June 2006 Archives

Update: Comments have been closed due to spammers. If you're interested in swapping, please leave a comment in the most recent blog entry and I'll be sure to read it.

Gimmie Your Stuff from this North Californian near San Francisco.

I can offer:
See's Candy. Californian expats, yes, See's Candy.
Ghiradelli Chocolate
Scharffenberger Chocolate
Peet's Coffee
Starbucks
Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Goods
Mexican Hot Cocoa

Yarn and Knitting/Crochet Accessories (6 yarn stores in a 1 hour radius and I work in one of them. Need I really say more?)
Fabric
English Books & CDs from Amazon.com
Used Books
Beads
Computer Magazines & Books (including Make Magazine)
Pens (including inexpensive Fountain Pens)
Thrift store finds.

What I'd like:
Unique snack goods
Yarn (non-Acrylic)
Knitting Goodies
Fabric
Local Magazines
British Chick Lit
Pens, Mechanical Pencils (esp. Fountain Pens)
Local "Top Singles" on the radio.
Craft Books
(In no particular order)

Open for Swapping. Post a comment to make me an offer.

If I were a contestant in Amazing Lace I'd be in excellent shape! Oh yes, my first shawl is done! *Cue the music!*

Here's the shawl blocking. It is a gift for someone else so this is a sneak preview until the recipient models it for me. For those who are curious about the pattern, it is Interweave Knits - Little Arrowhead Shawl by Pam Allen [free pdf] and knit from Louisa Harding Kashmir DK (machine washable, yay!).

Here's a closeup of the arrowhead lace pattern on the outer edge.

Louisa Harding Kashmir DK yarn chained construction close-up. I hope this will deter it from pilling, since the yarn is 55% merino, 35% microfiber (probably what makes it machine washable), and 10% cashmere. (I have learned my wrath and a pink razor does not intimidate my pilled knits. The knits enjoy flouting me by leaving bits of fuzz all over my bathroom (because you shave in the bathroom, of course) ) I enjoyed working with this yarn and bought it from Imagiknit during their last big sale.

Details details:
> Needles - Addi Turbo US #7 in 16", 24"
> Yarn Quantity - Two balls and two rows+bindoff of the third ball.
> Size - Pretty much to size and meant as a small shawl to keep air conditioning off your shoulders.

" Finished Size - About 40" wide across top edge and 19" long from the center of the top edge to bottom point, after blocking. "

Saturday, I joined the fantastic Team Knit A Round at Relay for Life

And I just finished up my chemo cap contribution. Since the caps are donated to others, I've modeled it for you. Isn't it terribly cute? Pattern in the extended entry.

Last year Team Knit A Round was created to support the fight against cancer at Relay for Life (a 24-hour walkathon). We're at it again this year! Our spin on the 'rounds is to knit chemo caps while the walkers make their laps.

If you'd like to support, please join and/or donate:
Join - June 24-25, 2006
Donate- donation link (java ticker warning- slow page load)

Or cheer me on via your blog by posting a little entry and link!

Textile Junkie aka Michelle sent me this lovely Blue Jean inspired yarn. Fantastico! Thanks Michelle. She also sent a cute tin of Altoid cinnamon mints and lemon-scented lotion.

My aunt also taught me how to sew. As a result, I can muddle my way through with a sewing machine and the three of us made these bags!

Ta-Da!!!! The pattern, which we figured out between the three of us to a reasonable degree, was in Japanese and from this Japanese sewing book and believe it or not, we didn't use any internet help, either. This was because the only computer in the house was password protected and the password holder was out of the house.

We also used the huuuuge copier at Kinko's to print out the pattern to scale-

which, BTW, costs about $5 per copy. I/we "modified" the pattern with "features" like reversible sides (didn't want to put in pockets) and the heavy upholstery/drape fabric didn't really seem to need padding/interfacing (couldn't figure out what the fluffy stuff was in the picture or which interfacing to use).

I like it!

