Armed with Pointy Sticks

Time to Decide What's Next

Ladies and gentlemen, you now have your ErickaJo back.

The photography sweater is done.  It will be taken to knitting tonight and boxed up neatly to be delivered tomorrow.  Pictures, along with a lengthy history (thinking of sending this sweater story into Brenda Dayne, just in case she runs out of her own sweaters for "today's sweater") are forthcoming.

64 cables.  I think the next time I see a garment that has cables for anything besides a classy accent, I'll pass.  But it was a good knit (not so good to finish up, but that has deeper roots).  I'm proud to see it finished, I'm glad to see it done.

So, I'm in an interesting, thought provoking, position.  Time for a new project, or time to finish an old one, time to transition, and... a new year.  I, for one, have been having many thoughts about the new year and transitions.

Some of you know, and some of you don't, and a few of you don't care, but I read tarot.  My favorite card (and the one that I insist on seeing before I purchase a new deck) is the Death card.  Death, as a member of the higher arcana, is sorely misinterpreted.  Death is the clearing of the old, the cutting off of the encumbering, and the sloughing off of the unwanted and unneeded.  It is time to free yourself and move on.  Everyone loves new beginnings, but without death, these do not exist.  The act of transitioning is moving on to one thing, but only after you've let go of the old.  Death leads to rebirth.

I don't often wax poetic about the new year, I haven't in the past.  Resolutions are easily broken, because when you say you want to lose 5 pounds, what you should really be aiming for is a lifestyle change, but I digress.

What lies ahead this year?

Well, in knitting, I promise to myself that I will knit myself 5 pairs of socks that I will keep and not give away.  I will knit myself a sweater.  After October I will begin Chris's sweater. 

I do believe I'll play along with Lolly in her Project Spectrum, 07 (this link will take you to last year's kick off post, the new one is not yet up).  This may not always be done in yarn, I may just post pictorials that represent the month's color, but we'll see.

I thought about Wendy's Knit From Your Stash 07.  Then I struck it.  I've got too many great events coming up to put myself on that strict of a yarn diet.  I will knit from my stash, and I won't buy anything that I don't have plans for.  Unless it's in a bulk bag and cheap and I love it lots. 

Also in 07, as you may have seen, we'll be moving to our own domain.  I think we'll set up a blog for Chris, or he can be a side bar, if he wishes.  There's nothing quite like getting comments on a post that you didn't write or didn't know was even on your blog!

I'm going to marry that man who,every single day, exhibits thoughtful and wonderful behavior (like registering a domain for his girl) .

I think, I think, we may buy a home.  The next few months are the perfect time to do it, and we're looking at a few places close by.

As for the next project... I've got my sister's sweater (the Cablewise Cashmere) to finish, and my aunt's next pair of breast cancer socks to knit (this is a bit of a standing order, now.  I plan on making each pair more wonderful than the last) and I think those are the next two I'd like to finish.  I may finally cast on Rogue for myself.

Well, let me gather stuff for the next project.  I think it'll be the socks.  I am finally going to knit with some of the Sereknitty yarn that I've been hoarding!  Muahhahaha!

Til next time (which will be much sooner than last,  I promise)

Coming soon...

Hey all, Chris again.

Just wanted to let you all know about something coming up really quickly with this blog. Really quickly is a technical relative term for "when I get around to it", by the way.

If you were to surf over to ArmedWithPointySticks.com, you will see a parked page courtesy of GoDaddy. What does this all mean?

It means that as an early Christmas gift, I bought Ericka a domain for her blog. Now we've just got to find a host (January) and put up an official blog.

...or maybe I could have it redirect here for now...Let me look into that, hold on a sec.

Looks like that's not a possibility, yet. Guess we'll need hosting first to do a redirect while the new site is being built.

Ah! I've been TAGGED!

Hello all, Chris here again. Thanks to Heather, I have been called out to answer six weird things about me.

