're big and exciting, but they're still sports, so I still don't really care.
But now I live with this boy, who not only really likes television, but loves the Olympics. I feel like the television has been on constantly for the last week and a half. And this is a very small house. It's hard to avoid. So not much reading has been getting done. But I'm trying.
I started reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes a couple of weeks ago, and as slow as it's going, I'm really enjoying it. I never doubted that I would, but there's still been some surprises. I don't know how I never knew that all the stories are from Watson's point of view. Especially since I know I read one of the stories in school, years and years ago, and I completely forgot that. The really nice surprise is that I love Watson as a character. He's not what I expected, from what I had seen from all the pop culture references that have come down through the years. I always had this vague feeling that he would always kinda bug me, but I'm finding him delightful. So even if it takes me much longer than I expected, I'm looking forward to making my way through the rest.
I made it to the library again yesterday, too. It was one of those days when I couldn't find what I was actually looking for, but in hunting for it, I came across other books I wanted to read even more. One is Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. One of my best friends in college had a copy of this book, and I kept meaning to get a copy and read it myself. And for those reasons that always come up with that kind of thing, I never got around to it. So when I stumbled on it, I figured it's time, and grabbed it without any hesitation.
The other book I grabbed is called Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West. I found this book awhile back at Anthropologie (my favorite store, which once again I can't afford), and I always like the idea of it. It's another one of those books that's been on my Amazon wish list for months. I started reading it yesterday, and so far it's just ok. The whole first section is short little blurbs on historical sites, and it kind of reads like a tourist guidebook. Which I guess it is, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. So I'm thinking I'll probably end up sort of skimming this first section, and I'll read the rest more in depth. But I'll still make a note of any new places I desperately want to visit someday. I'll add them to the already sizable list.
February 17, 2010
Slacker. That's me.
I am aware of the fact that I've let two weekends go by now without doing a booklove post. I'm trying not to feel too guilty about that. They just didn't happen. Sorry. I'm a work in progress.
I am still reading. I'm still knitting, too.
Still knitting on my sweater.
And getting distracted and knitting other stuff instead.
And not finishing those things, or taking pictures of them.
It's been almost a week now since I finished knitting the Pop tart ipod cozy, but I haven't sewn it together, or even thought about beads, or whatever. I'll get there.
I did do this, though:
It's my very first washcloth. It's got a skull on it. Yay.
I never had any interest in knitting a washcloth, or a dishcloth, or anything like it, but I did a journal swap last summer, and my swap partner sent me that yarn. I didn't know what else to do with it, so I made that. I've used it twice. And I kinda like it. I've got about half the ball left, though.
I'm gonna knit this baby right here next. In honor of my burgeoning David Tennant obsession. Yay.
I am still reading. I'm still knitting, too.
Still knitting on my sweater.
And getting distracted and knitting other stuff instead.
And not finishing those things, or taking pictures of them.
It's been almost a week now since I finished knitting the Pop tart ipod cozy, but I haven't sewn it together, or even thought about beads, or whatever. I'll get there.
I did do this, though:
It's my very first washcloth. It's got a skull on it. Yay.
I never had any interest in knitting a washcloth, or a dishcloth, or anything like it, but I did a journal swap last summer, and my swap partner sent me that yarn. I didn't know what else to do with it, so I made that. I've used it twice. And I kinda like it. I've got about half the ball left, though.
I'm gonna knit this baby right here next. In honor of my burgeoning David Tennant obsession. Yay.
February 12, 2010
Snomygawd
Here's a picture of my backyard yesterday morning:
And the front:
Now here's the backyard this morning. Notice any differences?
And the front:
I did not go to work, today or yesterday. I have gotten lots of knitting done, and unpacked four boxes of books.
And the front:
Now here's the backyard this morning. Notice any differences?
And the front:
I did not go to work, today or yesterday. I have gotten lots of knitting done, and unpacked four boxes of books.
