knitting chemist

Five Weird Things

2006-10-27T16:12:00.000-06:00

About a month ago Denise tagged me with this meme:

The rules of the tag are: List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people.

Me first:

1. I sucked my thumb until I was in kindergarten, and I still have tooth marks on my thumb. I finally stopped when my mom put a band-aid on my thumb, and at the time I remember falling asleep with my thumb pressed up against my mouth. About a year ago I realized that the reason why I tend to fall asleep with my hand or the blanket pressed to my lips might hearken back to my thumb-sucking days.

2. I have inherited a spill gene. After years of watching my mom and my mom's mom spill things, my dad coined the term "The Family Spill Gene." Ben has now claimed it as his own, and everytime I spill something he chimes in with "The Family Spill Gene strikes again!"

3. I have had several strange allergic reactions in college. During my first semester, my tongue swelled up and I couldn't talk for about a day until I saw a doctor and was put on some steroids. One fall semester I had a really bad case of hives that kept returning until I moved to a different room the next semester.

4. I love running even though I'm not very good at it. In high school I ran cross-country for four years, but was always the worst or second worst runner on the team. Runners are in general a nice group of people (like knitters), so my teammates were always very encouraging.

5. Growing up, my family and I moved around quite a bit, which resulted in me attending two preschools, two elementary schools, two junior highs and two high schools.

Now on to my favorite mutt, because he's a very strange (yet lovable) dog:

1. Picasso has a thing about penis. He pees on the tires of all of the cars that park in our driveway. He also peed once on our neighbor's dog (a Bichon) and once on our neighbor's boots. One of his nicknames is Tweedle-Dee watch me pee.

2. You know how a lot of dog treats come in four flavors, pink for beef, yellow for chicken, white for rice and green for vegetables? Well Picasso won't eat the green treats.

3. When my mom bought a new doormat that is like a plastic shag carpet, Picasso started jumping over the doormat so that his paws wouldn't touch the plastic spikes. Mom worried that jumping fifty times a day wouldn't be good for his joints, so she had to move the doormat over so Picasso could walk around it.

4. In the middle of winter when everyone is freezing Picasso lies with his back up against the crack at the bottom of the front door to cool off. And remember that this is in Duluth, MN.

5. The beer bottle trick, which I've already documented.

6. Picasso was almost killed by his brother while in the car. My family used to have a Saab 9000 with the window controls on a console between the driver's and front passenger's seats. So one day we were driving home from the vet, and when Mom pulled on to our street (which is a dead-end street) she opened up the back window all the way so Picasso could stick his head out. Darkstar, meanwhile, who is always a bit more nervous about riding in a car, put his paws up on the console to get close to Mom and I. Darkstar put his paw on the controller for the window that Picasso was sticking his head out, and the window went up and strangled Picasso. He started squealing, and Mom and I freaked out. Mom stopped the car, I rolled down the window and we ran back to check on Picasso. He was fine, but it gave Mom and I a big shock. The next week Mom bought harnesses for the dogs so that they stay strapped in every time they ride in a car.

I'm tagging Elisha, Lynne, Jennie and Kim in the order of who needs to update their blog the most.

As long as I'm revealing things about myself, here's a picture of my newly organized stash:

Clockwise from the bottom left corner: red, orange and yellow yarns, green, purple and pink yarns, blue yarns, circular needles and notions, neutral colored yarns, miscellaneous fabrics and UFOs, my dpn holder, my spindle and fiber, current projects and my straight needle holder, and finally in the center is the multi-colored yarn. Ben was a bit horrified when he saw everything together, but it's not really that much. From reading other knitting blogs I know that there are many knitters out there with much larger stashes. So I don't feel so bad. If anything it needs to be bulked up a bit, don't you think? :)

There are two things I want to point out from my stash. First, this really cool needle holder:

This needle holder was my mom's when she was a girl, and it was passed down to me with her Barbies. I used it to hold Barbie things as a kid. I rediscovered it a couple of Christmases ago, and have used it to store my dpns (it's too short to hold the longer straight needles). Speaking of straight needles, I found a clever use for some aluminum needles that I never use:

It's a ~~ghetto~~ lazy kate that I constructed from a cardboard box, the needles and empty toilet paper holders. I will demonstrate how well it works in another post.

Trips Out West and the Yarn Harlot

2006-10-06T14:15:00.000-06:00

In September Ben and I had two fabulous trips to Seattle and San Francisco. Over Labor Day weekend we had a relaxing visit with Ben's grandparents in Seattle. Bad Penny did indeed make her debut, but I forgot to take a picture. So instead a lovely Seattle scenery, you get our spare closet:
After returning home we had less than a week before heading off to San Francisco so Ben could attend the American Chemical Society's National Conference. I just tagged along to be a tourist. We stayed in a great hotel in the Union Square neighborhood, and in between visiting with our University of Michigan friends, seeing a great white shark at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, meeting Ben's uncle and aunt, catching-up with an old college friend, eating dinner with my uncle and sightseeing, I wandered over to a fibery oasis in the middle of the city:
The store was amazing. For muggles and those of you who haven't been there, the store is unique because all of the yarns at Artfibers are produced exclusively for them. And if you purchase yarn there, they will help you create a pattern for the yarn using a patternmaking software. After circling through the store a couple of times I selected a few yarns from their sample skeins and "tasted" the yarn in their yarn lounge. It was so relaxing to knit after walking through the city. There were several yarns that I loved, but I decided to take this chance to design a shrug to wear with my wedding dress. Because my dress has such a unique skirt, I wanted a very simple yet elegant shrug. I love the I Do pattern, but I think it would look too busy with my dress. I selected the Hana silk yarn due to its sheen and smoothness and the store clerk helped me design a capped-sleeve, cropped shrug with an all-over tulip lace pattern and picot-edges. It was so great to say I want this, this and this, here are my measurements and bam - here's a custom pattern for you. I would highly recommend this store to anyone headed to San Francisco. I did leave the store with a headache, which isn't a good record for me.

In between our trips I saw the Yarn Harlot in SLC, and here's the undefinitive proof:

That's really me in the upper right corner. Stephanie was hilarious and it was great to be in a room again filled with knitters. I told Ben that I was seeing a knitting celebrity, and then to my embarrassment he proceeded to tell everyone in SF that I go see knitting celebrities. Just wait until he gets his first pair of socks. Then he will understand.

Mountains and Mormons:

2006-09-01T12:39:00.000-06:00

Or we aren't in the Midwest any more Toto.

Since moving to Utah I've been feeling like a fish out of water. Or a fish in a mountainous desert. This is the first time that I've ever lived out of the midwest, so I really notice the geography and climate. Salt Lake City reminds me of Denver, where my mom grew-up, yet is different. The air smells the same, dry and piney. But there is not one but two mountain ranges. It makes me feel like I'm on some foreign planet where two moons rise up at night. The two mountain ranges that Salt Lake City is sandwhiched between are both visible from our apartment. On the east are the Wasatch mountains, where Park City and other ski resorts are located:

To the west are the Oquirrh mountains, with a giant copper mine:
To give those of you who've been to SLC, we are living about this far south of downtown and the university area, where Ben's company is located:

This amazing view is less than a block from our apartment.

Of course the other thing that makes Utah unique is the dominant religion, Mormonism. While this fact hasn't directly affected me, one notices subtle differences. On tv, for example, there are a lot less alcohol commercials. And the coffeeshops advertise their fruity shakes. And I feel a little conspicuous when buying coke or coffee in the grocery store. But overall there isn't a big difference.

