Uncle Leona's Day Camp

Well, one thing good came of Sunday

The weather sucks, I woke up with a migraine, the Browns lost, the Indians lost, and I'm stuck on call. One thing did go right today, however:

It turned out OK--I'm not 100% thrilled with the v-neck, but I wasn't about to rip out the front of the vest. For what it'll be worn for, it just doesn't matter.

OK, two things went right. I did manage to sell off all but two of my bears on eBay, so there is going to be abundant cash for my iPod. Woo hoooooo!!!!

Tonight, I start up on something new. Stay tuned.

Premium tea...or Leona is in too steep

The Secret Pal assisted package from Adagio Tea was waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home from work today. I took my time in opening the box.

Enough time to change clothes and use the potty.

Inside the little box were these new toys:

The teapot is just the cleverest thing ever. You put your tea in it, add hot water, and steep (the little tins tell you how hot the water and how long to steep--handy for those of us who didn't realize that tea bags sucked rocks). When time's up, you put the pot on top of a cup, and a valve magically opens to strain the tea into the cup. No muss, no fuss, and it's dishwasher safe!

God bless modern technology.

I've already plowed through two big mugs of Vanilla Roolibos (no...can't pronounce it at all) and Ceylon Sonata. My bladder has never been happier. The Vanilla Roolypooly was outstanding, and the Ceylon Sonata was wonderfully strong. This tea experience should be good fun! Thanks again, Pal!

And yes, I'm now formulating Christmas gifts as we speak...

My secret pal is quite the enabler...and I mean that in the best way possible

I received my first two goodies from my secret pal today. When I checked my email as I ate my Cheerios, I found a gift certificate for Adagio Teas. What a cool site! Of course, I promptly spent said gift certificate (and a little bit more...); by Thursday, I should have some really nifty stuff at my doorstep. Just in time for fall--woo hoo!!! More caffeine!!! I also received a nice card in the mail--thanks again, pal!

I did finish the back of the Browns Vest a little after the end of the game. We won! Who'da thunk that! The vest is going to be perfect:

OK, perfect if you happen to root for a team in orange helmets with a brown and white stripe down the center...

C'mon, c'mon...Mama needs a new iPod....

I've been looking at iPods for a few days now. It's the gadgetaholic in me...a disease, actually. I decided, after spending a chunk of change on a new printer that I really needed, that it was time to build up the PayPal account. I now proudly present my items presently for sale on eBay:

No, Kato is not included.

Those are a few of my own line of collectible mohair teddy bears. Back before the economy went in the toilet, I was selling these puppies like hotcakes at teddy bear shows and chatchkie shops around the midwest. I even got featured in a teddy bear magazine (yes, they do exist--very small readership, though). The bear market, however, has been just that for the past several years, so the bears have been in hibernation for a while. It's now time for them to do their magic. I figure if they all sell, I'll have enough coin to get me an iPod mini of my very own.

Oh, and I put up a Bernina quilting foot for bid that doesn't fit on my machine, too. Every little bit helps.

OK, blatent plug over. As for the knitting, there was a little change in plans this afternoon. As I was at my LYS trading in a couple of skeins and looking for something for my secret pal, my eye found the orange Lamb's Pride Worsted sitting near the brown. Instantly, the light bulb over my head went off (it was about 40 watts; it is the weekend, you know). Tonight, I went to work on Plan B:

And the closeup of the twisted rib:

Really looks twisted, don't it? Nevertheless, this will be a v-neck vest of my own creation (with a little software help). I figure it'll look better in the office on Fridays than my Bernie Kosar jersey.

Not that the Kosar jersey hasn't been worn in the office already...

Lucifer, track down those long johns

The Papiro Pullover is HISTORY!!! After much wrangling with the sleeves (in a different dye lot, by the by....can't tell, can you???), I finally got this bad boy sewn up.

It's about freakin' time. Thankfully, Mother Nature hasn't turned off the heat around these parts, so the sweater will get some body time in 2005.

What's next? Well, I do have half of a sleeve left to do in the Jeans Pullover, but a new project needs to be started up. Here's a clue:

Yep. You're going to have to stay tuned.

Speaking of tuning, Kato has the con:

Nope. She can't find anything on TV, either. She's waiting for "Lost" like the rest of us addicts.

