107 Days Until Half Blood Prince

There are 107 days until the premier of The Half Blood Prince!

For all you Harry Potter fans out there who are knitters: have you started your knitting projects so that you'll have something Harry-Potter-themed to wear to the movie? If not, you need to get started in time! You don't want to go to the movie without your Dobby socks, dark mark scarf, snitch sweater and other stuff. It's a shame it'll be during the summer instead of in the winter like some of them have been.

If you're on Ravelry, search there for Harry Potter projects, otherwise, you'll have to use search engines. Whatever you do, there's a lot out there, so get those needles clicking!

Don't forget that there is a count-down timer at the bottom of this page. It not only tells you how long until the movie, but it also has a link to Mugglenet, which is filled with all sorts of wonderfull Harry Potter news!

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Which reminds me that I have to have my mobius hood finished today to turn in as homework for the Harry Potter House Cup KAL/CAL! All I have to do is weave in some ends and take a photo. Oh, and get it up on Ravelry. 

So, you can expect a photo tomorrow.

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This will be a short post. I've just finished putting the barcode on the cover for the second volume of the Steve Canyon DVDs, and I'll be uploading it to a server in a bit, so I can't hang here too long. I may be wrong about this, but the sense I get from it is that John has all the files and stuff he needs to dump it on the DVD manufacturer, and it's about to be out of his hands for a bit. I'm sure that will be a big relief to him. Then all he'll have to do is wait for the DVDs and feverishly ship them out when they arrive. 

I'm really enthused about this!

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Comcast messed up NBC all last night. This is so run-of-the-mill for them that you may wonder why I'm even mentioning it. For three hours on NBC (and maybe more--I only watched it for three hours), the picture would periodically freeze for from one to 5 seconds, sometimes followed by the picture breaking up into large pixels, which then smashed up and slid off the screen. The sound was going in and out, and the story was interspersed with blackouts of sound and picture for several seconds. I got to watch Chuck, Heroes and Medium in that messed-up way. Castle was playing OK, though, and at least I got to see and hear that without all the mess.

There is no Fringe on tonight, but it's supposed to be back next week. I don't know what's wrong with TV networks today. They only have short runs of shows (Star Trek used to have 25 shows per season, now we only get 13 episodes of a series if we're lucky), they interrupt them with other stuff rather than showing the whole series, change the times of shows, and generally do everything they can to sabotage their own series, and then get rid of the series as though it's the fault of the series. It's disgusting!

There will be a new Mentalist on tonight, along with a new Reaper, though.

I have to run.

Have a great Tuesday!

Quiet Sunday

It's been a quiet day. I found some great skies to photograph for a project I'm doing that I can't talk about at the moment, and I've been knitting away on the poncho I'm making.

This is the same blue tweed I used for the mobius hood, which is nearly finished, by the way. I just need to darn in some ends, and tweak it a bit. I think it may look better around my shoulders with some gentle blocking, and I might like either a button and button loop or some ties. Maybe not. But I need to try it on and fiddle with it to make it look it's best.  And there's not much time to do that, so I should get busy on it.

But I've been having so much fun with the poncho, which is a tried-and-true pattern for me, which means it doesn't need all that adjusting for fit. I know what to do, and I know how it will fit.

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Yesterday, Holly and I went out and had fun.

We stopped at Lowes and got new keys. Holly got a front door key that is black with pink rhinestone hearts on it. I copied my apartment key and gave her the copy. The guy who copied my key said I couldn't get any pretty blanks for it, just plain silver. There was a short discussion about the pros and cons of coating the handle with enamel and then adding designs.

Then we went and Holly got a brand new G1 phone from T-Mobile. It's black, like her other one, and they put her old phone number in it, and she left with a working duplicate of her old phone, complete with all phone numbers and information. It may have cost a lot to replace, but the rest of the trauma is significantly missing. As soon as you start up the G1, it asks you a few simple questions to identify you, and then loads all your information on the phone. It takes less than five minutes.

We each had coupons for 50% off on one item from AC Moore, so we went to check it out. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything that they had before that I wanted, and they also had nothing new that either of us wanted. They had more of the sock yarn that I got last time, but I have enough projects to work on that I didn't want to get more yarn like that at the moment. We both walked out with nothing.

We went to dinner at Carrabba's, and I discovered (thanks to my phone) that there is one almost right around the corner from me. I really had no idea that it was there. The phone not only told me where the restaurant was, but also gave me a map of how to get there from where I was, and it kept offering me a menu! I really love my G1!

In short, we had our usual good time.

I hope you've been having a great weekend!

Meteorite Friday

I have a lot of stuff to do today, but there are some things I do want to talk about, so this will be a very short post.

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I came across a really wonderful web page about meteorites, and I thought you'd like to know about it. There are links in the text to other interesting pages (unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to read all of them) and links to other parts of the same site at the top of the page. There's lots of interesting information on the page, though.

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There's another new episode of Dollhouse (Fox) on tonight, plus the TV premier of the Stargate movie, Ark of Truth (SciFi), both starting at 9 here. Good luck with that. I hope you have a DVR if you want to watch both. If you don't have a DVR and really want to watch both, Ark of Truth will be on next Friday at 7 here, followed by the second SG movie, Continuum. Of course, Dollhouse will probably be on at the same time as one of those two next Friday, but Continuum will be repeated on the following Friday (two weeks from today), and Dollhouse will skip a week soon, so you can probably manage to see all of that within the next two weeks.

