Wednesday, May 31, 2006
This morning on the bus I was stuck between a woman wearing a Feathers scarf and a woman who was CLIPPING HER FINGERNAILS. (And we're not talking just giving a quick trim to a snagged nail; she was doing a full-on manicure and - as far as I could tell - dumping the clippings on the windowsill.) The sad thing is, I really couldn't decide which was more offensive. Monday, May 29, 2006
  Except for the zipper. She's so nice and warm! The 4-stitch I-cord edging down the front was harder to start than I expected. My first attempt turned out way too tight and curly. It took me a while to realize that my beautiful chain selvedge had one stitch for every two rows; therefore I needed to do alternate plain rows of I-cord between the rows where I joined it to the picked up body stitches. Then I noticed that my instructions had me knitting the last stitch and body stitch together through the back of the loop, which looked crappy when I then knitted the resulting stitch through the front of the loop on the subsequent plain row. (Trust me; it makes perfect sense when you're doing it.) So I pulled it apart and decided to always knit that last stitch through the back. Then there was the grafting... and while mine isn't seamless, it's good enough. (Personally, I don't think it's possible to seamlessly graft a four-stitch three-dimensional tube onto a four-stitch curled stockinette edging. But whatever.) There's some noticeable bulk there, but I figure that my zipper should end right about there anyway and that might disguise it. Once I find my zip, I think she needs one more good blocking. The sleeves could probably use another inch or two, and I still think that folded hem could lay flatter. But she's finished!
Many, many thanks to Jussi for the surprise package of Eurovision winner Lordi's entire back catalog! I can't wait for my next run so I can rock out to such classics as "Hard Rock Hallelujah," "Bringing the Balls Back to Rock," "Would You Love a Monsterman?" and "The Deadite Girls Gone Wild." Sunday, May 28, 2006
Blocking's one of those things you don't really get when you start out knitting. I'd read references to it in patterns and books, but it always seemed like a weird idea to iron my knitting. I just knew it was something you were supposed to do. I tried it on my first Gryffindor scarf, mostly because I'd seamed the thing and I wanted it to lie flat without twisting. Of course, I'd also knitted it out of crappy acrylic yarn and I didn't realize that applying heat would be a bad idea. I didn't melt it, but I definitely took a lot of the body out of the yarn. It went really drapey and limp. (My sister liked it though, so no harm done.) Eventually I learned that only animal fibres should be heat-blocked, and that for the fake stuff you have to just wet it and let it dry. So from then on, I blocked sporadically when it seemed like the pieces needed it. Blocking is also great for straightening up pieces before sewing them together, but since I knit most of my garments in the round, I haven't had this problem.  But now there's Rogue... and she's been sitting in a bag for nearly a month while I got up the courage to seam. So tonight, I blocked. What a difference a steam makes! Look at these two sleeves. One flat and smooth and beautiful; one lumpy and curled and homely. (I have to just say, I am completely in love with the Naturally Harmony. This is the nicest wool I've ever knit with, and blocking just makes it even softer and nicer. I must knit more with it.) For the curious, I pinned out each sleeve in turn on my ironing board and then overlaid it with a damp tea towel. Then I used my iron to press down and steam the piece before letting it sit to dry. (I really am going to have to have the Snook help me make a blocking board soon.) And then I was so entranced by the lovely flat pieces that I just sat right down and started seaming! The Snook and I watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky while I patiently seamed the arms. I usually hate doing this; my seams always end up too rigid and bulky. But because I'd had the forethought to do a chain selvedge, it was easy as pie. Now all I have to do is set them in! Maybe I'll get to wear this beauty before winter's over...Saturday, May 27, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Holy crap! When did Google Pedometer start working in Australia? THAT RULES. The Snook and I just went for an hour's jog down through Newtown and Erskineville, and as we got home we wondered how far we'd gone. "Use that Google Pedometer," he suggested. "It doesn't work here," I said. "See?" And then it did! I mapped our whole route from tonight. That was just over 8km in an hour. Not a terribly fast pace, but we were breaking in the new Asics Kayanos we got the Snook yesterday at the Runner's Shop. I'm excited at being able to track my training distances! Later: I just mapped out my Pyrmont run and it turns out that Jonathan was right; it's nearly 6.5km! Snookums just mapped our long walk to North Sydney a few weekends ago; that was 8.6km. Yesterday's walk home from Clovelly was even longer; we meandered through Centennial Park, checked out the Farmer's Market at Fox Studios, and wended our way through the crowds at the Surry Hills Festival for a total of 9km. And here's my route to work and back. That's nearly 5km total!
