PinkPurlGrrl

The proof is in the pictures

EDIT: I've looked at the post and the pictures are dark and icky.  There is not much I can do at the moment to fix that so I'll add: I'm really cute in the picture with the tiller, the baby sweater is too sweet for words, and if you saw the sock you'd knock me down and take it from me.   That is all...

Because I wouldn't believe it myself if I didn't see it, here is a picture of me (wo)man-handling the Eater-Of-Back-Yards

Do you like how the gauntlets of my work gloves match my work shirt?  I didn't have a bandanna with the same yellow, but tie-dye goes with everything don't you think?

After all the machinery herding, serious knitting was done.  These pictures were taken at 6:30 this morning in yellow dining room light - I apologize for their lack of quality.  The purple sweater is sized for a 6 month old*, I'm having fits with the hat and will attempt to cast on yet again once I finish the sock.  The sock is lovely isn't she?  I love koigu, I love this pattern.  Sigh - I can't wait to go home and knit on her some more.  Love is good, no?

*What do I know about baby sizes?  It looks small, but babies are small - maybe it's huge.  I got gauge so I'm going to have to trust the lovely people at minnow knits.

Owie, hurts so good.

No pictures to show today, I hope it's enough to get this posted.  Fresh off of four days of vacation, my arms are starting to bounce back and I'm resting well at work.  Thursday we walked around Green Lake, saw a movie, went shopping, and had a nice dinner out.  Well, you knew that couldn't last - there was work to be done.  Friday morning the tiller was delivered.  The guy from the rental shop was really nice and went over all the buttons, toggles, switches, and pulls...twice.  There was a lot to learn in a few short minutes.  He left and we got the beast into the back yard and went to work.  I am proud of us, we got the yard tilled in 2 hours.  There are a few small bits that were missed, but a garden claw will take care of them.

We were left with powdered dust and lots of dead grass.  Friday afternoon and Saturday found us raking the dead turf into rows that we are going to pick up and cart back to the corner where we hope to have a raised bed, the dead grass will be good food under a few cubic yards of dirt (think next spring). 

As are most projects, this is a lot more work than initially considered.  The raking and leveling will probably take us well into fall (at least at this rate).  The good news is we can rent a roller for $10 a day, that will give us a nice finish.  I hope to be seeding a lawn at the end of September...we'll see.

Knitting - when my arms weren't screaming I was knitting!  I finished the Minnow Knits sweater in Debbie Bliss worsted weight marino (grape purple).  It was a quick knit in moss stitch 2x2.  I cast on for the matching hat 3 times before deciding the baby wasn't due until December and I really wanted to be working on my 2 needle koigu socks.  I turned the heel of the first one last night, so far so good - but I'm not sure I prefer the 2 needle method to the dpns.  I think if I was just knitting stockinette, maybe self striping yarn, I would like it really fine.  That might be faster and good for gift socks.  I'm really having to pay attention to the chart for these socks and there isn't anything fast about that.

I'll get pictures up of all of these things in the next day or so.

Get off your butt and...

move heaven and earth in the name of a better back yard.

Sexy isn't he?  That is 13hp of pure earth tilling power.  We are going to plow fallow fields until they are fertile.  I am going to use him, abuse him, make him prove his worth.  This bad boy is going to make all my dirty dreams come true.

At least for two hours on Friday, that's all I can afford to rent him for.

It seems I have gone completely around the bend.  We talked of the yard and what to do with the time off this week.  The grass out back (the lovely yellow stuff in the photos below) is lumpy-bumpy and pocked with frost heaves.  Our house was a rental for over 20 years before we bought her; no one had really cared for the yard in a long time.  This is a trial balloon.  I've never run a machine like this, and it's the biggest one they had for rent (cruddy earth out back).  Lisa, in characteristic Mom fashion, reminded me to make sure I know where all the underground lines are.  I think we are safe, the cable and power come down from the sky (and the pole across the street), the water/sewer lines were 6 feet below the pad at my next door neighbors and our houses were built the same year, gas came from a tank that used to live along side the house...am I forgetting anything?

Birch - Done

37,000+ stitches.  Easily the biggest project attempted to date.  First real lace pattern, first shawl, first lace weight thread yarn.  30 or so hours over the last 4 months.  I set her down for a month just to remember what it was like to complete projects.  I picked her back up two weeks ago and pretty much stuck with her.  Even unblocked I like her.