Confused? 

I am!

Please check your local listings!

And have a great Friday!

Vicki Howell Left a Comment on My Blog!

Yes, you read that right. Vicki Howell left a comment on my blog! You can see the post here. You have to scroll down for the comment.

If you read the comment, you know that she has another contest today for several copies of her new book, Pop Goes Crochet, so get on over there and enter! Read the directions and send out cards to friends today!

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One of the books I got from the library is driving me crazy, and threatening to change my whole life! It's called Freeform Knitting and Crochet, and you can see from the cover what has grabbed my interest.

I read through one project in this, and mentally think up seven other projects to do with the same techniques. All I can say is Wow!

For instance: to make freeform knitting to the correct size and shape (for projects that need that, such as a yoke for a sweater) she recommends cutting a pattern from fabric that you can place the knitting on top of as a quick reference to what shape has to be made where so that it comes out the right size and shape. Sometimes she knits or crochets separate motifs, and pieces them together to fit. There's a sweater that's mostly plain shown in the book that has a freeform yoke, and it's beautiful! 

But I read it and think about going to the craft/yarn store and buying a plain bag to use for a knitting bag and using it as a template for some freeform knitting that I can then sew directly to the bag, thereby strengthening the knitting, and automatically creating a sturdy lining!

There's a sequel to this book called Freeformations: Design and Projects in Knitting and Crochet. I haven't seen this book in person yet, but the reviewers at Amazon liked it better than the first book, and Ravelry shows some impressive designs from this book, so I think I'll get both of them eventually. I feel like my brain is about to explode into the third dimension after reading part of the first book!

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I'm about to do a Crazy Aunt Purl, only for science fiction fans rather than knitters. Sadly, I did not take the photo, and have been unable to take photos like this since I lost my car (unless I'm walking past a parked car). This came from io9, so if you like it, go over there and read some stuff. They're great!



Be sure not to miss the sticker above the license plate that says "Laura Roslin is my president." I love that plate, but I also enjoy the frame on the plate.

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Not much science fiction on TV tonight, just Supernatural in the fantasy/supernatural category. But it's a new one, about Sam and Dean in a life that doesn't include demons, angels or other supernatural beings. I read some spoilers saying that Ghostfacers will be back soon, and I think this is the episode. If so, it promises to be one of their best ever.

Ghostfacers refers to the episode by that name where a group of nerds get together and try to sell a show about recording encounters with ghosts to a network. They are inept kids who have a lot of technical equipment, and not much sense or brain-power going for them. Of course, they run into Sam and Dean before the ghosts, and totally snarl thing up for them. 

I'm dying to say more, but I don't want to spoil it, and I'm not 100% certain that this is the episode. But nearly certain.

I can't wait for it, though!

Have a great evening, and go enter Vicki's contest!

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Addition:

I was so excited about this yesterday, and I nearly forgot to include it today. For people who love The Middleman, you can sign up in advance for the DVD that will be out this July.

Strange Tuesday

Yesterday was so strange.

I walked over to the library, and also to Safeway. I requested a stack of books from the library, and three of them were in. 

Anyway, I woke up early (for me) because I was just uncomfortable. And that was just the beginning.

All day, nothing actually hurt, and I wasn't actually sick, but I just didn't feel OK all day. I couldn't knit for more than a half hour without getting distracted or wanting to do something else. Well, actually, that applied to everything I did yesterday. Watched half a TV show and got bored. I was too tired to stay awake, but too uncomfortable to do more than doze and wake up 15 minutes later. I went from one thing to another and didn't enjoy any of it.

Just uncomfortable the whole day.

I really hope that's over with.

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I was on Ravelry today, and clicked on one of the groups I belong to that I haven't checked in a while--the Springwater Workshop group.

Springwater was a local yarn shop that went out of business a while ago. It was my favorite in the area, and I knew most of the people who worked and taught there. I was really sad to see it go. But I was surprised to see it still up on Ravelry as a group, so I clicked on it to see if anyone was still active in the group, and they are!

As Ravelrey does, it inspired me to follow a lot of interesting links, and one of them lead me to information on the Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival. This is a really long ride from where I live, but it looks like fun.

Anyway, I thought that this might be useful information for someone who lives in the Western part of Virginia, who might want to go, so I'm including it here. I'm not putting it on my calendar, though, because it's such a long ride.

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I am so boring after yesterday! I wish I knew what happened to me.

So this will be a short post, and I'll just say have a great evening.

Wow! I'm acting dyslexic  again. Maybe it's the pollen.

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Addition:

I found this article on io9 about Red Dwarf!

Happy Monday!

Well, in the last 24 hours, my mobius hood has exploded from something that looked just a little longer than it did the day before to starting to look like a real hood!


It doesn't look in the photo like it would fit as well as it does in real life. Well, I did some shaping on the hood, and I still have some doubts about this project. I think it's really turning out nice, so far, though.

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For those of you who don't know, the SciFi Channel has discovered that they can't trademark/register/copyright/whatever the term "SciFi." So they have embarked on a journey to find the perfect new name for their network. They have chosen SyFy as their new name. I read one report that insisted that they chose it because that's how they would spell it in a text message.

First of all, I doubt that they can't trademark it. Blaster, and a lot of other basic SF words were successfully trademarked in the past, which seems really silly to me. Unless someone else has already trademarked it.

Io9 has some really funny articles about this. The first one I saw was named SciFi Channel Changes It's Name to a Typo, and it was just an announcement of the change. The second one, 25 Other Names the SciFi Channel Could Rebrand With was funny. My favorite on the list was "Sci-Fi Except For All That Wrestling Channel," although I also liked "Zzzzzzzzzy-Phy."

Then there was a post called "15 More Alternate Names for the SciFi Channel," which continued the funny theme. One of my favorites from this list was the "I Cant Spel But I Kin Txt Chanel."

Here's what SciFi has to say about the name change in their own words. The theme that keeps repeating is the idea of "a name we can own." There was also a poll on your opinion of the new name in the sidebar. I voted against it, but it seems to be gone now. I can't find it on their site. But when I voted, the score was something like 157 for and over a half million against. I suspect they took it down because they didn't like the general direction in which it was headed.

But they are doing something good tomorrow during the day. They have reruns of Eureka on! On Wednesday, there will be episodes of Tru Calling on their daytime rotation, too.

This weekend, actually Friday evening at nine (here) they're showing Stargate: Ark of Truth for all of you, like me who haven't been able to scrape up the money for the DVD, even though it's not very expensive.

I suspect they're doing that to make it up to us for showing Beowulf last weekend. I didn't think anything or anybody could mess up a fine, classic, Icelandic saga as badly as Grendel, but Beowulf gave it a run for it's money.

NBC will be showing their usual Monday night science fiction shows, Chuck, Heroes, and Medium, and we'll be treated to another episode of Castle at the same time as Medium. The Monday night lineup is currently good for all old Firefly fans because we can get to see both Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin! It's just a shame Castle isn't science fiction (or fantasy).

Well, there's lots to do today, so I'd better get going.

Have a great day!

Middleman

I ran across some news for Middleman fans today. First there is an article about it on TV Shows on DVD. Then there is a picture of the new DVD's cover on the Middleblog. The DVD will be premiering at Comic-Con in San Diego. I really hope John gets a chance to go to this, because I want some first-hand information!

I just can't wait for the DVD to be out!

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Well, Friday, I had so much stuff to say that I felt like I was going to explode. Then, yesterday, there wasn't a thing I wanted to post.

Holly and I went out for the day, and had a lot of fun.

She stopped at my place first, and started a new baby blanket she's making for a friend. The yarn is beautiful. If you click that link, I think it's the color called boys and girls. Hers seems to have more lavender/blue in it, though, so it might be a different color, but the same type of self-patterning yarn. She's making a circular blanket, so the center (where you start) is really tricky for a bit until you get going. She's doing the center using magic loop, rather than DPs, and she's almost up to the point where she can just knit around without the loops on a 24 inch circular needle. It'll be much easier after that. The center, so far, is so beautiful that it's almost making me want to run out and buy some yarn and make one, too.

I have a sock I'm working on (yet--I got to the toe and ran out of yarn in that ball, so I frogged back to the leg and made it a half inch shorter), plus the moebius hood for the House Cup KAL, the Christmas stockings I need to start, and another project that I might get paid for.

So, I really don't need another project to start.

But the baby blanket is so beautiful! I really should've taken a picture.

We went to Michaels, and discovered that they're still talking about all the wonderful yarns that they'll be getting in for Spring, but don't have in the store yet. There were areas of shelves that were totally empty which they had attempted to cover with big signs telling about the wonderful yarn that would be there someday.

I have news for them! It's Spring already, and the Spring projects that people want to knit should be nearing completion at this point, not waiting in limbo for yarn to start them. At the rate they're going, the Spring yarn will arrive this Summer, just in time to knit projects for the Fall! This is so stupid I cannot believe it!

Then we went to the new JoAnn Fabrics store, which is just bursting with all the yarn that Michaels doesn't have! I'm going to be doing two more Christmas stockings for the family that ordered the first five, so I bought the yarn for them while I was there, plus a really nice pair of scissors, perfect for clipping seams once I get back to sewing. I need a nice table to put my sewing machine on so that I can leave it out all the time. Otherwise, I'll never get any sewing done. I also want a chair that I can use with the table for sewing, and at my computer, too.

While we were there, Holly got a pair of stretchy gloves that are intended to help with hands that do too much and are overstressed. They also have wrist support built in. She plans to wear them not only for knitting, but also for work, so this was a good buy for her. 

Then, we went to the nice WalMart in the area. This is the one I have to take two buses to get to. The one that has a good selection of yarn and other things, not the nearby one that doesn't have 25 percent of what I went to shop at WalMart for on a regular basis.

We finished up with a loooong meal at Ruby Tuesday, and a nice long time to talk and have fun.

I got to a point in the moebius hood last night where I could finish the moebius part. I was able to get it around my shoulders, and it's good enough, so far, that I can see that this is almost certainly going to work if I persevere and finish it. I think it will be nicer if it's a little wider, though, so I'm continuing for another five inches to see if that makes an improvement. I suspect it will. It was workable, but the back of it wanted to slide up the back of my head, so I think just a little longer may solve that fit problem.

