Just checking in with you all to let you know that this morning in Minneapolis, we had the wonderful temperature of around -9 degrees. You need to know this so that you can feel warm wherever you are.
It's now about 2 hours later and we've moved up to -4.
Makes NJ look like a tropical paradise.
I'm visiting DD, DSIL, and the wondrous, silly, adorable, pesky Miss P! They moved to the 50th and France area, which is tres chic shopping and eating. It's too bad that it's too cold today to walk down to the area and spend my money.
I'm having a wonderful time, but I do miss the Hubbo lots!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Yarnarian Knits Another MIllieLillie Top!
Here it is. It was going to be a dress but I got bored, so I turned it into a tunic instead. Ah the wonders of doing your own designs.
I find the fit a bit difficult to put on the doll. It goes on easily if the arms are up in the air, but I won't do another top-down raglan; just fiddly for a little kid.
The yarn is an ancient Trekking that's been in my stash for years, and was waiting for the proper moment. I have lots and lots left over, too.
merrilymarylee - The "girls" are addictive. All mine, except for the ugly one in this little tunic, were bought at garage sales. The Hubbo's an expert at stuff!
I find the fit a bit difficult to put on the doll. It goes on easily if the arms are up in the air, but I won't do another top-down raglan; just fiddly for a little kid.
The yarn is an ancient Trekking that's been in my stash for years, and was waiting for the proper moment. I have lots and lots left over, too.
merrilymarylee - The "girls" are addictive. All mine, except for the ugly one in this little tunic, were bought at garage sales. The Hubbo's an expert at stuff!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Yarnarian Gets Wowed!
The Hubbo and I, my BFF and ME went off to hear Bff's hubby sing in the Messiah this afternoon. Wow, and quadruple wow! Every year her hub's church puts on a short version of the Messiah, replete with professional soloists and orchestra, and every year it gets better and better! What a performance. I do love choral singing and the Messiah is one of my faves. The other 3 big choral pieces that I love are Bach's Mass in B minor, Mozart's Requiem, and the one and only Verdi Requiem!
From the sublime to the normal:
Here's another poll: Would you be interested in a lace scarf club? 3 times/year. My hand-dyed yarn, 2 in lace weight and one in fingering wt and a brand new scarf for each one designed by me. Approximate cost (I think) about $100, including shipping. Maybe a little more depending on the yarn cost, but not too bad. I have to work out the money factor, so this is just a guess, but I think it might be in the proper range. Start time? Maybe February or March. I don't want it to coincide with the sock club. Maybe Feb, June, Oct. What do you think? Poll over on the right.
Results of the fancy schmancy yarn poll are clearly in favor of trying out some luxury yarns. OK, next time I order from my guy, I'll put in a few skeins involving a bit of silk or cashmere. I won't overextend myself, and we'll see how it goes.
Knitting News: Here's the top of the latest garment for MillieLillie, my AG doll knock-off. It's supposed to grow into a dress. I'm not sure about that; I may just make it into a top. And maybe make a skirt instead. We'll see. I think I have to frog one of the sleeves to make it one round longer.
From the sublime to the normal:
Here's another poll: Would you be interested in a lace scarf club? 3 times/year. My hand-dyed yarn, 2 in lace weight and one in fingering wt and a brand new scarf for each one designed by me. Approximate cost (I think) about $100, including shipping. Maybe a little more depending on the yarn cost, but not too bad. I have to work out the money factor, so this is just a guess, but I think it might be in the proper range. Start time? Maybe February or March. I don't want it to coincide with the sock club. Maybe Feb, June, Oct. What do you think? Poll over on the right.
Results of the fancy schmancy yarn poll are clearly in favor of trying out some luxury yarns. OK, next time I order from my guy, I'll put in a few skeins involving a bit of silk or cashmere. I won't overextend myself, and we'll see how it goes.
Knitting News: Here's the top of the latest garment for MillieLillie, my AG doll knock-off. It's supposed to grow into a dress. I'm not sure about that; I may just make it into a top. And maybe make a skirt instead. We'll see. I think I have to frog one of the sleeves to make it one round longer.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Yarnarian is Virtuous and Cheap.
