The Magic Of It All

Let's tackle my knitting first. So I picked up my circular needles and went in search of an easy pattern. I thought I had found it with this coffee cup cozy. I manage to cast on the stitches, but my needles are just a bit too big. I end up stretching the yarn and not "feeling" the pattern. Additionally, I don't pull my first row stitches tightly and I end up with ladders, or extra loose yarn between the last stitch on one needle and the first stitch on the other. (I tried to find a picture of a ladder for reference for you non-knitters). I threw away my first attempt at this cozy because it was like a horrible experiment, similar to the first time the scientist in The Fly tries to transport a living thing and it comes out all backwards and inside out. (So I start thinking that maybe I should start taking pictures of all my mistakes because that's the one thing I know I can do right.) Lucky for me, there is a picture of what the finished product is supposed to look like, otherwise, I would be going around town using my deformed coffee cup cozy, fully unaware of its weirdness.

When I'm stumped, I immediately head to my favorite place. Google. I start researching knitting the round (not only because of the ladders in my knitting, but the unevenness, i.e. the stitches and the seams not lining up). That's when I read about the Magic Loop, which, up until this point, I thought was just name-brand knitting needles. The Magic Loop turns out to be a knitting technique for knitting in the round and can be used with any circular needles. Everything I read promises that this is not a complicated technique; and it turns out to be the truth. I start my second attempt at this cozy; I pull my stitches tight, my seams are even, but (isn't there always a but?) my ribbing is still uneven. I was too focused on curing my past defects that I didn't actually look at the stitches. Although the pattern says knit 1,purl 1, I was not following the mandate of knitting the knits and purling the purls. As a result, I ended up with rows of uneven stitches. The finished product is not as horrible as a monkey turned inside out, but it's far from perfect.


Uneven ribbing. And dishwasher-scratched drinking glass.

I'm not giving up on this pattern and I have started my third attempt. I'm using the Magic Loop technique and so far, so good. My ribbing is actually lined up and I believe the finished product will be very similar to the picture from the pattern.

See? The ribbing lines up.

And for something not related to knitting - I tend to shop at Publix (for the pleasure of it). The store is within walking distance and I usually make at least two walking visits per week with my greenwise shopping bags in tow. There is a WalMart Neighborhood Market in the opposite direction of Publix but close to the same walking distance for me. I walked over to WalMart this morning to get a feel for the store and see if the prices were more economical; which would need to be significant to cause me to stray from my beloved Publix. I was very impressed with the store's cleanliness and they had a great selection of all grocery and health and beauty items. The odd thing was that they had no manned cash registers; it was all self-checkout. In this economy, I'm not really sure that I feel comfortable frequenting a store that eliminated precious job opportunities for those unemployed. On the other hand, the introvert in me is thrilled that I don't have to make small talk with anyone. No matter what, I still felt I was cheating on Publix, and fully believe that they instituted their "buy one, get one free" weekly program for me. Because, in these uncertain times, you never know when you might need that extra jar of Peanut Butter or that 8-pack of wieners.

Ruts and Rectangles

I'm in the process of transferring my 401(k) from two former employers to an IRA. So much paperwork!

I started a new dishcloth, mostly because the pattern is simple but pretty. What else am I going to do with the yarn?



I finished my scarf, just in time for the Florida cold weather.



I'm through with scarves (famous last words). I've been knitting for 10 months now, but I think I need to branch out and keep challenging myself. I'm getting into a rut with all the rectangles. So I'm going to print out and prepare myself for knitting socks. There is a pretty decent (free) tutorial online, recommended by many, at Silver's Sock Class.

I Got Served!

Tuesday morning, while I'm getting ready for work, a strange man knocks on my door. He was a process server; my landlord is being sued for foreclosure.

My first response was definitely emotional. I worked myself up in a span of a few minutes and declared that I was not going to pay my rent if he wasn't going to pay his mortgage. Unfortunately for me, my lease does not include a clause that the landlord's failure to pay his mortgage is a material breach.

I've heard from so many different people; and each person tells me to do a different thing: Pay the rent; don't pay the rent; move out immediately; don't move out right away. And, I work for an attorney, so I've gotten the "legal" opinion as well. However, I have decided to do things my own way.

Therefore, I filed an answer to the summons (I was included as the "unknown tenant in possession") and I will pay March rent (due on Monday). After all, my lease is still a contract and I obligated myself to pay rent to my landlord. Stupid as it may be, I'm not going to do something ethically wrong just because it has to do with money. My plans are to eventually negotiate, or request the court to order, my release from the lease so I can move out. Even if the bank does go through the whole foreclosure process, the courts in Florida are so backed up that my lease term will naturally end before that time.

Whether or not I made the right decision will not be known until this is over. But I made a decision and I'm going to follow it through. I'll check back at the beginning of next month to see if my ethics are still intact and I haven't given in to the temptation to not pay my rent.