I wished I'd had it finished so I could wear it yesterday, along with the matching poncho I plan to knit. I wore the right clothes for being out in the weather yesterday. It's still a bit chilly around here. I think it was supposed to go up to about 50 or 55 yesterday.

But for riding around in a car that had been parked in the sun for a while, it was way too warm.

I hope you've been having a great weekend!

Happy Heathen Rites of Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring! 

It started a little before 8 am here. Today is the Spring Equinox (also called the Vernal Equinox), from an astronomical standpoint. That means that the sun is directly above the equator today, and the day and night are equal. Find out more in the link to Wikipedia.

I'm looking forward to more sun, warmer temperatures, and lots of sneezing, coughing and exhaustion from tree pollen.

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There was just so much to talk about yesterday that I either omitted things or found them later. So, here goes a try at getting the rest up here. This is mostly short items, but a lot of them.

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This is the United Nations International Year of Natural Fiber! I didn't know anyone else was celebrating what I have ever since 1988, when I learned to spin! Unfortunately, they plan to stop celebrating it at the end of the year, not go right on like I will. With any luck, this will make the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the best ever this year!

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I got a comment on yesterday's post!

Thanks Jo for all of your excellent posts...and not just the ones about what I'm up to with you. You are an outstanding writer and artist and my life would be so much poorer of an experience if not for meeting you that August day in College Park in 1976!

John, I really would have missed out if I hadn't met you, too. Never in my life have I known anyone who is so supportive of the creative people around him, and I'm honored to be one of them. Everyone around you does better work and gets opportunities that they never would have had if not for you.

And you're really the best friend ever, right up there with my Mom and Holly as the best friends of my entire life. 

I wouldn't have had the chance to do the covers for the Steve Canyon DVDs if not for you. And I wouldn't have a computer if not for you. Yes, thanks Laura, I haven't forgotten that you gave me the computer, but you wouldn't have known I needed or wanted one if not for John.

I never would have had a chance to work on movies if not for you, and I never would have had my own IMdB page, either.

And I haven't even mentioned what a fabulous artist you are. And that's only a small part of your creativity. How many people have dreamed of making movies and creating special effects? How many people have dreamt of bringing back a wonderful series like Steve Canyon? How many have done it? 

You did it!

You are the best!

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Just because you aren't John, doesn't mean you can't comment on my blog, you know. I love comments, and might even answer yours!

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I found a great tutorial on how to do applied I-cord! I'm going to add it to my sidebar so you (and I) can find it again! 

There was time that this tutorial would have driven me crazy and I'd have had a hard time doing it, but since I found Knit Picks needles, I've discovered that the sharp points they have make picking up stitches easy without a crochet hook. I just insert the left needle in the place I want to pick up the stitch, and then knit it! Easy as that! I love Knit Picks needles! So, if you have trouble picking up stitches the way she shows, you might try needles with sharper points or inserting the left needle and then knitting as a way of picking up a stitch.

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The new Knitty has an unbelievable lace shawl called shipwreck in it! I am absolutely in love with this pattern! There's another triangle called the Aeolian Shawl that I thought was very pretty until I saw Shipwreck. Among the other patterns that are so beautiful are Ripple, and many more neat patterns and especially Fit + Float, a beautiful lace scarf that gets lacier at the ends until the ruffle.

I'm really going to have to make the Shipwreck shawl! I'm already thinking about changing some of the center patterns, but I love the big net-look edging! And the iridescent beads are just perfect on it! I like the hearts, too, but I think it needs starfish on it somewhere. The leaves in the third pattern out from the center look like seaweed, and I can't bear to remove the hearts, so I guess the stars would have to be in the very center. I'd rather have them where the leaves are, though. But look at that border! It looks like a net, but it also looks like water washing up on the beach in that photo, and when worn. I love it!

Oh, I have to do this!

Get the pattern on Knitty!

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Science fiction is pretty thin on TV tonight unless you're into Battlestar Galactica. If you are, we're already in the middle of a BG extravaganza. Today, the SciFi Channel is actually the All-Battlestar-Galactica-all-the-time channel.

Who is the last Cylon? Who cares?

I liked the original BG, and I really wanted to like the new BG. 

I loved the original Starbuck. And I really wanted to love the new Starbuck. I like Katee Sackhoff, and if you take away Starbuck's viper, and give her a T-34, she's me. So, I really, really, really wanted to like her and the show, but it all went wrong for me somehow.

And I just couldn't, no matter how much I tried.

So, for those of you (like John) who love the show, don't let me be a wet blanket, this is your day, enjoy!

Other than that, we do have a new episode of Dollhouse, and it promises to be a good one.

Have a great Spring!

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PS--The Yarn Harlot is making Battlestar Galactica socks!

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Another PS--You should really watch this even if you're not a fiber artist and/or don't like sheep!

These people made art out of sheep, and it's SO funny! You'll love it!

So Much Is Happening!

There's so much going on today that I probably shouldn't take the time to post this, but there's so much to tell.

John is starting to get the photos from his trip to Reel Stuff back. Here's one of them:


There's also a friend of his, Matt Tauber, who put up a post with more photos in it, and you can see it here. The post has some great photos in it and an eyewitness account of his experience. Since I couldn't be there, it's much better than I could do. So, check it out.

From what I understand, there will be more photos here about it soon, but don't forget to check out his blog at Steve Canyon on DVD!

