I cast on for Gail (aka Nightsongs) and free lace shawl pattern I found on Ravelry. I must say that it must be one of the most gorgeous patterns I have ever seen. It reminds me of peacock feathers, you know, the kind peacocks leave around the zoo and that are sold in zoo gift shops. I chose my Handmaiden Mini Maiden in the colorway Vintage because I love the colors in the skein and it reminds me of the shimmering colors you see in a peacock feather.
I am hosting the first Lace KAL in my knitting group. I wanted to help the people that think lace is hard to do. Admittedly, some of the patterns are hard; the many yarnovers are easy to lose and reading charts can be a challenge. I will also add that I had to start Gail 4 times yesterday...yes 4! I kept dropping the yarn overs (or thought I did) and the 3rd and 4th times I had to rip everything out, I still did not put in a lifeline (who knew I needed one so early??), and I was reading the wrong row on the doggone chart. Yeah, that'll mess you up...I am normally an anal counter, but like I mentioned, who knew I would run into problems so early in the game.
As you can imagine, I put in a lifeline right before my problem row on my 4th attempt. I had to focus on what I was doing around the middle of the chart, but then it got easier. I finished one full pattern and now ready to do the repeats. I am so grateful that Dorene Giordano (designer for Gail) allowed Jane Araujoto share the chart that she rewrote to make it easier to understand how the repeats were knit. While the first pattern is straightforward,it may have been frustrating to figure out how to knit the pattern repeats in the subsequent rows (looking at the reworked chart).
As with all of my projects, I am anxious for some time today to continue working on it. Probably won't be until tonight. Hopefully, my son will tak e a nap so I can work on it some more...I hope our new puppy takes naps...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Color-Blind Bullet
Way back when, I studied genetics in high school and even thought that I may become a geneticist. Playing around with the possible matches based on the characteristics of two people was so fascinating. One of the first things I did was to see my probability of having children with color-blindness, because of my father's condition. While I don't remember why I never continued in my studies in that field, I do remember that if I had a son, he would have a 50% chance of being a carrier, but not himself be affected.
As fate would have it, my father-in-law was also color-blind. My husband is only a carrier; our future son would have had a 25% chance of having this condition. I hoped, however, that our son would be spared...I love colors. Being an artist and creative as I am, I have no idea what it would be like not to be able to see nuances of green or the beautiful variegations in a skein of yarn, nor do I want to.
My son is now almost 2 and he is so smart. He knows all the parts of the body (yes, all!), his letters and numbers, and some of his colors. His favorite is blue. When he sees my blue lace blocking mat, he likes to pull it out and announce, "Blue! Down!" while he drops it on the floor. I taught him green and yellow...and he knows those...I think. I tried to teach him red...at first I thought that maybe the word "red" is too hard to say. He has trouble with the r sound, after all. When we go to the play area in the mall, he happily points to the green lights in the rides and says the color, but doesn't pay attention to the red lights.
As obsessive as I can be, I tested him on his ability to see all colors as much as I could. I read color books to him every day and pointed out the different colors to him in his favorite alphabet books, each time hoping that he would point to a red object and say "red!".
The other day, he pulled out my lace blocking mats to play on again. He named the colors of each one as he pulled them down..."Blue! 'Lo! G(r)een!" I held my breath as he pulled on the red one..."G(r)een!"
I told my husband...What could this mean? Are my fears confirmed? Or is our smart little boy playing a trick on me? Do you think maybe he can't say Red?
We'll know when he is tested. For now, I tell myself there are worse things. He is still a healthy, active, funny little boy whom I love so much.
Information on Color-Blindness can be seen here.
As fate would have it, my father-in-law was also color-blind. My husband is only a carrier; our future son would have had a 25% chance of having this condition. I hoped, however, that our son would be spared...I love colors. Being an artist and creative as I am, I have no idea what it would be like not to be able to see nuances of green or the beautiful variegations in a skein of yarn, nor do I want to.
My son is now almost 2 and he is so smart. He knows all the parts of the body (yes, all!), his letters and numbers, and some of his colors. His favorite is blue. When he sees my blue lace blocking mat, he likes to pull it out and announce, "Blue! Down!" while he drops it on the floor. I taught him green and yellow...and he knows those...I think. I tried to teach him red...at first I thought that maybe the word "red" is too hard to say. He has trouble with the r sound, after all. When we go to the play area in the mall, he happily points to the green lights in the rides and says the color, but doesn't pay attention to the red lights.
As obsessive as I can be, I tested him on his ability to see all colors as much as I could. I read color books to him every day and pointed out the different colors to him in his favorite alphabet books, each time hoping that he would point to a red object and say "red!".
The other day, he pulled out my lace blocking mats to play on again. He named the colors of each one as he pulled them down..."Blue! 'Lo! G(r)een!" I held my breath as he pulled on the red one..."G(r)een!"
