Heads or tails

I finished the project I was making using Lily cotton yarn. With the leftovers, I made this headband for myself. The cables change all throughout and the edge is double crochet. It's a little bulky but I like it.

Tails
Monday night I was pretty exhausted from my day at the office unpacking... over the weekend, almost everyone in my division was shuffled and redistributed. We all had to move. Once home, I was walking around in my socks and slipped on the stairs. I fell and landed on my tail bone. At first it didn't hurt much but a few hours later, I was in pain. I stayed home to rest on Tuesday. Yesterday I went to see the doctor. It's inflamed but not broken, and only time will tell if it's cracked. I'm supposed to take it easy for the next two weeks so I'm gearing up for a weekend on the couch. Brilliant timing since I'm going to be flying down to Georgia next week.

Weekend review

Knitting

I finished another Odessa hat this weekend. It's intended as a Christmas present. Now I'm working on a basket weave pattern in burgundy Lily cotton on size 6 needles. More than that, I can't say. It's also a present.

Driving
On Saturday, I drove in the rain for the first time ever. It was cloudy but clear when we left the house. As I pulled up to the stoplight outside our community, it started to rain a little. The automatic windshield wipers turned on and the rain was drawn across the glass. It was the first time I drove with my view obstructed and it shook me up a little. I only drove outside the community for one block before returning to my neighborhood. I drove back to the house and the whole thing was over in less than 10 minutes.

On Sunday, it was clear and sunny. I drove outside the community on the main road for two blocks and then took the exit into the park. I did well and was feeling confident, so Max told me to go for it and drive to the grocery store. It's about 3 city blocks from our house, requires three lane changes and a left hand turn at a stop light. I was pretty scared, as much as last Saturday, but I did it! I pulled into the parking lot and parked. I drove to the grocery store. Max drove us home. Next weekend I'm going to try to do that too. It's all very exciting and scary.

The Last Mimzy
We went to see this on Sunday. A great, feel-good movie! It's fun and fantastical. The movie is based on a short story that is based on a line from Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, "all mimsy were the borogoves." Emma Wilder, played by Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, is so cute and has the most entrancing little smile. I definitely recommend it.

Odessa in progress

Third time's a charm! I've been really tired this week so I haven't been working on it alot but here's what I have so far. When I measured last night I had about 3.5" so I can start the decreases in another 2 inches. I'm making this for my little cousin for Christmas, to match the poncho I gave her two years ago. I'm using Red Heart Soft in lavender, size 4 and size 6 needles. All the stitch markers are there because I'm having a hard time paying attention to my knitting while Max is playing Zelda. I can handle each 10 stitch set, so that's how I'm doing it - one set at a time.

Happy Spring!

Weekend round-up

Knitting
I spent quite a bit of time knitting over the weekend (while Max played Zelda) but I have nothing to show for it. I finished a hat but cannot show it because I made it for my secret pal. I started something else but then turned out to not have enough yarn to make anything from it so I unravelled it. I made a cute little dish cloth but also cannot show that since it is a present for someone else. And then there's the Odeassa hat that I started over twice because I wasn't paying enough attention (watching Max play Zelda instead) and twice it came out like crap. I'm on the "third time is a charm" but only made it to the third row of ribbing. So far it's fine. The pattern is not even difficult, only requires a modicum of attention... but apparently I could not even handle that.

Zelda
Max has played for over 60 hours and we're getting close to finishing the game. We always spend a lot of time on side-quests but we're almost done with those, Max doing the actual playing but I help out with figuring out the puzzles and stuff. Just need to get through the Cave of Ordeals and then he can go save the princess.

Reading
Currently reading, for the third or fourth time, Magician by Raymond E. Feist. It's been a long time since I read it so although I remember generally what happened, all the details seem new to me again. I'm reading Max's copy of the author's special edition. Almost all of the fantasy books in our house are his but I have read most of them and have come to really enjoy this genre of books. If I get in a reading slump, it's usually the fantasy books that bring me back. Last year is was Robert Jordan. This year is Raymond E. Feist. I was also considering David Eddings, so that series might be next in line.

Driving
I went driving on Sunday. It was a short drive but into new territory, outside my residential community, stopped and turned at a stop light, and drove on a multi-lane street for one city block at 35mph before turning back into my community. Major accomplishment. My heart was racing and I think I forgot to keep breathing. But after a quick drive through my neighborhood, I drove around and did it again, this time going two city blocks and taking an exit ramp into the city park next to where we live. Max had a minor heart attack when I didn't take the first turn but then quickly realised where I was going. We stopped in the park and walked around in the cold to help me cool down and then I drove us home. So, it's getting better. One day I will be able to subdue (and hopefully rid myself of) my mother's voice in the back of my head screaming "OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Mari's brother's baby's sweater

One of the women in my knitting group at work, Mari A, finished knitting a baby sweater for her brother's daughter. Isn't it cute? Here's the pattern if you want to make one for your brother's baby too.

I'm not sure what yarn she used but I'll update this if she lets me know.

Frogging

When do you decide that an UFO has been sitting around too long? When is it time to rip back and turn your UFO back into yarn?

For me, it seems the time is now. Maybe it's a little spring fever or spring cleaning but last night I decided that my Viking Turid has been sitting around TOO LONG, unfinished, not worked on, not even looked at, languishing in a corner. It hasn't made an appearance since February 2006. The yarn is great and I've been knitting long enough that size 3 needles are no longer scary but I have to face the reality... I'm never going to finish it.

So tonight I'm frogging. Stay tuned for the gory before and after.

Saturday Sky

I can't wait for Spring!! This picture from the 2004 Cherry Blossom Festival, taken on March 24.

Green hat

More cables! Another hat! This one is still in progress.



When it is done, I can add another item to my "gift box" and I'll be one more step ahead for Christmas. It's sized for an adult woman. I bought some lavender yarn to make one for one of my younger cousins. I'll have to guess a bit at the size.

Erin's vest

Erin B is part of my knitting group at work. She finished knitting this vest some time ago but Friday was the first time I saw her wear it. It's her first time knitting cables and doing crochet edging - and she did a good job! I helped by demonstrating a little but all the work was done by Erin B. The pattern is based on Boogie and the yarn is something she picked up at Springwater. Just like my other friend Erin is always telling me that I can do it, I'm always happy to tell my knitting group to go for it. All the scary stuff is not so hard when you get the hang of it. Mostly. :)

Saturday Sky

It's been awhile since I've added my piece of sky... too many gray days lately. This pretty one is from our trip to Disney World, it's the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. You can sort of see the castle on the bottom left.

Online knitting magazines

When I first started getting into knitting, Erin told me about Knitty. Then I discovered MagKnits and a bunch of others. Today I added a new one to my bookmarks: For The Love of Yarn. It's similar to Knitty but smaller and "dedicated to knitting and crocheting." There are three issues in the archives and I had fun taking a look through everything the patterns, articles, and product reviews.

Resolutions update

Resolutions

• - use more yarn from my stash (especially the good stuff!)
• - finish one of my UFOs
  
• - use my new sewing machine
• - use my new ice cream machine
  
• - make a good loaf of no-knead bread
• - lose my holiday weight
  

Update

• 1) Done
  
• 2) Still have not even touched one of my Unfinished Objects.
  
• 3) Still have not even opened the sewing machine box yet.
• 4) Done
  
• 5) Done
• 6) Still working on this one too. Although I've been going to yoga twice a week, since Max started his online classes, our trips to the gym have all but disappeared. Starting today we're going back to the food diary and counting calories. That should hopefully help.