Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is: 10 Favorite Summer Beverages.
Well, I'm a pretty boring person. I mainly drink water. I love Dr. Pepper, so I "allow" myself to have one (or two) Dr. Peppers a day. When it's really hot out and/or I'm really hot, Dr. Pepper just doesn't do it, so I stick to water (with lots of ice). I used to drink a lot more sweet drinks (and not much plain water), but over the past few years, I've been making myself drink more water & now I do it without thinking about it. When it's really hot out, I'll also drink coconut water (to help to replenish electrolytes).
Over the weekend, I decided to organize a bus trip to Rhinebeck in October. I requested quotes from several local tour bus companies and one of them got back to me first thing Monday morning. My contact person, Tim, sent me the quote yesterday and I accepted it today. Within minutes of our phone conversation this morning, he sent me a confirmation email of my acceptance, along with the supporting documents. The main reason I accepted this company's offer (without seeing any quotes from the other companies) is because of Tim's quick response time. I appreciate good customer service. He also answered all of my questions (this is my first time organizing a bus trip).
I am SO excited about this trip!!! I'm a little nervous, because I need to find 38 other people who want to take this trip, but I'm going with the "if you build it, they will come" philosophy. Go big or go home, right??
Having said that, if you're in the Lancaster, PA area, and are interested in the trip, you'll find the details on the "Rhinebeck Bus Trip - 2014" page on this blog (the cost is cheaper the earlier you register for the trip). Oh! That's the other new thing I did! I added a page to my blog AND I added a "buy now" Paypal button. I feel so technically savvy.
A bus trip - with my people! Going to the Mecca for my people, the NY State Sheep & Wool Festival! If I read the info right, each of us can have 50lb of "luggage". That, my friends, is a lot of yarn/fiber per person!
So....what are you looking forward to and/or what are your favorite summer beverages?
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
Chemo Hats, Quinoa Salad and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Last night was knit night with a group at the church that one of my Mom's cousins attends. This group, KFC (Knitting For Cancer), knits prayer shawls for people with cancer.
There was a guest speaker - Danielle, from Bo Peep's Bonnets. Bo Peep's Bonnets gives knit hats to women who are undergoing chemotherapy. She also has an Etsy shop (sorry, I don't have the shop link), where she sells hand-knit items. I believe she also sells some of her patterns. Danielle brought along kits to make one of the chemo hats. Here's the hat I finished:
It's an easy knit. The swirl pattern keeps it interesting. The yarn is...well, I can't seem to find the ball band. The pattern calls for Hometown USA yarn, so maybe that's what this yarn is. Anyway, it's a super bulky yarn, knit on US 13 needles.
Most of the women in the knitting group are new knitters. There were a few who learned to purl last night. So, they learned some new skills last night (knitting in the round, increasing, decreasing, purling).
We also had food! We had a veggie pizza, cookies, little cream puffs (!!), fruit, and I took a quinoa salad with lemon-tahini dressing and roasted sweet potatoes. It was all very yummy. The quinoa salad was a throw-together kind of dish for me. It was good, so I'll definitely be making it again. The sweet potatoes were SO amazing! They may be my new favorite. The lemon tahini sauce was from Oh She Glows. It may have been from her cookbook. If you don't have it, get it - there are a ton of great recipes in it. She makes dishes that are simple and use basic ingredients (well, basic for a vegetarian or vegan; some may be a little strange if you're a meat eater) and taste really good. The link is to her website.
Sadly, I did not get any knitting done on Irene Adler last night. That means that I will have to do a lot of knitting this weekend, in order to keep to my schedule (I have 12-13 days to finish it).
That's all I have for today. The weather here has been beautiful (it reminds me of San Diego weather) and it's (finally) Friday!
Have a great weekend!
There was a guest speaker - Danielle, from Bo Peep's Bonnets. Bo Peep's Bonnets gives knit hats to women who are undergoing chemotherapy. She also has an Etsy shop (sorry, I don't have the shop link), where she sells hand-knit items. I believe she also sells some of her patterns. Danielle brought along kits to make one of the chemo hats. Here's the hat I finished:
Most of the women in the knitting group are new knitters. There were a few who learned to purl last night. So, they learned some new skills last night (knitting in the round, increasing, decreasing, purling).
