The Green Bar

I hit it. The mythical green bar. And I even got it two days early.

I'm not done yet. Still a couple of chapters left to go before I validate.

I started the process of moving the blog last night, but it's not going very well. Something about DNS pages that I can't access, and my blogger address belonging "to another user." Who is me. But apparently Wordpress doesn't understand that and I can't figure out how to clear it up. But 11pm is really not the time to be worrying about that. It's a recipe for disaster. Suffice to say that I'm fighting with not just Google now, but also Wordpress. I just want a blog that works. Is that so much to ask?

I hope that those in the US had a good Thanksgiving, full of good food and companionship. I did actual baking for mine. From scratch. Which I don't think has happened...ever. And it turned out surprisingly well. I think I might go have seconds to celebrate my success.

A Geeky Yule

Missouri and I usually celebrate winter festivus on Yule for a variety of reasons, primarily that we are impatient and spent Dec. 25th with family. This year, I got spoiled with a variety of geeky treats, hitting all of the things that make me nerd-gasm:

On the first day of Yule, my roommate gave to me: five nail polish dotters, three manga volumes, two tech-savy gloves, one typewriter decal, classic lit in comic book form, a black sheep pin, and some light up knitting needles.
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The winner of the End of the World Giveaway was Richard Polt. He's been notified and his prize will be on it's way soon!

Hope you enjoy whatever form of festivus you celebrate, and I'll see you again on Friday.

Giftmas Knitting Part III: Gifts for Knitters

Do you have a knitter in your life? Stumped on what to get them this holiday season? Afraid you'll disappoint them with your yarn selection? Fear not. Here's the KnotMagick Top 10 list of things to get your friendly neighborhood knitter (even if you know nothing about yarn):

10. Gift cards
While this might seem like a generic, flake-out type of gift, it can be quite thoughtful IF it comes from the right place. While some knitters prefer to buy their yarn from places like Michael's or Joanns, a better option would be to find their shop of choice--be it a local yarn shop or an online retailer. Not all knit shops are created equal, so by purchasing a gift card for their favorite place, you're ensuring they have access tot he supplies they need, rather than cheap stand-ins. Still in doubt? Knitpicks.com, Yarnmarket.com, and JimmyBeansWool.com are all popular sites with knitters.

9. Travel Survival Kit
If your knitter is anything at all like me--or any knitter I've ever met--then she probably has trouble keeping tack of her notions. Stitch markers fall between the couch cushions, the cat makes off with the tape measure, and gnomes steal tapestry needles in the dark of night. Why not get her a cute kit from an Etsy seller, and support small business while you show your appreciation for all of those handmade socks?

8. Blocking tools
In the world of knitting, blocking is frequently one of those little chores many avoid. It's also a place where budget-consious knitters, like myself, can save a few pennies by skipping the fancy tools and McGuyvering a solution--like using old towels or a spare bed as a blocking mat. But when company comes, or the project is just too stubborn for the soft surface or a towel, sometimes something a little fancier is required. Those foam puzzle pieces that are used as floor mats? Great for blocking big projects. Sock blockers help keep socks in shape and give them a longer life. Blocking wires create a nice edge on shawls, and some good T pins are a necessity.

7. A Knitter's care package
Put a basket together with a book of nice patterns, 1-3 balls of yarn, some nice needles and other notions, and maybe some chocolate, a container of tea, and some hand cream. If you're not sure where to start, locate your nearest yarn shop, arm yourself with the recipients favorite colors, yarn brands, fibers, or any fiber allergies, and ask the nice person behind the counter for help in making your selections. Unless they have a severe wool allergy, you can never go wrong with Malibrigo.

6. A yarn club susbcriptionYarn clubs run on 3-12 month cycles, depending on the program, and usually include a specialty yarn, a pattern, and a handful of other goodies that are shipped directly to the knitter on a monthly basis. If you know the knitter's favorite Etsy shop or indie dyer, then this is a great way for her to sample new yarns at relatively low cost, and since packages arrive for several months in a row, it's the gift that keeps on giving.

