And the Winner Is . . . Kiri By A Nose

September 14, 2005 By Carole

Thank you everyone for voting and leaving comments on my Birch/Kiri dilemma. The exit polls have been most informative. Howevah, did you check the most recent results? We have a tie. A freakin’ tie.

Nevertheless, I have made a decision. I am casting on for Kiri based on the sage advice of the talented lace knitters I know. For those of you nervous that I would run out of yarn, I’ve got 2 skeins of Karabella Lace Mohair at 540 yards each. I should be all set with the yarn. Now I’m just waiting for my needles and then I’m good to go. I can do this by October 15th, right?

And, in case you think I’ve been slacking while I waited for the voting to be finished, I’ve been making mad progress on the Eyelet Cardigan. The sleeves are done and the body is about 1/3 done. I’d really love to finish this for our trip to Vermont at the end of next week. What a shame that I have to work for a living.

Can you guess what happens to me in one week? They look as horrified as I feel.

To Birch? Or To Kiri? That is the Question!

September 13, 2005 By Carole

Okay, so, at Norma’s ~~insistence~~ suggestion, I headed over to LBDtogo.com and bought myself The Classic. I’ve got this wedding to go to on October 15th and I need something to wear and this should be perfect. Well, it will be perfect if it fits. But I’ll worry about that later.

So this wedding? It’s in Portland, Maine. It will be chilly in Maine come October. This means I’ll be needing a wrap of some sort. Or a knitted shawl, perhaps? Hunh. I just happen to have 2 skeins of lovely black lace mohair that I bought from Knit Pixie a few months ago. That’s enough to make Birch. Or Kiri. Or Birch. Or, maybe Kiri. Do you see my problem? I can’t decide which one to make. So, while I’m waiting for the right needles to arrive from The Knitting Zone, let’s talk about it and decide.

First, there’s Birch. The Birch pattern is in Rowan #34, which I have. It’s lovely and has been very popular among the knitblogging community. But, you have to cast on 299 stitches to get started. That’s a lot of freaking stitches, dude. Of course, once you get all those stitches on, you’re continuously decreasing, so the rows should go faster. And, it’s lovely. Have you seen Stephanie’s? Just lovely. Also, the pattern isn’t charted, which isn’t a big deal, but isn’t ideal. Did I mention that it’s lovely?

Okay, then there’s Kiri. Kiri photos and the free pattern are available from All Tangled Up and you can see awesome photos here. Sigh. Isn’t it pretty? You start with a provisional cast on (blech) and then you increase with each row. Basically, the opposite approach from Birch. Also, Kiri has a line down the center from the yarn overs, which Birch doesn’t have. I honestly can’t decide if I like that vertical line of yarn overs or not. However, the pattern is charted and charts are good. Oh, and it’s quite pretty.

Can you feel my pain? Oy, the dilemma!

Shall we bring this to a vote?

Please, provide your wisdom and guidance, my friends! Besides voting, I’d also love to know why you voted the way you did and, if you’ve got experience with either one, please share. This means comments, people! Let’s hear from the masses. (pretty please?)

Random Thoughts from the Weekend

September 12, 2005 By Carole

1. Driving to work with no top and no doors on the Jeep doesn’t do great things for my hair. But it sure is fun.
2. My friend Brian makes awesome chocolate martinis. I shouldn’t have more than 2, though. I especially shouldn’t have more than 2 when my friend Amy, who happens to be Brian’s wife, and I are trying to plan the menu for my 40th birthday extravaganza.
3. I learned to do the Cable Cast On when I was knitting the baby kimono for Ambrynn. I like this cast on. A lot.
4. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Mary, I was able to make this delicious tomato-basil-mozzarella salad as the first course of our dinner on Friday night. Mary supplied the fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, nasturtiums and calendula. I bought the cheese and threw it all together.

5. Dale’s Boy Scout troop resumes their Monday night meetings starting tonight. This signals the return of Monday nights as uninterrupted knitting time. Waa Hoo.
6. Margene says the first sign of fall is having to put on the wool hand knit socks. Well, I broke down yesterday morning and put them on because it was cold in my house. Today, however, we’re supposed to hit 90 or more. Welcome to New England, where we tell you, if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it’ll change.
7. George Bush has announced that’s he going to head up an investigation into the problems with the response to Hurricane Katrina. As one late night comic pointed out, isn’t this a bit like OJ vowing to find the real killer?
8. This was standing outside my office this morning when I got to work. I guess I really do work in the sticks.

9. I really love all the comments you guys have been leaving. Please keep it up, as I am, apparently, a Comment Ho.
10. Some one of these days I’ll talk about knitting again.

September 9, 2005 By Carole

So I was reading the archives on Snow’s blog and I stole an idea for a post. The suggestion was made to set your iPod to “shuffle all music” and then report back on the first twenty songs that play. Here’s my list. It speaks volumes.