We also had food! We had a veggie pizza, cookies, little cream puffs (!!), fruit, and I took a quinoa salad with lemon-tahini dressing and roasted sweet potatoes. It was all very yummy. The quinoa salad was a throw-together kind of dish for me. It was good, so I'll definitely be making it again. The sweet potatoes were SO amazing! They may be my new favorite. The lemon tahini sauce was from Oh She Glows. It may have been from her cookbook. If you don't have it, get it - there are a ton of great recipes in it. She makes dishes that are simple and use basic ingredients (well, basic for a vegetarian or vegan; some may be a little strange if you're a meat eater) and taste really good. The link is to her website.
Sadly, I did not get any knitting done on Irene Adler last night. That means that I will have to do a lot of knitting this weekend, in order to keep to my schedule (I have 12-13 days to finish it).
That's all I have for today. The weather here has been beautiful (it reminds me of San Diego weather) and it's (finally) Friday!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Looking Forward
I am so excited today (in my low key, Introvert way).
My Mom recently discovered that one of her cousins is a knitter. This cousin is part of a knitting group that meets twice a month. Tonight is one of the meeting nights, so my Mom & I are going. They have food at this knit group, so I made a quinoa vegetable "salad" with a lemon tahini dressing to take. As a vegetarian in a meat eating county, it's always good to take a dish that will fill you up, and will provide you with adequate nutrition (in case there's nothing else at the event that you'll eat). I've been to too many events where I end up eating potato chips, cookies, and maybe a cheese sandwich (American cheese on a roll or bread). Don't get me wrong, I love potato chips and cookies (and sometimes American cheese sandwiches), but, nutritionally, they aren't the best.
The past few months, I've been more intentional about eating well - eating food that packs a lot of nutrition & that has simple ingredients. I feel much better when I do this (go figure!). When I am eating well, I don't crave junk. I have even found myself not interested in processed food lately. Some of the food related things that I read (on facebook, or on the internet in general) talk about "recipes" using processed food and I find myself wondering "why?" Why use that store-bought salad dressing (that contains ingredients you can't pronounce) when dressing is so simple to make? Throw a few ingredients in the blender & you have an amazing tasting dressing. So many processed foods are marketed as being time-savers, when, in reality, preparing real food does not take that much more time. Take guacamole. I've bought guacamole that was so-so. But the guacamole I make? It tastes amazing! And it's not much harder to make it than it is to open that package of prepared guacamole.
The other thing I'm excited about/looking forward to has to do with eating better. It's the CSA I signed up for. Spring here had a slow start, so the first CSA pick up is next Thursday (instead of today). I am SO ready for it! I'm excited about having fresh vegetables. I'm excited about trying new veggies & about learning different ways to prepare them. I'm excited about having a healthy lunch every day. Also, the CSA is already paid for, so I don't have to budget for it every pay. I just show up at the farm each week and pick up my share of produce.
I'm also excited about finishing the Irene Adler shawl. No, it's not done yet, but I'm getting closer. It is SO beautiful! I can't wait to take a picture of the blocked shawl. I'm going to take it along to knit-night tonight. Hopefully I will be able to get some knitting done. I have doubts about my ability to knit a lace shawl while interacting with people. But I have a schedule to keep, so I need to meet my stitch quota for today!
What are you looking forward to today (or this week, or this month)?
My Mom recently discovered that one of her cousins is a knitter. This cousin is part of a knitting group that meets twice a month. Tonight is one of the meeting nights, so my Mom & I are going. They have food at this knit group, so I made a quinoa vegetable "salad" with a lemon tahini dressing to take. As a vegetarian in a meat eating county, it's always good to take a dish that will fill you up, and will provide you with adequate nutrition (in case there's nothing else at the event that you'll eat). I've been to too many events where I end up eating potato chips, cookies, and maybe a cheese sandwich (American cheese on a roll or bread). Don't get me wrong, I love potato chips and cookies (and sometimes American cheese sandwiches), but, nutritionally, they aren't the best.
The past few months, I've been more intentional about eating well - eating food that packs a lot of nutrition & that has simple ingredients. I feel much better when I do this (go figure!). When I am eating well, I don't crave junk. I have even found myself not interested in processed food lately. Some of the food related things that I read (on facebook, or on the internet in general) talk about "recipes" using processed food and I find myself wondering "why?" Why use that store-bought salad dressing (that contains ingredients you can't pronounce) when dressing is so simple to make? Throw a few ingredients in the blender & you have an amazing tasting dressing. So many processed foods are marketed as being time-savers, when, in reality, preparing real food does not take that much more time. Take guacamole. I've bought guacamole that was so-so. But the guacamole I make? It tastes amazing! And it's not much harder to make it than it is to open that package of prepared guacamole.