And here's a photo I stole from his blog.

What I should be doing right now is one last round of changes on the inside cover for the Steve Canyon on DVD Volume 2. It's the one page that John hasn't shown anybody, and he has one last option he wants to look at before he makes the final decision. I'm at that stage in the proceedings where I can't wait for it to be finalized and done with. Once that's over, I'll be waiting to get my copy in the mail. After that, it'll be waiting to get the information for the third volume. I'm sure you're getting the drift now. I'm always wanting the next thing.

It's so close to being done that I'm really excited! John is anxious to get it done, too!

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Stephanie Pearl McPhee was interviewed (via phone) on the Graham Norton show. 

Greg Kinnear was on the show and they talked about the word that Steph invented with his name. You can see that section of the show on YouTube. They showed Steph's blog on the show, too. You can catch the announcement of the show on Twitter, too.

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Vicki Howell is having another contest for a copy of her new book over on her blog. There is also a photo up of one of the designs in the book, and I have to say that even though I'm not big on crochet, I really love this one! If you're a crocheter, don't miss this one!

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Well, I entertained myself yesterday (and wore myself out) by going over to the new JoAnn Fabrics here. When Holly and I were at AC Moore last weekend, there was some really pretty yarn that I liked a lot and I've been regretting not buying it ever since. I love the sock yarn that I bought instead, but I wish I had also bought the sparkly, shiny, blue sport yarn, too. The stuff I keep picturing in lace with blue, dark plum and/or white iridescent beads scattered around the bottom.

The first sock, by the way, is nearly done. I have less than an inch before I start the toe shaping. Photos soon.

Somehow, I thought that there might be a good chance that JoAnn would have it, too. I was sadly mistaken. I did find more of the yarn that I liked so much for the Mobius hood, which I really need to get back to knitting. I bought it, hoping that there will be enough to make a poncho with. Then I can wear the poncho with the hood over it. Of course, I can wear the poncho or hood separately should I wish to, always assuming that the hood actually turns out to be wearable. This is all very experimental.

But the hood has to be done by the end of this month for the Harry Potter House Cup KAL/CAL I'm involved in. Getting stuff done works better for me when I have a deadline.

If it does turn out well, you can expect a hood/poncho pattern for sale soon. And another pair of patterns for the book I haven't been working hard enough on.

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There's a new Supernatural on tonight, and not much more in science fiction (or, in this case, fantasy) TV news.

I caught Galaxy Quest and They Live right before they came on in the last couple of days and recorded them, but haven't watched them yet. They're both movies I've watched multiple times and still love.

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I just finished reading Twilight and enjoyed it immensely. There were a lot of strange reviews of this on Amazon, and some of the reviews are grossly misleading. 

One thing a lot of people went on about was the way it's written. The consensus seems to be that it's badly written, which wasn't what I found at all. Accusations were made that there are misspelling, grammatical errors, and more in this book. I found two typos, and that's all. And I was really looking for this after all the reviews. The writing is very clear and allows the story to move at a brisk, easy pace. It's a quick, easy read, and hard to put down. It portrays a teenagers first love very well, so if you'd like to go along for that rollercoaster ride again, here's your chance. 

One thing most of the reviewers missed is that this told as a first person narrative. That's why it's submerged in self-doubt, and dripping with nauseous detail about how beautiful/wonderful/smart/funny/you get the picture the object of her affection is. That's the perspective of this hormone bombarded teen, not necessarily the truth that someone else would see.

The book exaggerates the whole teen love experience by making the heroine's boyfriend a vampire. Making vampirism a metaphor for lust is something that's been done over and over, so there's nothing new in that, but it's done well here. And yes, it's very mellow dramatic! So is first love. Get over it! If you don't want to read gooey trash, skip this. But I found it fun and definitely worth a read.

I have the next two sequels for this on request at the library, but in the meantime, I'm getting back to The Dresden Files series by rereading my favorite from the series, Blood Rites. It's my favorite because Harry gets involved in making a movie. It's only when he shows up for work that he discovers the movie is porn. This leads to more humor than most of the Dresden books. Well, it may have something to do with the fact that I've worked on some low-budget films (science fiction, not porn) myself. I love all the Dresden books, but this is my favorite so far.

I have to get busy and finish the alternate view of the inside front cover for Steve Canyon, Volume 2. Before John has a meltdown. He's not pushing me or giving me a hard time, but I know he wants to.

Have a great day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I'm a little disappointed about Saint Patrick's Day this year. Usually, there are a whole string of wonderful St. Pat's movies on TV for a week, or at least a few days before, and several things on during the day. 

This year, there's nothing except some stupid leprechaun horror movies on SciFi, which is especially disappointing since they did an original movie about leprechauns a few years ago. I don't remember it being particularly good, but at least it wasn't bad on the same scale as the movies they're showing today. There were some other good movies I've seen.

I thought that at least I'd be able to watch Luck of the Irish (the one with Tyrone Power, not the dumb thing Disney did), Darby O'Gill and the Little People, and The Quiet Man. But no luck there. None of them were being shown.

But I did a very little bit of research on St. Patrick and found out something interesting. The color associated with Saint Patrick is BLUE! I'm so excited about that! I had no idea!

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John put up a new blog post about Steve Canyon! He talks about Reel Stuff and more. Check it out!

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Holly and I went out on Sunday, and as usual, had a lot of fun. We went to AC Moore, where I got some really nice sock yarn, stopped in at Best Buy, where Holly got a new computer game (Oblivion), then zipped over to WalMart, where we did some heavy-duty basic shopping, and then went on to Ruby Tuesday for dinner, where we caught up on current events and had more fun.

Here's a photo of the Kroy sock yarn I bought. I'm on the first sock and have almost finished the heel flap. I'll have a photo of that later.

I did a 2x2 rib for the tops, and I intended to continue the ribs down the top of the foot, but I'm looking at the pattern that's evolving on the heel flap (which is the first part that I've knit plain) and I like the way it looks. I'm beginning to think that I'd like these better if I did the whole foot in plain stockinette. 

I will get around to posting my instructions for really comfortable socks on here real soon now.

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The most exciting thing on TV tonight is Reaper and The Mentalist, both of which are new.

I have lots of stuff to do today, involving the bus, so I'll get going and just wish you a happy St. Paddy's Day!

Happy Pi Day!

I guess this is a big day for mathematicians, but, although I can see that the discovery of Pi is useful, it just doesn't strike me as something I really want to set aside a whole day to celebrate.

But then, I was never very good at arithmetic.

Maybe it's just today. It's not getting too far above freezing today and it's raining. I was going to go out with Holly, but Robin made plans to get off work and do something with her, so it's been postponed until tomorrow. After looking at the weather, I'm not really sad about not going out today.

Today is the kind of day that (back when I had a job) made me look out the window and want to call in sick, then crawl back into bed and go back to sleep.

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In knitting news, not much is happening. I'm almost done with a sock, but it looks just like the sock before it, and only slightly different than the two socks before that. I've done more on the mobius hood, but it's just a little longer, it really doesn't look too much different. The excitement will be happening when it gets even longer than it is,  not now. But photos right now will be unbelievably dull.

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There's also almost nothing worthwhile to see on TV today or tomorrow, so, all in all, it's just a blah day. It's a good thing I have a DVR with a backlog of stuff to watch.

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I finished reading Inkdeath a more than a week ago. It was a good series, and I enjoyed reading it, but I'm glad I was able to borrow it from the library instead of buying it. I'm really in a blah mood today.

After that, I read The Alchemyst, which is the contemporary adventures of Nicholas Flamel, the famed (and real) alchemist from the Renaissance. I have the sequel, The Magician, ordered at the library. Amazon says in on place that it's already available, but another listing says it won't be out until later this month. There's a third book (The Sorceress), and judging by the first one, I'll definitely want to read all three.

In the meanwhile, while I'm waiting for those, I'm reading the copy of Twilight that I bought in January.

So, it's back to knitting, TV, and maybe some reading.

I hope you're having a great weekend!

Oh, I nearly forgot! There's now a widget at the bottom of my blog that will tell you about pollen in your area. Just scroll down all the way to the bottom. It's with the widget that tells you how many days are left until Christmas, and the one that says how many days are left until Half Blood Prince (the movie) will be out.

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

Wow! I just got a case of deja vu. It seems like only 28 days since I last said this.

I hope you're enjoying the second of two Fridays the thirteenth in two months.

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Vicki Howell has a new book coming out, Pop Goes Crochet, and she's got a contest going on over on her blog to win a signed copy of her new book. Check it out!

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I saw this note on FaceBook: "John Ellis is glad things went well last nite..the reception & screening was a BIG hit & John Ellis even interviewed Milton Caniff (!) via some hocus-pocus & razzle-dazzle."

I'm so glad it's going well, and I'm dying to find out how he interviewed Milton!

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Holly called last night. We're going out tomorrow! It'll be so nice to see her again. Ever since the headlights on her car died just before Christmas, I saw her at Christmas and one other time. That's twice in two and a half months. I miss her!

Have a great evening, and don't miss the brand new episode of Dollhouse!

Blitzed by Knit Picks!

Today, I got an email from Knit Picks telling me that they have new knitting tools available.

Wow, do they ever!

Check this out! There's a fabulous ball winder, and it's half the price of the nice ball winder that just went off the market! And interlocking foam boards that you can use for blocking or as a background for photos. All the best stitch markers are available much cheaper, and without those ugly colors like lime green and orange. The cheapest sock blockers I've seen anywhere, and they're still good quality. A device to hold your DP needles while you're knitting a sock to keep you from losing them and/or impaling yourself on them.

And the best gadget of all, a set of double ended crochet hooks! These are great because you can fix a stitch several rows below, even if you were doing seed stitch. Unravel to the mistake, use the hook from the knit side to latch up a knit stitch, and when the next row demands a purl, just slide the hook through the work to the other side and make a knit stitch on that side! You don't have to drop the stitch off the hook and try to pick it up on the other side!

I love Knit Picks and want to marry them!

One of the things I like about them is their shopping cart. You can just throw anything in which you're interested into the cart and then sort out what you can afford to actually get. The stuff you don't get will be in the "save for later" portion of the cart, ready for when you have a bit more money. It's great, because you don't realize the day after an order that you really wanted to order something that you forgot. You don't forget because it's already in your cart.