On the knitting front, I've finished Bad Penny and the wool-stretch socks. When I blocked Bad Penny the other day it was dry overnight, as opposed to Michigan where it takes three to four days for a sweater to dry. Bad Penny will be making her debut in Seattle this weekend, so pictures will follow soon. I'm disappointed that I totally missed the Tour de Fleece. My spindle was with the movers for the three weeks of the Tour. Oh well, there's always next year.

In Utah

2006-07-05T13:09:00.000-06:00

Ben and I safely made it to Utah after traveling from Ann Arbor for five days. We didn't travel straight for five days, but stopped along the way to visit with family and see my alma mater. I will be posting pictures from the trip soon, but for now I'm going to post about something I meant to post about earlier.

I finished up my Hourglass Sweater several months ago, but then it took me a while to find time to block it. And after blocking it I realized that the sleeves went way past my fingertips. So after a few more weeks of procrastinating, I blocked it again, this time carefully scrunching up the sleeves to the right length. Here's the result:

I love, love, love this sweater and this yarn. I'm thinking of making it again in a cotton/silk blend for a summer sweater. As you may recall this sweater was my entry in the knitting olympics. I am granting myself a silver metal for getting 2/3rds done.

A couple of weekends before we headed out of Ann Arbor, we attended a wedding for two of our grad school friends. I took advantage of the chance to dress-up and finally wear the Hyrna Hergorbar shawl that I won from the Give a Little Drive. The shawl looked perfect with the dress, so I'll have to wear them together again.

Wedding Colors? Look to Yarn Colors!

2006-06-24T12:48:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking recently about wedding colors: what color the invitations should be, what color the decorations should be, and in particular what color the bridesmaids' dresses should be? One evening as I was thinking about this I looked over at my yarn stash and realized why I'm leaning towards blues, greens and pinks. Isn't it obvious those are the colors I gravitate towards?

Clockwise from the 12 o'clock position, Trekking XXL sock, Hourglass Sweater in Noro Cash Iroha, Knit Picks socks, Grace sweater in Kid Seta, hat and mittens in a Plymouth wool yarn, my first hat in Peace fleece, sleeveless sweater in Debbie Bliss Cotton Silk Aran, second hat I made in Peace Fleece, Bad Penny in Tahki New Tweed (dark and light pink), sock in Jaeger Wool Stretch, more Tahki New Tweed for the Honeymoon Cami (it's more green than yellow in real life), Tahki Kelly in turquoise and dark blue destined for a sweater and Accordian sweater in Peace Fleece. Ahhh ... colors.

So Long Isis Wrap

2006-06-13T10:27:00.000-06:00

I finished the back of the Isis wrap that I started last summer, and blocked it. Here are pictures from before blocking:

And here are the after-blocking pictures:

And I think it looks like crap. The lace is supposed to make a nice even pattern, but mine looks nothing like it. I'm not sure what happened, but this is a good example of lace gone bad. Even though it may be considered pretty it its own right, I know that I will always look at it and go ugh. I think that my problem was that this was my first lace project, and I bit off more than I could chew. In the future I will try much simpler lace patterns before working up to something like this.

So as Isis wrap goes to the frog pile, I found a really awesome pattern on Knitty to use with the Tahki New Tweed yarn instead - Bad Penny. I am so in love with this pattern right now for the simplicity of it. I really like zoning out while knitting it and getting into that knitting/meditation trance. I have decided that I am more of a production knitter right now, because I have only a handful of knitted items to wear. And I want a fabulous, knitted wardrobe, dammit! My goal then is to finish the sweater this summer, so that I can wear it. The New Tweed is knitting up well in the simple stockinette stitch, and I enjoy it so much that I ordered more online in celery to make the Honeymoon Cami.

Picasso's Life Lesson #1

2006-06-04T15:20:00.000-06:00

In this post Picasso is going to show us how to get the last drop out of a beer bottle. First, take an almost empty bottle on to the carpet. Grab the bottom with your mouth and lift up.
This will allow the beer to run down to the mouth of the bottle. Then hold the bottle in place with your paw. Now lick the last drops of beer out. Repeat and enjoy!

Not bad for having no opposable thumbs!

Wonderful Weekends

2006-06-02T09:07:00.000-06:00

I have had a great couple of past weekends. Two weekends ago I went up to Lansing for the
book signing of Big Girl Knits at Threadbear. It was great to cheer on Jillian and meet Amy, plus I got a free t-shirt and my picture on the Big Girl Knits blog. I was amazed by the selection of yarn at Threadbear. By the end of the afternoon I had a headache from trying to decide what I wanted to purchase and what my budget could handle. I ended up with yarn for three pairs of socks. The stripy yarn on the left is trekking xxl, and I'm going to participate in Trek Along With Me, a new knit-a-long where you knit socks with trekking xxl and take pictures of the sock as you are hiking.

This past Memorial Day weekend I was home in Duluth to see my parents and my two favorite doggies. My mom and I got a lot of wedding planning done, and I even bought a dress! I will leave you with a picture of the dogs and my current sock-in-progress. Obviously the sock wasn't that interesting.

Hooked

2006-05-22T15:52:00.000-06:00

I have recently had a guest at my apartment, Kim's wheel Ellette, whom I named. (Please ignore the mess Mom!) Because Kim was moving across town, she very generously lent me her wheel for me to try out. And my apartment was on the way to her new home. I took good care of Ellette and had a lot of fun figuring out how to spin and ply. Remember all that fiber I acquired at the Spinner's Flock sale? Most of it became this:

Starting from the top, the white skein is some sort of un-dyed 100% wool. I lost the tag. This was my first attempt at plying, so it is not very even. I plan to knit this into a felted clutch. The dark blue-green skeins are Corriedale and mohair. The pink skeins are Coopworth, silk and tunis. I think these skeins are my favorite. I just love the color, and the bits of white silk are great too. The grey and blue skein is a Leicester and mohair blend. The colors match my winter parka, so the yarn is destined to become some sort of winter accessory. The big wonky blue and grey mass is from the outer part of the ball. It had felted a bit together, and it was difficult to spin.

Thank you so, so much Kim!! It was such a great opportunity to try out spinning, and I'm definitely hooked. And don't worry Ben, there's more fiber for the football season.

An Accordian Mishap

2006-05-17T10:34:00.000-06:00

Over a year ago, I started the Accordian Sweater from knitty. After finishing most of the back last spring, I set it aside to knit summer, holiday and olympic projects. I finished the back this past winter and knit the two front pieces. I then brought them to a Knit-In meeting right before the Olympics. I was confused as to how the front and back pieces fit together along with the sleeves, and after consulting the pattern Anne and Kim figured out that I had made a mistake. In the shape neck and shoulders section, it says to

Work first row putting first 6[6, 6, 6] sts on holder. Dec 1 st at neck edge on next 6[6, 9, 9] rows, then dec 1 st every other row 7[7, 9, 9] times -- 30[32, 33, 35] sts. Cont in patt until work measures 23.5[24.5, 25.5, 26.5] inches then beg shoulder shaping.

I thought that this meant to decrease on the opposite side of the six sts on the holder, not decrease right after putting the six sts on the holder. The flap from the six sts is for the zipper, not for a panel under the armpit. As can be seen below, the front panel on the left is the corrected version, and it looks much better than the uncorrected one on the right. I just wanted to point out my mistake, because I figured that if I messed up someone else did/will.
With that confusion behind me, I'm now working on the sleeves. My goal is to wear this sweater next fall.