The other thing I'm excited about/looking forward to has to do with eating better. It's the CSA I signed up for. Spring here had a slow start, so the first CSA pick up is next Thursday (instead of today). I am SO ready for it! I'm excited about having fresh vegetables. I'm excited about trying new veggies & about learning different ways to prepare them. I'm excited about having a healthy lunch every day. Also, the CSA is already paid for, so I don't have to budget for it every pay. I just show up at the farm each week and pick up my share of produce.
I'm also excited about finishing the Irene Adler shawl. No, it's not done yet, but I'm getting closer. It is SO beautiful! I can't wait to take a picture of the blocked shawl. I'm going to take it along to knit-night tonight. Hopefully I will be able to get some knitting done. I have doubts about my ability to knit a lace shawl while interacting with people. But I have a schedule to keep, so I need to meet my stitch quota for today!
What are you looking forward to today (or this week, or this month)?
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Ten on Tuesday - the Concert Edition
Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is: 10 Bands or Individuals You Have Seen in Concert. I really haven't been to a lot of concerts in my lifetime. I went to more when I lived in San Diego than I do now that I live in PA. To attend a concert here, I'd have to drive to Philly or to Hershey or Baltimore. It's rare that I want to see someone bad enough to do that.
I was thinking about the people I saw in concert & I realized that I attended quite a few because someone else wanted to see them. I know I'm forgetting some (because they weren't concerts I wanted to see). When I was in junior high & the first year of high school, my family had a membership to the San Diego Zoo (which included the Wild Animal Park). The Zoo & the Wild Animal Park often offered concerts & we would go see them.
Here's my list:
1. Olivia Newton John. This was my first concert. It was the "Physical" tour, but I had been an ONJ fan for years before Physical came out.
2. Timex Social Club. They had one hit - "Rumors". Then the group broke up and some of the group formed Club Nouveau.
3. LL Cool J. This was back in the day, when his first album was out and he was a skinny boy. He only had one hit at the time I saw him in concert.
4. Whodini. This was when "Funky Beat" was out.
5. Run DMC. This concert was the Fresh Fest concert and #2-5 were all in the same concert. Run DMC was the last group, and the most famous (at that time).
6. The Jets. I saw them in concert twice - in the same summer. The first time was at the Del Mar Fair in San Diego. The second, at Hershey Park, in Hershey, PA. This was the summer that we moved from San Diego to Lancaster, PA.
7. Jermaine Jackson. This concert was also at the Del Mar Fair. The same summer I saw the Jets there. Jermaine had a hit that summer.
8. Color Me Badd. A friend of mine won tickets to this concert. It was at the York Fair (York, PA). I know they only had a few hits. But I liked their songs.
9. Vanilla Ice. This is a concert that I went to because a friend of mine asked me to go with her. I'm not a big Vanilla Ice fan.
10. Little Richard. This is a concert I saw at the Wild Animal Park (San Diego) and was one I went to because my parents wanted to go to it. We saw many other concerts at the Wild Animal Park, but I don't remember them. We also saw the Fifth Dimension at the San Diego Zoo.
The concert I'd LOVE to see is Prince. Prince is my all-time favorite artist. If I had to pick just one artist to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be him. He has SO many songs. I know that most people know of "Purple Rain", but he has so many more, and is still making music. And let's not even get into the hits he wrote that other people sang!
There's my list. Who have you seen in concert?
I was thinking about the people I saw in concert & I realized that I attended quite a few because someone else wanted to see them. I know I'm forgetting some (because they weren't concerts I wanted to see). When I was in junior high & the first year of high school, my family had a membership to the San Diego Zoo (which included the Wild Animal Park). The Zoo & the Wild Animal Park often offered concerts & we would go see them.
Here's my list:
1. Olivia Newton John. This was my first concert. It was the "Physical" tour, but I had been an ONJ fan for years before Physical came out.
2. Timex Social Club. They had one hit - "Rumors". Then the group broke up and some of the group formed Club Nouveau.
3. LL Cool J. This was back in the day, when his first album was out and he was a skinny boy. He only had one hit at the time I saw him in concert.
4. Whodini. This was when "Funky Beat" was out.
5. Run DMC. This concert was the Fresh Fest concert and #2-5 were all in the same concert. Run DMC was the last group, and the most famous (at that time).