Saturday I will block her on sheets in the back yard - unless you would like to do it for me?

In a word...Spoiled

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday PinkPurlGrrl, Happy Birthday to me.

While I always have a little air of "Princess" surrounding me, the height of the season happened Saturday.  My beloved BLING spoiled me wonderfully with a clean house and such goodies as follow:

First up is a circular needle organizer from Acorn Street Yarns.  It has 10 pockets that can be removed and replaced.  This spurred me to re-organize the whole project box (the one that lives next to my chair, not the drawers and boxes in the stash room - don't be ridiculous).

Followed by an adorable pair of needle work nippers.  I wanted a pair of small scissors I could keep with my current project; a pair small enough that a certain woman who will not be named wouldn't steal them for other uses.  They certainly fit the first requirement, well wait and see about the second.

Then there was the Cat Bordhi book on using two circular needles to knit socks.  I have been interested in learning how to knit this way, and I like the patterns she has written.  I can't tell if it is any faster for me, but I am trying a new stitch pattern that is challenging me.

Lastly there is the beautiful Koigu!  Of course, new needles (another wonderful gift from BLING) and new patterns call for new yarn.  BLING picked out this wonderful green and gold colorway.  It's knitting up nicely!

My Mom came in from the peninsula and took us to dinner at Applebee's where I was relived that they didn't sing, but they did give me a nice balloon bouquet tied to a carmel sunday.  Don't tell Joy at Weight Watchers.  Speaking of  WW - I'm down 1.6 pounds after returning last week.  Earlier this year I lost 15 pounds on the system (and gained 7 back while off the system).  The eventual goal is -100.  Boy, that's a big number.

A second post is in order today - I finished a "little" project and will have to show off...

***Non Knitting Content Ahead***

In 1971:

Appolo XVI landed on the moon

The Attica Riots happened

Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali (both won 3.5 million - no losers there)

Mount Etna erupted

The legal voting age was lowered to 18

Intel introduced the first microprocessor (microchip)

Hot Pants were hot

Dirty Harry coined the phrase "Do I feel lucky, well do ya Punk?"

The VCR Video Recorder was launched by Phillips

Top grossing movies included "Shaft" & "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"

The Nike Swoosh was born

Top 10 Songs: You've Got a Friend", "Joy To The World", "Brown Sugar", "Stairway To Heaven", "Proud Mary", "Maggie May", "I Feel The Earth Move", "Wild Horses", "Colour My World", "Imagine".

Quote from "The Year That Trembled":

Nearly everything was questioned: religion, marriage, sexual norms, racial justice, the role of women and the role of government, to name a few. While society went into a sometimes joyous, sometimes treacherous free-fall, the

U.S.

government waged an undeclared War in

Vietnam

. These two massive things; an unprecedented cultural shift and the war -- were oil and water. They did not mix, and the results yielded a harvest of cultural change.

Sears advertised the "Important look of the knit pants set"..."Girls, Chubby Girls, and Little Girls can wear this as a set or the top alone as a dress".

Wonderfully:

Knitting Without Tears
1971 - - 1971 "Knitting Without Tears,"

Elizabeth

's first book, introduces her basic methods of knitting and their application in the construction of seamless sweaters and knitted accessories. Endlessly variable, the sweater designs are sized by the knitter who does simple computations based on chest measurements. If every treader's eyes are not dry, then surely they are bemisted with tears of pleasure, not of frustration. 

And on August 20th - I was born.  I am a princess for the rest of the week and week-end.  You are cordially invited to adore me.

Change of Pace

Do you really want to hear me go on about 2 more pattern repeats of Birch?  No, I didn't think so (although I did do TWO in one night, it's getting smaller).  How about how I went back to the salon that shaved my hairline off and caved in and accepted a "free future haircut" instead of a refund - I don't know if I could walk back in and be comfortable.

Instead, how about a change of pace?

What do I want to knit?  Well there's Kuryeon Karp (Gefelted Fish) (scroll down for kit). 