February 10, 2010
One more thing
I almost forgot! Blog it forward started today. It's really cool. Lots and lots of bloggers (300, I believe) are all blogging together about what inspires them, and the first round is up. It'll go on for the next ten days, skipping over the weekend. Go check it out, and read some amazing blogs. And if you like it, put a badge on your own blog or website. Enjoy!
Crawling ever onwards
And that title works on many levels, let me tell you.
Firstly, knitting.
'Member that sweater from last week? That I said was actually not that far from being done? 'Member? I tried that sweater on. That sweater was never, ever going to close over my boobs. I even momentarily considered knitting the button band extra wide, in the way that knitters consider these ridiculous notions in order to try to avoid frogging things. I considered it for about half a second.
I have frogged that sweater.
And cast on in the next size up. *Sigh.* Such is a knitter's lot in life. Often an uphill battle. But at least our uniforms come with hand-knit socks.
In happier news, Mom was here this weekend, and I asked about buttons, and she immediately dug out four big containers of buttons, and we manically sorted through a slew of pearl buttons, and I found buttons that I think I like enough to use. I found others that I like even better, but one set is, I think, too small, and the other set doesn't have enough. But still, progress has been made on the button front.
I also cast on for one of these babies right here. Mine will look awfully similar to the one on her blog, except I think Mom stole all my beads after I moved out, plus, sewing on teensy bugle beads sounds exhausting right now. So mine might be sans sprinkles. At least for the time being. We'll see how I feel once it's all knit up. It's not so far along right now, because I only cast on, and it's been a long couple of days.
Because I have a job (temporarily. I'm told that's what happens when you work for a temp agency). Which normally would not be so bad, but the job that was supposedly in north Fort Worth, is actually so far north of Fort Worth that it's no longer in Tarrant county. So the commute sucks pretty badly. But it's only two weeks, and otherwise, it's been good. So I'm trying not to complain. Plus, there's a 70% chance of snow tonight, so I might not even have to go tomorrow. Which would be nice, except for that whole getting paid thing. Which is the other reason I'm not complaining about the job. I like that part. I'd hate to miss a whole day of it. So, all pros and cons taken into consideration,
In other areas of making myself crawl towards something resembling progress, my brain has been bubbling again, and I've been taking those bubblings more and more seriously. There are exciting things beginning to take shape. And they'll do so even more once I start getting a paycheck or two. Yay for start-up capital. That's a hint, right there. But things are still pretty loose right now, so I'm not giving any more away. I'll just say that I'm feeling more and more excited about these things I'm working on.
Ok, I'm going to go knit now.
Firstly, knitting.
'Member that sweater from last week? That I said was actually not that far from being done? 'Member? I tried that sweater on. That sweater was never, ever going to close over my boobs. I even momentarily considered knitting the button band extra wide, in the way that knitters consider these ridiculous notions in order to try to avoid frogging things. I considered it for about half a second.
I have frogged that sweater.
And cast on in the next size up. *Sigh.* Such is a knitter's lot in life. Often an uphill battle. But at least our uniforms come with hand-knit socks.
In happier news, Mom was here this weekend, and I asked about buttons, and she immediately dug out four big containers of buttons, and we manically sorted through a slew of pearl buttons, and I found buttons that I think I like enough to use. I found others that I like even better, but one set is, I think, too small, and the other set doesn't have enough. But still, progress has been made on the button front.
I also cast on for one of these babies right here. Mine will look awfully similar to the one on her blog, except I think Mom stole all my beads after I moved out, plus, sewing on teensy bugle beads sounds exhausting right now. So mine might be sans sprinkles. At least for the time being. We'll see how I feel once it's all knit up. It's not so far along right now, because I only cast on, and it's been a long couple of days.