Friday's Feast: What is the last thing you had to have repaired? Actually I need to have something repaired right now - my winter coat. When I bought it two years ago I had a tailor move the buttons over an inch or so (because it was a bit tight around the middle) but now that I've lost the weight it pooches out in front. So I need to have them moved back. If someone gave you $2,000 with the stipulation that you had to spend half of it on yourself and give the rest to charity, where would you spend the $1,000 and which charity would receive your remaining $1,000? I'd drop half that grand on a gym membership ASAP and then spend the rest on new clothes. (I told you: SHOPAHOLIC NOW.) As for the charity, I'd probably give it to the Cat Protection Society of New South Wales. I know there are probably more worthwhile groups in terms of immediate human needs, but the CPS has had the most impact on me in the past few years. I volunteered to work a few shifts in their Op Shop before but nowadays I don't have the heart to do more retail on my days off. It'd be nice to help them out a bit. What is one of your favorite songs from the 1980s? "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I love that song. You enter a pet store. Which section do you go to first? Do I need to answer that? Kitties! Although bunnies are cute too. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how athletic are you? Well, it depends. How low is the 1? Is 1 for the people that never exercise? Then I'd say I'm a 3 or a 4. I'm more fit than I was a year ago, but I still wouldn't say that I "love" exercise. While I'm doing it, I pretty much actively hate it. And it still hasn't become a real habit with me; I have to force myself to do it. So not too high. Five on Friday: Bookworm What was the last book you read? Do comic books count? Yesterday I DEVOURED New X-Men Vol 3: New Worlds. I've got to start pacing myself though; I'm going through these at an alarming rate. What book(s) are you reading now? I've got quite a stack on my bedside table. I'm about halfway through both Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang and Jeffery Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything. Next up are The Sandman Vol 4: Season of Mists, a re-read of Little Women, and then Geraldine Brooks's award-winning March. Do you have a library card? Do you use it? Yeah, I got a library card a few years ago, mostly so I could read the Lemony Snicket books without having to pay for them. I haven't used it in years though. The Newtown library had a woeful selection (and an ill-tempered dwarf) and I doubt the closest one to me in Chinatown is much better. Plus I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to books. I like to own them. How do you choose a new book to read? I go by other peoples' recommendations a lot. I picked up March because Mary-Helen raved about it. I started reading comic books because John sent me Joss Whedon's Fray and got me hooked. Sometimes I read books because the Snook thinks I'll like them. I don't have the time to be completely non-discriminating with my book selections these days, so knowing that someone whose opinion I respect has recommended a title saves me a lot of effort. We all had to read books in school. Which was your favorite? Your least favorite? Do you think you would feel differently about them if you read them now? I loooved To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it in one night. I actually liked Silas Marner too. Somehow I didn't enjoy Great Expectations very much, though I love certain parts of it now. (Mostly Wemmick and the Aged P.) Beowulf was okay (Hollywood Gossip! My brother-in-law Dan Carbo is working on the forthcoming animated version!) and The Canterbury Tales didn't suck. You know who does suck? Stephen Crane. I hated The Red Badge of Courage with the fire of a thousand suns. *shudder* I'm still ruined for Civil War literature to this day.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Anyway, I trudged off to my ceramics class last night in the hopes that sticking my hands in some clay might bring some Zen balance to my head. Surprisingly, for a while it did! I made a nice, big thick bowl and then my first reasonably successful straight sided pot. We also learned how to "turn" our work from the week before, which basically consists of spinning it on the wheel like a lathe and carving off bits with a wire tool. (Mine were a little too wet still so I'm saving them til next week.) Then I tried to throw one final pot, but the worries were starting to creep back in. And you know what? It's impossible to center a pot when you're not centered yourself. In the end, I scrapped it. I guess knowing when to quit brings a kind of balance too...
 The Mother's Day Classic Official Race Photographs are now online! (They've disabled direct-linking but such strategems are no match for the Snook.) They got a funny one of me running, a nice one of Snookums charging towards the finish line, and this lovely one of the two of us immediately after finishing. (I'm still not used to how I look.) Now we need to set our next challenge. I'm thinking we definitely need to do the City 2 Surf in August, which is 14km through the city out to Bondi Beach. A month after that is the Blackmores Half-Marathon, which is 21km. What do you runners think? Is four months enough time to train for a half-marathon? Or should we just make the City 2 Surf our big event for this year and do the shorter (9K) Bridge Run the month after?