6. The Jets. I saw them in concert twice - in the same summer. The first time was at the Del Mar Fair in San Diego. The second, at Hershey Park, in Hershey, PA. This was the summer that we moved from San Diego to Lancaster, PA.
7. Jermaine Jackson. This concert was also at the Del Mar Fair. The same summer I saw the Jets there. Jermaine had a hit that summer.
8. Color Me Badd. A friend of mine won tickets to this concert. It was at the York Fair (York, PA). I know they only had a few hits. But I liked their songs.
9. Vanilla Ice. This is a concert that I went to because a friend of mine asked me to go with her. I'm not a big Vanilla Ice fan.
10. Little Richard. This is a concert I saw at the Wild Animal Park (San Diego) and was one I went to because my parents wanted to go to it. We saw many other concerts at the Wild Animal Park, but I don't remember them. We also saw the Fifth Dimension at the San Diego Zoo.
The concert I'd LOVE to see is Prince. Prince is my all-time favorite artist. If I had to pick just one artist to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be him. He has SO many songs. I know that most people know of "Purple Rain", but he has so many more, and is still making music. And let's not even get into the hits he wrote that other people sang!
There's my list. Who have you seen in concert?
Monday, June 2, 2014
It's June, and Time for a Mystery!
Happy June! In 2 1/2 weeks, it'll be summer. Yes. I know that many people consider Memorial Day weekend to be the start of summer. I don't.
My daughter has 3 1/2 days of school left. The last day was supposed to be 5/30, but this past winter happened, and that's all we'll say about winter. Because I'm OVER. THE. ICE!
So, I signed up for a Mystery Shawl. I love mystery patterns! This is where the pattern is sent to you in installments. You are told what your gauge should be, and given a yarn suggestion, but you don't know what the end result looks like. I enjoy the not knowing exactly what the end result will be. Yeah, I live on the edge like that.
I ordered the yarn that the pattern designer used. It's a gradient kit. Is it just me? I love gradient kits! The colorway is called "Pine".
This yarn is so soft! I can't wait to start the shawl! Because I'm still working on the Irene Adler shawl (& because I have a deadline for that), I haven't even knit the swatch for the Mystery Shawl yet. I looked at, and petted this yarn most of the weekend. The yarn is from Black Trillium Fibres & is the Pebble Sock yarn. I can tell that I will love working with this yarn. The service was excellent - my yarn was shipped the same day I ordered it. I only have two of the hanks wound into balls because I made myself leave that yarn alone and work on the Irene Adler shawl. I am still loving Irene Adler, it's just that I kind of have ADD when it comes to knitting.
This past weekend, there was an almost one-year old, a two year-old, 2 three year-olds, and a four year-old at my house (not all at the same time). Yes, 5 children from between Friday & Sunday. We spent most of the weekend in the backyard, under the canopy. The kids had a ball. My daughter & I (well, mostly my daughter) are getting pretty good at wearing kids out in the backyard. We keep them running. And then they sleep really well for their parents.
Here are some pictures we took with one of the three year-olds. These are CJ's first selfies (he had to "push" the button to take the pictures):
My daughter has 3 1/2 days of school left. The last day was supposed to be 5/30, but this past winter happened, and that's all we'll say about winter. Because I'm OVER. THE. ICE!
So, I signed up for a Mystery Shawl. I love mystery patterns! This is where the pattern is sent to you in installments. You are told what your gauge should be, and given a yarn suggestion, but you don't know what the end result looks like. I enjoy the not knowing exactly what the end result will be. Yeah, I live on the edge like that.
I ordered the yarn that the pattern designer used. It's a gradient kit. Is it just me? I love gradient kits! The colorway is called "Pine".
This past weekend, there was an almost one-year old, a two year-old, 2 three year-olds, and a four year-old at my house (not all at the same time). Yes, 5 children from between Friday & Sunday. We spent most of the weekend in the backyard, under the canopy. The kids had a ball. My daughter & I (well, mostly my daughter) are getting pretty good at wearing kids out in the backyard. We keep them running. And then they sleep really well for their parents.
Here are some pictures we took with one of the three year-olds. These are CJ's first selfies (he had to "push" the button to take the pictures):
Some of the pictures were...interesting.
Some were so cute.
Some were silly.
It was a good weekend!
How was your weekend?
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Ten Things I Did This Weekend
Memorial Day weekend. It was nice to have a day off of work, and, since I'm now full-time, that day was a paid day off. Yay! The weekend felt like it had two Saturdays (which are my favorite day of the week), so that was great. Here's what I did this past weekend:
1. Slept in. Sleeping in, for me, means waking up when I'm ready to wake up. With no alarm. I usually wake up around the same time I normally do, but I'm much happier about waking when I don't have an alarm telling me to get up.