He Tricked Me and I Said Yes

2006-05-06T15:43:00.000-06:00

So here's the second installment of our engagement story. Ben's parents generously offered a family diamond for the engagement ring, and the last time I was in Utah we picked out a setting. I am going to use my great-grandmother's wedding band as my wedding band, and we selected the engagement ring to be the same metal (platinum) and same width. At this point I told Ben that when the ring was finished, he couldn't just toss me the ring and say "Here it is Em". I wanted him to give it to me in some sort of meaningful way.

After the diamond got to the jewelry store in SLC, we weren't sure if the ring would be ready by our next visit, which happened to be in Memphis to celebrate Passover with family. Ben called the store the day before the trip, and he reported that they wouldn't know until the next day whether the ring would be done. The next day, as Ben and I were waiting at the gates of our respective flights, Ben called to say that the ring wasn't ready. The store did give him a special box for me to put the ring in eventually. At this point I was really disappointed, but didn't want to show it. I didn't want to seem to materialistic, it's just a ring. And yet it's the ring, and I really wanted to wear it and show the world that I'm engaged. Later at the hotel in Memphis, Ben said that he wanted to practice proposing to me with the special box. I said sure, and he had me turn around and close my eyes. Ben the reached around me and gave me the box. I opened the box and saw this:

I then lifted up the paper and saw this:

I then turned around and Ben was down on one knee with the ring! Needless to say I was ecstatic. I small part of me had been wondering if Ben was tricking me all along, but I didn't wnt to get my hopes up. Ben was very pleased that he had tricked me, and we had a good story for our families.

So this is what the ring looks like. The center stone is a round cut diamond, and on either side are two baguettes. I originally thought I wanted a solitaire engagement ring, but I really like the baguettes. They draw your eye to the center stone without making the ring look to busy. I find myself staring at the ring a lot. :)

More knitting and spinning content to follow ...

Changes for Emily

2006-04-26T12:33:00.000-06:00

When I was a girl, my favorite books were from the American Girls Collection. There were six books written about each girl (there were only Kirsten, Samantha and Molly when I was young), and the last book in each series was titled Changes for (insert name). The book would be about how the character's life was changing as she was getting older.

Changes for Emily sounds like a good title for my life right now, as there's a lot changing. About three months ago I decided to leave graduate school with my master's degree. I've been unhappy with my research for years, and I've come to realize that as excited as I can be about science, I don't want to do basic science research as a career. I really miss interacting with more people on a daily basis, and I feel like there's this whole other side to me that is caring and sympathetic that I don't use in lab. My goal is to find a career where I used science in a more applied manner to help people. I need a more direct connection to people to know that I'm doing some good with my life. At this point I'm considering becoming a high school chemistry teacher or a physician. There are pluses and minuses to both careers, and I want to take my time and weigh out the options before making a decision.

Because I can consider both careers pretty much anywhere in the country, I've decided to move to Salt Lake City to be near my better half, Ben. Along with this decision came our engagement, which we had been talking about but decided to bump up a year or so. We officially became engaged two months ago today (2/26) when he called my dad to ask for his blessing, and then called me and said "I'm down on one knee, will you marry me?" (He really was!) The ring came along two weeks ago tomorrow, but I'm going to save that story for another post.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting on my blog for a while. Needless to say, with so much going on it's hard to know where to begin.... More knitting and spinning content to follow.

Yarn Quiz

2006-03-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is a cute quiz, although I'm not sure what Christian Slater has to do with yarn.

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so
softhearted. You love to be comfortable and
warm from your head to your toes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by

New Fiber! New Spindle!

2006-03-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I dragged B. out to the Spinner's Flock Fleece Sale so that I could indulge in my new fiber interest. He got to meet Jillian, Carla and Kim, and he met Lynne later on at Flying Sheep. He also got to see me in my "element," and (maybe) understands a bit more about my fiber obsession. I ended-up buying five balls of rovings of wool. The wine-colored ball also has silk in it, while the others have mohair. They are all from sheep that were raised in Michigan. The next evening we told some friends at dinner that we had gone to a fiber festival, and they thought we were concerned about being regular! :) Oh non-knitters, they just don't get it.
B. is also my enabler and bought me a beautiful spindle from Kundert Spindles! The wood is cherry and walnut, and has a lot of zip when spun. When it arrived B. asked whether I had used it yet, and at that point I had to admit that I didn't know how to start! At my first lesson the instructor started me off. So at the next Spinner's Flock meeting I will come prepared to learn how to get the fiber attached to the starter yarn. I have until football season to learn how to spin, because buying a spindle for me was an investment into B.'s football watching time as Jillian said. We have spent many a Sunday afternoon with him watching the game and me knitting. It reminds me of how my great-grandma would knit while my great-grandpa would fish.

Knitting Olympics: Final Update

2006-03-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, at the end of the Olympics I finished the body, one sleeve, and began the second:

I stopped keeping track of how much time I spent knitting, but I estimate that since my last update I have spent twenty-one hours knitting the sweater. This brings the total amount of time to thirty-eight hours. All I have left to complete is the rest of the second sleeve, the yoke and the finishing. And so I ask you this, do you think I'm 2/3 finished with this sweater? Because if I am then I will qualify for a silver metal. I'm defintely 1/2 done, but I'm not sure about 2/3. Either way, I have loved knitting this sweater and can't wait until I can wear it.

Can anyone explain to me why my sidebar is not aligned with the main section? And how to fix it?

I've Been Tagged

2006-02-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged for this meme by Kim, so here it goes:

4 Jobs I've had in my life:
Waitress
Assistant Archivist
Chemistry tutor
Chemistry researcher

4 Movies I can watch over and over:
4 Weddings and a Funeral
When Harry Met Sally
BBC 's Pride and Prejudice
The Last of the Mohicans

4 TV Shows I love to watch:
Grey's Anatomy
Sex and the City
What Not to Wear
While You Were Out

4 Places I have lived:
Springfield, IL
Iowa City, IA
Traverse City, MI
Duluth MN / Superior WI

4 Places I have been on holiday:
Denver, CO
Hendersonville, NC
Muenchen, Germany
Seattle, WA

4 of my favorite dishes:
Anything with Sweet Potatoes
Anything with Goat Cheese
Anything with Chocolate
My mom's almond coffeecake

4 Websites I visit daily:
Blogs on my side bar
MSN
Web Sudoku
Shabot6000 (this one is more weekly)

4 Places I would rather be right now:
Salt Lake City, UT
Duluth, MN
Chicago, IL
Salt Lake City, UT

4 Bloggers I am tagging:
Jennie
Denise
Naomi
Picasso Moon (b/c I'm a dork and can't think of anyone else with a blog who hasn't been tagged)

This makes me wonder what my dog's responses would be to this meme ...

4 Jobs I've had in my life:
Greeter
Pillow/ Cuddler
Beer Bottle Engineer
Deer Chaser

4 Movies I can watch over and over:
I don't watch movies. I sit and watch the humans as they watch movies

4 TV Shows I love to watch:
Ditto

4 Places I have lived:
Superior, WI

4 Places I have been on holiday:
Superior, WI (kennel time)
Duluth, MN (kennel time)
Gooseberry Falls, MN (hike)
Cable, WI (hike)

4 of my favorite dishes:
Cottage Cheese and Rice
Bacon
Salmon
Anything that falls to the floor

4 Websites I visit daily:
What's a website? Does it smell good?

4 Places I would rather be right now:
On Dad and Mom's bed
On the couch
On a walk
On top of a snowpile

4 Bloggers I am tagging:
What's a blogger? Is it food?

Knitting Olympics: Update Two

2006-02-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm now at a total of seventeen hours of knitting, and this far along:

At Spinner's Flock on Saturday I tried my hand at spinning for this first time, and my first little ball is shown below. Spinning was fun, and it was really great to stretch my mind and learn something new. I'm now in the market for a drop spindle and some fiber. I don't want to invest in a wheel quite yet. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good drop spindle (balanced, easy to use) in the $20-$30 range?

My Funny Valentines

2006-02-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day, the two loves of my life.

Knitting Olympics: Update One

2006-02-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

I started the hourglass sweater during the opening ceramonies. It was very exciting to see that Stefania Belmondo, a nordic skiier got to light the stadium torch. I've been nordic skiing since I was seven years old, and it's my favorite sport. By Saturday evening after the opening ceremonies, Spinner's Flock, some Trading Spaces and Get Shorty I had knit for five hours and was this far along:

By Sunday evening I had knit for six hours through Saturday Night Fever, Six Feet Under, Desperate Housewives and Gray's Anatomy, giving me a total of eleven hours and six inches past the turing row of the hem:

Yarn Roses, Knitting Olymics and Snowy Walks

2006-02-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day, I decided to buy myself a dozen roses:

Twelve skeins of Noro Cash Iroha for Last Minute Knitted Gifts' Hourglass sweater. The book was one of my Christmas presents, and I've checked out the corrections.

This sweater will be my event in the Knitting Olympics. I want to see if I can make a sweater in two weeks. And I might have a chance with this sweater. There's minimal finishing, and I can tell you from knitting the swatch that the yarn is addictive to knit. I also want to time myself. The pattern is in the more than eight hours section, but what does that mean?

And now one last post from Duluth. So what to do with such cute dogs? Take them on adventures. On my birthday we took a long walk around the neighborhood. The roads were salty and icy, so we put booties on them:
The dogs put up with them pretty well. When we first put them on they lifted their paws up really high as they walked. It was pretty funny. Darkstar lost all of them by the end, but all of Picasso's stayed on. At one point Picasso had enough and just sat down. I had to coax him along.

A few days later we had a snowstorm. B & I bundled up and walked the dogs through the deep snow at the park. Darkstar was in his element. He was always several feet ahead of B and I, while Picasso was back with us. I like this picture because it reminds me of a sled dog team. The dogs are part husky. Picasso again would just plop down anywhere when he got tired (that's what I'm assuming, but with dogs, who knows?). The lead dog would then have to stop, and his look in this picture seems to be saying, okay, let's go now. Note the snow on Picasso's back. B likes to throw snowballs at my dog. He says it cools the dog off.

One more picture of Picasso. We had to take a blow dryer to them when we got home to dry them off.

Puppy Pictures

2006-01-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Lest my dogs get jealous thatI've been posting too much about other dogs, this post will be all about Picasso Moon:

And Darkstar:

Picasso is a happy-go-lucky dog who loves to carry something around in his mouth (contraband or not), to play, to sit on snow piles for hours,
and give bear hugs. We like to call him the big white lunk. Darkstar is the alpha dog, and he wants to remind us of this fact in this pose:
Darkstar is more quiet than Picasso, but when deer enter the yard, he becomes one tough defender of the homestead. He is a sucker, though, for a butt-rub:

Feeling Lucky

2006-01-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been feeling lucky because I've won a couple of contests. First of all Kim had a contest in November to name her new wheel. I looked online for names that might appeal to Kim, names that would have to do with fairies, elves, etc. And she picked one of my suggestions, Ellette, which means little elf. The prize was two skeins of beautiful, hand-spun salmon-colored merino yarn:

I'm not sure yet what project the yarn will turn into, but I like to take it out once and awhile and pet it. The yarn is sooo soft. Thanks so much Kim!

The other contest that I won was from the Holiday Gift Knit-Along that I participated in. At the end of the holiday season, all of the kniters who finished their gifts were entered in a drawing for prizes. There were only five prizes, and a lot of knitters. So I was really surprised to find out that I had won these lovely stitch markers made by Raellyn:

If Alison hosts another Holiday Knit-A-Long I will have to donate something to keep up the good karma.

And the last reason why I feel lucky is that I wore the wool socks that I made for my mom, and at the end of the day there were no rashes, no hives. I'm so glad that my dad's genes kicked in, because I didn't want to have to give away my first pair of socks!

ChristmasBirthdayChannukahBirthday

2006-01-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, our holidays up north were jam-packed with celebrations. First we celebrated Christmas on the 23rd-24th to allow for my brother and his girlfriend to head back to Packer territory for other Christmas parties and work. We had a great dinner on the 23rd, and on the morning of the 24th our traditional Christmas breakfast an almond paste coffeecake that my mom makes from scratch. The stocking-stuffer presents were opened on the 23rd, and the main presents on the 24th. My mom went a little overboard with the stocking stuffers this year, and this was one of several that I received:

Yeah, in my family we don't take ourselves too seriously. In addition to several knitting books, I received two knitting calendars and my new fabulous knitting bag from Offhand Designs:

I also got a portable DVD player from my honey, so now I can knit and watch movies when I go out to visit him. My dad really liked the Jerry Garcia doll that I made by adopting the Knit-Your-Own-Rock-Star pattern from Stitch-n-Bitch Nation.

I made Mom some socks, but sadly they were too itchy for her to wear. Luckly we have the same foot size, so the socks are mine now. I knew she was allergic to wool, but I figured that it was to just scratchy wool, not something soft. Oh well. I guess I will be shopping for some cotton sock yarn.

My brother's girlfriend and I decorated gingerbread people, with some untraditional decorations:
Next was my birthday on the 25th, which we celebrated by taking the dogs for a long walk around the neighborhood, eating pizza, and watching the Bears-Packers game. My honey is a dyed-in-the-wool Chicago Bears fans, so much so that one of his stipulations for a wedding is that it doesn't take place during a Bears game. So I really didn't have much of a choice as to what we were watching. But I had my knitting. And he did make me a cake for my birthday.

Now B. is a lot like his grandpa. One year B.'s grandpa gave B.'s grandma earrings that she already had. In the store he thought that the earrings looked like something she would wear. So when I opened up my birthday card from B. I burst out laughing before I even opened the card. Why? Because he gave me the same card last year:

A few days later, when we (sort of) recovered from all the food, B. and I cooked a Channukah meal with B.'s bubbe's brisket recipe, latkes (with sour cream and homemade apple sauce) and a Sephardic green bean and tomatoes dish. My mom bought some Channukah poppers, and we all got a little silly with the hats, even the doggies:

Finally, it was my mom's birthday on the 31st. B and I made her a low-fat, low-calorie chocolate cake (the only kind she would allow us to make), and she opened presents. Mom also got a DVD player from her honey (my dad), and of course the felted tote bag that I made. She loved it.

That's it for the celebrations. I have lots of dogs pictures left to post though, so stay tuned.