What? It's not what you think.
Here's the deal: both the Hubbo and I need to exercise. We need it for the health aspects as well as losing weight. He has a bunch to lose. (Did you read that, my Honey?) And I have about 4-5 lbs that have crept up on me, and I'd like to get rid of, and I don't need to diet, just exercise. Trust me on this one.
So we've been looking for positive rewards for exercise. I decided that for every 10 times in the gym, I'd gift myself with $20. Doesn't work. If I want to buy something, I go ahead and do it. The reward system is not working any more here.
Well, at 2 AM Monday morning, the Hubbo woke me up with a brilliant idea: we set an exercise goal for the week, and if one of us poops out and doesn't do the workout, he/she has to Paypal the other $25! Now you see where I'm going? We're both amazingly cheap on some things, and the thought of having to give him $25 just because I was too lazy to go to the gym is dreadful.
So yesterday, in fear and trepidation of having to give the Hubbo my hard-earned dollars, I went to the gym.
I haven't been in so long that they had to reboot me into the system. I'm not a total dummy, so I started out slowly. The goal is not to be in such pain that I can't move the next day. So 20 minutes + cooldown on the treadmill, and then half of the machines was just fine. And I have felt so virtuous ever since. Clearly the carrot ahead of me doesn't work, but the kick in the behind does.
Knitting news: No pics today. Yesterday I worked on one of my scarves for an eventual lace scarf club, and knitted and frogged 4 times until I finally decided that I should put it away for the evening. It's not a particularly hard scarf, I was just in one of those "it's not meant to be tonight" moments.
This scarf I'm knitting in my Alexa yarn because I want a cuddly winter scarf. The others are in lace yarn. Both scarves (this one and the Zephyr one) have interesting construction techniques, and are very pretty. I'm thinking about the last scarf and have some ideas.
Does something like this interest you? I'm thinking 3 times/year and am working out the cost.
Tamar - Interesting question. My feeling is that if we both fink out, we have to donate $25 to the family pot.
Do you like klezmer music? I love it. but I want a Jewish carol not in a minor mode. giggle.
Linda and Tamar - So far we have done week one; it pays to be cheap, um frugal. Tamar - I asked the Hubbo about it, and we have not yet come up with a solution.
Ria - Where's that radio station? I have normal, non-subscribing radio.
Sharon - I love Deck the Halls; it's zippy and cute. Not much for jazz, although I like Dixieland mostly because it's contrapuntal.
Here's the deal: both the Hubbo and I need to exercise. We need it for the health aspects as well as losing weight. He has a bunch to lose. (Did you read that, my Honey?) And I have about 4-5 lbs that have crept up on me, and I'd like to get rid of, and I don't need to diet, just exercise. Trust me on this one.
So we've been looking for positive rewards for exercise. I decided that for every 10 times in the gym, I'd gift myself with $20. Doesn't work. If I want to buy something, I go ahead and do it. The reward system is not working any more here.
Well, at 2 AM Monday morning, the Hubbo woke me up with a brilliant idea: we set an exercise goal for the week, and if one of us poops out and doesn't do the workout, he/she has to Paypal the other $25! Now you see where I'm going? We're both amazingly cheap on some things, and the thought of having to give him $25 just because I was too lazy to go to the gym is dreadful.
So yesterday, in fear and trepidation of having to give the Hubbo my hard-earned dollars, I went to the gym.
I haven't been in so long that they had to reboot me into the system. I'm not a total dummy, so I started out slowly. The goal is not to be in such pain that I can't move the next day. So 20 minutes + cooldown on the treadmill, and then half of the machines was just fine. And I have felt so virtuous ever since. Clearly the carrot ahead of me doesn't work, but the kick in the behind does.
Knitting news: No pics today. Yesterday I worked on one of my scarves for an eventual lace scarf club, and knitted and frogged 4 times until I finally decided that I should put it away for the evening. It's not a particularly hard scarf, I was just in one of those "it's not meant to be tonight" moments.