2. Ate. I ate fairly well this weekend. I'm vegetarian, so I don't look forward to holiday weekends because of grilled meat. But, I had good breakfasts, and managed to eat several times each day (time tends to slip away from me and I kind of forget to eat).
3. Watermelon and cantaloupe. Yes, I know these are food. But because these were the first of the season for us, they are their own category. I love cantaloupe. Watermelon, I like if it's ripe and not mushy. We actually had two watermelons this weekend. The first one was so good that we finished it the day it was cut. So we got another one, which was also really good. The cantaloupe was also excellent. We're spoiled by living in Lancaster County. There are so many places around here to get good, perfectly ripe cantaloupe, that I just can't tolerate cantaloupe that's not perfectly ripe.
4. New canopy. We have a new canopy that we put up for the first time. It's a Coleman 10x10 sun shade/canopy thing. I love it. My daughter & I spent most of Monday out in the back yard, under the canopy.
5. Read. When the weekend started, I was close to the beginning of Beautiful Wreck, by Larissa Brown. I finished that book this weekend. It is SO good! It's about a woman who time travels back a 1,000 years, to a Viking community. It's really good. The author describes things in so much detail that you feel like you're there, in that Viking community. Whenever I would stop reading it, I was a little surprised to find that I was not living among Vikings.
6. Knit. I'm knitting the Irene Adler shawl and I have a deadline. I did a good bit of knitting on that shawl this weekend (although Beautiful Wreck distracted me a lot). I am loving this shawl! Every row or two, I have to stop and look at, and marvel at, the pattern. I love the pattern, love the yarn, love the colors. Knitting outside was helpful because of the natural light (43-year old eyes, lace weight yarn, and somewhat dark colors aren't a good combination in indoor lighting).
Here's a picture of part of it (shawls-in-progress really are not easy to photograph).
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7. Movie night. I had a movie night with my bff. We used to go out to movies pretty frequently, but he now has a toddler (and we're both pretty broke), so we have movie night at his house. I bring the popcorn, he supplies the movies. It's a win-win situation.
8. Selfie Sunday. My daughter & I were out in the yard Sunday afternoon/evening (knitting, reading, etc) and we decided to take selfies. We took 100. Some were crazy, some were just smiling. It was fun. I posted some of them to facebook.
Hmm...I don't think I have a 9 & 10. It was a very low-key type of weekend (which I love). I thought it was wonderful - but it's not very exciting to talk about.
Oh, I do always spend some time remembering our service personnel who lost their lives. I guess that's my number 9.
What was your weekend like?
1. Slept in. Sleeping in, for me, means waking up when I'm ready to wake up. With no alarm. I usually wake up around the same time I normally do, but I'm much happier about waking when I don't have an alarm telling me to get up.
2. Ate. I ate fairly well this weekend. I'm vegetarian, so I don't look forward to holiday weekends because of grilled meat. But, I had good breakfasts, and managed to eat several times each day (time tends to slip away from me and I kind of forget to eat).
3. Watermelon and cantaloupe. Yes, I know these are food. But because these were the first of the season for us, they are their own category. I love cantaloupe. Watermelon, I like if it's ripe and not mushy. We actually had two watermelons this weekend. The first one was so good that we finished it the day it was cut. So we got another one, which was also really good. The cantaloupe was also excellent. We're spoiled by living in Lancaster County. There are so many places around here to get good, perfectly ripe cantaloupe, that I just can't tolerate cantaloupe that's not perfectly ripe.
4. New canopy. We have a new canopy that we put up for the first time. It's a Coleman 10x10 sun shade/canopy thing. I love it. My daughter & I spent most of Monday out in the back yard, under the canopy.
5. Read. When the weekend started, I was close to the beginning of Beautiful Wreck, by Larissa Brown. I finished that book this weekend. It is SO good! It's about a woman who time travels back a 1,000 years, to a Viking community. It's really good. The author describes things in so much detail that you feel like you're there, in that Viking community. Whenever I would stop reading it, I was a little surprised to find that I was not living among Vikings.