Equality in Knitting

I am a big proponent of fairness. Of course, holding onto this belief means I am so often disappointed or embittered. Nothing is fair; I just want it to be. Which leads me to my anger at this economy. Someone, some group, somebody is responsible for this downturn. And their greed, stupidity, or selfishness has directly affected me. I'm obviously not a employee who is a lifer. The longest job I had was immediately after I graduated from college. I worked for a law office in Lakeland for six years. Since then, I've changed jobs every three years. Of course, I have that itch to move jobs again, but circumstances dictate that I just sit still. So this is how I ended up lamenting the inequity of the recession.

I offset my troubles with my day job with my knitting. I'm still knitting novice and seek out beginner pieces, mostly patterns that are repetitious or easy to read. I finally broke down and bought some Lily's Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. There are a ton of patterns out there for this yarn, and I got a good deal at Michaels. Here's one of the dishcloths I made with it.



I've been working on a scarf (surprise! no, really?) in a lace pattern. This scarf will definitely need to be blocked because it's rolling in at the edges. The pattern repeats every four rows so I can do this practically with my eyes shut. A few mistakes here and there; but I like this because it's helped me to recognize new stitches.



I bought a lot of straight bamboo needles off of Ebay. The metal ones just don't hold the yarn well; it just slips off too easily. I also have a mishmash of circulars (only one of which is bamboo). I have one set of metal double-pointed needles. There is a sock tutorial online that many people recommend. After my scarf is done, I'm going to try it out. If I can learn socks, I might just quit my day job and become a professional sock knitter. Now that's what I call FAIR.

Friends and Flowers

Would you not agree that these are very pretty flowers? I love the purple/pink color of the daisies and whatever that mum-looking flower is (I'm really bad with identifying flowers).





The flowers are in a vase on my dining table. My night consisted of eating sushi from my favorite corner sushi place, talking to a girlfriend for an hour trying to help her upload a new profile picture to Facebook, and knitting. Not exactly an exciting night but it's enough to keep me awake and not in bed by 9 p.m.

I have to say I have really wonderful friends. Sometimes they really amaze me with what they are willing to put up with (from me). I only hope I return the favor in kind. Someone recently told me "to have a friend is to be a friend".

Happy Valentine's Day!

Before and After

As a Christmas gift, my mother went to Penney's and bought me window valances and the hardware to hang them.

I finally got around to making the apartment presentable enough for photographs, so now you can see before and after. The before is the move-in condition of the apartment and after is with all my furniture in the rooms.

The solarium, which I use as a dining area

BEFORE:


AFTER:


The family room

BEFORE:


AFTER:



I'm pleased with the window treatments; they fit the room really well. Also, I put up some pictures on the wall; the place actually looks lived in and personable. I moved my yarn into the corner by the love seat to hide it. Just before these "after" pictures, I had projects and yarn and needles everywhere. I have a shadow box I want to hang this afternoon and it will go on one of the walls in the dining area.

My mom also gave me the area rug and the lamp. In fact, I have a matching rug in the bedroom, thanks to Mom. Her hand-me-downs are usually of pretty good quality.

Now I'm off to try and fix the laundry room door. It's a bi-fold door and I pulled it off the track a few days ago.

Have a nice Saturday!

Super Sunday

Yesterday was such a pretty day. I took a walk over to the Publix shopping center and ate at the sushi restaurant next to the store. Sushi has easily become my favorite meal.

A close second is Vietnamese food. Unfortunately, there aren't any such restaurants in my neighborhood. The best places to go are downtown Orlando, which really aren't that far away (20 minutes or so). I dined at a downtown Vietnamese place with a friend last weekend. After lunch, we shopped at the asian supermarket, where I bought items for summer rolls. Next time I make the rolls, I'll photograph it and post it on the blog. So simple yet delicious.

We might still manage to have some cold weather this week, so I can wear my hat and scarf combination. The one problem with the hat is that my hair is so big and fluffy that the hat does not fit right on my noggin. I love knitting cables. I find them so easy and the result is something quite beautiful and it just looks like it was so complicated.



Yes, I'm knitting another scarf. This pattern is well-known on the internet but the yarn you are supposed to use is just way out of my price range. I settled on yarn lower on the cost scale, but it does not matter to me. I just wanted to see the pattern in real life. I love the way the stitching looks, and, when I'm done, I'm going to add fringe to each end. The pattern only consists of repeating the same two rows so once you have the hang of the stitches it goes quickly. However, this scarf will probably require some blocking, and I've never tried that before.



I am going over to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl. I'm not really interested in the game so we will probably just hang out and talk while the men watch the game. Please don't let me forget I have to bring paper plates.

Hope you are having a great Sunday too.

What's In It For Me?

I received an inheritance of sorts yesterday. My mom has been storing three pieces of Roseville pottery that I received from Mrs. Wightman. Who is Mrs. Wightman? She was my babysitter from the time I was in kindergarten until I reached the 7th or 8th grade.

