Saturday, April 26, 2008

Yes. It's Saturday night. It's 9:20 pm. Do you know where your yarn princess is?? Yes. That's right -- in the library. Boy oh boy do I love finals...

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Times Square Shuffle Revisited

For those of you who thought I was kidding:


Thursday, April 17, 2008

A Change of Plans

I decided that I am not going to be able to finish the Asherton purple scarf by Monday afternoon, both due to all of the studying that I have to do this weekend and due to the fact that it is Passover this weekend and my time will really not be much my own. So I picked up another ball of the lilac color and started to make just a 2x2 rib on size 5 needles. I figure I can sort of fly through that a little bit. I think I will be able to finish it by Monday. And then I can always give her the other one later if I finish it. I think the Asherton scarf really is so pretty, and would hate the work I have done on it to go to waste, but I just don't think it's going to be finished by Monday. Maybe if it weren't finals time...

This morning, I also made sugar cookies because a few of us were all going to have our last day of work. The cookies were because my one friend wanted "Last Day of Work Cake." I didn't have all of the ingredients in the house for a cake, but I did have the ingredients for these cookies. They are quite possibly the easiest cookies I've ever made and I just love the way they all crinkled. They're crispy on the outside and nice and smushy in the middle. And everyone who tasted them loved them. Not what I should have been doing this morning, but it worked out.



Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Hugs on the 2 Train

I got my Smile Cards in the mail on Thursday of last week. There were ten of them. In much the same way that my mom always used to say my brother’s birthday money would be “burning a hole in his pocket,” the Smile Cards were truly burning a hole in my pocket. I found myself thinking about them – to whom would I give them, what would I say, would I have to create a reason, or would one present itself? As of yesterday, I still hadn’t given even one Smile Card away. It was frustrating me, and I was thinking that I might just not be looking hard enough for the right SO (Smile Opportunity). Then yesterday, when I went into the post office to mail my taxes (I’d only been carrying them around with me for 10 days…) the woman working there, finding herself confronted with a long line of people, was, well, not her usual bubbly self. I handed her one and said, “I know people must be driving you crazy this time of year – whenever they do, you can look at this and it can help make you feel better.” I felt okay about that SO, but it wasn’t phenomenal. I was wondering if maybe I wasn’t doing something right.

But then, this morning happened. I entered the 2 train at 72nd Street, and grabbed onto the middle pole. The train was crowded, with many people standing, but it wasn’t packed, certainly no one was squished into the car or holding a flat palm against the ceiling in the hopes of anchoring themselves. A woman got on and was holding onto the pole near the seats and a man got on behind her. There was plenty of room for him to hold onto that pole, or the pole to which I was attached, or the pole to the left of him. For whatever reason, though, he thought this woman should have moved so he could get further into the train and could hold onto a pole on the opposite side of the car. He was curmudgeon-y (though not all that old) and kept mumble-yelling at her. I couldn’t hear what he actually said. She was able to move and he pushed through, knocking her into the walls of the train car and he moved through and away. Another young man and I tried to chuckle with her and roll our eyes at the nerve of people on the subway to kind of make it all better. “It’s just been that kind of morning,” the woman said. “Well,” I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a Smile Card, “maybe this can help make it a little better.” The woman was visibly moved. She showed it to the man, and I reached in and grabbed one for him as well. He said he was going to get some to give to all of his friends. She said she was going to buy them right away. They were both so excited about helpothers.org. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” she said, and she hugged me. A random person hugged me. On the 2 train. In New York City. I didn’t pay her bills or give her food or shelter or clothing. I didn’t do anything to change the problems in her life, or eliminate them in any way. And yet, she told me it made her day. Which of course, made mine.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

I'm bored with my blog

I'm not bored with the content of my blog, though I feel now like I have been working on this purple scarf for a while and because it's a scarf you can't really tell too much about the progress. As a result, I feel like it isn't really worth taking new pictures of it and posting them. But maybe I'll take some later. The real boredom with the site, though, seems to be the design. I feel like I need to shake it up a little bit -- maybe even just change the color scheme. But maybe later. I guess this is me just feeling antsy before finals... Two weeks left of classes (officially 14 classes left in my law school career) and then it's finals, and the bar. But you know, one step at a time.

And, randomly, I'm craving milk.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Knit Your Own Karma

I was poking around on IMDB and eventually found myself on a page for a movie called "Knit Your Own Karma." It doesn't appear to be anything like what I would think it would be for that title. Apparently, it's something more like a bleak future world. But I liked the title. It seems to go much more with the Smile Cards that I got in the mail yesterday.