5. A great knitting bag
Women love bags. Men know this. So why not get her a really nice one that's made with her knitting in mind? Knitpicks has a great selection, but don't forget to check Tom Bihn and Jordana Paige, too.


4. Classes
Every knitter has a skill she or he would like to expand on, so why not help them do that? Pick up a class schedule from the local yarn shop, and go over it with your knitter. Do they want to start knitting with beads, or just learn to tackle a sweater? What about dying? Spinning? Cover the cost of the class and, if possible, materials. Your knitter will tank you. 

3. Swift and ball winder
How about an umbrella swift? These save time and hassle when winding a hank of yarn into a ball, but can be a little pricey for the broke knitter.


Ball winders also save a lot of time and headaches, but if you have to choose just one, I'd go with the swift.

2. Spa day
This doesn't have to be expensive, though a day at the local spa would be nice. It could be something as simple as a night off, a nice shoulder massage and some aromatherapy. Knitting can be hard on shoulders and wrists, so those are key areas for massages. Alternatively, manicures--be they professional or just mother and daughter at home on the couch--are always appreciated.

1. Uninterrupted knitting time
Take a page out of the kid's book and put together some coupons, good for things like shoulder rubs, or blocks of uninterrupted knitting time--not less than 2 hours. No cooking, no cleaning, no childcare--just time to sit back and relax with a ball of yarn.

Hope that helps with some of your gift-giving worries. If you have any other suggestions, leave a comment below. :)

Giftmas Knitting Part II: Project ideas

For those keeping track, Kwanza begins in 47 days, Christmas is in 45, Yule is 6 weeks from today and Hanukkah is one month and one day away. If you're a knitter, now might be a good time to start panicking if you haven't finished at least one of your holiday gifts yet.

Never fear, there are still plenty of great gifts that you can make in plenty of time. I won't link to specific patterns, but here's a roundup to give you a few ideas:

1.  Fingerless Gloves
Great for:  teenagers, office workers, and anyone with cold hands
Estimated stash usage: 50g is enough for a pair ranging in fingering to worsted weight yarn. If you're leaning more to the worsted end of the spectrum, then I recommend a more open pattern, and gearing more towards hand warmers (which end at the wrist) rather than arm warmers (which go closer to the elbow).

2. Cowels
Great for: the stylish lady, the outdoorsy type, and the hard-to-shop-for manly man.
Estimated stash usage: depending on the pattern, 50-100g
Cowels are fabulous gifts. A lace pattern done in malibrigo or a mohair is great for moms, aunts, or any female relation. Switch to a sport weight yarn in a bright color, and it's great for the jogger or otherwise active person who enjoys spending time outside during cold weather. Make it a warm, bulky yarn in dark or neutral colors with a plain stitch pattern, and Dad will be able to safely keep his neck warm while he clears snow from the driveway or fixes those little winter emergencies where a scarf might not be a good idea.

3. Basic Beanies
Great for: anyone
Estimated stash usage: about 50g, maybe a bit more.
It's cold. Everyone needs a hat. Use a navy blue and a plain ribbed pattern and Dad can wear it with his cowel. Stick with stockinette and add some colorwork, and it matches your 14 year old cousin's favorite outfit. Put a pompom on top and it's great for the toddler.

4. Berets/slouchy hats
Great for: Any female relations or friends
Estimated stash usage: 50g
My favorite slouchy hat is openwork, and can be worn as a beret or pinned in my hair as a snood.

5. Drawstring pouches
Great for: gamer geeks, other knitters, anyone with collections of small objects to organize
Estimated stash usage: depending on the size, you can get 1-3 bags out of a 50g ball.
Great for storing dice for tabletop gaming, being used as a small project bag to carry in your purse, keeping notions or small office supplies handy, or really anything you want.