This scarf I'm knitting in my Alexa yarn because I want a cuddly winter scarf. The others are in lace yarn. Both scarves (this one and the Zephyr one) have interesting construction techniques, and are very pretty. I'm thinking about the last scarf and have some ideas.
Does something like this interest you? I'm thinking 3 times/year and am working out the cost.
Tamar - Interesting question. My feeling is that if we both fink out, we have to donate $25 to the family pot.
Do you like klezmer music? I love it. but I want a Jewish carol not in a minor mode. giggle.
Linda and Tamar - So far we have done week one; it pays to be cheap, um frugal. Tamar - I asked the Hubbo about it, and we have not yet come up with a solution.
Ria - Where's that radio station? I have normal, non-subscribing radio.
Sharon - I love Deck the Halls; it's zippy and cute. Not much for jazz, although I like Dixieland mostly because it's contrapuntal.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Yarnarian Plays With Dolls and Eats Her Words.
Knitting these little sweaters is soooo much fun. I know, all of you who don't have a doll to knit for think I've gone off the deep end. And before I owned one, I thought that knitters who "wasted" their time knitting these things were silly. "What a waste of effort", I thought. Seriously, this is like eating potato chips. You finish one, and then you have to do another one.
OK, my excuse is that I am doing this for Miss P. It's a very good excuse. But you all need to go and buy a cheapie knock off and knit for it. Maybe it's the small size, but even the Hubbo is fascinated with it. Last night I finished this little cutie, and mentioned that I was going to do a top-down dress next. Says he: "You'll need to find a pattern." Says I: "What, are you nuts? I could do a pattern with my eyes closed and my needles in my feet!" And I can and will.
Here she is: Miss MillieLillie in her new garment. Notice that I shaped the back of the collar with short rows to have it lay nicely. As if Miss P will notice, but I did.
And while I'm posting pics, Jo of Celtic Memory brought up the topic of Eriskay Ganseys, and asked me if I had a pic or two. Yes indeed, I do. Back in the '90s or maybe even the '80s I knit a bunch of these. The kids own a couple I think. And here's what's left of mine. They've been worn to death, and it's starting to show. Plus the pink one was knit when people were wearing wide sweaters, so it's rather full at the bottom, but I love it.
Here's the pink one:
And here's the gray one. Notice the underarm gusset and the shoulder strap knit in the "corn" stitch. I was doing this rather seriously. the little bloop in the center is just a spot where I didn't smooth out the sweater.
I didn't use the real gansey yarn for these because I don't like knitting with it.
And now, thanks to Jo, I'm getting that gansey urge again.
OK, my excuse is that I am doing this for Miss P. It's a very good excuse. But you all need to go and buy a cheapie knock off and knit for it. Maybe it's the small size, but even the Hubbo is fascinated with it. Last night I finished this little cutie, and mentioned that I was going to do a top-down dress next. Says he: "You'll need to find a pattern." Says I: "What, are you nuts? I could do a pattern with my eyes closed and my needles in my feet!" And I can and will.
Here she is: Miss MillieLillie in her new garment. Notice that I shaped the back of the collar with short rows to have it lay nicely. As if Miss P will notice, but I did.
And while I'm posting pics, Jo of Celtic Memory brought up the topic of Eriskay Ganseys, and asked me if I had a pic or two. Yes indeed, I do. Back in the '90s or maybe even the '80s I knit a bunch of these. The kids own a couple I think. And here's what's left of mine. They've been worn to death, and it's starting to show. Plus the pink one was knit when people were wearing wide sweaters, so it's rather full at the bottom, but I love it.
Here's the pink one:
And here's the gray one. Notice the underarm gusset and the shoulder strap knit in the "corn" stitch. I was doing this rather seriously. the little bloop in the center is just a spot where I didn't smooth out the sweater.
I didn't use the real gansey yarn for these because I don't like knitting with it.
And now, thanks to Jo, I'm getting that gansey urge again.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Yarnarian Has One More Rant! (well I warned your, didn't I?)
OK, not really a rant. More of a ridiculous blather.
Warning: This has no religious content whatsoever! We're talking foolishness here.