Please help me....my English is suddenly not so good

Here's the instructions for the sleeve increases for the Jeans Sweater:

"For sleeve shaping, inc 1 st alt on every 4th and 6th row 5 times" (for a 10 stitch increase total)

?????

Wouldn't it just make more sense to inc stitches on either side of every 5th row 5 times???

I hate translated patterns. This one has been a joy.

Stash destruction under way

It's simply mindboggling what one desperate and dateless knitter can accomplish watching football all weekend long. Thanks to forgetting my one project at work, I dove head first into a new one. Using ONline Linie "Jeans" that I got from Elann.com for pennies and this pattern on their website, I managed to get this done while watching Ohio State and the Browns fall on their collective butts:

Here's a nice look at the bottom edge:

This may be the lightest weight project I've ever knitted...at least for the size, anyhow. I may have a pair of socks that are lighter. The ribbon is unique stuff; not terribly hard to work with, and at a size 15 needle, it knits up really quickly. Should be a nice transitioning sweater into fall. The built-in air conditioning of the pattern will be handy if we continue to have days like today (84 degrees and not a cloud in the sky).

The ribbing will also be nice as my body continues to shed the tonnage--9 pounds and counting in 4 weeks! Tofu is my friend.

When I finished up the back of the Jeans sweater, I finished up the sleeves on the Project That Will Not Die, otherwise known as the Papiro pullover. It's almost done:

One night of inspired sewing, and the thing will be completed. It's very pretty, but I'm tired of it. Might have helped if I didn't start and finish three things after I started it. It's the KADD (Knitting Attention Deficit Disorder). Perhaps I should try some Knitalin.

(insert rim shot here)

There's one more thing that did get completed recently. I couldn't leave the Oriental ribbon alone, so it got used.

Now if it only would chill off outside so I can wear the denim jacket this is to go with, things would be fine. I can wait, though. November would be fine.

Let the bloodletting...er...season begin!!

Go Browns!!!

I do so love football.

The Secret Pal Questionnaire....for whomever you are...

Here's all you ever wanted to know about me, but were afraid to ask:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? Snob seems like such a nasty term. I prefer "connoisseur." Acrylics are icky.

2. Do you spin? Crochet? I do spin. I crochet only to finish edges.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Can't tolerate cigarette smoke. Also have a huge allergy to dogs (sadly, they make me break out in hives).

4. How long have you been knitting? I learned how to knit in Camp Fire Girls when I was 8 or 9. I knit a lot into college, then took time out...about 17 or 18 years. I'm now out of control.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Nope.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Anything but patchouli; one of our pharmaceutical reps at work wears it, and it is awful. I like vanilla, cinnamon, apple, coconut....yep, love those food fragrances.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? I do have a sweet tooth, but I'm on a diet right now, so the tooth is in hibernation.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I'll try just about anything. I enjoy cooking, for what it's worth (that's do-it-yourself, right??).

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Love the music of the mid-late 70's and early 80's (brings back the angst of high school and college). I have an MP3 player.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? My favorite color is purple, as anyone who has shopped for yarn with me can attest. I look hideous in green.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Single, one spoiled rotten cat with hyperthyroidism.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To someday have a date. It's been so long.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I'm a fan of any animal fiber. Except dog.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Silk. Hate the feel.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? I don't think I'm truly obsessed with any one aspect of knitting. I am a patternaholic, though. Never can have enough.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love knitting sweaters--it's an ego rush to show them all off.

17. What are you knitting right now? I'm finishing off a summer sweater, and I have wool warming up in the bullpen for the first round of winter knitting. Winter. Ew.

18. What do you think about ponchos? Hate them. Hated them in the 60's and 70's, too. If I'm wearing a coat, I want sleeves and pockets, baby!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I do most of my knitting on circulars, but I do use straights for scarves (of which I have far too many).

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo or nickel.

21. Are you a sock knitter? Yep. Give me the Magic Loop or give me death.

22. How did you learn to knit? Camp Fire Girls--I was the only one in the troop where it stuck.

23. How old is your oldest UFO? Damn, that's an embarrassing question! Three years? Maybe more?

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I don't really have an affinity for any cartoon stuff. I am a collector of puffins, however. No, that's not a joke.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Probably Christmas--they're all pretty sweet.