Ski Trip to Brule

2006-01-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

This will be the first of several posts about my trip home to Duluth/Superior for the holidays. The day after I arrived, my dad, my brother, his girlfriend, a friend of his from high school and I all went nordic skiing at the After Hours ski trail in the Brule River State Forest. It was so beautiful there, as you can see from the pictures. Living in south-east Michigan, I don't get to be around such deep pine forests, and I miss it. The contrast between the dark green trees and the white snow with the light coming through the branches really caught my eye, so I took lots of pictures.

Skiing is my favorite sport, and I've been skiing since age 7 when my dad put me on skis. Back then I skied a couple of km to please my parents and then went inside for hot chocolate. Or I would go play on the playground equipment, because swings and slides were way more fun in the deep snow. Today I love skiing because gliding across the snow feels like flying, because it's a chance to get outside in the winter, and because I love the feeling when I'm done: my muscles are tired, my head is clear, and I can do anything.

There are actually two kinds of nordic skiing, classic and skate. Classic is the technique where the skier goes in parallel tracks, as shown on the right side of the picture. Skating is just that, making the same V-movements as an ice skater but on skis. You can also see skate tracks on the left side of the picture. Skating is probably my favorite because you can go faster, but classic gives you a better work-out. I did both techniques in high school when I was on the nordic ski team.

As I skied past a stand of deciduous trees, I saw a woodpecker, and took a picture of him. Don't you see him?

Okay here's a blow-up of the woodpecker:

He's the white triangle in the center outlined in black.

And here's another picture:

All in all it was a wonderful day. It was my brother's girlfriend's second or third time on skis, and she looked great! I was very impressed. I finished up the socks for my mom, but more on that later.

And then we came home and saw some other "wild" life

Secret Pal Package

2005-12-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

I received a package from my SP6! She sent me some cool blue/purple hand-dyed cotton tape yarn, a cloth needle bag that she sewed herself (!), some bamboo needles with new pink and blue tops and a tin of mints. I'm going to get a lot of use out of the needle back. Right now I'm keeping most of my needles in a Barbie needles canister that was my mom's. It's very cool and retro, but everytime I look for a needle I have to pull all of them out. I've been meaning to post a picture of it.

Also, the knitter who I spoiled in SP6 was Naomi. You should go check out her blog and see all the great things she's knitting and her cute kitten. She's another knitting scientist making her way through graduate school.

Proof of the Sweater Curse

2005-12-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yes knitters, even the popular media knows about the sweater curse. I found this from an article on the 10 worst holiday gifts:

For Men:
5. Elaborate handmade gifts
While a gift you make can mean much more than anything store-bought, guys often get uncomfortable and feel obligated if you give them something you’ve truly toiled over. Says Bob Brennan of Pittsfield, MA: “A woman I’d been dating a couple of months gave me a sweater she’d hand-knit for me... it must’ve taken weeks. I felt really awkward that she’d put so much effort into my present and kinda pulled back a bit after that.” You also want to go easy on the handcrafted gifts that celebrate your union. A tray decoupaged with photos of the two of you is a bit much for anyone but a husband to handle.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2005-12-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with my honey's family in Chicago. B.'s parents made a very tasty Thanksgiving dinner. Along with the usual turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, we had brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes - two foods that my parents dislike and hence I never had as a kid. But strangely I like both these foods, especially sweet potatoes. Yum, yum.

We had lots of family time, as I got to meet my honey's aunt, uncle and cousins from Colorado. We also visited with my aunt, uncle and cousins who live 15 minutes from my honey. My brother and his girlfriend were visiting my aunt and uncle, and we all went out to dinner. Looking back, I'm glad I got to see my brother and his girlfriend, because now they might not be able to come home for Christmas, due to his work schedule changing.

We also went shopping in downtown Chicago, and B. miraculously found four pairs of shoes that fit him! This is amazing, because he wears a size 13 B, and shoe shopping with him is a painful experience. There is a reason why he's had the same dress shoes since his 13th birthday. My honey's parents took us to see Wicked, which was amazing. The musical is about what happened in the Land of Oz before Dorothy dropped in. Specifically how two young witches, Elphaba and Glinda become unlikely school friends. Ana Gasteyer from SNL played Elphaba, and she was great, as were all the actors.

And of course, we can't forget Charlie the beagle. He was his cute-yet-rascal self. Charlie got a much-needed haircut and his nails trimmed over the weekend. Part of the grooming package was a bandana, and I took lots of pictures of him with the bandana and doing some tricks. You will be able to see the rest of the pictures on my honey's photo website once he posts the pictures. (Hint, hint). :) But I shouldn't get on his case too much, because he's learning how to cross-country ski today for me.

Charlie has the cutest, floppiest ears. Charlie often walks around the house with one ear flopped back, which I call his disheveled look. Like a typical boy, he doesn't care much about his appearance. The picture on the right is his Dumbo look.

Next, I got Charlie to do his "be cute" trick with the help of my honey's dad. This trick consists of him standing up on his back legs and moving his front paws back and forth. He will also do it on his own to get attention. Needless to say, this usually works.

After completing the "be cute" trick a couple of times, B.'s dad set the treat on the floor. Now Charlie is trained to only eat after the command "bon appetite" is given. That is why he is sitting there patiently, not gobbling up the treat. Charlie is looking up at B.'s dad waiting for the command. But my honey's dad teases Charlie by telling him to do another trick, "playing dead," which is signaled by pointing at him like your hand is a gun and saying "bang-bang". Charlie ignores this command for awhile, and looks back and forth between B.'s dad and the treat. He eventually does the trick and gets his treat.

The Traditional Princess

2005-11-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

This was a fun quiz:

The Traditional Princess

You are generous, graceful, and practical with both
feet planted firmly on the ground. You tend to
be a little on the old-fashioned side. You
value home, hearth, and family life and love to
be of service to others.

Role Models: Snow White, Maid Marian

You are most likely to: Discover a hidden talent
for spinning straw into gold.

What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Now if only Prince Charming and his trusty pal would whisk me away from the evil tower of graduate school where a fire-breathing-chemical dragon is keeping me hostage for 2-2.5 years.

Give a Little Prize

2005-11-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

I won this beautiful shawl from the Give a Little drive to organize knitters to donate to the Red Cross for Katrina victims. It was knitted by Angela, and you can view another picture of it on her blog. The pattern is Hyrna Hergorbar, and when I googled the name (thanks google) I found out that the pattern is from Three-Cornered and Long Shawls by Sigridur Halldorsdottir. I don't know what yarn it's made of, but I'll let you know when I find out. Angela also sent me a chocolate bar, yum! My own attempts at lace work have been limited, so I can't imagine how much time and effort have gone into this shawl. Thank-you!

Receiving this gorgous shawl makes up for not receiving anything from my SP6 other than a few emails. I'm not mad at her or anything, and I'm sure she has a busy life, but still, it's disappointing. I have had fun though sending present to my spoilee.

A lonely, stormy sock

2005-11-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

I finished my first "real" sock, meaning it was knit with sock yarn. The sock is so soft, and I can't wait to wear it around with its mate. Sadly though, I don't know when that will be. I've temporarily fallen under the second sock syndrome (SSS), because I've got too many holiday presents to knit-up.

Sock Quiz

2005-11-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

I think this description fits me:

You quite like socks, but your not overly-obsessed
with them. You would have been a pair of
knee-length socks in any colour, and probably
stripy or something to make you that little bit
more interesting.

What type of sock are you?