I told my husband...What could this mean? Are my fears confirmed? Or is our smart little boy playing a trick on me? Do you think maybe he can't say Red?
We'll know when he is tested. For now, I tell myself there are worse things. He is still a healthy, active, funny little boy whom I love so much.
Information on Color-Blindness can be seen here.
Interesting but useless facts
I have a good friend David who has a really good head for remembering all sorts of information. Some is useful. As a professional for the computer industry, this serves him well. He is also an easy person to talk to because he remembers things that you tell him (he is a great date because of this, so I've heard).
The other stuff that he knows is no so useful...did you know that there was once a dog that died because he ate too much of a processed meat product (clue: rhymes with ham). I didn't, until Dave told me...
So when I found Mental Floss, I thought of my good friend David, someone who has a limitless thirst for knowledge and a bottomless memory bank.
The other stuff that he knows is no so useful...did you know that there was once a dog that died because he ate too much of a processed meat product (clue: rhymes with ham). I didn't, until Dave told me...
So when I found Mental Floss, I thought of my good friend David, someone who has a limitless thirst for knowledge and a bottomless memory bank.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Gosh darn it
The first sleeve is KILLING ME! I got to the edge and bound it off, only to rip it out to 2 inches past the separation because somehow I dropped a stitch when I was binding off. It is impossible to find a dropped stitch in a seed stitch pattern. IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I am just doing a gosh darn plain flared sleeve, no seed stitch (mmm maybe at the end) and I will do ANYTHING not to frog again!!!!
SOB I wanted to wear it to Knitting Night
Next week, next week...
I registered for Sock Wars today. Yay! I will have a busy couple of months. I will be doing the Lace KAL in April and Sock Wars in May...unless I am "assassinated" in the first round....maybe that won't be too bad
Now I am just doing a gosh darn plain flared sleeve, no seed stitch (mmm maybe at the end) and I will do ANYTHING not to frog again!!!!
SOB I wanted to wear it to Knitting Night
Next week, next week...
I registered for Sock Wars today. Yay! I will have a busy couple of months. I will be doing the Lace KAL in April and Sock Wars in May...unless I am "assassinated" in the first round....maybe that won't be too bad
Monday, March 23, 2009
Knit It Like Jang
I just watched a video on using increase/decrease pairs and short rows to shape cables demonstrated by Eunny Jang. It is the coolest thing. First she explains how, by decreasing before the purl channel (she chose SSP), working across the cable, and increasing after the purl channel (using M1 on a purl stitch), you can force a cable to twist diagonally, while keeping the sides perpendicular. By doing this on every RS row, the cable slants at a 45 degree angle. However this angle can be changed by decreasing/increasing either more or less frequently.
She also showed how to curve the cable using short rows. This technique wasn't as clearly explained, as you will see if you are able to view the video. I was very disappointed because although I am familiar with short rows, and have worked them in quite a few of my projects, I have not used them with cables. I love how the cables curve in the sample vest in the video. The technique is both simple and sophisticated. I discovered that the pattern for the vest is in the famous Fall 2007 Interweave Knits issue, an issue that I coveted, stalked the destash pages for, and rewarded with. Happy Day!!
What really impressed me about the video though, is the way Eunny Jang knits! All I see is her fingers gently gliding the yarn back and forth on the tips of her needles. WOW! How does she do that?? Compared to her, my knitting style looks very clumsy indeed. Me, with my self taught continental-ish throwing with my left hand over the right needle. Some have expressed envy with the speed with which I knit, and I guess that is not something I should be ashamed of. But the grace of Eunny Jang's knitting is wondrous to watch.....sigh... Oh to knit like Jang...
She also showed how to curve the cable using short rows. This technique wasn't as clearly explained, as you will see if you are able to view the video. I was very disappointed because although I am familiar with short rows, and have worked them in quite a few of my projects, I have not used them with cables. I love how the cables curve in the sample vest in the video. The technique is both simple and sophisticated. I discovered that the pattern for the vest is in the famous Fall 2007 Interweave Knits issue, an issue that I coveted, stalked the destash pages for, and rewarded with. Happy Day!!
What really impressed me about the video though, is the way Eunny Jang knits! All I see is her fingers gently gliding the yarn back and forth on the tips of her needles. WOW! How does she do that?? Compared to her, my knitting style looks very clumsy indeed. Me, with my self taught continental-ish throwing with my left hand over the right needle. Some have expressed envy with the speed with which I knit, and I guess that is not something I should be ashamed of. But the grace of Eunny Jang's knitting is wondrous to watch.....sigh... Oh to knit like Jang...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Kinnearing Practice
I love that there is a name for what I have to do to get pictures of my son. He absolutely hates to have his picture taken. Hates it!