26. Is there anything that you collect? Dust (ba-dum-dum! I'll be here all week. Tip your waitress.) Seriously, I collect puffins, logo golf balls, and knitting patterns.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Knitter's Magazine is the only subscription at the moment. I keep meaning to subscribe to Vogue Knitting, but I tend to forget.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? I have been eyeing Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge for a while.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? There are a number of Classic Elite patterns that I really like. It's the one company out there that consistently makes nice patterns for those of us with boobs. I've come to the conclusion that the English and Japanese don't have any clue what those are.

You asked for it, you got it. More than you wanted, huh?

Uncle Leona: Blog of Confusion

Before anyone takes this the wrong way, I have nothing but hope for the people affected by Katrina. The situation on the Gulf Coast is something I hope never to see in this neck of the woods.

But for the love of coffee, I'm getting a little tired of the media's insistance that they need to title their nightly news, news magazines, webpages, and first born in the following manner:

"Katrina: Disaster and Desolation"

"Katrina: Hope and Horror"

"Katrina: Wrath of God"

"Katrina: Curly and Moe" (OK, so I took it a little off topic, but you get the point)

I can just see the producers at ABC..."hmmm...CNN used 'Death and Dispair'.....did anyone try 'Superdome, not Superhome?' How about one with E. coli???" It's getting old. Let's all concentrate on helping out, not on winning a Pulitzer, OK??

Yep. My Pulitzer was lost in the mail, I'm certain of it.

Back to our regularly scheduled blogging. Remember this WIP?

I decided now that summer is ending, I need to finish up the last summer project before I really dig into the wool for winter. One minor problem: I finished the front and back with two skeins to spare for sleeves.

THE FREAKING THING NEEDS THREE SKEINS TO FINISH TWO SLEEVES!!

ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Sorry. Sometimes knitting makes me a little cranky. So, it was off to the LYS this afternoon to track down some Katia Papiro, which, of course, has been discontinued. Lucky for me, there were several skeins hidden back in a bin, so I'm back in business. Dye lot be damned, I'm finishing this thing!

I also found a button for the Kimono Vest:

It looks pretty cool. And no, I haven't sewn the shoulder seams yet. It was 80 degrees out today; I didn't have the desire to do wool. It'll be below zero soon enough, thank you very much.

I also found this new stuff from GGH:

It's a ribbon yarn called "Oriental." The gold you see in the photo actually comes off looking like gold leaf. I figure it'll make up into a nice skinny scarf.

Speaking of skinny, despite being REALLY bad on the diet over the weekend (my brother insisted on us splitting up a 6 pack of LaBatt's, and then there was the ice cream...), I didn't gain a pound last week. Made for a very good day.

"I feel empty"

So speaks my Dad. My father is one of the toughest men alive, yet even he has been affected by the pictures of the disaster on the Gulf Coast. It's truly hard to fathom what is happening down there; makes my bitching about the weather seem pretty darn petty. So, both Dad and I did something about it: we both donated to the Red Cross today. Margene and Susan have set up a great site to make it easy to donate to the cause; many a blogger out there (including me) also have donated prizes. It just seems the right thing to do.

Now if people would stop trying to shoot each other down there so that the rescue workers can do their job. What a nightmare.

On a more pleasant note, I'm two seams and a button away from finishing the Kimono Vest.

The button is going to have to be really funky. That could be the hardest part of the whole project! As for the pattern, it knit up fairly nicely. My only complaint is that it frequently used the next paragraph to tell you how to do the decreases it asked you to do in the previous paragraph. For those of us who don't read patterns completely before knitting, that can be a problem.

Of course, that's not the pattern's fault...

As the Browns finished up their last preseason game this evening, I did make huge headway on a sock (blind knitting is a prerequisite for any project knit during a Browns telecast).

The first inch and a half of ribbing was done during an Indians rain delay at Jacobs Field. It was time to pick it up again.

And, a diet update: I am officially 7 pounds down in the past two weeks! Woo hoo! Here's hoping Labor Day Weekend on Kelleys Island doesn't mess things up (it shouldn't--my niece and nephew tend to eat all of the junk before I can get my hands on it). I did take a little detour from the diet last night at our golf league's end-of-the-season party (a little too much beer, dessert, and Jello shots...), but a revolt from my GI tract today may have kept the damage to a minimum.

Yep. I can really be gross when I try.