6. Scarves/neck warmers
Great for:Almost anyone
Estimated stash usage: 100-200g
Try thinking outside the box on this one--a short neck warmer that is fastened with a button, or a scarf with pockets to keep your hands warm.

7. Socks
Great for: Almost anyone
Estimated stash usage: ranges from 2-3 pairs of baby socks per 50g ball to 100g for a pair of ladies knee highs.
I wouldn't reccomend socks as a go-to project for Giftmas, just because not everyone likes handknit socks (It took me a while to get used to them, and I make them!). For a beginner, this can also be quite an ambitious project. So make sure that you are using materials and a pattern that you are comfortable with.

In addition, you could start from the toe up and just make ankle-high slipper socks by squeezing some puff paint in a fun design on the sole.

8. Washcloths and hand towels
Great for: any household
Estimated stash usage: 1 50g ball is enough for one crochet-top hand towel and a dish cloth.

Two things I've discovered are very popular with my family members are handmade dish cloths and the tea or hand towels with the crocheted tops. When I need a pallet cleanser between projects, I pull out some crochet cotton and make a dishcloth, then set it aside in the bin. These are great for Christmas, housewarming, and even birthdays. Natural, red, and blue seem to the be the most popular colors for kitchens that I've seen, while white can easily be bleached. They're pretty inexpensive, too--a cone of cotton yarn is about $10 at Walmart, and can make upwards of a dozen washcloths. The towels can be found for $1-2, sometimes for a multipack, and cutting them in half means you get two for the price of one.

I know I said *cough*years*cough* ago that I would make a tutorial for those towels, and I will...eventually. Maybe this year. Maybe not.

So that's my rundown of eight last minute items you can knit or crochet for the holidays. What are your go-to gifts? 

Happy Mother's Day

Around here, most people know that when I say I'm going to do laundry, it's really a euphemism for "I'm going to Mom and Dad's to love on my kitty."

It hurt more than I can say to leave him behind last October when I moved out, but between student loans, illness, and random acts of God that keep happening, paying the pet deposit has been been out of the question and adding another $25 to the rent could be the difference between buying food one week or paying the electric bill.

Since I moved out, Hermes has been even less affectionate than he was before, generally running away whenever he sees me. Therefore it's been a while since I've been able to get a picture of him. This blog has been sadly kitty-free for the last few months.

But I guess that even he thought Mother's Day deserved a little respect (even if my
only "child" is furry and has four legs). He wound up on my lap no less than three times through the day and spent a total of about an hour getting lots of love and attention, and he even purred loudly enough to be heard from arm's length (normally the only way to tell that he's purring is to put a finger under his chin and feel around for a vibration).

My laundry is clean, and I am now covered in cat hair. It's a good day.

This isn't what I set out to write. But it was the right thing to write.

Well, I said that details would follow, so here they are:

There are a few reasons that the blog has been light on content and heavy on the random and silly lately. For starters, I've basically been sick since the middle of April. It started with an allergic reaction to a frozen dinner (why can't "chicken" just be chicken anymore? Why do they have to put soy in EVERYTHING?), which combined with yo-yoing Ohio temperatures, dry weather, and an extremely high pollen count that ended with bronchitis. Now normally, bronchitis, which is caused by a virus, works itself out and goes away on it's own after three weeks. In my case, however, it decided to linger. I finally went to the doctor and was given medication, which has made me feel much better but tends to make me a little shaky and tired. Still, not as tired as coughing 24/7 did. It did make knitting a little difficult, though.

While all of this was going on, my grandmother was admitted to the hospital for internal bleeding. They kept her for a few hours, then sent her home. The same day I called my mother to get the phone number for the doctor's office, she told me that Grandma had been re-admitted for severe dehydration. Again, several smaller problems snowballed, and she was two points away from being on dialysis. That night, I came home to find an email that she had stopped eating and drinking, and was not in a good way.