So here's the deal about Christmas from my Jewish standpoint! I love Christmas, especially since I get to enjoy it all, and not have any of the work.
But how come you Christians get all the pretty stuff at this holiday? You get lights, trees, candles in windows, wreaths, carols. If it's beautiful, you have it. We Jews get this little menorah, a bunch of candles, that idiot game of dreidel. For the non-cognoscenti, a dreidel is a top and you spin it and get pennies or M&Ms or other junk. This is one very dopey game, and no matter what the rabbi says, it is dumb, dumb, dumb. Where did we go wrong? We have wonderful holidays, and crappy songs.
Yup, here I go on Christmas carols. I love them; I adore them; I'm already singing Adeste Fidelis, in Latin no less. When I was in elementary school, there was no such thing as everyone sharing his or her religious experiences. We were not PC in those ancient days of the '50s. So that meant that from Thanksgiving on, every kid in this little elementary school made Christmas decorations, read Christmas stories, and caroled in the halls. And here I am, this little Jewish kid, and I'm doing all this stuff for a holiday that I don't celebrate. And not just me. About a quarter of the kids in my class were Jewish, all children of people lucky enough to be in this country during the Holocaust. And all the parents born on the other side, I might add.
So I happily made stained glass windows and sang Christmas carols. OK, time goes by and now I'm in high school and we're still caroling in the halls. In Latin of course and French and German and Spanish. Not one little "Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel" do we sing. And to tell the truth, that is one silly song. So I didn't miss singing it. And who in holy hell knew how to sing Maoz Tsur (Hebrew, boys and girls. Rock of Ages) in Hebrew except for the Jewish kids and we were outnumbered.
Now, you're wondering where this blather is going. Well, at some point, I started to feel guilty singing songs of another faith. Why I should feel guilty is beyond me, but I do.
Here's the deal: I don't want the decorating and presents trappings. They're yours. You should live and be well and enjoy them and kvetch every year about keeping the candles in the windows lit, and have the annual debate over fresh vs. fake trees, etc. Me, I'll admire everything about the holiday, and revel in the fact that I don't have to do the work. But I want Jewish carols!
We Jews know how to compose music. Mendlessohn, the Strauss family converted, Irving Berlin, Mahler, Gershwin, Lenny Bernstein, etc. So why can't we come up with Jewish carols? We could sing them for Passover! Now that would be really neat.
And now I'm officially done with my annual rant. Whew, you say. Relief. She's finally off her toot. Don't worry, I have a few good Passover ones ready to go, but that's not until April, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief now that I'm finally done.
KV - Yeah, it sufficeth (try saying that and/or writing it 10 times!) What will you do without my rants, huh? Your life will be lonely and loaded with vrittis and then what will you do? There's nothing to kvetch about for the next 4 months except for the econmy and the world going downhill and the horrible murder bombers. I refuse to call them suicide bombers; they are murderers and no whitewashing of the name will do. See, another rant.
Skepweaver - I'm fond of Figgy Pudding. It makes not much sense to me, but it sort of rolls along.
Jo - You ain't lived until you've been in a synagogue where every guy is praying in his own speed and volume. True cacophony, and nothing even remotely melodious about it, but then the guys could care less; they're praying and that's that. I grew up with this, and it's awesome to see these guys with their tallit (prayer shawls, the original prayer shawls) over their heads blocking out the world around them and praying with such fervor. But, she asks in a very tiny voice, could we have just one tiny little itsy bitsy Jewish carol, where everyone sings in unison.
Sharon - Tomorrow we're going to see a truncated version of the Messiah; they leave out all the boring stuff.
Susan - "Hannukah has probably just not had the catchiest librrettist and musician focused on that." You noticed that too. giggle. The trouble is that our music is an integral part of the service, and how do you make a classic out of Adon Olam? I love Adon Olam, but it is just not a carol. Kvetch, complain, kvetch some more.
Warning: This has no religious content whatsoever! We're talking foolishness here.
So here's the deal about Christmas from my Jewish standpoint! I love Christmas, especially since I get to enjoy it all, and not have any of the work.
