Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s…

…the Man Sweater!

He likes it, he really, really likes it. He’s worn it every day since I finished it on Easter Friday. Even though I’ve been knitting in fits and starts since I was nine years old, this sweater is the first actual garment (not including scarves, shawls or hamster clothing) completed for someone else. Well, the first successful garment anyway.

I made Michael a sweater in our second year of dating, way back in 1993. I did not check gauge. The thing was enormous, the neckline off-the-shoulder, and because it was superwash, would not shrink down. I frogged it the following spring and began to knit a different pattern, but never completed it; the yarn still sits in a basket in the basement, needles removed for some other long-ago project. No hard feelings. It’s been thirteen years, after all.

But I am soooooo sick of stocking stitch. This sweater took me two months to complete (yup, I’m slow). I took it everywhere. I even took it to the pub on St. Patrick’s Day where it interfered with me getting my drunk on. I started it at the Jet Fuel just before Xmas, knit a couple of inches, then got distracted by the Tubey sweater, then the Knitting Olympics, and returned to it during the closing ceremonies. But it’s done and he likes it.

I am currently without a project, but I’m thinking I’d like to do a little lace next. I’m thinking I’d like to have several projects on the go again.

Today's Earworm: Traffic, by Tiesto

Earworms

Not the ones from Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. Thanks to my brother telling me those were actual rare sea creatures called “sea mice”, I had nightmares for weeks and I still have some trouble watching those scenes.

Earworm is a term brought to me via my knitting friend and coworker Kirsten, meaning the songs that get stuck in your head sometimes, often just snippets that run round and round, perhaps not even having the correct lyrics (Common with me, witness my take on Black Sabbath’s Paranoia, which includes a part of the chorus referring to the “muffin might”. Oh, those mighty muffins. Or my husband’s favourite: Big Mouse Strikes Again by the Smiths.).

I’ve noticed other people adding their current mood to the end of a blog entry, so I think I’ll add the day’s earworm to mine from now on. Perhaps in being consciously aware of my earworms from now on, I will be more frequent in my entries.

Something for the three or four people who actually check this blog on occasion to look forward to. Ha.

In other blog-improvement news, I haven’t looked into making myself a projects-in-progress graph yet. Work has eased up lately, so this seems like a good thing to read up on that could possibly be work-related, should my studies be noticed. I also need to personalize the heading section of my page; I have several willing models at home to pose with yarn (so long as there are muffin crumbs provided, mighty or otherwise).

My camera cable rests on the dining room table today, so the photos taken this sunny morning of The Man Sweater must remain unposted for today.

Today’s Earworm: One, by Metallica

The Answer is Yes

This is taken from Kimli, whose site I found on Michelle's blog...
A score 40 or higher indicates that you are spoiled.

(1) your own cell phone
(2) a television in your bedroom
(3) an iPod (But it's a mini and it was a present "from" my pet mouse Rosebud for saving her life. It is engraved with her binomial nomenclature)
( ) a photo printer
( ) your own phone line
(4) TiVo or a generic digital video recorder (free trial from Future Shop/Rogers 'cause we bought ourselves an obscenely large lcd t.v.)
(5) high-speed internet access
( ) a surround sound system in bedroom (although husband wants one - boom-shaka-laka-laka)
( ) DVD player in bedroom
( ) at least a hundred DVDs
(6) a childfree bathroom (so far...)
( ) your own in-house office
( ) a pool
( ) a guesthouse
( ) a game room
(7) a queen-size bed or larger
(8) a stocked bar
(9) a working dishwasher (saved our marriage)
( ) an icemaker
(10) a working washer and dryer
(11) more than 20 pairs of shoes (no surprise there)
(12) at least ten things from a designer store
( ) expensive sunglasses
(13) framed original art (not lithographs or prints)
( ) Egyptian cotton sheets or towels
(14) a multi-speed bike
(15) a gym membership
(16) large exercise equipment at home (geez, you'd think I'd be in better shape)
( ) your own set of golf clubs
( ) a pool table
( ) a tennis court
( ) local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea
( ) your own pair of skis
(17) enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area (hell, yeah)
( ) a boat
( ) a jet ski
( ) a neighbourhood committee membership
( ) a beach house or a vacation house/cabin
(18) wealthy family members
( ) two or more family cars
( ) a walk-in closet or pantry
(19) a yard
(20) a hammock (handmade by my MIL)
( ) a personal trainer
( ) good credit
(21) expensive jewellery (Daddy lurves me)
( ) designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get
(22) at least $100 cash in your possession right now (hey, it's Wednesday; pub night and the weekend's just around the corner)
(23) more than two credit cards bearing your name
(24) a stock portfolio (does a mutual fund count?)
(25) passport
( ) a horse
( ) a trust fund
( ) private medical insurance
( ) a college degree, and no outstanding student loans