The Post-Ceremony Photo really says it best-

"After" Photo.¹

Much love and Thanks to Family and Friends for their encouragement and support. Today, I officially walked the walk across the stage, shook hands with the big shots, and smiled until my face felt funny.

The 3.5 foot Orange hood proclaims me as a graduate with a Master's in Engineering. (Don't worry M, I still got the uncropped version of you with your "West Side Pride")

"Before" Photo.

Here are some flowers from the Engineering Graduate Reception.

Gorgeous flowers from boyfriend which survived the heat fairly well.

Right then, here's the grad photo album

Regular blogging not relying on easily obtained Grad photos will resume shortly.

¹ Yes I look like my Dad.

I might as well reveal that I'm a minor Trekkie. In addition to my Columbo and Diagnosis Murder habits, I regularly watch Star Trek The Next Generation re-runs when I'm channel surfing. There's a new ABC Family show that reminds me of Data from TNG, except substitute alien for android and teenaged actor instead of grown man wearing lots of makeup.

Go ahead and watch the preview for Kyle XY

How do we know the boy's not human? He doesn't have a belly button...

I think I'll skip Kyle XY for re-runs of Star Trek, thanks. Marketing it on iTunes only works if I actually want to watch a show.

The advent and popularity of RSS is a wonderful thing which allowed me to pare down my normal "informational checking routine" (read sites I commonly surf) but with 1294 unread entries in my queue, I'm going to try to go on an RSS Diet. Dieting, as we know, isn't usually tasty, but about getting the proper balance of nutrition with occasional yummy indulgences (admit it, you want that chocolate cake more when you are not supposed to eat it).

I've been paring down my RSS queue recently and already separate it into categories of @daily, @weekend, @relax, @work (guess which gets read first?) but there needs to be some serious slashing. There's only so much time, I only really need so much info, and can only remember so much. Many items to be slashed are entertaining, but not necessary. Time to refocus my attention on the info that can enrich my life. I mean, come on, I'm not a professional blogger, do I really need to subscribe to that many feeds when the overlapped content is 70% and all fun stuff gets linked somehow or another? Most content isn't actionable. I only archive/bookmark perhaps 3% of the copious quantities I skim.

Don't worry, the knitting blogs won't get cut out of the mix, but I think @work will be moved above the @daily and some categories will get a definite priority heading. Now I'm going to let go and keep it to... 50 feeds? 75? I think I can read 15 feeds on a daily basis and not each one posts every day. Is timeliness really all that crucial with non-work/finance related blogs?

Time to head out into the nice weather instead of reading about people heading out into the nice weather. RSS gluttony, you're going to go on a crash diet. There won't be any new feeds added for a while, either. So pardon me if I seem a little clueless now and then, especially with timeliness on your blog entries and comments.

RSS shouldn't just be about efficiency, a practical person embraces feed selectiveness. You're creating your own newspaper to read on a frequent basis, and as the editor, you must choose the best content to occupy your precious time. Don't forget, you can always go back to manually surfing a site. Let natural selection occur- if you leave a feed unread and never go to the site, you can unsubscribe.

It isn't about the person who subscribes to the most amount of feeds, it is about the person who subscribes to the least and still feels that they've gotten all the really great information the 'net has to offer.

Disneyland Photos are up on Flickr. They'll get to the gallery at some point, too.
See the entire Disneyland Set

Here's a few items I've been working on and finally have photos of.

Handmaiden Silk Rumple Scarf

Baby sock from Interweave Knits online pattern PDF
in Cherry Tree Hill

Jaywalker Sock in Sockotta -

And Melissa graciously took a few photos of
her orange ipod mittens but they are kinda wonky (first mitten attempts can be not very pretty) made with ArtYarns Merino
blue wristlets for Greg (and his early morning commute drive) knit with Cherry Tree Hill Superwash Worsted
action shot wristlets

Thanks Mel!

And a newsboy cap from SnB Nation for a toddler (since he's walking now, he can be called a toddler, right?), resized with the help of Harlot Power - Knitting Rules

1. Sherrilyn Kenyon Author signing- Check

2. WWKIP Day - Check

I finished these up today over dim sum but worked the toe at WWKIP and at vloggercon

3. Vloggercon - Check

I stayed low-tech and used the fountain pen + notepad combo while lots of other people multi-tasked (I might have taken a quick glance down and checked how many windows were opened to a text editor. *crickets chirping* )
4. Met Melissa and Greg for Pearl Tea (Sorry I was late!!!!!)
5. Had dim sum with family

My oh My is this weekend going to be Fan-tas-tic! Why? 'Cause there's all kinds of fun events going on here.

First off, I present you
WWKIP (World Wide Knit In Public Day) tomorrow (Saturday) June 7
When: June 7, 2006. 10 am -2 pm.
Where: Intersection of Main St. and State St. in Los Altos, CA (right next to the Citibank)
Why: Participate in a world wide event and have a fantastic reason to say "I really have to go knit."
Who: You! You're invited! No RSVP needed, just drop in. Family, Signifigant Others, and Pets are welcome.
Bring: Your Knitting and Sunblock. Perhaps a Hat. There's food nearby.
Bonus! I've got 20% off coupons for Full Thread Ahead to hand out. Just in case you needed a little extra incentive to go outside and knit on a glorious day. Can't make it in person but you do KIP? You can still get a discount¹. No KIP'er left behind!

Stacie puts the wheels in motion and is the host from 12-2. (Thanks Stacie!) I'm co-hosting the first two hours (10-12) and then I'm off to learn at vloggercon Oh yes, be warned, freecia's always been a little loco about multimedia. Mm yeah, I'm thinking a knitting videoblog would be really awesome.

And who knows, if I get enough done today, I might go to a Sherrilyn Kenyon signing later tonight in San Mateo at M is for Mystery Janet Evanovich coming to San Jose later this month, only days after her latest release Twelve Sharp.

¹ Bring a photo of you Knitting in Public to Full Thread Ahead or e-mail it to info@fullthreadahead.com for 20% off regular merchandise. Good until June 18th.

I've been pretty busy lately pursuing productive avenues of progress and just have a quick moment to say that another system has been added to the family (okay, it is a clan now. Or a really really big family) of computers.

Sometimes I call it the toaster, other times I call it Whitey. Robin calls hers shiny. Yes, that's right, I got a MacBook. This addition has come so I can work the media features on it, and taste the different way Apple likes to do things.

Since Whitey looks like every other white macbook out there, it looks like these

The pristine whiteness contains the middle model, with 2.0Ghz Intel Core Duo, 512 standard Ram (though I have 1GB coming), and a 60 GB hard drive which needs to be augmented at some time. Also, yes, I do expect to load Bootcamp and WinXP on it, when I need to.

First Impressions: Yes, it occasionally does get warm and once it didn't shut down properly. The fan does moo. I've even heard the high pitched whine occasionally (but mostly the unit stays cool). So? I like tech. The fact that it sounds like a computer doesn't bug me. The fact that yes, 10% of the time the system actually does heat up, well, computers create heat. It hasn't been enough to burn a hole through my jeans. The fans moo but that means it is on. Let's be reasonable, macbook users, it is a notebook computer at a darn good price and most laptops generate enough heat to warrant a laptop platform instead of plotting it right in there. Disregard the name and do what you know is smart- get yourself something to put between the lap and the macbook. Fans will come on, the screen will be glossy like its competitors, and you will look all pseudo-cool so girls will gush over your cute notebook. You will be able to shove it into your backpack, especially with one of these excellent 13 inch zeroshock notebook cases which fits the macbook pro with a bit of wiggle room front to back (it works well). I got mine at User Side in San Jose where they carry more colors than black. And I think it was a good bit less expensive.

Question: Anyone know of some good Adobe/Macromedia flash editing software for mac?