But how come you Christians get all the pretty stuff at this holiday? You get lights, trees, candles in windows, wreaths, carols. If it's beautiful, you have it. We Jews get this little menorah, a bunch of candles, that idiot game of dreidel. For the non-cognoscenti, a dreidel is a top and you spin it and get pennies or M&Ms or other junk. This is one very dopey game, and no matter what the rabbi says, it is dumb, dumb, dumb. Where did we go wrong? We have wonderful holidays, and crappy songs.
Yup, here I go on Christmas carols. I love them; I adore them; I'm already singing Adeste Fidelis, in Latin no less. When I was in elementary school, there was no such thing as everyone sharing his or her religious experiences. We were not PC in those ancient days of the '50s. So that meant that from Thanksgiving on, every kid in this little elementary school made Christmas decorations, read Christmas stories, and caroled in the halls. And here I am, this little Jewish kid, and I'm doing all this stuff for a holiday that I don't celebrate. And not just me. About a quarter of the kids in my class were Jewish, all children of people lucky enough to be in this country during the Holocaust. And all the parents born on the other side, I might add.
So I happily made stained glass windows and sang Christmas carols. OK, time goes by and now I'm in high school and we're still caroling in the halls. In Latin of course and French and German and Spanish. Not one little "Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel" do we sing. And to tell the truth, that is one silly song. So I didn't miss singing it. And who in holy hell knew how to sing Maoz Tsur (Hebrew, boys and girls. Rock of Ages) in Hebrew except for the Jewish kids and we were outnumbered.
Now, you're wondering where this blather is going. Well, at some point, I started to feel guilty singing songs of another faith. Why I should feel guilty is beyond me, but I do.
Here's the deal: I don't want the decorating and presents trappings. They're yours. You should live and be well and enjoy them and kvetch every year about keeping the candles in the windows lit, and have the annual debate over fresh vs. fake trees, etc. Me, I'll admire everything about the holiday, and revel in the fact that I don't have to do the work. But I want Jewish carols!
We Jews know how to compose music. Mendlessohn, the Strauss family converted, Irving Berlin, Mahler, Gershwin, Lenny Bernstein, etc. So why can't we come up with Jewish carols? We could sing them for Passover! Now that would be really neat.
And now I'm officially done with my annual rant. Whew, you say. Relief. She's finally off her toot. Don't worry, I have a few good Passover ones ready to go, but that's not until April, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief now that I'm finally done.
KV - Yeah, it sufficeth (try saying that and/or writing it 10 times!) What will you do without my rants, huh? Your life will be lonely and loaded with vrittis and then what will you do? There's nothing to kvetch about for the next 4 months except for the econmy and the world going downhill and the horrible murder bombers. I refuse to call them suicide bombers; they are murderers and no whitewashing of the name will do. See, another rant.
Skepweaver - I'm fond of Figgy Pudding. It makes not much sense to me, but it sort of rolls along.
Jo - You ain't lived until you've been in a synagogue where every guy is praying in his own speed and volume. True cacophony, and nothing even remotely melodious about it, but then the guys could care less; they're praying and that's that. I grew up with this, and it's awesome to see these guys with their tallit (prayer shawls, the original prayer shawls) over their heads blocking out the world around them and praying with such fervor. But, she asks in a very tiny voice, could we have just one tiny little itsy bitsy Jewish carol, where everyone sings in unison.
Sharon - Tomorrow we're going to see a truncated version of the Messiah; they leave out all the boring stuff.
Susan - "Hannukah has probably just not had the catchiest librrettist and musician focused on that." You noticed that too. giggle. The trouble is that our music is an integral part of the service, and how do you make a classic out of Adon Olam? I love Adon Olam, but it is just not a carol. Kvetch, complain, kvetch some more.
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Yarnarian Finishes a Sweater!
OK, a doll sweater. Hey, a sweater is a sweater, no?
I dyed up some odds and ends of Penny sock yarn and had more than enough for this little sweater. It weighs about 1.1 oz. Dyed in that pink color that Miss P will love and it fits the American Girl doll exactly. Easy to get on and off, too.