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I'm also excited about John being at the "Reel Stuff Film Festival!" I doubt whether I'll hear too much from him until he's back, but I'm really excited for him. He has been putting notices up on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, you can read about Steve Canyon here. And If you'd like to find out more about John, check him out here. I was lucky enough to be his friend and work alongside of him for a lot of that, the medical illustration, and some other work. He's made nothing but wonderful changes in my life.

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There's some great TV on tonight!

There's a brand new Supernatural, and a brand new Eleventh Hour, too! 

For those of you who aren't SF fans, there's also brand new episodes of Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice.

Have a great evening!

Saint Paddy's Day is Coming

As you all know, St. Patrick's Day is less than a week away.

To celebrate this wonderful event, Vicki Howell has a wonderful, quick pattern up on her blog for shamrocks, and I thought you should know about it.

It's called Knitted & BeJewelled Shamrocks!

Now I have to say that I cringed when I read the word bejewelled, because people use this word (and embellished) as an excuse to overdo things and create something hideous. But Vicki, in her usually impeccable style, has managed to make something wonderful out of it all.

And, in case it's escaped your attention, you could use individual shamrock leaves from this pattern to make beautiful hearts for Valentine's Day, or for anyone that you care about.

Do check it out!

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John and I spent a busy day yesterday putting the final touch on the covers for Steve Canyon, Volume 2. Not that there was much to do on that. Most of yesterday's time was spent on converting the cover of Volume 1 to a 20x30 poster size. This will be made up as a one-off poster, signed by John and raffled (or auctioned) off at the event he's at this week. He'll be in Dayton, Ohio (he's probably arrived by now) for the "Reel Stuff Film Festival." I'm really excited and happy for him. It should be a wonderful experience.

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There's a Lost rerun on tonight. This is actually worthwhile, because there's usually so much packed into each episode of Lost that I usually don't catch it all on the first go-round, and the second time it's shown, each episode has subtext that explains the allusions, and points out back story. Definitely worth a second go.

Have a great evening!

More Steve Canyon Excitement!

John put up a new post on the Steve Canyon on DVD blog, and he's not the only one that's talking about our favorite pilot. The people over at TV Shows on DVD have an article up about the cover and label art. Go on over and check out what mischief John and I have been up to.

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I finally got around to starting on the project for the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry. You may recall that I bought some yarn over at JoAnn Fabrics last week. I didn't read the label as carefully as I should have, and it turned out it wasn't worsted weight, as I thought it was, but chunky or bulky instead. I'd have liked the lighter weight, but Now that I'm actually knitting it, I love it! It looked like the print on the yarn would look too tweedy for Spring, but it looks like it will be the perfect Spring color. 

I still have severe doubts about the way this is going to turn out. I know I can do the Mobius, I know I can add a hood, but is it going to fit the way I want it to? I suspect that all I can do is try it out and see.

This yarn is acrylic, but it's so nice that it's making me think about going back for some more. It does look a bit tweedy, but not too much so for Spring or even Summer, and it feels so good!

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The SciFi Channel is having some really good stuff on this week on it's daytime rotation. I hope you realized that Charlie Jade is on today so that you are watching it. Tomorrow, they'll be doing Stargate Atlantis, Thursday it'll be Doctor Who, and Friday they have The Twilight Zone.

On TV tonight, we have an all new Reaper, and a Mentalist rerun. Pretty slim pickin's.

I hope you got to see the premier of Castle last night. Nathan Fillion was his usual lovable self, which would be reason enough to watch, but it may be a really good series. 

Have a great day!

2009 Schedule!

I've been putting this off, but it's time to put up the 2009 schedule so that we can all be on the same page and at the same event, without having to say "Oh, I should have made a request 2 months ago for time off so that I could go to that!"

For those of you who don't know, there are an array of events that I used to go to every year alone. Then Holly moved to this area and went with me, and then she met Everett, and then Lynn found out about it, and it's escalated from there, or possibly got out of control, depending on your viewpoint. The more the merrier, but we'll probably have to take two cars. Maybe we can drag Malaia and John along on at least one event this year. Malaia said she wanted to go to the Sheep and Wool Festival.

So, this is the plan for 2009:

2 & 3 May-- The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. This is the biggest event of it's kind in the United States. It's a once-a-year, not-to-be-missed fiberarts extravaganza! We may only be going on the second, but it'll be open both days. It's free, you just walk in. But save up your money, because there will be a lot that you'll want to buy!

16 & 18 May--Maryland Faerie Festival This was recommended to me by Dancing Pig Pottery, and it sounds like fun.

16 May to 14 June--The Virginia Renaissance Faire. I've never been to this, but I'm putting it up here in hopes that someone else will feel like going and take me along.

13 & 14 June--The Potomac Celtic Festival. For those out there who love bagpipes, and men in kilts, this is the place you want to go! They have cider and ale as well as beer, and I advise that you stick close to Holly, because she always finds the best stuff immediately.

29 August to 25 October--The Maryland Renaissance Festival. One of my favorite things to do. We try to go twice a year. This is a really fabulous Renfair!

3 & 4 October--Fall Fiber Fest. Not anywhere as big as the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but it staves off withdrawal until the next year and lets me get last-minute (so to speak) ingredients for Christmas present construction.

I hope you're all enjoying the Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family! Oh, and don't forget that Castle premiers on Monday!

I Made It on My Schacht Contest!

Schacht is having a contest for spinners and weavers. Read all about it here.