1. For Those About to Rock — AC/DC
2. You Don’t Seem to Miss Me — Patty Loveless
3. Popular — Original Cast Recording from Wicked
4. Apron Strings — Everything But The Girl
5. Desperado — The Eagles
6. Pulling Mussels — Squeeze
7. Pride and Joy — Stevie Ray Vaughn
8. A Girl Like You — Hal Ketchum
9. Crazy Love, Vol. II — Paul Simon
10. Moon River — Andy Williams
11. Friends in Low Places — Garth Brooks
12. This Kiss — Faith Hill
13. Mr. Bojangles — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
14. Beach Baby — First Class
15. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere — Moody Blues
16. General Lee’s Solitude — Gettysburg Soundtrack
17. Who’s Your Daddy — Toby Keith
18. Suite Judy Blue Eyes — Crosby, Stills & Nash
19. TWA Recruiting Sergeants — Schooner Fare
20. Roll Me Away — Bob Seeger

Most of it, I’m not even embarrassed about. (well, I’m also thankful that nothing too goofy showed up) But honestly, I listen to all kinds of music and I think the list reflects that. I could tell you stories about most of those songs and why they’re even on the iPod in the first place. I will tell you that #10 is the song that Dale and I danced to at our wedding.

While we’re thinking about iPods, I have an odd story about mine. Many iPod owners insist that their iPod knows them – it plays just the song they need to hear as if it knows their mood – the device is somehow intuitive. Mostly, I think that’s a lot of bunk. I mean, I’ve got about 1500 songs on my iPod (yeah, I can fit another 8,500 on there but I’m not sure there’s that many songs I actually like) and of course they are my most favorite songs. So, even on shuffle the iPod is most likely going to hit on something I really want to hear. Right?

Well, maybe. Let me tell you about the trip to Gettysburg that Dale and I took last November for Remembrance Day. My iPod was about 2 months old at the time and I had loaded up most of my favorites and some of Dale’s, too, just because I’m that kind of wife. Now, Gettysburg is about a 7 hour drive from our house and Dale kept waiting to hear some music from the Gettysburg movie soundtrack. It’s some of his favorite stuff in the world and he figured since we were driving to Gettysburg that’s what we should be listening to. But, I was insistent on leaving the little sucker on shuffle and just seeing what came up. The iPod didn’t play any Gettysburg soundtrack music at all for 6 hours and 45 minutes. Not a single track. Until we saw the sign that said “Entering Gettysburg” and suddenly the iPod played a track from the Gettysburg soundtrack. Dale thought I had set it up but I hadn’t. It just spontaneously played Gettysburg as we entered Gettysburg. Pretty much freaked us both out.

So, that’s my eerie iPod story. Anybody else out there with an iPod or MP3 player that wants to share their random 20 songs? Or a “my iPod knows me” story?

Mason and Dixie say, hey, knitbloggers, relax this weekend. That’s what we’ll be doing.

http://caroleknits.net/2005/09/09/937/

The Spirit of Giving

September 7, 2005 By Carole

I know that I have been bombarded with options for donating money for the hurricane victims. I’m online constantly, I’ve been watching the news, and I’m connected with the amazing and generous knitblogging community. But I got to thinking that maybe some people just haven’t been asked to donate. Maybe they want to donate but don’t know how. Or maybe they’ve already donated but wouldn’t mind donating again. So, I asked Dale what he thought about taking up a collection at his concert this past Sunday night and he agreed that it was a great idea. I thought maybe we would get $100 or $200. Imagine my surprise and delight to collect this:

That’s what $360.40 looks like. And that’s what the fans of Dale and the Duds donated for Katrina Relief.

Now, I’ve sold plenty of raffle tickets over the years and been involved with various fundraisers. But I’ve never asked people to just hand over money and I honestly wasn’t sure how they would react. I thought I might feel weird or shy but people were overwhelmingly generous and there was nothing awkward about it. Nearly everyone there gave something.

You know what I didn’t anticipate? How incredible it would make me feel to collect this money. The generosity and charity of others – when it stares you right in the face – is pretty amazing. There was the gentleman in the wheelchair, who had limited use of his hands but still managed to put his money in the bag. There were countless little children eagerly handing over dollar bills. There were families and old people and young adults all giving generously.

As I walked through the crowd I could hear parents explaining to their children what the collection was for and how it would help. I could hear conversations about what it must be like for the victims and how it must feel to lose everything. And I contemplated how lucky I am to be whole and safe. I have a home and my family and my pets while so many others have lost everything.

And while I collected those donations I was given an incredible gift for my own self. I realized that the human spirit is generous and loving and kind. People are good and when we all work together we can accomplish great things.