This Roseville pottery is stamped on the bottom. The vase is stamped with "Roseville U.S.A. 180-6" and the candlesticks are stamped "Roseville U.S.A. 1157-4 1/2". A quick search of the internet reveals that this is the Magnolia collection. The pottery is ugly; the colors, the design, the overall appearance. I didn't realize that the relief was supposed to be magnolias until I googled it. I'm crossing my fingers that Antiques Roadshow hits Orlando some time soon. My bequest is only valued at about $400 so I probably will not rate appearance on the tube. Unless, of course, the Hope Diamond was stuffed inside one of the candlesticks. (And, for kicks and giggles, I checked and NADA).




I'm organizing my knitting. I have plans to finish the scarf (see below) to go along with my cable hat. I'll probably knit one more scarf in the jade yarn and then I'm going to tackle socks. I've decided that I am going to start on double-pointed needles. Let's just plan for a lot of cursing (although I am really trying to quit that bad habit).



I found a really funny birthday card at CVS this morning. I had to buy it. Of course, now I'm searching for someone to send it to. Lucky for me, my father's brother has a birthday on February 1, and he's the lucky recipient. When I find a great card, I feel like I've succeeded for the day. As if randomly walking into a drugstore and leafing through a dozen cards is work.

Curious as to the card? Remember, when you have to explain it, it's never as funny, but believe me, this card is HILARIOUS! The front of the card only has a picture of a man mooning you through a window. Inside, the card reads: "Birthdays are an ass in the pane". CLASSIC!

Any Excuse to Wear My Knitting

Last night, we hit below freezing temperatures; pretty impressive for Central Florida. This little apartment warms up very nicely so I did not feel the effects until I walked outside to my car this morning and saw SNOW!

Well, technically, not snow. More along the lines of frost. The frost was all over the front windshield and along the driver's side door. It had a cute little pattern to it.

As a native Floridian, I found myself totally unaware of what to do. My windshield wipers were not doing the trick. So I rummaged around the kitchen drawer and came up with a plastic spatula. I scraped the windows and took a picture of the snow....frost....that accumulated.



(Do you see my super-fabulous knitted scarf in the picture? I love this scarf - I'm going to miss it during our 11 months of warm weather.)

Knitting and My Sanity

I've knitted four of the easy cable hats, two in each color. I really like knitting these hats, the pattern is pretty easy. I find I can do it and watch tv or talk at the same time without losing my place. However, I was hoping to knit a scarf to go along with the hat.



The pattern I found is listed as an "easy" pattern. I started it yesterday and I've frogged my work a total of 25 times. (Frogging means to rip it out and start over). Last night I was so frustrated with my non-progress that I just gave up and went to bed. I knew that if I continued to try to get it started, only to make a stupid mistake, I would be too frustrated to sleep. The pattern does not seem that complicated but it is rather hard to do unless I'm concentrating. I picked it back up today and actually made it pretty far before I came to a spot in the pattern that stumped me. After traveling to Knitting Help website, I was realized my errors but it was too late. My work in progress had to be ripped out. This most recent incarnation of the scarf is still full of errors; I'm just too tired to take it apart for the 26th time. Oh well, this one is definitely my test scarf. I just hope that I can finish it before spring hits.



I'm excited for Tuesday's inauguration; I voted for Obama. I know the networks are going to overdo all the coverage but I plan to bring a small television to work on Tuesday so that we can watch it live. My brother, who lives in D.C., is actually going to one of the official inaugural balls, and the President and his wife are committed to making appearances at all of the official balls. I can't wait to hear from him on Wednesday about his night.

Television networks cover things so repetitiously; I find it so aggravating to watch. I hope that I can limit my intake on Tuesday so I don't spoil such an important day with my attitude. Local news coverage (of anything newsworthy) is especially nausating. There are some news reporters that I cannot stand to see on the screen. Also, those scrolling news tickers? It drives me crazy when there are grammatical or spelling mistakes. I just yell at the television to relieve my frustrations. Or I switch the channel to the Style Channel and watch a re-run of Clean House.

The New Year

I was so sick over the holidays. It started on Christmas Eve with any irritated throat and within a few days I was in full flu-mode. The rest of the week I moved from the couch to the bed and back again. Now, considering that the apartment is pretty small, there was not much else for me to go. I did a lot of tv watching and sleeping. I didn't eat for four days - my throat was so closed up. I went to work on Monday the 29th, and much to my surprise, my office closed for the remainder of the week (with pay). So I got another six days to recover, which I needed.

No, I never went to the doctor. I realize this fact does not allow me much room to complain.

Since this is the new year, my resolution is to start bringing my lunch to work with me, so I can save a bit of money and also possibly help my waistline. Since I work in a small office, this plan either requires me to be a hard-nosed bitch when it comes to my co-workers, or to encourage them to participate. I thought I had accomplished the latter. However, this last week, we ordered out four of the five days. Only one of those days did I eat the tuna pasta salad I had prepared early in the week.

Speaking of this pasta salad, I made a ton of it! Unintentionally, of course. It's really not bad but guess what I had for lunch today. And I still have one tupperware container left. I'm thinking about sticking it in the oven, mix in some peas, put some cheese and crushed potato chips on top, and calling it tuna surprise.

I want to do something wild and fun this year. I think I've earned it. I can't exactly afford to do anything but I do have a credit card with a zero balance.....