6. Knit. I'm knitting the Irene Adler shawl and I have a deadline. I did a good bit of knitting on that shawl this weekend (although Beautiful Wreck distracted me a lot). I am loving this shawl! Every row or two, I have to stop and look at, and marvel at, the pattern. I love the pattern, love the yarn, love the colors. Knitting outside was helpful because of the natural light (43-year old eyes, lace weight yarn, and somewhat dark colors aren't a good combination in indoor lighting).
Here's a picture of part of it (shawls-in-progress really are not easy to photograph).
7. Movie night. I had a movie night with my bff. We used to go out to movies pretty frequently, but he now has a toddler (and we're both pretty broke), so we have movie night at his house. I bring the popcorn, he supplies the movies. It's a win-win situation.
8. Selfie Sunday. My daughter & I were out in the yard Sunday afternoon/evening (knitting, reading, etc) and we decided to take selfies. We took 100. Some were crazy, some were just smiling. It was fun. I posted some of them to facebook.
Hmm...I don't think I have a 9 & 10. It was a very low-key type of weekend (which I love). I thought it was wonderful - but it's not very exciting to talk about.
Oh, I do always spend some time remembering our service personnel who lost their lives. I guess that's my number 9.
What was your weekend like?
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Use Your Words
A while ago, I purchased two hanks of Madeleine Tosh lace yarn. This yarn is beautiful! It's soft (merino), the colors are amazing, it's in 950 yard hanks. I didn't have any real plans for the yarn, except a vague thought that I'd try knitting a lace shawl. I have knit lace in small bits, but never with lace weight yarn and never in the form of a full-sized shawl.
A week ago, I decided to knit a lace shawl as a gift. It needs to be finished in five weeks. Plenty of time, right? So I ordered this pattern (I love it!). I am in love with quite a few of Kirsten Kapur's patterns. I did a half-assed swatch, and cast on for the shawl. I still love this shawl and I love knitting it. It's a challenge, for sure. That fine fine (weight) yarn, the lace pattern, all of those stitches. I feel like a knitting challenge is just what I need right now. Lately I've been knitting "safe" items like cowls and scarves and things like that. Things that I really don't have a pattern for. And they're kind of...boring.
What I realized is that I need to have a pattern that's written out. The Irene Adler pattern comes with written instructions as well as charted instructions. I love that. I am symbol-challenged. I just don't do well with symbols. I prefer words. Take elevators. If the buttons only show symbols for "door open" and "door close", I have no idea which I need to press. Or the email on my phone. I can never remember which symbol means to "archive" the email and which means to "file" it. I understand a trashcan for "delete", but on my phone email, there is no trashcan. Knitting charts? I can never remember what the symbols stand for, so I have to look them up on the key. Every. Time. That takes me so much longer than if I just have the pattern written out. I totally understand k2, p2, ssk, yo, psso, etc.
There seem to be different schools of thought on the whole written out vs. chart topic. What are your thoughts? Which do you prefer? Am I the only one who cannot understand/remember symbols?
A week ago, I decided to knit a lace shawl as a gift. It needs to be finished in five weeks. Plenty of time, right? So I ordered this pattern (I love it!). I am in love with quite a few of Kirsten Kapur's patterns. I did a half-assed swatch, and cast on for the shawl. I still love this shawl and I love knitting it. It's a challenge, for sure. That fine fine (weight) yarn, the lace pattern, all of those stitches. I feel like a knitting challenge is just what I need right now. Lately I've been knitting "safe" items like cowls and scarves and things like that. Things that I really don't have a pattern for. And they're kind of...boring.
The yarn. I took this picture indoors, with the flash on my phone, so it's not the best. This yarn is mainly blue, but also has green, purple and some red in it.
Yes. I know that lace looks like a blob until it's blocked. And, again, I have a picture taken indoors. This shawl & the yarn are much prettier in real life.
What I realized is that I need to have a pattern that's written out. The Irene Adler pattern comes with written instructions as well as charted instructions. I love that. I am symbol-challenged. I just don't do well with symbols. I prefer words. Take elevators. If the buttons only show symbols for "door open" and "door close", I have no idea which I need to press. Or the email on my phone. I can never remember which symbol means to "archive" the email and which means to "file" it. I understand a trashcan for "delete", but on my phone email, there is no trashcan. Knitting charts? I can never remember what the symbols stand for, so I have to look them up on the key. Every. Time. That takes me so much longer than if I just have the pattern written out. I totally understand k2, p2, ssk, yo, psso, etc.
There seem to be different schools of thought on the whole written out vs. chart topic. What are your thoughts? Which do you prefer? Am I the only one who cannot understand/remember symbols?
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