Because I have a job (temporarily. I'm told that's what happens when you work for a temp agency). Which normally would not be so bad, but the job that was supposedly in north Fort Worth, is actually so far north of Fort Worth that it's no longer in Tarrant county. So the commute sucks pretty badly. But it's only two weeks, and otherwise, it's been good. So I'm trying not to complain. Plus, there's a 70% chance of snow tonight, so I might not even have to go tomorrow. Which would be nice, except for that whole getting paid thing. Which is the other reason I'm not complaining about the job. I like that part. I'd hate to miss a whole day of it. So, all pros and cons taken into consideration,
In other areas of making myself crawl towards something resembling progress, my brain has been bubbling again, and I've been taking those bubblings more and more seriously. There are exciting things beginning to take shape. And they'll do so even more once I start getting a paycheck or two. Yay for start-up capital. That's a hint, right there. But things are still pretty loose right now, so I'm not giving any more away. I'll just say that I'm feeling more and more excited about these things I'm working on.
Ok, I'm going to go knit now.
February 3, 2010
A momentous occasion
Image source: this fantastic bakery, makers of some crazy-gorgeous baked goods. I especially love the Chanel-inspired cupcakes.Happy 100th post, everybody! I'm celebrating with a new header photo. Like it?
It's a really good day for it, too. There's quite a convergence of knitting-related awesomeness today. Not only is it Knitlove Wednesday, but today just happens to be the day I hit 1000 posts on the Ravelry message boards and my two-year Ravelry anniversary! I joined back when there was still an invite list and a 2-3 week wait, so I was really excited when I finally got in. So when I posted about hitting 1000 posts, we were joking that it'll be no time at all until I get to 10,000. I mentioned it only took two years, and then checked how long it'd been, just out of curiosity. And there it was. "Raveler since February 3, 2008" Yay me!
In actual knitting news (read: things people other than me might actually care about), my Kaleidoscope sweater is coming along.
I did my very first provisional cast-on for the sleeves the other day (or at least my first successful provisional cast-on. There have been several failed attempts), and I'm nearing the end of the yoke. I think I'll do one more round of decreases, since I don't want it to be quite as off-the-shoulder as the original design, and then I'll move on to the sleeves and the button band! I oughta start looking for buttons soon, too. Mom will be in town this weekend. I bet she'd be happy to help me look. Maybe she'll even give me some of hers. Maybe. She's got a button obsession that has yielded buckets and buckets (literally) of buttons.
Since I'm nearing the end of the sweater (sort of), and I've never been a monogamous knitter, I've been thinking about other things to cast on. I was planning to cast on a washcloth or two, until I remembered that my one ball of kitchen cotton was used for packing material in one of the boxes that hasn't made it to Texas yet. Luckily, those are coming with Mom this weekend, so I won't have to wait much longer. I'm thinking I'll do EXFOLIATE!, in honor of my recently developed crush on David Tennant, thanks to the posting of many, many Hamlet and Doctor Who videos, not to mention the scads of photos. He's on my desktop now, too. I'm also planning to knit a Skully dishcloth, too, since I have a whole ball of the stuff, and I don't know what else to do with it. I haven't been bitten by the dishcloth bug yet, and I'm not yet convinced I will, so we'll see how it goes.
Those won't take long, though, so I'm thinking I'll cast on a lace shawl after that. It'll be my first! I haven't decided which yet, but it'll probably be the Haruni shawl, in some Pagewood Farms sock yarn I got in Las Cruces this summer.
So that's all the knitting news from me on this, the second anniversary of my Raveling adventures. I think I'll go knit on my sweater now.
February 1, 2010
A growing addiction
Yesterday was a weird day. Just kind of off, from beginning to end. Which is why I forgot to do a booklove post. I'm not sure why I forgot last week. I think unemployment is getting to me. But no more.
I said I wanted to work more on this blog, and I meant it, so I'm here today. Not exactly with a booklove post, but a little-bit-of-everything post.
There has been booklove, though. I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This morning. It was the special edition hardcover edition, with 30% more zombie action, and full color illustrations, which Best Friend gave me for Christmas. And it was interesting. Best Friend's mom is an English teacher, and she mentioned she wanted to hear what I thought of it, as someone who not only reads a lot of books, but spent four years in college doing almost nothing but talking about books.
