Just got an email that the GSRP box is on its way here from Houston. I can't wait, it looks like there is some really good stuff to be had. I have a little pile that I've been making of things to put into the box, I can't believe how much I've bought and changed my mind about. Or overbought, I must be really paranoid about running out with project leftovers I've been discovering.

I finished sock one of the unknown yarn from Germany. (I think it might be Twister)



and started on one with a cabled leg, from the latest issue of Knit n' Style. I think this is the only pattern from that magazine that I've seen that I would actually knit. Needless to say, my subscription will not be renewed for another year. The yarn is called Zimba Top and it is actually maroon in color. *


that's a k2b rib, and one pattern repeat of the sixteen row cable pattern.

Played more Ratchet and Clank, I'm about halfway through, but now I'm working on picking up all the skill points and Platinum bolts, so I haven't been working on the storyline. Gibberish unless you're a gamer, I know.

Current Read:

*The lighting sucks in the computer room and it's way too late for natural light. Besides that, I'm a lousy photographer.

I have just not been able to keep up with blogging lately. Not too much is going on in my life worth noting. I've been sucked into another video game, Ratchet and Clank Going Commando:


between that and work, I haven't had time to do much of anything else. I'm still working on redoing the back of Heather. Fortunately it looks like this time is the charm, if I had to do it over again, I think it would end up wadded up in a ball at the back of the closet with cats sleeping on it. It's not a hard pattern, the endless expanses of stockinette make me wish I had a machine, they are very, very boring. But all in all, once it's done it will be a very pretty sweater which I will be happy to wear.

I'm also still going on the sock, since I stay up late playing video games I don't watch TV in bed or read so it doesn't get worked on too much. Common Ground is coming along too, no new pictures, since there isn't much change from the last one.

We went and saw Big Fish the other day. I don't know what to make of this movie. It's not the usual dark, moody Tim Burton fare. I'm not big on magical realism in books, and this movie was chock full, It's not that I didn't like it. I don't agree with the reviewers who have called it total crap. It's just not going to make my top 10 list, but it was worth seeing, and I don't feel like I wasted my money. Of course, nobody chanted "Fuck Me, Santa" either, so that may have something to do with my ambiguity.

Here's a pic of the front of Heather, which I finished the other day. I am going to have to redo the back. That's ok, it's more mindless knitting which I can do at work without worrying I'm going to lose my place on the chart. The color is really washed out on this photo, the yarn is actually a much nicer lavender heather.



In cross stitch I've been working on the Common Ground sampler by Just Nan. It will look like this when I've finished:


Right now after about 20 hours I've got this:


I'm doing it in the silk threads and it is very luxurious to work on.

Current Reads:

This week has been very rough at work. I think the head vet has finally lost his mind. He scheduled a major procedure every day, and then expected us to have the place completely cleaned up and restocked for an interview he was doing on Friday. Fat chance. We're lucky to get the equipment cleaned up that we need for the following day, and all the samples sent out to the various labs, let alone get the windows done and have everything "prettied" up for company. Maybe he's forgotten we're shorthanded, because the city in its infinite wisdom chose to take away not one, but two, of our keeper positions.

Not much to speak of on the crafty front. Part 1 of the mystery is stitched.



Started another pair of socks, don't remember what the yarn is, I accidentally threw out the ball band. The front of Heather is almost done, I'm still not sure if I'm going to have to redo the back or not. If I do, I'll probably start something else and take a break from Heather for a short while.

Grrr. Yesterday my supervisor signed me up for a city required defensive driving class, and the instructor decided that he wanted to go home early, so the class only took six hours (minimum required by state law) but he only gave us one five minute break, and thirty minutes for lunch. Today we had another emergency, so no breaks, and a thirty minute lunch. It wouldn't be so annoying if I got paid for overtime, but I get comp time instead. Great in theory, if you ever get to take the comp time, not so great if it just adds up and adds up.

Needless to say, I was too tired and stressed to get much done on any of my current projects. I did start and pull out two socks on two circs several times. The first time I picked a pattern that wouldn't work, the other times I wasn't happy about the way it was looking at the join.

I did finish my Magic Stripe socks, and just barely made it too. I'd read where if you have largeish feet you might need two balls, and they weren't kidding. I only had a few yards left over, way less than any other sock yarn I've ever used.



Thursday night Dave and I took a Hands On Sushi making class run by our local Central Market. What fun, we learned how to make the sticky sushi rice, and how to roll with the nori (seaweed) as the outside of the roll, and also inside out (rice then nori). We made five different rolls, and were served Miso soup too, so it was dinner and a class. We signed up for the advanced sushi class, and also a cheesecake class. That's not going to be so good for my diet, but who says you shouldn't live a little every so often.

Just Finished : First contact with a twist. I've liked most of what I've read by Sawyer, this one isn't as good as the Neanderthal Parallex series, but it has its moments.

Wow, I've barely had a minute to myself the past week. We had several emergencies at work that required overtime, and I haven't had much of a chance to do more at the computer than try to keep up with email. That wouldn't be so hard, except that I belong to several high-traffic lists, and sometimes end up deleting more than I read.

Last night was the Dallas Hand Knitters Guild meeting. We were supposed to start our sweater project but the instructor was sick, so we did the business meeting, visited a little and showed off our projects. I always forget to bring anything for show and tell, so all I had was my Magic Stripe sock and my sweater swatch. I'm using the sock as a learning experience, I switched to two circular needles instead of double points. I like the way it flows, but think I'm going to have to get some different circs, the joins on these (Susan Bates) is not so great.

And now for the pictures. As promised, a picture of my finished Celtic Spring. I changed the top section, where the word "Spring" stretches across, from the original. I didn't like the way the designer had charted the "G" plopped ontop of the right side motif. This was the first time I'd had the nerve to make a major change to a charted piece and it opened up a world of possibilities. This took me about three years to stitch, mainly because I got sucked into trying a rotational system, where I had ten or more projects going at a time, worked on them for ten hours and then picked up the next thing. That led to almost nothing ever getting finished unless it was very small.



And here is the first thing that I started and finished in 2004. Jump for Joy by Just Nan.



In knitting I'm still working on the Heather sweater, I haven't posted any pictures because it really isn't very interesting. Great swaths of lilac sportweight yarn in stockinette stitch. I've just started the top portion where there is some shaping but it still isn't picture worthy. Maybe when I'm done. This is taking forever to make because I don't have any time, it is on size 3 (US) needles and I'm mostly working on it at work on lunch and breaks.

I'm also still working on Magic Stripe sock #2, which is my bedtime and travel project, so that is going really slowly too. When I'm done with it, I want to figure out the two socks on two circs thing, and then I can make a pair at a time, which sounds less boring.

I'm off to donate blood. Hopefully they have the good juice, I don't like the orange as much as the cranberry.