Charlie the Beagle

2005-10-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Charlie the Beagle is my boyfriend's dog, and his dad took this picture of Charlie "helping" him rake leaves. I thought this picture was just too cute not to share. Did you know that the word beagle comes from the Old French word bee gueule, meaning loudmouth or noisy person? If you have ever met a beagle you would know that the name is fitting.

Chuckie, keeping the backyard safe from rabbits

More knitting content will come soon. In addition to socks, I'm starting a very cool project.

Katrina's Purse

2005-10-20T10:44:00.001-06:00

As promised, here are photos of my cousin Katrina's wedding and the Going Out With a Bag purse that I made for her. The wedding was held in Peoria, IL, and the whole crazy Burke clan made it out to celebrate with Katrina and Mike. Highlights of the wedding included my brother's girlfriend Veronica catching the bouquet (her second of the summer, watch out Stuart!), and my eight-year-old cousin catching the garter belt. He then proceeded to wear it around his head and danced like he was on way too much sugar and caffeine for an eight-year-old. As Veronica said, it was like he was Elvis, MC Hammer and a break dancer rolled into one adorable blond boy.

Here are pictures of Mike and Katrina during their first dance. They looked to be very happy and very much in love. I was so touched that Katrina held the purse I made during the first dance.

The purse was also used for the dollar dance. The dollar dance, as I was informed by Kim, is a German-Polish tradition where the bride and groom dance with their guests for a dollar each, and the bridesmaid and the best man collect the money. Here I am pictured with Katrina after the dance, and as you can see the purse is stuffed.

Now on to the purse. I had to really darken the photo so that you could see the beads. Knitting with beads was fine. I strung all of the beads on the yarn first. The one thing I would do differently is knit tighter with the beads. When I was done some of them were a little droopy.

I sewed in a zipper onto the top of the bag, and braided and wrist loop that went through the zipper. The zipper was smaller than the bag, so ended up centering the zipper and tucking in the edges.

The bag has this great halo look from the mohair. The yarn that I used was Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and Filatura Di Crosa baby kid extra held together. The purse was probably one of the softest things I've ever knitted.

The bag was lined with satin, which proved to be the most difficult part of the bag. I figured it out with a lot of trial and error, and Lynne's instructions on how-to-line-a-bag.

I sewed the zipper flap in between the yarn and satin, so that you don't see it. Look at those hand-knit stitches. The hand-sewing was kind of relaxing in the same way knitting is, but I can't imagine hand-sewing all of your clothes, bedding, etc. Wow. Hats off to our great, great, great grandmothers.

Strawberry Supreme

2005-10-18T11:05:00.001-06:00

If you're having a major strawberry craving, this recipe is for you. I made it for my friend Tara's birthday (Happy Birthday T-Co!), and it was fabulous. The cake is made from a strawberry cake mix, but instead of water you add strawberry nectar. Then in between the layers is strawberry jam and thinly sliced strawberries. The cake is frosted with strawberry frosting, and topped with more sliced strawberries. Yum, yum. As you can see, I was only able to get photographic evidence after most of the cake had been eaten. The jam and strawberries between the layers made the cake very moist. The artificially-flavored strawberry frosting might have been a bit too much, but I'm also not a big fan of overly sweet frosting. I think a vanilla or butter cream frosting would be good as well.

the cake was beautiful before it was cut into, perfect for a girl's birthday party or valentine's day.

look at all those moist strawberry layers!

Mork and Mindy

2005-10-17T09:57:00.000-06:00

At knitting last week, I made some comment that I thought that it would be really cute to name a pair of dachshunds Mork and Mindy. Dachshunds sort of waddle, and I think Mork would be a good name for a waddling dog. Then the next day I opened up Hollywood Knits Style that I checked out from the library, and low and behold there's Mork and Mindy:

Aren't they cute?

Overall though I thought the book was just okay, but I don't want to purchase it. It was fun to look through, although there were only a handful of patterns that I would consider making.

Midwest Enzyme Chemistry Conference

2005-10-12T08:59:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I went to a conference in Chicago, and here's a picture of me with my poster:

Overall the trip was fine. I got to visit with my undergraduate research advisor, and I met some of the students who currently work in her lab. My labmates, advisor and I had Chicago-style pizza which was yummy! I did have to put up with one of my labmates though, who I can't stand. He's a complete moron when it comes to common sense and chemistry, and he has gross personal habits like smacking his lips while eating and snorting constantly. Conversations with him are always punctuated with snorts, and it's easy to locate him in a crowded auditorium.

I got alot of knitting done on the car ride, and helped another labmate with some knitting. She's more of a crocheter, but wants to knit a baby blanket for a friend. I walked her through the basket weave pattern, but it kept looking funky. So I finally watched her knit, and what she called knitting was purling into the back of the stitch. The woman who taught her how to knit said knitting was done with the back of the stitch and purling was done into the front. I'd never heard of that before. Once we got things straightened out her swatch looked great. I didn't get all of this sock knitting done on this car trip, some of it was done the weekend before when I went to Peoria for my cousin's wedding. There will be pictures of that trip as soon as my boyfriend remembers to email me the pictures.

stormy sock in lab

Baby's First Socks

2005-09-26T16:55:00.000-06:00

I finished my first pair of socks! The pattern is from Knitty Gritty, and they were easy to make. I'd recommend the pattern to anyone who wants to learn how to knit socks. I think the socks look like giant baby booties, and the pastel pink doesn't help. The pink yarn is some mystery yarn I inherited from my mom, and when I ran out I switched to some red Lamb's Pride. They aren't really the prettiest socks, but hey, it's not like I'll ever wear them out of the house. And the socks are very warm and snuggly. I've also started knitting "adult" socks out of Knit Pick's Simple Strips. I'm just so enthralled with how fine and soft the yarn knits up.

top view, the color is more accurate in this view.

side view

I also finished Going Out with a Bag for my cousin Katrina, and shipped it off to her today. The wedding is this Saturday, and I'll post pictures of the finished purse after I take some of her holding it. On Saturday Lynne hosted a wonderful yarn tasting party, which hopefully she will blog about soon . We all brought a skein of yarn to share and something to eat. Denise has a swatch posted on her blog. Her swatch came out nicer than mine somehow, perhaps because she was more conscious of the order she knit the yarns. But anyway, the yarn and the food was yummy.

SP 6 Questionaire

2005-09-15T16:33:00.000-06:00

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?
I do prefer higher quality and natural fibers, so I guess that makes me a yarn snob. Acrylic yarn just doesn't feel was wonderful as wool, mohair, cotton and angora, and as my knitting time is limited, I figure, why bother?

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
no, no

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Smoke and cats

4. How long have you been knitting?
4 years, but I took about a 1 1/2 year break at the beginning of grad school.

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

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
vanilla, fruits, flowers, nothing too heavy

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
yes! chocolate and hazelnut is one of my favorite combinations

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Only knitting at this point, there's no time for other crafts.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like a wide-variety, but mostly folk-rock. Check out my blog profile for a list of my favorite musicians. Yes, my computer and walkman can play MP3s.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
blue is my absolute favorite, but I like other colors too. I tend to gravitate towards rich jewel tones no matter what the color, but also like some medium shades and pastels.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Single with a boyfriend living in Salt Lake City, UT. I personally don't own any pets, but my parents have two dogs that I like to think of as mine (I did help raise them).