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Our meeting tonight was a lot of fun, mostly because I sat next to an awesome new girl named Roberta. She lost 2kg in her first week! Her enthusiasm and excitement just took me back to my first week, and it really fired me up to see this journey right through to the end. It's also funny to see how nothing has really changed since that first week for me. I'm still talking up a storm in the meeting and happily collecting my Bravo Stars for my accomplishments. (Tonight's was for the Race. My little Star Corral is getting full!) Only two more weeks til I get the "Key" charm for my keychain and get to become a Lifetime Member. I'm nearly there...
 See the problem? It looks like my little sign didn't stop the abuse... Monday, May 15, 2006
Addendum: The Snook would like it to be known if the race had taken place two months later (i.e. after his 30th birthday), his standing within his age group would have been much better.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Yes, today was the day of our big race. It really crept up on us! The Snook and I got up at the butt-crack of dawn so we could be down in the Domain in time for the 7:30am start of the 8K run event. It was cold but the sun was shining and I felt cautiously optimistic for our performance. I haven't been able to do much training in the past few weeks - what with my Mom's visit and my hamstring injury - so I told the Snook my only goal was to finish in under an hour. We strapped on our ankle timers and, after a fair amount of warming up and stretching, we joined a thousand or so other people at the starting line. Soon we were off. To my delight, my legs felt great. People were passing us, of course, but I think we did a pretty good job of running at our own pace. (The only person to lap us was the race leader, who was clearly a running cyborg from the future.) The clock was ticking past 25:00 as we started our second and final lap. We actually made it to the 5K mark before needing a walk break. That's when I started to hurt. It wasn't my leg; it was my lungs. I was gasping for breath and I had a stitch threatening the whole time. We shuffled onwards and with every step my body felt heavier and heavier. My brain was saying "I can't do this" and I had to fight to keep from walking. I can honestly say that it was only Snookums that got me through the last two kilometers. If I'd been on my own, I'd have walked that whole way. As it was, I just tried to ignore all the pain and focus on keeping up with him for a few more feet. Soon the Finish Line was in sight and getting over that mat and STOPPING became the one and only objective in my life. And then it was over. The final times are yet to be released, but it was roughly around the 53:00 mark. Success! I was never so glad to be done with a run in my life. Here are a few pics:     The first three are us before the race. Yeah, I'm rockin' the terry wristband again. Good grief, I look skinny. Compare with me four years ago. I can't get over that. Snookums still can't get over the fact that I talked him into running a race. And he hadn't had any coffee, which is why he looks cranky in all the pictures. The last one is us after the race, which is why I look so dazed and vacant. My only thought was to force down a Powerbar before I yuked. Fun times! Hopefully the official race photographs will be up in a few days. I think they got at least a few good ones of us. The aftermath: Yeah, we're both wicked sore. The hamstring's good though. I guess the time off really helped with the injury, but at the same time I took a real hit in terms of overall fitness. I'm looking forward to getting back into shape. Only a few months til the City 2 Surf!
 Long-Sleeved Cotton PoloAt last, a Finished Object to report! I've been working on this jumper for the Snook for well over six months. It's based on a Wendy pattern (#5101) which I converted to be knit in the round. To tell you the truth, it was pretty boring through most of the body and the sleeves and only really got exciting once I finally got everything together on one needle. The raglan shaping and vee neck took a little brainpower; I ended up using an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the decreases. The collar was supposed to be knitted separately and sewn on. As if. I just picked up around the neck and knitted it on. I have to say, I'm really, really pleased with how this turned out. The yarn (Jo Sharp's Soho Summer DK Cotton) was an absolute beeyotch to knit with, but the finished garment is so soft and warm that I'm already planning one for myself. All that's left is to get some appropriate buttons for the placket neck and she's finished!