I had quite a time getting the little ruffle border to work with such a small piece of clothing. I had to rescale it way down, but I think it works well. I used 2 circs in 2.5mm, and it was really a lot of fun to do.
Replies to Saturday's rant: Looks like we're all on the same page. If you haven't read the comments, do so; they're very interesting.
On the same day as I was posting this I read something about a group of parents who were asking toy companies not to market to children. In their dreams, I'm afraid. The only way you can control your kids' access to these commercials is to really be careful what they watch. PBS, I suppose, and maybe videos? I understand why the toy companies do it; children are big business; but the pressure put on the parents is awful.
Oh, and while I'm ranting (and having a good time doing it, too), why, oh why, do little girls need to have clothing marketed to them? Do my granddaughters need to own Hannah Montana junk? What are we teaching kids when we buy this crap? And while I'm really on a tear here, why do little girls' clothes have to look sexy? Are you telling me that a 6 year old needs to wear Hannah Montana clothing that brings out her sexiness? Like she even knows what that is all about. What happened to little girls looking like little girls? Nope, they don't have to wear frilly dresses; there's nothing wrong with jeans and cute tops, and such, but I see ads on tv where these little ones are wiggling their butts and giving off "sexy" signals. Well Moms, you're in charge here. Let your kid be little while she can.
Now that was a good curmudgeonly rant, no? For all my fooling around here, I am serious about it.
Wait until I go into my Christmas carol mode. I love, love, love carols! But I'm a committed Jew. OK, I'll save this for another time. Be afraid, be very afraid. I'm revving up. I'll give you a little hint: You Christians get the most glorious music around, and we Jews get "Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel". What is wrong with this picture? What, we Jews can't compose beautiful music? OK, I'll save this one for another time. Giggle!
Off to dye yarn. I'm kvetched out for the moment. Kvetch = complain
Christine - Thanks for the tagging, I think. ;-) I'll do it in a day or two, or maybe when i get back from Minneapolis.
I dyed up some odds and ends of Penny sock yarn and had more than enough for this little sweater. It weighs about 1.1 oz. Dyed in that pink color that Miss P will love and it fits the American Girl doll exactly. Easy to get on and off, too.
I had quite a time getting the little ruffle border to work with such a small piece of clothing. I had to rescale it way down, but I think it works well. I used 2 circs in 2.5mm, and it was really a lot of fun to do.
Replies to Saturday's rant: Looks like we're all on the same page. If you haven't read the comments, do so; they're very interesting.
On the same day as I was posting this I read something about a group of parents who were asking toy companies not to market to children. In their dreams, I'm afraid. The only way you can control your kids' access to these commercials is to really be careful what they watch. PBS, I suppose, and maybe videos? I understand why the toy companies do it; children are big business; but the pressure put on the parents is awful.
Oh, and while I'm ranting (and having a good time doing it, too), why, oh why, do little girls need to have clothing marketed to them? Do my granddaughters need to own Hannah Montana junk? What are we teaching kids when we buy this crap? And while I'm really on a tear here, why do little girls' clothes have to look sexy? Are you telling me that a 6 year old needs to wear Hannah Montana clothing that brings out her sexiness? Like she even knows what that is all about. What happened to little girls looking like little girls? Nope, they don't have to wear frilly dresses; there's nothing wrong with jeans and cute tops, and such, but I see ads on tv where these little ones are wiggling their butts and giving off "sexy" signals. Well Moms, you're in charge here. Let your kid be little while she can.
Now that was a good curmudgeonly rant, no? For all my fooling around here, I am serious about it.
Wait until I go into my Christmas carol mode. I love, love, love carols! But I'm a committed Jew. OK, I'll save this for another time. Be afraid, be very afraid. I'm revving up. I'll give you a little hint: You Christians get the most glorious music around, and we Jews get "Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel". What is wrong with this picture? What, we Jews can't compose beautiful music? OK, I'll save this one for another time. Giggle!
Off to dye yarn. I'm kvetched out for the moment. Kvetch = complain
Christine - Thanks for the tagging, I think. ;-) I'll do it in a day or two, or maybe when i get back from Minneapolis.
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