I have many pictures of the Head Turn:
the Head Shake:
the Duck and Cover:
the Walk-Away (it's worse that my camera would lose to molasses in a race):
and the Possessed-Boy:
When I kinnear, I actually get somewhat nice pictures (relatively speaking):
I didn't say they were perfect...
Here he is when he refused my very sweet request for his picture the other day. Threats sometimes work, especially when they don't know you are using threats:
I have many pictures of the Head Turn:
the Head Shake:
the Duck and Cover:
the Walk-Away (it's worse that my camera would lose to molasses in a race):
and the Possessed-Boy:
When I kinnear, I actually get somewhat nice pictures (relatively speaking):
I didn't say they were perfect...
Here he is when he refused my very sweet request for his picture the other day. Threats sometimes work, especially when they don't know you are using threats:Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Lolo
My father died April 7, 2005. He and my mom spent the previous Christmas with us in our new house. He helped us move. He always liked to feel useful and never said no when I asked for help. He was a good father.
It was not always this way. When I was a child, I hated him. It pains me to admit this now, but it is true. He was mean and he believed in the belt as discipline. After he died, my mom talked about him a lot and I finally understood why he was the way he was. English was his second language. In the Philippines, English is taught as a subject in school; however, you never lose your accent or truly understand the lingo. This was the challenge my father met when he moved to the United States. He was educated and was a talented electrical engineer. Despite his color-blindness, he excelled in his line of work, often promoted to supervisor. He worked hard and gained admiration from some of his co-workers. Unfortunately, his talent made him the target of envy from his superiors, who I must add were not superior at all. In fact, they were small men and I base this criticism on my mother's account of how they treated my father. It's ironic that the man who scared me as a child was the same humble man who didn't speak up for himself at work. My father was often humiliated and laughed at because of his accent and the fact that the loud machinery took away a lot of his hearing. They would mock him when he asked them to repeat whatever they said to him. When I found these things out, I felt sorry for my father and angry that this was being done to him. I still feel sad because I did not get to see a gentler and vulnerable side of him.
He was just getting into the role of grandfather when he died. My daughter was 3 and he adored her. He gave her the love and attention that I never felt when I was young. Whenever we would visit them, he would suggest going to Toys R Us. When she couldn't choose what toy she wanted, he would buy her everything she pointed to. Everything. Crazy! He was not the same man from when I was a child. He bought and built her first bicycle that last Christmas; the last picture I have of him is when he watched her ride her bike in the back yard of our house. He didn't go outside but he did watch from the porch door. I caught him as I took pictures of my daughter riding around on her new Little Pony bicycle, happy as can be.
He would have loved my son. I am sad that my father did not live long enough to meet him. I feel sad that my children will be deprived of the joy of having a grandfather that dotes on them as my father would have. Mostly, I feel sad that I will never meet the man that my father really was: a giving, hardworking, and intelligent man wanting to share his knowledge of the world with a younger generation.
It was not always this way. When I was a child, I hated him. It pains me to admit this now, but it is true. He was mean and he believed in the belt as discipline. After he died, my mom talked about him a lot and I finally understood why he was the way he was. English was his second language. In the Philippines, English is taught as a subject in school; however, you never lose your accent or truly understand the lingo. This was the challenge my father met when he moved to the United States. He was educated and was a talented electrical engineer. Despite his color-blindness, he excelled in his line of work, often promoted to supervisor. He worked hard and gained admiration from some of his co-workers. Unfortunately, his talent made him the target of envy from his superiors, who I must add were not superior at all. In fact, they were small men and I base this criticism on my mother's account of how they treated my father. It's ironic that the man who scared me as a child was the same humble man who didn't speak up for himself at work. My father was often humiliated and laughed at because of his accent and the fact that the loud machinery took away a lot of his hearing. They would mock him when he asked them to repeat whatever they said to him. When I found these things out, I felt sorry for my father and angry that this was being done to him. I still feel sad because I did not get to see a gentler and vulnerable side of him.
He was just getting into the role of grandfather when he died. My daughter was 3 and he adored her. He gave her the love and attention that I never felt when I was young. Whenever we would visit them, he would suggest going to Toys R Us. When she couldn't choose what toy she wanted, he would buy her everything she pointed to. Everything. Crazy! He was not the same man from when I was a child. He bought and built her first bicycle that last Christmas; the last picture I have of him is when he watched her ride her bike in the back yard of our house. He didn't go outside but he did watch from the porch door. I caught him as I took pictures of my daughter riding around on her new Little Pony bicycle, happy as can be.
He would have loved my son. I am sad that my father did not live long enough to meet him. I feel sad that my children will be deprived of the joy of having a grandfather that dotes on them as my father would have. Mostly, I feel sad that I will never meet the man that my father really was: a giving, hardworking, and intelligent man wanting to share his knowledge of the world with a younger generation.
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