 My Deflated EgoAs I mentioned the other day, I ended up telly again Thursday night. (Yeah, I was knitting. I'm like the knitting equivalent of a talking head. Whenever a Sydney PR person needs somebody cranking away on a sweater in the background, I'm the one they call.) So this time we were promoting this weekend's Knitting for the Homeless event down in Darling Harbour. Once again I found myself at Channel 7 waiting for my annual audience with Nuala, the weather girl. Above you see a screengrab from the footage. Isn't that nice? Doesn't the Neopolitan look great on TV? Oh, what's that? You want to know where I am? I'm right there, right behind Nuala's great big freakin' head. *sigh* At least you can see a split-second of me in the video clip (4.4MB). I think I'm going to have to take a break from the fame-whoring. You go to all this effort only to be (literally) eclipsed by a giant head. Whatever. I did go to the knitting event on Saturday though. I'd planned to hit the trifecta - Inner City Knitter's Guild meeting, Homeless event, and then over to SSK - but I didn't make it back over to Newtown. There just weren't many people at the event, and I felt like I ought to stay and at least crank out whatever squares I could. I ended up having a really nice time, and it was a beautiful day to be out along the Harbour. I should do more charity knitting.  Saturday, May 13, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
 Tonight was my first ceramics class over at the Creative Arts Centre. I really didn't know what to expect. I've never seen anyone do wheel-throwing in real life, and all I knew was that it was hard to do. Now I know that it's hard, but it's not that hard. I think my biggest problem was that I was afraid to really push the clay around. Instead I kept trying to shape it with my little fingers, and therefore making my first bowl took me AGES. Then I watched the instructor sit down and knock one out in about ninety seconds flat. Damn. So I tried to get a little more fearless, and ended up with a couple useless lumps of goo (a lot of which you see spattered on my pant legs and shoes here; my upper half was just as bad). In the end I managed one decent bowl (which we're going to "turn" next week) and one semi-okay sorta-straight-sided column thing.You know what drives me up the wall though? The way stuff like this always turns me into Hermione Granger. I wanted to do the class to try something new and maybe pick up a fun hobby. No stress, right? But as soon as our wheels fired up I was immediately mentally comparing everything I did with everything everybody else did. I have to try to be the top of the class. I was irrationally jealous of one lucky guy who just seems to have an innate knack for this stuff. Why?? You'd think at nearly thirty years of age I could do a group activity where I didn't compete with everyone else. Sadly, you'd be wrong. And no matter how much I tell myself that it's okay to be mediocre, that I don't have to be good at everything, that the world will not end if my very first pot isn't perfect... I still do it. Every damn time. Tell me you guys are like this too, right? (I mean, I know Kel is...)
And on a related note, my size 14 pants have been feeling a little loose. I wasn't sure if it was due to weight loss though, or them just naturally loosening up from being worn. So I went into Esprit the other night to try on some new ones. Every size 14 I tried on was pretty roomy! I even tried on some 12s and, while I did get them zipped and buttoned, they were a little too, uh, bootylicious for my liking. But I have a feeling that 12 is where I'm eventually going to end up. That's an unexpected bonus!
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Monday, May 8, 2006
I was interviewing another American chick at the shop the other day and I asked her if she was a "dualie" (meaning dual citizen) yet. "No, not yet," she said. "I've still got another year of residence to go. What about you?" And I suddenly realized that, yeah, I'm probably eligible for Australian citizenship. So I came home and double-checked my passport. Yep, I'm a permanent resident who's been here for more than four years. I surfed on over to the Australian Citizenship website to check out the details. "Whaddaya know... I can apply online!" So I did. Fifteen minutes and one-hundred-and-twenty bucks later, Kris is going to be an Australian! Okay, so I still have to go to an interview and show them that I can speak English and I know the principles of mateship and the Australian way of life (it's all about lamb, right?), but it's pretty much a done deal. In a month or two, I'll get to attend a ceremony (ooh, please let Clover be there!) and say the magic words and get a tree or something and yadda yadda yadda, I'll be 'Strine. (Don't worry; I've already been to one so I know what to do.) You are, of course, all invited to participate in this momentous occasion. (For some reason, I think it would be really funny if the Sydney Photobloggers showed up.) And then, you guessed it, we will be throwing the mother of all winter barbies, the Web-Goddess Becomes a Right Aussie Sheila Party. Details will follow once we know the date.