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. To me, a good day off consists of a continuous string of geek movies. Today alone started with the second half of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (extended edition), followed by Howl's Moving Castle, Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and now The Princess Bride (Anybody want a peanut?).
2. I drive a diesel VW Golf, and would be absolutely geeked to make my own biodiesel. The only downside to the whole venture is the monthly rounds to local restaurants for waste vegetable oil. And the fact that my car would smell like french fries as I drive around.
3. I have a (small) Tau army for Warhammer 40k, which still needs to have their painting finished. I think all thats left is one vehicle and the 20 or so troops (I hate painting troops, same paint scheme, over and over and over and over and over ad nausem). These figures have been sitting around for the last five years waiting to be finished. And I still have not played a single game. Maybe a New Year's resolution is in order? Yeah, and I'll loose 40 pounds and bulk up my arms while I'm at it.
4. A good afternoon, to me, could also be had with a 35lb recurve bow and a target. Or at a shooting range. Bulking of the arms could possibly lead to upwards of a 70lb bow *squee*.
5. I will always have more video games around, and never enough time to finish them. Longest game currently on the shelf that has yet to be finished? Final Fantasy III. Other games on the list: Xenogears, Xenosaga I, Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 9, Final Fantasy 10, Kingdom Hearts 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
6. Knitting allows me to express my creativity. When we have a place with a detached garage or barn, it shall be filled with a full wood and metal shop. Lathes, grinders, and welders abound! In that vein, Heather and I happen to share a common weird passion. We both have a love for the art of Blacksmithing.
7. I sometimes wish that horses could be used as an acceptable form of transportation. If that were the case, it could take half a day just to get down to Amherst for work, but then again, I probably wouldn't be working in Amherst if I could ride a horse to work.

I gave you guys a seventh, just for good measure. Now who do I tag? No one, because this has already gone around the list of bloggers that I read :(

In knitting news, I'm up to 17 inches of the belt for our wedding photo sweater. Only need another 23 more inches, and my last count put me at about 4 or 5 inches per hour.

Concillatory Blog

Drive by posting, as it were.

I have a hard time sitting down at my computer without doing homework.  I have knitting to do, and I'm sure no one here can blame me for that.

The sweater is coming fine, near done, pictures will be forthcoming.  You know who else will be glad to see it done?  The other five sweaters-to-be that live in this house with me.

So much to have posted about, and it all kind of slipped by.

I did my civic duty by helping a warehouse lessen it's load before moving south.  I made off with 20 skeins of Rowan 4 ply in a lovely linseed color way, and 20 skeins of Regia sock yarn.  There is something incredibly empowering about lugging around 40 skeins of yarn and laying claim to it.  I also added some titles to my library, and I got a sweater.  It's a lovely green Rowan sample.  It's got a Rowan tag in the back, and everything.  It looks great on me, and I love it lots.

I gave in to the wiles of Melissa from knitting and gave her my resume to pass on to her boss.  I should be starting soon, provided something horrible doesn't turn up in my back ground check.  What happens underway stays underway (Vegas stole that gem from the Navy)

Went to the knitting Holiday party at Gina's.  Had a great time, got great yarn.  Ate great food.  Yeah.  Good.

My brain is obviously starting to wind down.  There hasn't been a whole lot of sleep for me lately.  I get to bed and I contemplate the state of my ceiling, there in the dark.  We're thinking about buying a house, a little one.  New Hampshire has a pretty great program for first time home owners, and I found that the stipulations of the VA home loan weren't as tight as I thought.  We'll be paying for our dwelling for the rest of our lives, I think I'm ready to have it be an investment instead of wasted rent so that Brady Sullivan can come in and tell me they're turning the place into condos, and would I please move out, because they're ready to sell my home.

Ok, anyway, to wrap up neatly, I'll answer to my tag (hss Jackie!) and tell you 6 weird things about me that you didn't know.  Or maybe you did.  Aren't you lucky??

1.  I love vinegar.  Pickles, olives, artichoke hearts, cole slaw, tartar sauce, cucumber drenched in vinegar.  I love it.  Wouldn't drink it, although I have been known to drink pickle brine.

2. Whenever I get a burger at a fast food joint, or a sub, I have to dissect the sandwich and eat the pickles first.  I like the pickles to get their flavor on the sandwich, but I can't eat them on the sandwich, well, because ever since I was little, I've taken them out.  My earliest memory of this is in the back seat of the Camry, out with my mom, and I couldn't have been 5, because there was no little sister yet.  Really, watch me some time.

3.  When I break eggs I put the shell back in the carton.  I do this because my mom did this, and she did this because Gram did this.  Gram has no idea why she does this.  It never occurred to me that this was anything but ordinary until Chris asked me what the hell I was doing.

4.  It drives me up the wall to have two different open bottles of shampoo or conditioner in the tub.  We will use this first one until it is empty and then replace it with the new one, but not until the first one has been used to its fullest extent.  A new bottle can be in the tub, "on deck" as it were, but it will not be used until the first is gone.  I hate, hate, hate! to have several open bottles of shampoo out.  Also, I like to have my bottle of shampoo and my bottle of conditioner to run out at the same time.  I don't like finishing the shampoo and then having left over conditioner, or vice versa.  Because then I have to use the first shampoo with the new conditioner and balance will never be restored, because you break into the second conditioner, but the second shampoo is already half gone!  And no, I can't use the same shampoo/conditioner in a row.  Last week we had Dove, now we have VO5.  That doesn't go in any particular rotation, but I can't use the same kind twice in a row. 