Do you:
(26) shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewellery, electronics)
( ) at least once a week
( ) do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores
( ) pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes
(27) go on weekend mini-vacations
( ) send dinners back with (almost) every flaw
( ) wear perfume or cologne
( ) regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon
( ) have a job but don’t need the money OR
( ) stay at home with little financial sacrifice
( ) pay someone else to cook your meals
( ) pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs
( ) regularly pay someone else to drive you/take taxis
( ) expect a gift after you fight with your partner

Are you:
( ) an only child
( ) married/partnered to a wealthy person
(28) baffled/surprised when you don’t get your way (ONLY under certain circumstances/with certain people...)
( ) been on a cruise
(29) traveled out of the country
( ) met a celebrity
( ) been to the Caribbean
(30) been to Europe
( ) been to Hawaii
( ) been to New York
( ) eaten at the space needle in Seattle
( ) been to the Mall of America (gosh, you've been to MINNESOTA? y'all must be movie stars!)
( ) been on the Eiffel tower in Paris
( ) been on the Statue of Liberty in New York
(31) moved more than three times because you wanted to
(32) dined with local political figures (hey, only finger-foods at a post-election party)
(33) been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast

Did you:
(34) go to another country for your honeymoon (Black Rock City was like a whole other planet that first time!)
(35) hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party
(36) take riding or swimming lessons as a child
( ) attend private school
( ) have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you

And the special edition part from Kimli:
Do you:
(37) own more than one console gaming system?
( ) own more than one portable console gaming system?
( ) have a PDA?
(38) have any sort of gadget that does double duty, ie: a cell phone/mp3 player, a PDA/cell phone, a dildo/coffee grinder? (my cellphone has a mirror on the front instead of a time display)
(39) own more than one camera?
( ) own more than one digital camera?
(40) have both a desktop and a laptop? (one desktop, two laptops, and a server in the basement -- I married a geek)
( ) use dual monitors?
( ) use dual LCD monitors?
(41) own a television larger than 27"?
(42) own a plasma/HDD/LCD/projector TV?
(43) have furniture not from Ikea? (only from family and the curb)
( ) own anything with a pedigree?

Well, hell, that's definitely spoiled.

In other news, I finished Michael's Man Sweater last Friday. I am happy to report that he has worn it every day since!

I also knitted myself the hooded capelet from Loop-d-Loop on that Saturday. Pics to come later on this week.

Things that make you go Hmmm.

So, my friend Jo posted her tarot card on her blog the other day. I went to check mine out. This is what my full name yielded.

You Are The Hanging Man

You represent the seeking of enlightenment and spiritual clarity. You tend to confuse others, but your oddities seem deeply satisfying. Self sacrifice is easy for you, especially if it makes you a better person in the end. You are the type of person who is very in touch with your soul and inner spirit. Your fortune: Right now is a good time for reflection and meditation. You should stop resisting the problems in your life, and let yourself be vulnerable to them. You may need to sacrifice something important to you to move ahead in your life. Accept your destiny with courage, and learn to let go of what you think you need.

What Tarot Card Are You?

Hmmm. My first name only yielded first the Hermit, then the Magician, and then Strength. I wanted to know if the site was just random, so I entered my name in a few times each to see what would happen. So far these things all could be interpreted as matching various aspects of my personality, some of them a bit too close for comfort. The Strength's animalistic nature was one of those: I am actually fairly comfortable with it, but my husband says it can be a bit weird (I guess I can agree with him).
Using my first name and middle name got me the Star, which didn't seem to be on the money much; must have been the middle name.

So, what does this have to do with knitting or other fuzzy things like pets? Maybe how one might interpret my choices in projects, my knitting style, or preferred places to knit, or my choices in pets for that matter.

My knitting projects are all over the map, but a common thread is to make unusual things, or "usual" things with a different colour scheme/yarn/tweak, and always with a great deal of consideration for the intended recipient (to a fault).

Speaking of projects, the Man sweater should be finished any day now. I am adding a couple of inches to the bottom to accommodate my extra tall fellow's long torso, then it will be ready to sew up. I really hope he likes it. He seems to be cautiously excited. After all this stockinette stitch, I am excited that Knitty's new issue is up. I think something lacy next...