Sunday, May 7, 2006
Friday, May 5, 2006
The past two months have been a real eye-opener, as far as the Australian craft industry is concerned. It all started when I got contacted by Better Homes and Gardens to help them out with a knitting pattern. Apparently there's quite a lot of sharing that goes on between the international BHG's, and the Australian branch had a French knitting pattern that they wanted to feature. The yarn was obscure though and they needed a local equivalent. They gave me the details and I worked that Superbaby was probably the best substitute. They thanked me and said that they'd list us as the stockist for the yarn. When the magazine came out, the level of interest caught us completely by surprise. I had no idea how many people would want to make something just because it was featured in a TV show's magazine. I mean, it's a nice pattern but it's not the be-all and end-all of scarves in the world. Yet still, here they came streaming in the door, clutching their issues and asking for the Superbaby. I was astounded by how many of them didn't even want to deviate from the colour used in the photograph (which was of the French scarf; it wasn't even the same yarn!). We also had a number of people ring us up to ask about the pearl beads used to embellish the scarf; I told person after person that we didn't supply the beads, that the stockist was clearly listed at the end of the article after our name. (It was an American company with no Australian presence. Go figure.) I was just left reeling by how much power this one publication has to generate sales. I mean, we never see this soft of wave for patterns from Creative Knitting or Yarn. I guess Australians just really, really love their lifestyle programs. And the saga continues! BHG next wanted me to help them out with Australian equivalents for an elaborate crocheted blanket (done all in French yarns). I worked it all out for them, but warned that it was going to be a pretty expensive item to knit. (It used wool, cottons, metallics, and mohair.) That issue went on sale two days ago. I didn't expect anywhere near the same response we'd had with the scarf; crochet isn't as popular and just from looking at it, you can tell it's going to be pricey. Yet we've had half a dozen calls about it already. Today I actually totalled up the price of all the yarns needed - $630. Isn't that nuts? (Not to mention the fact that they neglected to print the quantities needed for each yarn, so everyone who's even remotely curious about it has to ring us to get the bad news.) I just kind of find the whole experience a little disappointing. Better Homes and Gardens clearly has a huge amount of influence and power over the weekend crafters of Australia. I want to help them to use this power for good, not evil; to feature knitting and crochet patterns that will teach people to be creative, not to slavishly copy something they saw on telly. I'm just disheartened to see so many people that clearly want to make something, to craft something with their own hands, yet who lack the creativity or confidence to do something other than what everybody else in the world is doing. Thursday, May 4, 2006
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
And a special thank you goes out to the old college buddy who contacted me two weeks ago to thank me for inspiring him on his own weight loss. He's down forty pounds in the past year. How awesome is that? These are the people I think of whenever I get embarrassed about sharing this stuff online. It's incredibly gratifying and humbling to think that my experience is rippling out and helping people I don't even know about. Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Me: Which one? Angora Man 1.0 or Angora Man 2.0? Albert: How should I know?? So I went to have a look. It turns out that it was the most rare and elusive Angora Man 1.0! We haven't seen him in, like, a year and a half. He looked the same as ever: shuffling, mumbling, sporting a massive combover, and wearing the original women's white angora jumper that he'd had on when I met him. I asked him what had happened to the one we knit him. "It was too big," he mumbled, "so I sold it." And now he wants another one knitted. So that's another $700 sale... All in a day's work at Sydney's #1 Fluffy Emporium.
Monday, May 1, 2006
Awhile back I joined the Kinokuniya loyalty club, and today I found an e-mail in my Inbox with a couple 20% off coupons. That's as good an excuse as any to go book shopping! I've been wanting to read March by Geraldine Brooks ever since Mary-Helen recommended it so I picked up a copy (one of their last!) as well as a new copy of Little Women. I've read LW several times before (and I'm sure it's sitting in my Mom's basement somewhere) but I figured I ought to read it again before I tackle March. I also put in an order for Jeffrey Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything (since it's always out of stock). Then I moseyed on over to the comics section - I love the looks on the geek guys' faces - where I was excited to see that Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was finally available. I've always liked Batman, and I'm trying to hit some of the big high points in the comics canon. (Did I mention I read The Watchmen? That's a whole 'nother post, really...) So that's three new books to add to the pile on my bedside table. I'm currently about halfway through Peter Carey's The True History of the Kelly Gang, and so far I'm really enjoying it. (Ned Kelly was sorta the Australian equivalent of Jesse James.) Yay! The only thing that makes chilly winter nights bearable is a warm husband, a thick duvet, and a stack of new books...
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archives
You can search through the archives by post keyword using the form on the left, or you can browse by month using the links at the bottom.
"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.
"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm. |
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