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
To marry said boyfriend, and have 2-3 children and 2-3 dogs. I want to live in a rambling old house with a big porch and a big garden. My dream job would be to teach chemistry at a small college, but as I also want a family there maybe some compromises of that dream. So I want a fulfilling job in chemistry that doesn't suck the life out of me.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Peace Fleece, Debbie Bliss yarns, Madil kid seta, merino, mohair, alpaca

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Novelty yarns. Eyelash yarns look like a headache waiting to happen.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I want to learn felting, and am currently working on a pair of slipper socks. I can't wait to go on and make real socks soon. I also want to learn more complicated cable patterns and fair isle.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I don't really have any favorites, I've liked everything I've knitted.

17. What are you knitting right now?
a) Isis wrap from Interweave Knits Summer '05
b) Beginner socks from Knitty Gritty tv show
c) A tank top of my own design with Debbie Bliss Cotton Silk Aran
d) Newsboy cap from SnB Nation
e) Accordian sweater from Knitty

18. What do you think about ponchos?
I've never worn one, and am too scared I'd look like a lampshade.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
both, and double point needles

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
bamboo

21. Are you a sock knitter?
I'm currently knitting my first pair.

22. How did you learn to knit?
I took a knitting class at college.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
From spring of 2002, a sweater for myself that I knitted, but never seamed up.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Lady from Lady and the Tramp. Dogs in general.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
My birthday is on Christmas, so I have a love/hate relationship with it. It's great that I get to be with my family and don't have to work, but my birthday often gets forgotten in the shuffle of the holidays.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
No

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I usually pick up Interweave Knits at a grocery store. So I read it, but don't have a subscription.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I would like the books on my Amazon wishlist

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??
No, most of the patterns I'm interested in making are in the books on my amazon wishlist

Buy a Kick-Ass Pattern for the Katrina Relief

2005-09-09T11:32:00.000-06:00

The designer of this awesome sweater is donating all proceeds from the sale of the pattern to the Katrina relief effort, hence the name Katrina Rib. I just love the ribbing pattern, and can't wait to knit it (along with the half-dozen other projects fermenting in my mind). Check out Knitters Anonymous for more details.

Sulfoxated Mothballs

2005-09-08T15:15:00.000-06:00

Today I synthesized sulfoxated mothballs, or in other words I took the chemical in mothballs, naphthalene, and attached a sulfoxide to it. I keep getting this overwhelming whiff of mothballs as I work with the compound. It makes me wonder how any right-minded knitter could store her/his yarn and knitted items with such a stinky chemical. Thank goodness for cedar, lavender, rosemary and other nice-smelling insect-repellents.

I will believe, I will believe

2005-09-06T08:36:00.000-06:00

I recently finished reading At Knit's End by Stephanine Pearl-McPhee, and just loved it. As I knit or listen to other women's knitting stories, quotes from the book keep coming into my head, including this one:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. - Marie Curie

"This is surely the motto of designers who work in knitted lace. It can only be faith alone that drives them, because, before it is stretched and blocked, lace in progress often resembles Chinese noodles.

I will reserve judgement on my lace in progress until the magic of blocking has worked its charms."

-Stephanine Pearl-McPhee The Yarn Harlot

This quote of course relates to the Isis wrap that I'm working on. I keep cursing it as I knit it, but when I spread it out to take this picture it actually looks okay. Again, I will reserve judgement. I will believe in the future beauty of this wrap.

Last week I was distracted from knitting Isis by a quarterly report that I needed to write, but then I got distracted from writing by attempting to find yarn to make the thick beginnner socks from Knitty Gritty. The brown yarn is heavenly, but too thick. I got the paper finished, and can keep plugging away at Isis.

hmmm ... writing or knitting?

Donate your Yarn Money to Katrina Victims

2005-09-01T15:24:00.000-06:00

Two knitters, Susan and Margene, have begun a campaign to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina similar to Yarn Harlot's Knitters without Borders. Check out their blogs for more details.

I can now drink whole milk

2005-09-01T08:10:00.000-06:00

I thought this was too cute to not share. Thanks to Denise for the link.

You are Deb and you could drink whole milk if you wanted.

Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Introducing Picasso Moon

2005-08-24T19:25:00.000-06:00

The next time you are having a bad day, come back to this blog just to laugh at this picture:

No, it's not the abominable snowman, it's my dog Picasso Moon in mid-sneeze. My mom took this photo of him after a haircut. Maybe the shampoo was bothering his allergies. Maybe he was expressing how he felt about the haircut. I think he was embarrassed though of being caught sneezing on film from the next photo:

This is what Picasso looks like normally, which is more sheep dog than lab. Note the beer bottle next to him. He's a true Wisconsin dog and loves beer. Every night after my dad drinks a beer, he gives the bottle to Picasso, who licks the last swallow out of it.

We got Picasso and his brother Darkstar, the brown dog with the pink boa that's my profile icon, when I was in high school, so I think of them as my dogs even if I see them twice a year. They are actually litter mates, a mix of cocker spaniel, lab and husky. They are both loveable, quirky dogs, and I have a million stories about them.

I got to go home last weekend and visit my parents and dogs. I got a little knitting and a lot of harry potter reading done. More importantly, my dad and I took the dogs on a run, and the next day my parents and I took the dogs on a hike.

Grace Gets Chemical

2005-08-18T19:14:00.000-06:00

One night at Ann Arbor Knit In, when we were getting goofy with our caffeine, sugar and purls, someone suggested that I should pose with Grace while pouring green foaming chemicals for the Knitty calender contest, and here are the results:

I think the middle picture is my fav of myself, but sadly the red balloon in the background is distracting. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it on photoshop. I knitted the headband with the same wonderful Madil Kid Seta as I used with Grace, and the lace pattern is from Bella, that A2 Knit-In's own Jillian designed. I'm hoping that if I get picked to be in the calender, that Knitty will put the headband pattern on the margin or somewhere. I just think it would be so cool for a knitting calender have a pattern in it. A long pattern wouldn't fit, but a short pattern like this headband would be perfect.

k ∞ tog

2005-08-17T08:28:00.000-06:00

I finally supported Knitty.com by buying this cool shirt and two bumper stickers. I got some funny looks from my non-knitting friends, asking me "what's that on your shirt?" Then I go to Ann Arbor Knit-In and no one says a word about the shirt. I guess it's because a knitter reads the writing like, duh, of course that's what it means. While knitting lingo might not be our mother tongue, it's become second nature.

It's a little difficult to see in the picture, but there are band-aids on my left thumb and index finger. About a half an hour before I was going to leave work, I was getting some NMR samples ready. I was working too fast, and broke off the top of the glass tube and gouged out my thumb and cut my finger with the remaining part of the tube. It was bleeding badly, and I would have gone to the University Health Services if they were open. So I just bandaged it up as best as possible, and was grateful that I got my tetanus shot a couple of months ago. But did that stop me from knitting? Yeah, you know the answer to that.

k1p1 with band-aids

More Harry Potter Fun

2005-08-12T09:59:00.000-06:00

I found another HP quiz - a sorting hat test! Here are my results:

GRYFFINDOR!
You scored 0% Slytherin, 44% Ravenclaw, 52% Gryffindor, and 44% Hufflepuff!

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart.

Gryffindors are known for their courage, audacity, and devotion to what is good and honest.

Link: The Sorting Hat Test written by leeannslytherin on Ok Cupid

And here are the results from another quiz:

I'm a Ravenclaw!

I'm Olympe Maxime?