This may have a deeper root than I was aware of.  It really didn't seem that insane before I typed it out.

5. I can't throw shit away.  I have a train pass from late November, 99 for the train that goes from Great Lakes to Chicago.  I used this on my first liberty weekend after boot camp.  This is secretly why I got into scrap booking.  I can justify little things like this. 

6. I still sleep with a teddy bear... when Chris lets me get away with it, or when he's being a big meany.  Butch is the ugliest bear on the face of this earth, but I love him still. 

Ok, I'm supposed to tag, but everyone and their mom has beaten me to it.  Chris got tagged, and he doesn't even have a blog!  Well, he does, I told him he can jump on this one and post anytime.  I might upgrade so I can just keep multiple authors. 

So, if you'd like to do this, please do.  And a comment here would be much appreciated, as I don't want to risk missing it. 

It'd be interesting if Ms. Stitchy would do this, as I'd love to see what about herself she considers weird ;)  Beat the shampoo thing.

A Winner, a Winner!

All right.  This took me long enough didn't it?

I took all of the names (and some phone numbers that didn't have a name attatched to them) of all the people who either texted or called me over Thanksgiving weekend.  I figured if I drew a number, I could call it.  Flawless logic, right?  I think so.  But no need.

The winner of the Lorna's Laces (or the Opal, but I'm thinking, knowing her, that she'll want the LL) is Sarah!

I'll bring the yarn on Wednesday :) 

Thank you, again, to everyone!

New Gloves!

Chris here again, taking over Ericka's blog to talk about something near and dear to my heart.

Of course I'm talking about a new FO! While Gina may have her "FO Fridays" (and Ericka may have a similar, yet opposite, "FO Friday"), my knitting habits tend to lend better to a "I just finished this"-day. The gloves that I have been working for the last three months are FINISHED!

I even have evidence!

As you can see, I have taken some liberties, and the second does not match the first. I decided to do away with one of the stripes in the body in favor of a more "punk rock" green middle fingers. Also, there is a completely different cable pattern for the second glove. If there was a gun to my head to do a third, here's the changes I would make:

1. use the cable from Glove 1, instead of the "flames that really look like tree roots" cable used for Glove 2
2. color changes every two rows in the ribbing, no where else (except for maybe an every-other finger look... who knows, design choices abound!)
3. CO 2 or 3 over the thumb gap
4. CO 4 instead of 3 for each finger gap

I think I really do need write this pattern down, because when people ask "how are you doing that" I feel like some of the contributors to the Foxes & Geese collection when I say "I just know...".

So, with that being done, I'm now "in between" projects as it were. I promised Ericka I would have the sweater for Kadin done for Christmas, and I saw the pattern kicking around recently. I just need to find more time to knit in December than I did in September, October, and November.

I guess I can leave this post with a "basic" recipe for the gloves, which will be completely unsupported, because it was unsupported for me :)

CO enough to wrap the intended wrist, is multiples of 4. Work in 2x2 rib for as long as you want the wrist, then switch to stockinette for three rows. Mark the beginning of the thumb gusset based on the left or right hand with two purl stitches side by side. Continue working body of the glove, while inserting any desired pattern for the back of the hand, and doing a Make 1 increase after the first purl stitch of the gusset on every other round. Place the gusset stitches on a waste yarn when there are 16 stitches between the purls (total of 18). Continue working the hand until its up to the base of the pointer, middle, and ring fingers. Divide the front and back stitches evenly across the four fingers, and place the stitches for the pointer, middle, and ring fingers on waste yarn. Work the pinky in the round, and Make 4 prior to joining.

Continue working pinky until the front and back cover the entire pinky finger when test fitted. Decrease for the tip of the finger by begging each side of the finger with K1, K2TOG ... SSK, K1 until 3 or 4 stitches are left (honestly, your working with between 10 and 20 stitches, so as long as you are decreasing "evenly", it'll look good). Break yarn and thread through remaining stitches to finish the tip.

Pick up front and back stitches for the ring finger, along with 4 (or so) stitches from the pinky, and Make 4 across the gap prior to joining. Knit and finish like the pinky.

The middle finger is knit as the ring, but slightly longer (again, test fit the fingers, and make sure that they are fully covered prior to decreasing).

Pick up the front and back stitches for the pointer, and 4 (or so) from the middle finger. Knit and finish like the pinky.

The thumb is worked similar to the pointer, wherein the stitches are taken from the waste yarn, and 4 or so stitches are picked up from the gap. Knit and finish like the pinky.

Weave in the ends, and then prepare to rock.

I now leave you with too much metal for one hand: