Progress Is Slow

Well, I'm below the waist on the Celtic Sweater, but haven't done the sleeves yet. If I had been able to finish the sleeves and get just a little further, it would be a race to the finish, but I haven't and it isn't.

I finished the front part of the pocket on the right hand side. 

As you can see, the pocket opening will be at an angle. I think that looks good on most people, and it seems to help keep things in the pocket rather than spilling out onto the floor.

There is a simple, narrow cable forming the edge of the pocket. On the right, you can see just a bit of the cable for the front.

I am finding more and more reasons to love the Options needle I have. I've bought a set of size 8 points, and several lengths of cable, and they are wonderful!

The two front sections each get knit in a separate piece, and the back, sides, and pocket linings get sewn in another piece. Normally, I would put each pocket lining on a piece of yarn to hold it, but with the Options needle, all I have to do is take off the needle tips, and replace them with stoppers, and don't have to thread them onto the yarn, and later have to pick them up again. I love them.

I've shifted the points to the other project, the wimple. I want to finish at least one of the projects I started for the Ravelympics, so I want to get this done. And I want the 24 inch cable from it for the other front pocket piece. You can expect a photo of the wimple tomorrow.

In the meantime, the SciFi Channel has run out of current Doctor Who episodes, which has downgraded their Friday evening offerings.

There is still Joan of Arcadia, which is wonderful, and Stargate Atlantis, though.

Somewhere, yesterday, I read that SciFi has canceled Stargate Atlantis. Ah, yes. It was on Joss Whedon's blog? Yes, it was!

I'm not happy about the cancellation, but not as upset as I was about the cancellation of Stargate SG-1.

Not much else happening around here except for more and more forms to fill out (and the universe finding more and more ways to separate me from my money) and lots of knitting to do.

Don't forget that I now have yarn and lots of knitting stuff in addition to books in my Amazon Store. The various yarns have been selling out quickly, and you need to grab the bargains when you see them because they may be gone soon. There's lots of wool, including the wool I'm using for the Celtic sweater, and lots of silk.

Have a great Friday, and a great weekend!

Old Friends

Today, I got a comment on my other blog from my ex-husband, Steve!

I was really glad to hear from him since it's been a while, and he's fun. I didn't really want to lose touch.

He's starting a blog at http://www.xanga.com/etienne56. There's not much there yet except the standard "Hi, this is my first blog post, what do I do now?" kind of thing. But check it in a few days.

He's involved in SCA and lives in Chicago. It could develop into a fun blog.

Here is the URL for the trailer for Faintheart that I told you about yesterday. Some people had trouble seeing it on the other blog.

I really want to see this movie, but even if I never do, the trailer is priceless!

Back to the Ravelympics and knitting!

I got nearly 10 inches of the top back done last night. Almost to the bottom of the armholes. Here's what it looks like:



I'm currently thinking about ripping out the top of the back. The cross is just too small. I put a sort of "frame" around it because I thought it would be small, but it's smaller than I thought it would be.

Although I love Viking Patterns for Knitting, I really don't like the way the cables and motifs are charted. The system used doesn't correspond to any charting system I've ever seen, and there is no legend to say what the symbols mean. I can almost figure out how to do them just by looking at the photos of the finished work, but I want to redo the charts so they're easier to read.

In this case, though, I'm going to have to redo the chart just because I want to make it bigger.

You would think that being a graphic artist, I would have no trouble with charting, but I'm beginning to realize that I hate it!

If I ever manage to get together all the charts for this, I think I'm going to sell the pattern. For a lot of money!

Back to the subject!

Last night, I switched back to knitting the wimple for the Ravelympics while I think about the sweater and what I really want to do with it.

If I redo the back, that will mean that I have to work out the whole chart before I can start reknitting. That's a lot of work and will make it much harder to finish in time. It will definitely mean that I will almost certainly not be able to finish the poncho in time for the deadline.

Who am I kidding? It will make it impossible to finish the poncho in time. Period. And it will mean that there's a good chance that I won't even get the sweater finished by the deadline.

But then, if I don't redo it, I'll always wish I had, and every time someone complements me on it (and it will be complement-worthy, even with the smaller cross), I'll think about how wonderful it could have been.

At this point, I think I'm going to leave the back and continue knitting the wimple while I spend some time charting. If I can get the chart done in the new size, I'll rip it and redo. If I can't possibly manage to get the chart working at all, I'll continue with what I have.

I'm really hoping I can get the chart to work.

I've seen some other really nice Celtic knots that I'd like to have charts for. I was going to say that I'd like to chart, but that really isn't true. I just want to knit them, not chart them.

As they say: back to the drawing board.

Joan of Arcadia will be on tonight on SciFi, along with a new Stargate Atlantis.

There will also be new episodes of Psych and Monk on USA.

There will also be some old Doctor Whos and a new Primeval on BBC in America tomorrow. If you missed the pilot of Primeval last week, they'll be rerunning it before the new episode tomorrow.

Primeval is interesting, and could develop into a good show. We'll see. 

Anyway, it's based on the premise that an anomaly/wormhole/something odd has opened up in the Forest of Dean in England and is linking that point with a time when there were dinosaurs, and some of them are getting through. The main character's wife disappeared a while before this, and he thinks she might have gone through the anomaly, and he's hunting for her.

Well, I have lots to do today, and not much time to do it in, so have a great weekend.

Oh, and birthday presents will be gratefully accepted. See the donate button in the sidebar.

Have a great weekend!

Quick Post!

I have lots to do today, so not much time for posting, so this will be short.

Do NOT forget about the second half of the season finale for Doctor Who this evening on SciFi!

There will also be an especially good episode of Stargate SG-1 (It's Good to Be King) on a bit before as well as Joan of Arcadia.

Dragon Sword is on sometime this weekend, too, followed by Dragonheart, both great stories for children as well as adults.

I'll be fighting with my computer later this evening or tomorrow in order to make some knitting charts for one of my Ravelympics projects.

In the meantime, I need to get out of here and on the bus!

Have a great Friday and weekend!

Comic Con Just Keeps Rolling!

What an exciting weekend! 

Comic Con is running all this weekend, and the Tour de Fleece is finishing up. 

By Monday morning, it will all be over.

Check the listings for G4 this weekend. They don't seem to be covering Comic Con on Sunday, which is a shame, especially for Steve Canyon fans, because that's when all the news about the new DVDs will be coming out. I don't have the details yet, so I'd love to be there and get to see the panel John will be on.

Speaking of the schedule on G4 today and this weekend, there is still day 2 of Comic Con today and day 3 tomorrow, as well as a Heroes marathon on Saturday!

I really should have started at the beginning with what's happening today, but Comic Con is so exciting!

Today, the channel to watch is SciFi! They're in the middle of a Tru Calling Marathon at the moment, and this evening there will be a new Joan of Arcadia, followed by the first of the two-part finale of Doctor Who for the current season! Not to mention a new Stargate Atlantis.

A large group of people on Ravelry were raving about the trailer for the Doctor Who finale, and I hadn't seen it until this morning. There's a lot to rave about!

I watched it as a recording and slowed it down so I wouldn't miss anything. The characters I saw in it were Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen, Ianto (from Torchwood), Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, and, of course, Donna Noble and the Doctor. I suspect that last week's episode, Turn Left, is something that will help understand the grand finale. I can't wait!

And now for the second part of this weekend's excitement: The Tour de Fleece.

I've had some slow going on the spinning front, but have most of the singles done. Finishing the singles tonight and tomorrow and then plying on Sunday should get me to my goal with time to spare.

On the knitting front, I've actually blocked the Shetland lace shawl and the Christmas hood, but I plan to take photos outside, so they'll be taken either this evening or tomorrow and posted here ASAP. The shawl turned out particularly well. I just love my steamer! I hadn't blocked a lace shawl with the steamer before, and I have to say the blocking went off like a dream. knitted lace looks like a wad of tangled yarn before blocking, and then turns into the most beautiful, magical web!

John called last night to let me know that he was all right. He had some dental work done yesterday. He had a dental problem that he thought would make speaking on Sunday an ordeal, but the dentist fixed everything painlessly without having to give him novacaine or anything. He said it was the best dental experience he's ever had, and he's now willing and able to smile and talk without worrying about malfunctions.

I sounded off again about my current cable problems, and was particularly annoyed about not being able to hear The Middleman, which looks like a really fabulous show. He said I should tell you about it.

It's beyond description, but here goes: It's got a very comic book feel, and the general tone reminds me of Get Smart, with a lot of SF in-jokes and general fun. 

In the first episode, Wendy is working as a temp answering phones in an office with a big window behind her. Through the window you can see lots of technical equipment with many scientists rushing around. 

Then they start running frantically, there's an explosion, lots of smoke, and one of the lab-coated technicians gets slammed up against the window behind her and dragged away. In the meantime, Wendy is cheerfully and efficiently answering phones. 

An enormous monster gets slammed against the glass, and it starts to crack, and then suddenly breaks with explosive force, throwing her and the monster across her desk and onto the floor. Wendy says into her headset "Please hold." and then gets up to battle the monster, who has grabbed her around the waist and is trying to drag her off.

Comcast is not displaying closed captioning for this channel, though so I can see the pictures and catch part of the dialogue, but I know I'm missing a lot of it.

I called and complained to Comcast again last night, and they finally talked me into letting a repair person come out on Saturday for free. This is going to drive me crazy because he'll be here during the Heroes marathon, so I'll miss some of that, but maybe I can get him to report the problem to the office once he figures out that it's not the box or my TV. 

A TV that's delivering sound on every channel but one, and closed captioning on every channel but another one isn't malfunctioning. They're not broadcasting it.

Check out  The Middleman. The bits and pieces I can decipher are so much fun!

Have a great weekend!

Comic Con Sweepstakes

Most of yesterday was used up getting help for my various problems (food stamps, help affording Medicare, etc.).

I still have more papers to fill out and get in right away. The woman there said I would get food stamps, but she didn't know how much.

I have just a short section of the Christmas present hood to kitchner together, and then block it. The purple shawl has the knitting finished and has to be blocked. The lavender Shetland lace shawl is knit and needs to be blocked.

As you can probably tell, I'm not real fond of blocking. But I have a steamer, which makes the whole process a lot less painful. Actually, I have a pile of other stuff to block, too, and I should do it and get some of it up on my Etsy store.

Photos of that will happen real soon.

In the meantime, I have forms to fill out, documents to get copies of, and mail out, along with some books to pick up at the library.

This Friday, the SciFi Channel will be showing Tru Calling in their daytime rotation. There are some great episodes being shown, notably the end of the series, where the plot starts to thicken. Don't miss it!

Speaking of Friday, later in the day they will show Joan of Arcadia and the next episode of Doctor Who. I think this is the next-to-last episode of the series, so I hope you saw last week's episode, Turn Left. It's shaping up to be a fabulous finale!

And the SciFi Channel sent me a text message this morning and let me know that there's a Comic Con sweepstakes going on right now. It sounds great. I've already entered, and I don't know why I'm lowering my odds of winning by telling everybody else.

For any of you who are lucky enough to be going to Comic Con, here's the schedule for SciFi channel stuff.

My friend, John, will be there, but he'll be spending all his time on panels, etc. Being a guest at a con is fun, but it has it's limitations, too. I hope he gets to see some of the con.

Busy Day

Today will be a busy day for me. I need to go out and buy all the vitamins, minerals, medicine, and miscellaneous stuff I expect to need for the next 5 weeks.

That entails a bus trip that is 15 or 20 minutes to walk to the bus early enough to be sure to catch it and then wait. The trip itself is about a half hour, and then the same on the way home. Plus, of course, the actual shopping.

In TV news, the SciFi channel will be showing Jake 2.0 during the daytime tomorrow, and Special Unit 2 will be daytime fare for Friday.

And, of course, on Friday evening, there will be the second episode of Joan of Arcadia, a new Doctor Who, and a new Stargate Atlantis.

In knitting news, here is a photo of the beginning of the navy hood.


It looks much lighter in this photo than it actually is. The yarn is Caron's Simply Soft, and it's really navy. I think they call it "dark country blue."

OK, I apologize. It's not a natural fiber, but it was in my stash when I was looking for something to knit.

And, just for fun, here is a photo of an interesting cloud/sun formation that was in the sky about a week ago.



It looks like there should be a myth to go along with this. Something like the Fenrir wolf eating the sun or something.

Make up your own myth and let me know about it in the comments.

Have a great Wednesday!

Burn Notice!

Burn Notice will be on USA today during daytime hours! Catch up on Burn Notice!

If you click on the link, there's also a sweepstakes for a trip to Miami and "Burn Notice gear." They'll be repeating the two part season finale late tonight/early tomorrow morning.

A rerun of Supernatural will be on again tonight on the CW. Always worth watching.

And reruns of Ugly Betty, and Grey's Anatomy on ABC, too.

I have a ton of things to do today, so I have to go.

Have a great Thursday, and a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!

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Addition:

For Harry Potter fans within driving distance of Lexington, KY, check out the Anti-craft blog! Actually, you should check it out even if you can't go. It's a fun read.

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Another addition:

I was just looking through the SciFi Channel's schedule, and found out that they're going to start showing Joan of Arcadia on Friday, the 11th (a week from tomorrow). This is one of those charming, sweet, thought provokers. Joan is a high school girl who starts to see God appearing to her in various guises, and has conversations with him. Joan is not irreverent in any way. It's a wonderful, heartwarming show. I loved it, and was very sorry when they took it off the air. Click the link and read the description.