I ordered the Smile Cards after seeing the post on Steph's blog, "Girl Meets Yarn" http://theadventuresofknitpearl.blogspot.com/ about her random acts of kindness. I guess I was sort of on the lookout for good things to be able to do. Wednesday morning, my friend said she wasn't feeling well. She had been sick since the weekend, and was really feeling terrible. When she went into her office, one of her co-workers said, "You don't look that bad." What she wanted was sympathy, she said. What she wanted was for someone to offer to get her chicken soup. So I called a local deli near her office and had them send her chicken noodle soup, a sandwich and a soda. She was very excited about it.

What's your good deed of the day?

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Humbling Knitting: It Helps to Read the WHOLE Pattern

Yeah. So I'm an idiot. The reason that my version of the scarf didn't work was that I had apparently only written down half of the pattern. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and why my pattern didn't look the way the original one did. Yeah. This would be why. D'oh!

Before I figured it out, though, I tried it on size 4 needles, thinking maybe that would make the difference. I then realized that I had done it wrong, and ultimately decided to do it on the size 8s once I did it the right way. I liked it on the 4s, but the needles are *really* small if I want to be able to finish it in time to give it to my friend before the end of finals (and actually study for my finals, too...)

This is the pattern on the size 4s:
Ironically, I guess because of the way the photographs are, I don't know that you can actually tell the difference between the size four needles (above) and the size 8s (below).

This is what the pattern is supposed to look like. I like it a lot more now that I did it the right way...
Also, I still think this pattern really deserves a darker color. Someday, maybe if I ever make anything for myself... A nice solid dark in a bamboo, cotton or silk would be nice, on small needles. But I think when I do really spend the money and make something for myself, it should be more than a scarf.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Times Square Shuffle

So I was in the city the other day and I saw a sign that said, "Seventh Avenue flyover not in operation -- use the Times Square Shuffle." And I thought it was a misprint -- that it was supposed to be the Times Square Shuttle (which isn't really a shuttle, but there's a shuttle (the gray 'S' train) that goes between Times Square and Grand Central). But apparently, no, there is a new traffic pattern that the city is calling the "Times Square Shuffle." Next time I'm there, I'm taking a picture of the sign.

I still think it sounds like the name of a band...


http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/timessquare.pdf

Monday, April 7, 2008

Up Close & Personal

I feel like I need a macro lens to accurately take pictures of my knitting. I don't know why I can capture a hummingbird sucking the nectar out of a bird of paradise but I can't seem to accurately convey the detail of the knitting.

This scarf, like so much that I have been doing recently, comes from SMarieKnits. Surprise, surprise -- most of the patterns I have been doing lately have been hers. They're fantastic. Easy patterns that look complex and fancy, but that I can actually manage to work my way through.

This is the Asherton Scarf. http://smariek.blogspot.com/2006/09/asherton-reversible-scarf.html
However, it doesn't look anything like hers. :( I know that's not a prerequisite in a scarf, but I chose the Asherton because I liked the way it looks. I wonder if mine might look more like the prototype if it were done on smaller needles. The problem isn't so much that it needs to look like the original as that I don't know if I like it the way it is. And so I ask your opinions:

1. Should this be on smaller needles?
2. Should this be narrower (it's nearly 6.5" wide now, which would probably be helped by smaller needles.
3. Is this the right pattern for this color (the color requested by my friend) or does this pattern look too much like a baby blanket in this light lilac)?
4. If not this pattern, any suggestions for a free, easy-ish pattern like this one?





Saturday, April 5, 2008

Big Blue Wrecking Crew

Firstly, I think that someone far more talented than I should create a crew-neck sweater and call it "Big Blue Wrecking Crew." The extent of the title's relevance to me, though, is just a scarf.

Andrew had originally asked for a scarf in "Giant's Blue." He then changed his mind and decided that he needed more of a tannish mustardy color because then he could wear it all the time. But I decided that he shouldn't be deprived of having a scarf for during the football season, too. So I made him this, in Giant's Blue (also known as "Red Head Blue" or alternatively "Olympic Blue" in other earlier posts). It's just a five by five waffle knit, and I'm almost done with it. It's been a nice easy fast knit. I'm debating whether or not to block and iron it. I like the bumps of the waffle knit itself but I don't necessarily love the way the edges look. They're a little un-finished looking. Granted, I don't know if they'll be any better if I do block it.

And then I'll find more black yarn in my stash and get to finishing Matt's Rutgers scarf. After the bar, I'll think about making something more complex. But not until then. Until then, I may or may not make anything, but if I do, certainly nothing more complex than like a 2x2 rib scarf...