The Capricious Guide

It's been so long!

I'm back after several weeks of working really hard! March is the busiest time of the year for me at work. In fact I worked 18 days without a day off until Sunday! Thankfully it is over and I have my life back. In fact, my life is pretty exciting right now.....

I"m engaged!!!! Here's a picture of the ring - I am in love with it (and the man who gave it to me!)

Though it looks gold in the picture, it's platinum and wonderful. I've never owned anything so pretty in my life.

I've been thinking about this post for a while because I have a lot to say about my impending marriage as well as marriage in general. Some of you may remember this this post where I said that I was never getting married and was against the whole thing. Then there was this post where I basically changed my mind - actually that post was written a year and a day from when Mike proposed!

I think the changes in attitude are about getting older, knowing more about what I truly want. I want to stand up in front of people I love and say that I will be with Mike forever. I haven't always known this. Ours isn't a "I just knew it was him" story. It is a "I know " story now.

There was a group of articles in the Seattle Times about marriage recently and I found this this one especially interesting about what a variety of women thought about getting married. I understand the arguments for not getting married. I hear people say that not everyone is able to get married, and they will not marry until everyone who wants to can. I feel that not getting married myself doesn't propel this argument forward. I'm not on some kind of actual list that legislators see and are propelled to make change by.  Also, why would I forgo something that people are fighting so hard to get?

The argument I can't get behind - that many marriages fail so why try - really bothers me. Lots of things you do in life you fail at, but you have to try. It's better to have tried and failed then never to try at all - I truly believe that.

It is an interesting situation, getting married. It's good to mull it all over.....

WHAT?

This article about the Wimbledon stunned me. I had no idea that women were not paid as much as men when they win the tournament. Is it not 2007? At least they are now changing their ways, but how long will it be until unequal pay in sports is highlighted. Apparently women make up 55 percent of the spectators at the tournament as well. It is amazing to me that women do not use their power of numbers and sheer spending power to make greater changes. 

The Thirteeth Tale

Lots going on here so not much posting. I'll post about that another time. I finished "TheThirteenthTale" over a week ago and have been meaning to write up a review.

"The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield is about a British woman, Margret who lives in an undisclosed time. She lives her life surrounded by books, she works with her father selling rare books. It is a lonely existence but she's resolved to it. One day she gets a letter from a very famous and prolific British author, Vida Winter who wants Margret to write her life story. The book follows Margaret and Vida's conversations about Vida's past and who she really is. We also find out about more about Margaret's past and why she is so lonely.

Setterfield obviously loves to read literary fiction. Especially Jane Eyre. This is a great Gothic romance in the same vein as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. This is a great book for when it is cold and dark outside and you are warm inside. I loved curling up under a blanket and reading this story for hours. This is one of those books I wanted to live in. I wanted to read it really fast, consume the story, but at the same time didn't want it to end. I think because of that the ending was a little choppy and the story wrapped up too tightly but I do think I was reading very quickly to find out what happened to the characters and not savoring the story as I think this book was written to be.

This wasn't a book that I NEED to discuss with others, but I would like to and I think it would make a fine book group book. There's a great web

Free pattern love....

Not that I need another pattern to love but it was free and has been downloaded....check it out but please ignore the strange frilly thing that is hanging off the model's chest, that will never happen to me.

Umm, it has my three favorite design elements: cardigan, cable, buttons. So what if has long ties that I'll hate to make and that the only thing that is keeping me from wearing Ivy is the creation of the second of those long knitted ties. So what if I have so much yarn in my stash that I can hardly close the drawers in my yarn stash place. SO WHAT if winter will be long over by the time I finished knitting this sweater! SO FREAKING WHAT if I have 6 upcoming babies to knit for.....

AND the the yarn is on sale this week at Joann's. I think there was even a coupon in Sunday's paper - I may have to go through our recycle bin. No worries, it's not gross. However, I am temporarily working at my LYS again and have regained my discount......

Crafting and Feminism

Great article today from women's e-news about crafty women and feminism. Since I have long considered myself a feminist and crafty I appreciate how others in the media are coming around to see how the two can not only mutually co-exist but are similar movements.

The Road

I would like to start going more into detail on the books I read this year. Since one of my goals is to blog more often, this sounds like a plan!

I finished "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy last night. This was an amazing and devastating book. This story takes place in what seems to be years after some kind of apocalypse and a father and son are trying to find some kind of community in which to survive by going to the coast. There is very little civilization left and there are marauders who kill and eat anything living they find in their path. McCarthy has such a sparse writing style and is able to communicate so much through only dialogue in this book. I wanted to stop reading several times because the story is so grim and I couldn't’t imagine an outcome that would be at all satisfying, but it made me think about what I would do. Would I try to even survive? Would I be able to hope when things got really, really bad? This is one of those books I really want to discuss and like the movie “Children of Men” I never want to read it again, but it will stay with me for quite some time. This would be an excellent choice for a reading group – if you could convince all members to keep reading, no matter what.

If you have read this book and want to discuss it, please let me know.

Next up:  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 

1 down 6 to go

The first of my 6 friends and family who are pregnant and due between March and July had her baby shower last night. This particular friend did not find out what sex her baby is and is due in early March  Here's what I made for her baby-to-be:

Cute huh? Both baby hat and baby bolero are from the book One Skein by Leigh Radford. Both items were knit with Cascade Sierra which I love to work with and is great for baby stuff. Both patterns were quick and easy to knit with enough interest to not be boring! I'll be sure to make this set again for another baby shower.

Madrona!

I went to my first big knitting event last weekend! It was so much fun. I roomed with fellow knitters Meg, Reebecca, and Jessica. I also saw Lynn and Sarah. It was great to see so many people knitting in the hotel lobby, restaurants, and various other places.

I took three classes. The first was from Kristin Spurkland who taught us how to make hats from the top down with no pattern or gauge. I apparently erased the picture I took of my hat in class, but will take another picture of the technique because it's cool later.

The next class I took with Reebecca was learning how to do the Entrelac technique with Fiona Ellis who was funny and cool and a great teacher! Fiona loved the sample that I managed to create and held it up for the class to see!

I was feeling rather punchy and still a little tipsy from the beer at lunch so here's how I looked from Reebecca's perspective:

The next day I took another class from Fiona Ellis about Celtic Cables. I learned much about this type of cabling after knitting Mariah so the class was mostly a refresher, but I did learn how to chart cables from looking at a picture of a Celtic knot. That's pretty cool and probably worth the price of the class. I got to see some of the sweaters from her book and really want to make Gathering Intentions (couldn't find a good picture).

All in all it was really fun but exhausting. I'll defiantly go again next year! I was good and only bought one skein of yarn - socks that rock in the January One colorway.

For the love of Tacoma

So I've been sick.....for weeks.....and am finally feeling better. I haven't been doing much reading or knitting but luckily have had a few adventures!

Last weekend I attended the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival in Tacoma. I've been looking forward to this for weeks and even though I wasn't feeling that well - I had a great time. More about that later!

First I want to write a little about Tacoma, Wa. For those of you who don't know, I lived for several years in Tacoma. There are many, many Tacoma haters out there - you know who you are. I didn't really realize this until I moved there. Every time someone brings up the city you think (maybe not out loud) who would ever live there? Usually these people have never been off the freeway further then the closest gas station. Or you think that it's a scary place because that's the only reason news crews ever venture to T-town.

I loved living in Tacoma and only moved away because Mike and I both changed jobs that were too far away to keep living in the city where we met and fell in love. I went to school at Pacific Lutheran U (which is actually in Parkland - closer to Puyallup), finished school and got a job in Tacoma and lived there happily for three more years. Here's a list to see if you decide to quit being a hater and see this beautiful town:

1. Old Town/Ruston WayHere is an accessible waterfront where you sit on a deck, look at the water and have a meal at one of the many waterfront restaurants. Later you can walk along Ruston Way and watch as the scuba divers surface while kids play on the beaches and others just cruise.

2. Point Defiance Park/Zoo. Here's a beautiful park that many people don't even know exists. It has a great beach, miles of walking trails and gardens as well as a small but cool zoo.

3. Downtown Tacoma. Three great museums are here, The Museum of Glass, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the  Washington State History Museum.

That's not even the half of the cool and fun things to do and see in Tacoma. Try it out this summer - you'll be pleased.

Here's a great picture of Mt. Rainer from my window of the downtown hotel where we stayed while at Madrona.

 

The one where I figure it out

Last night I was trying to figure out how long I have been knitting. I have a terrible memory for details, and honestly can't remember why or really when I started all this. I have always needed something to do, I like to keep busy and boredom is one of my most hated feelings.

So here's what I think happened. I learned to knit when I was 8 or so from my grandma but also liked to finger knit and do puzzles at the time. In middle and high school I did counted cross stitch (which I kept very quiet from my friends) along with puzzles and in college my hobby was socializing and sleeping.

I think I started knitting again when I  had a grown-up job and was living with a roommate in Tacoma. I have a Knit It magazine from 2002 which is when it must have begun. My first real sweater was Top Secret from the very first Knitty. That means I probably started knitting again sometime in 2002. Which means I have been really knitting for 5 years. 5 years!

Therefore, I have decided that 2007 is the year that I try new things as a knitter. I have not really challenged myself that much and knitting at an intermediate level. It is time to get advanced. I'll be taking several classes this month, a Fair Isle that starts this week at my beloved LYS Cultured Purls Then I'll be headed to Madrona to take several cool classes that I'm excited about!

So on my first sock of the year (my RPM sock) I've been working a short row heel using the yarn over method rather then the heel flap I normally use. The yarn over method is cool, but was hard for me to wrap my mind around and I wasn't sure if I was doing it correctly. Thank goodness for the Internet! I found a tutorial by Allison of the Blue Blog that helped me immensely. I got the concept down but the knit side of the heel has holes in it:

The purl side, no holes, looks good.

Why did that happen? Was I supposed to twist the stitches on the knit side? Help me wise knitters! I may frog it and try twisting the stitches to see if that helps. Also, it really looks like a toe - I hope my big heel fits....