I wanted to go see her, but I also didn't want to be in a hospital while hacking up a lung. So I took a day, went to the doctor, got my meds, and then spent the day in front of the tv.

Then I went to see her.

Everyone was surprised to see me, since they knew I was sick (when everyone you work with tells you to see a doctor, you know you are ill). But I couldn't stay away.

On February 14, 2002, my maternal grandmother had a stroke. It was the middle of the school year and she lived in Canada, so my parents went up to see her and I stayed behind to go to school. They were gone a week, and when they came back we started making plans to visit over the summer. Grandma Ray made slow improvement and was starting to regain some of her functions when in early June, she had a second stroke, robbing her of the little progress she'd made.

When she was first admitted to the hospital, they took her off her medication because of the risk of stroke. Without the ability to speak, she couldn't communicate the things she was seeing to the doctors or to my mom or uncle.

She was a paranoid schizophrenic.

On June 20 we got a call from my uncle that she had gone off food. We called and begged her to eat. It was enough to get her to take a few bites. On July 1, we got the call that she had passed, after once again going off food. We were at my other grandparent's house, celebrating my 15th birthday.

So, when I found out that my grandma--the only one I have left--had also gone off food, and during the same season, exactly ten years after my other grandmother, well, I was scared. And I just want to say thank you to everyone who thought good things for her. She's doing much better now and we are cautiously optimistic about the future.

My maternal grandmother was an avid knitter, crocheter, and sewer. She was a strong woman who didn't sugarcoat the truth as she saw it, and even though she had her problems she loved her family and did her best to do right by them.

I believe that there are two kinds of relationships that people have: There are people that you are close to because you spend a lot of time with them, and there are people you are close to because you fit together, because your personalities mesh. Similar to soul mates, but these relationships are not necessarily romantic in nature and can be between a parent and child, friends, siblings, coworkers, or pen pals.

If there is one person in the world that I could spend an afternoon with in heaven, it would be Grandma Ray. Because she lived so far away, I only saw her once every few years and most of my knowledge of her is anecdotal. I wish more than anything I'd gotten a chance to know her better.

Grandma Jerry has been there since I was born. She was my first babysitter and according to rumor had me trained at the age of two to smile and pose for the camera whenever one was produced. It's thanks to her that I have a bit of an addiction to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, since we would watch it every evening when I was at her house, me laying on the floor on my stomach and her in her trademark orange recliner.

From her I have inherited a love of tea, a hatred for cooking, and a passion for history. I wish I had her orderly, tidy nature as well, but I'll have to settle for organized chaos and a passing acquaintance with the vacuum cleaner and the dishwasher.

In case you have forgotten, this Sunday is Mother's Day. Thank your mother, and your grandmother, and your great-grandmother if you're lucky enough to still have her around.

Grandmas are important people. Make sure they know it.

Happy New Year

Normally, I don't do resolutions. But this year, I have two. Two goals that I am very determined to reach:

1. Get a new job.
2. Get published.

Please note that 1 & 2 are not mutually exclusive.

Cheers.

Hey! Look over there!

In an attempt to distract you from the fact that it has been over a month since my last post, and the typewriter revamp STILL isn't done, I present you with this:



That would be one small part of the Christmas presents I received from my aunt. She got me a whole box of dresses and skirts from the 1950s. None of them fit, since most of them have a 24-30 inch waist and I....don't, but most of them are lovely and I'm enjoying converting them into something closer to my size. This example was once a dress that almost fit, but was far too tight in the shoulders to be practical. I also made a crinoline slip to go underneath, though that still needs some work, I think.

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Though the revamp isn't complete, I can offer this teaser image of the Royalite. What you see in the platen is a review I will be posting soon.



More to come. Stay tuned.

Ho ho ho.

Merry Christmas and Blessed Be. I hope that you are all having a safe and happy holiday, regardless of where you are and what you celebrate.

We missed out on a white Christmas this year by a rain shower and a couple of hours. So here's a shot from last year. Snow is very confusing for Hermes.