I'm wondering (since I no longer have a Schacht wheel) if I could submit something spun on a Schacht Navajo spindle. The prize is a Schacht matchless wheel or a loom, which is silly when you stop to think about it because you have to have one of those in order to enter.

Check out the entry form.

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I spent a few hours on the bus today and went over and paid my Comcast bill. I got information on my account. The bill is due on the last day of the month and must be paid by the 5th of the following month. Which means that unless I pay a month in advance, I'll have to pay a late fee every month. Since my entire income for the month arrives on the third, this is a bad arrangement. I can't mail in a payment without incurring a late fee.

If you have Comcast "service" (and I use the word service very loosely), check your bill. If you see something on there listed as a "one time charge," it's really a late fee. Check your billing date, due date, and the date of the last day you can pay without incurring a late fee.

I'm really disgusted with them.

My DVR started to record two programs tonight, and then just stopped. Then it turned itself off. I restarted it, and eventually started (on my command) to record one of the two programs it was supposed to record, but wouldn't start recording the other one because it said it was already recording that program, but it wasn't.

If I complain about this, they'll claim that the DVR is defective (which it is), and tell me to bring it back. The problem with that (other than the fact that I just spent the day going over there and back, and don't want to spend tomorrow dragging a big DVR over there and back) is that all their DVRs are unreliable and only work some of the time. I've had at least one other DVR, and have talked to others who have them, and all their DVRs are just badly engineered, and exchanging it for a different one is not really going to fix anything.

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While I was out riding around on the bus, I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics and found some really nice yarn for a project for the Harry Potter House Cup contest on Ravelry. Photos of the yarn and the beginning of my insane project soon. I'll have further news about the project, too.

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Tonight, USA is showing the season finale of Burn Notice! If you missed it, it's usually repeated sometime early Saturday, so check your local listings. It's about to start here in a few minutes, so I'm going to quit now.

Have a great Friday!

Happy Craft Month!

March is craft month, as all the advertising sent to me has made perfectly clear. So, do some crafting in celebration, and don't forget to check those sales! Most of the craft stores are having special sales, and this is your chance to cash in on them.

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A brand-new episode of Reaper is back on TV tonight! I like Reaper, and I'm glad it's back, but if I had a choice, there is a long list of programs I'd much rather see back, such as The Dresden Files, The Middleman, Firefly, Blake's 7, Babylon 5, Red Dwarf, Probe, and lots more. Oh, well, we take what we can get.

There will also be a rerun of The Mentalist. I'd like to see some new episodes, but I'm very grateful that they're rerunning them. So many channels are showing a series, and then it disappears. I'd like the chance to watch them again and to catch up on ones that I've missed (such as the entire Middleman series, which Comcast managed to show entirely without closed captioning). Comcast is so inept!

The best thing on tonight will be an episode of The Universe on the History Channel (I think) about alternate universes. I haven't seen an episode of this series that I didn't like, but this is my favorite.

So, check it out and have a fun evening!

The Big News Today Is Steve Canyon!

John has a new post up on his Steve Canyon blog. He put it up in between instructions for changes/improvements on the volume 2 front and back covers. 

This has been a nonstop marathon of intense work for him for a while now. I had an intermission from the cover work  because he was trying to fit his schedule into a match with a long list of other people who added information about the making of the Steve Canyon episodes. I was shoved aside while all that was happening.

Today, I woke up, checked my email, and before I finished reading it all, an email from John came in with information about the changes he wanted on the cover. I've been working on it ever since.

So, at this point, it looks like the outside front and back covers are done. We have one disk label that he likes, and two versions of the second disk label which he's going to decide between.

That leaves the inside covers to do. The inside back cover is just a list of the episodes on the disks along with the names of the guest stars and the people doing the extras on that episode. So, I'll have to format the text once John writes/compiles it, but there won't be a lot to do on that, and what there will be will all be stuff that's either right or wrong.

It's the inside front cover that's the part I'm working on now. John doesn't want me to comment on what I'm doing before it's done, so I'll quit talking about it now.

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Today, I tracked down information on my bluetooth headset on the internet, and read the instructions again. I discovered that I remembered most of what you need to do to get it to sync with a phone, but not all. So, I gave it another try, and it synched with my phone like a dream!

I'm also finding that the things I didn't like about my phone were all things that I just hadn't learned to do yet. And they're all things that are as easy to do as the Sidekick, just a bit different.

And there are so many things about it that I'm just tickled with. I love being able to click on maps, and have it show me an aerial view of where I am. When I'm at home, it shows a satellite view of my apartment building, and it even shows where I am in the building. If I had been standing in front of the building when the satellite took the photo, you'd be able to see me. The satellite view has arrows drawn in on Old Bridge Road that show the direction of traffic, but there's a little one-way drive in the complex I live in that doesn't have arrows drawn because you can clearly see the arrows drawn on the pavement of the street!

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I'm almost to the toe of the second sock I'm making out of the yarn I bought at JoAnn Fabrics during my local store's grand opening celebration (which was really more of a Look!-We've-Moved! celebration).

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I had intended to watch the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy today on TNT, but that was before I discovered that today was going to be Steve Canyon day. Since there isn't enough time to watch the whole thing left in the rest of today, it looks like Steve won.

I hope you're having a great weekend!