I'm going to have a lot to say when we have that conversation. I get the impression she is in the camp of wondering why the heck someone would want to ruin one of the greatest works in English literature with zombie nonsense. But I don't think it ruins it at all. Pride and Prejudice is a book about young women trying to get married because they have no other choice. A woman's role in that time was to get married, keep house, and have children. That's about it. Everything they do and say is dictated by what is considered polite and proper. But if you give these women actual skills, even if they're nonsensical ninja skills, it changes the entire social and economic dynamic. Suddenly they're worth more than their wombs and embroidery talents, and that gives them license to do and say things they couldn't have said in real life. Elizabeth Bennet becomes even more outspoken and opiniated, and I like her for it.
I've also started reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes. I'm already through A Study in Scarlet and loving it. I've been meaning to read these books for awhile (not just because the movie came out- and the movie was great). So I'm really liking them so far, and I can't wait to read more.
In other areas of reading, I've been gobbling up blogs like crazy the past couple of weeks. It started with finding A Beautiful Mess. Then she announced that she got nominated for the Bloggies, and I started checking out some of the other nominees- . And now I find myself completely obsessed with the blogosphere. I've started following several, in addition to the decent-sized list I already checked on a daily basis. I downloaded an RSS feed reader, to make it a wee bit easier on myself. And I've started coming up with all sorts of ideas for things I want to change about my own.
My next post will be my 100th post. While I was thinking about doing a redesign and launching it for the 100th post, I don't think that will happen. There's something weird going on in my code (which is why my blog title has been so boring-looking for so long. It's stuck that way), and I don't know enough about coding to fix it. So I'm looking into it. But there will be some changes soon. Because I have definitely been bit by the blog bug. Again.
I said I wanted to work more on this blog, and I meant it, so I'm here today. Not exactly with a booklove post, but a little-bit-of-everything post.
There has been booklove, though. I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This morning. It was the special edition hardcover edition, with 30% more zombie action, and full color illustrations, which Best Friend gave me for Christmas. And it was interesting. Best Friend's mom is an English teacher, and she mentioned she wanted to hear what I thought of it, as someone who not only reads a lot of books, but spent four years in college doing almost nothing but talking about books.
I'm going to have a lot to say when we have that conversation. I get the impression she is in the camp of wondering why the heck someone would want to ruin one of the greatest works in English literature with zombie nonsense. But I don't think it ruins it at all. Pride and Prejudice is a book about young women trying to get married because they have no other choice. A woman's role in that time was to get married, keep house, and have children. That's about it. Everything they do and say is dictated by what is considered polite and proper. But if you give these women actual skills, even if they're nonsensical ninja skills, it changes the entire social and economic dynamic. Suddenly they're worth more than their wombs and embroidery talents, and that gives them license to do and say things they couldn't have said in real life. Elizabeth Bennet becomes even more outspoken and opiniated, and I like her for it.
I've also started reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes. I'm already through A Study in Scarlet and loving it. I've been meaning to read these books for awhile (not just because the movie came out- and the movie was great). So I'm really liking them so far, and I can't wait to read more.
In other areas of reading, I've been gobbling up blogs like crazy the past couple of weeks. It started with finding A Beautiful Mess. Then she announced that she got nominated for the Bloggies, and I started checking out some of the other nominees- . And now I find myself completely obsessed with the blogosphere. I've started following several, in addition to the decent-sized list I already checked on a daily basis. I downloaded an RSS feed reader, to make it a wee bit easier on myself. And I've started coming up with all sorts of ideas for things I want to change about my own.
My next post will be my 100th post. While I was thinking about doing a redesign and launching it for the 100th post, I don't think that will happen. There's something weird going on in my code (which is why my blog title has been so boring-looking for so long. It's stuck that way), and I don't know enough about coding to fix it. So I'm looking into it. But there will be some changes soon. Because I have definitely been bit by the blog bug. Again.
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