2005-08-08T16:57:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a wonderful weekend in SLC visiting my honey on his b-day. I started working on the isis wrap, but was more successful at finishing HP3 and starting HP4. Speaking of which, this was my result of the HP Personality Quiz:

Harry Potter Personality Quiz

I guess these traits could fit me.

Seattle trip

2005-08-04T10:16:00.000-06:00

Here's the long-awaited update on my Seattle trip. I've been crazy-busy in the last month with my research and mentoring an undergraduate on his own research. But I had a wonderful time in Seattle, and got to visit with two knitters. Ben's grandma is a knitter, and so we chatted up on knitting while I was knitting and she was needle-pointing a pillow of their lab Georgia Brown. And I saw my friend Anna from Grinnell who was currently working on the Beaded Braided Hat Kit from Peace Fleece in the more muted colors, which just looks just lovely. Ben's grandma took me to her favorite yarn store, where I purchased some lovely yarns. I bought two skeins of white yarn to make the Going Out with a Bag purse for my cousin, and six skeins of pink yarn to make the Isis wrap from Interweave Knits summer 05.

From left to right: Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, Filatura Di Crosa baby kid extra and Tahki Yarns New Tweed

I also got to work very quickly on knitting the bag. The bead work was fun, and the yarns are so lucious. Now comes the difficult part. I'm going to line the purse with satin AND sew a zipper in. My goal is to finish the purse by Sept 1 (the wedding is Oct 1), so I still have lots of time to procrastinate and still get it done.

the easy part

Weblog survey

2005-07-06T16:02:00.000-06:00

I took the weblog survey mentioned by Jennie:

Something new and unusual for me, I know.

I missed all the Ann Arbor Knitters last night, but was just too exhausted from flying across the country to go to the meeting. More on my Seattle trip soon (w/ pics)

For Katrina

2005-06-29T08:35:00.000-06:00

Katrina,
Is this the style of purse that you want? I'll make it white with clear sparkly beads.
love, Emily

purse from SnB Nation

Angora Goats

2005-06-27T16:23:00.000-06:00

Ben and I went to the SLC zoo a couple of weekends ago, and we saw angora goats there! They were cute in an ugly sort of way and funny. I think they also liked getting their pictures taken, because they kept walking around the pen, talking up a storm. That or they thought we would feed them.

baaaah!
Their pen was encircled by an electric wire, which meant that I couldn't pet them. I really wanted to see how soft their fur was, because of course mohair comes from angora goats:

Grace's origins
And speaking of mohair, Grace is going to make her debut tomorrow night at the Ann Arbor Knit-In.

And I'll end with this picture of our shadows and some ducks. Damn, do I miss him.

three more days

2005-06-12T13:49:00.000-06:00

my sweet doggie! I finally figured out how to get this picture up of my dog on my profile.

Shamrock dishcloth

2005-06-12T13:19:00.000-06:00

Here's a little St. Patrick's cheer in June. I made this shamrock dishcloth from Lynne's yarn for the String Scrubbie Project. I used one of the patterns from the dishcloth boutique, which is on the string scrubbie project website.

shamrock: view 1

shamrock: view 2

I got it!!

2005-06-10T17:05:00.000-06:00

Yes, I won the eBay yarn! But will 18 skeins be enough? I'll ponder this another time.

The Yarns Blues

2005-06-09T07:04:00.000-06:00

I have sunk to a new low - I placed a bid on eBay for yarn. Well you see, I've realized that I don't have enough of the Debbie Bliss cotton silk aran to finish the tank that I've started. But the yarn is discontinued, so I couldn't find any merchants online that sell it. Then I looked on eBay, and lo and behold there was someone selling ten skeins on the exact yarn that I need. And no one had bid on it yet. So I did. The sale closes it a little over day, and hopefully no one else will out bid me!!

the long and the short of it

2005-05-25T20:44:00.000-06:00

The two sweaters that I'm currently working on both have some length-issues. Sigh. The Accordian sweater is on the long side. I'm following the pattern, but at 22 inches the back very heavy and fits nicely when held up against my back. Should I stop now, and risk it not looking right, or should I keep going and have it potentially be too big for me? For right now it's sitting in "time-out" as Jennie said last night until I decide what to do. The other sweater that I'm working on is Grace. I love the yarn and how it fits except for the length. It comes up above my belly button, and, well, I'm too modest to wear it as is. My belly isn't exactly a part of my body that I want to emphasize, and I think it also looks weird to have 3-4 inches of shirt below the sweater. So I'm currently adding several inches on to the bottom of it. I can't wait to wear it!

Yesterday I was having one of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days (like from the book), and then I got to the Ann Arbor Knit In meeting last night and had a great time laughing and listening to and telling stories. Thanks everyone!

The accordian sweater from knitty.com made with peace fleece in hemlock, samantha/katya pink and georgia rose.

Grace from knitty.com

stinky!

2005-05-20T10:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I made and purified this smelly sulfur compound, and it was a success! This reaction has given me such a headache over the years, and I finally got it working. The product decomposes into about four different side-products, which took me awhile to figure out. The last time I distilled this material, water flooded the system (because I use a water aspirator to create a vacuum). Now the chemicals in the flask react violently with water, so after a few minutes the liquid started bubbling and smoking. The glass column that's on top of the flask shot up like a rocket in my hood. Yeah, that wasn't a good day. But this time everything went smoothly with the help of my wonderful labmate, and I got a 90% yield of pure material!!! Yippee!!!

methylsulfinyl chloride

2005-05-20T10:35:00.000-06:00

Yucky sulfur reaction
Note the brown tubing in the upper left corner, it should be colorless. The nastyness of these chemicals turns it brown.

Distillation

2005-05-20T10:29:00.000-06:00

Purification of the yucky sulfur compound. The flask on the left is the pure material. The flask on the right is the crude material. The cloth is hiding the glass tube that became a rocket in my previous distillation.

Stash Expansion at A Gathering Basket

2005-05-18T15:24:00.000-06:00

Here are things I bought on my recent trip to A Gathering Basket, which sadly is going out of business. I went to the store thinking, okay I'll just buy needles and other notions to stock-up on supplies. The last thing I needed was more yarn. But alas, the blue color of this Debbie Bliss cotton-silk yarn totally drew me in. I also got both of the Anne Budd books with basic patterns that you can modify, as recommended by Jennie. And the needles were my token attempt to stock-up on supplies. I spent way too much money, but hey I need to somehow get my frustrations out about my grumpy boss!

The fabulously blue yarn

the basic pattern books that I got for $11 each

size 6 & 10 bamboo needles

current projects

2005-05-04T07:45:00.000-06:00

my digital camera's battery is dead, so no pics to post as of yet. But here are my current projects:
1. accordian sweater from knitty.com
currently working on the back
2. grace sweater from knitty.com
all done, but too short! it comes up above my belly button, so will have to add more length
3. headline news cap from SnB Nation
I made one already in a brick red, and started one in a dusty orange, but when I picked it up again I wasn't sure what row I was on. So I'll finish it on the next trip to SLC when I'll have four hours of uninterrupted knitting time
4. ... and soon to be started, dishcloths for the tsunami relief effort that Lynne is involved in

2005-04-23T11:58:00.000-06:00

Yeah, first blog post! It took me awhile to come up with a name for this blog. I didn't want to associate myself as a chemist, but then I thought well, I do spend most of my time either doing chemistry and knitting (with occasional trips to Salt Lake City to see someone special), so why not name the blog knitting chemist? Anyway, I'll get my digital camera out soon and start posting pictures.