And I would love to work on the Minnow Knits pattern I've picked out for my supervisors soon-to-be daughter (can't find it on line).  I have a skein of Lorna's Laces lace weight (5oz) that needs to be a shawl, but what shawl?  It's variegated (pale cool colors).  I'd like to felt a bag, I'd like to felt slippers, I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.

er, well there is a lot I'd like to do.  But I have to finish Birch. sigh.

Small Birch Progress

No pics today - not enough progress to show.  I managed one pattern repeat on Birch last night (14 to go).  I know if I just slog through the next 6 repeats I'll be down to 80 or so stitches and it will go much more quickly.  September 15th is looming (and the new - and therefore better - projects are calling my name).  I'm pulled in many directions - most nights I spend an hour or more on the City Council campaigns I'm working on, it's hard to book more than an hour for knitting.

Under Pressure (bum bum bum bada bum bum) Pressure...

Discovery!

This weekend found us at Acorn Street twice and at Village Yarn and Tea once.  It was hard to not spend the grocery money on fiber and toys (but I think a certain  BLING may have been stocking in advance of a certain grrls pending birthday).  Having reached full celebratory mode a week in advance of my birthday I treated myself to new earrings, a new haircut, and this:

It was packaged so pretty!  I have been curious about needle felting for some time, and the ladies at VY&T were nice enough to make pretty little packages of brightly colored rovings and a needle felting "kit". 

Of note - if you spend 4 hours bent over a table repeatedly poking a ball of wool with a skinny little barbed needle you will hurt.  I mean it, my neck, back, and arm have all been felted into a knot.  But look at the cool 60's-mod coaster I made.  It says Scooter! because that is BLINGs newest obsession.

Felting stuff is good, earrings are good, the haircut...

All went well until the very end.  She listened to what I wanted (I'm growing it out and want to end up with an inverted "bob" and wanted a slight weight line and some forward movement).  Then, as she removes the cape (I was almost scott free) she says "oh, let me clean up those stragglers" and proceeds to shave off (OFF!) the bottom inch of my hair line!  Now (I am told) it looks like I'm wearing a wig when I hold my head at certain angles.  It isn't even either, it is higher on one side than on the other.  Upon first inspection it wasn't too bad, it was when I ran my hand over my neck (in the car) that I realized the depth of her treachery.  I drove back to the salon and passed the stylist on the way in, I said "We need to go back inside" she said "Sure, you go on in" and then she left.  I wouldn't have let her touch my hair again, but I can't believe she left.  OK - so I go back in myself and (calmly, reasonably) tell the receptionist that I need to see the back of my head more closely and I think there is a problem.  She agrees it was a weird thing to do, not much to be done now.  I can get all the neck trims I want as it grows back out.

sigh.

So I am actively encouraging my neck hair to grow, willing it with my soul.  I shaved my head a year ago in protest of the man who calls himself president.  I had pride in that (though some would question my sanity).  This just feels ridiculous.

More Birch

When I started Birch it would take me an evening to work one pattern repeat (let's see, with a CO edge of 299 there must have been 28 full leaves across).  Now I'm down to 15 leaves across and I can work a pattern repeat (8 rows) in about an hour.

Last night I worked through only one repeat, but I was exhausted and didn't want to make any mistakes.  It's campaign season, the primary is just barely over a month away and the general election is November 1st.  I'm in full-tilt-boogie mode, helping out with two City Council campaigns.

Somewhere somebody decided I was a grownup.  I wish they'd told me when this happened, maybe I would have been more prepared.  Now, I have been a campaigner since the mid 80's; I love the process, I love the work, I love the connection I get to my home and my nation through fighting for who and what I believe in.  It's not that I don't have the experience, or the drive, or the knowledge - I just don't always feel like I've arrived at a place where I deserve to be an "expert".  None-the-less I am the campaign manager for two really good, really qualified, wonderful city council candidates (one incumbent, one challenger for another position).  We are rocking and rolling, we are planning and moving, we are talking to anybody who has anything to say and anybody who has questions.  It's exhilarating!

To do list: Finish Birch for the Senior Auction, get the ladies elected, lose another 20 pounds (back to weight watchers tomorrow), finish the waterfall scarf, maintain quality work at my regular job.  OK, baby-steps time.

Think it can't be done?  I'm a FlyBaby I can break this down and do it all with grace and a happy heart.