Did he really just say that?

Excerpt from an interview on All Things Considered aired October 4, 2006:

Paul Weyrich, chairman & CEO, Free Congress Foundation: "Here is the real problem: It has been known for many years that Congressman Foley was a homosexual. Homosexuals tend to be preoccupied with sex. The idea that he should be continued .. or should have been continued as Chairman of the Committee of Missing & Exploited Children is - you know, given their knowledge of that - is just outrageous."

Michele Norris: "Now before you go on, I think I can say Mr. Weyrich, that there are a few people who would take exception to the statement that homosexuals are preoccupied with sex."

Weyrich: "Well, I don't care whether they take exception to it; it happens to be true. I mean, uh.."

Norris: "That is your opinion.."

Weyrich: "Well it's not my opinion, it's the opinion of many psychologists & psychiatrists that have to deal with them."

Outrage doesn't even begin to express..

It's Wednesday, right?

Huh. That means I don't need to come up with a clever title because Wednesdays are random.

I was reading (skimming, really) some of my blog list this morning and caught the phrase "daily allotted knitting time". I sort of miss that. I usually knit in the car on our commute (we carpool) but sometimes, more lately, if we're talking or something or it's getting dark I don't bother to get it out. This is at least partially due to the current project having so many cables that it requires some concentration. Which just means I need to ply the merino that's on my drop spindle so I can start the socks I want to make with it. Because (a) socks are more or less mindless, and (b) it's Socktoberfest or something. Oh, and because (c) I don't have any sock yarn in my stash.

Water aerobics is good for me. I think in addition to the obvious, it's also forcing my back to loosen up, which should make my next chiropractor appointment better.

My drum arrives tomorrow. I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm told it will arrive unassembled, though, and that our Lovely Instructor(tm) will need to keep it for a few days to stretch the heads and tie them down, but at least it'll finally be stateside.

I've been brewing lately. I think that's escaped mention here. But I have two gallons of cider started, a gallon of Concord grape & mixed berry wine, and 5 gallons of Scottish 80. The cider and wine will need to be racked in another week or so and the beer will get bottled possibly as early as this weekend. I also have a kit for Winter Warmer that I'll pr'bly start in the next week or two.

October..

.. is Domestic Violence Awareness month. A lot more people in the small town of Granger, MN are aware of it after this weekend. If you live in the U.S., this month would be a good one to start using the Stop Family Violence stamps. They're $0.45 each - $0.39 to cover first class letter postage and $0.06 as a donation.

It's also Breast Cancer Awareness month. And, again, if you live in the U.S., you can get Breast Cancer Awareness stamps. No matter where you live, you can go to the Breast Cancer Site and click daily to fund mammograms for women who may not otherwise be able to get them.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke, Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797)

Secret Pal 9 Questionnaire

In some ways, I hate filling these things out for fear of sounding too picky. I'm generally not, I promise. On the other hand, I have a hard time picking things out for someone I've never met and would rather they give me lots of hints and clues about likes and dislikes so I have some guidance. So, I try to balance the two. Hopefully it works.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

It depends on the day and the project. I tend to prefer natural fibers - wool, cotton, alpaca, llama - but I also like the look of ribbon yarns. I don't like novelty / fun fur / ladder-type yarns and I think at this point the only of the mainstream acrylics that I would use routinely would be Caron Simply Soft - which I really am fond of for easy-care stuff or folks who are allergic to animal fibers. I'd be interested in trying soy or bamboo or linen, blended or straight up. I'm not allergic to any yarn that I know of. I like hand-dyed yarns, but am not terribly fond of the self-patterning "fair-isle" yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

The packages they come in, usually. I prefer bamboo and usually get Clover needles, so the sleeves work well for storing needles. They're also portable, so if I finish a project in the car (I have an hour long daily round trip commute and usually carpool with my husband who prefers to drive), I can just slide the needles back in the sleeve and not worry about breaking or losing them in transit.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting for 7 or 8 years, I think. I learned from a good friend initially and have been self-taught for the most part since then. In case it matters, I knit continental. I think I'd consider myself an advanced intermediate - I've done most techniques except for entrelac I think, but haven't done *a lot* of stuff like Fair Isle.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yup. Both. Links are on the sidebar. With the holiday season approaching, I try to keep them updated as my family uses Wishlist.com wishlists pretty extensively in holiday gift shopping.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

That's sort of a tough one. I like lots of scents as long as they aren't cloyingly sweet or way too overpowering (patchouli in most things is too overpowering for me, for instance). Most anything (well.. maybe not *anything* - some of them are a bit too much) from Lush is okay, as are most things from places like Bath & Body Works or whatever that other one is that I can't remember the name of right now. I like citrusy shower stuff, but calmer smells for things like bubble bath/bath bombs. I have long, very fine hair, so I don't use heavy shampoos or conditioners (in fact, most of the time I'll skip conditioner unless my hair is really staticky or snarled). I don't wear scents usually, but some scented lotion is okay; for me, though, the lotion is the main part, and the scent is secondary - I dislike lotions that feel greasy or leave a film on your skin.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I guess so. I'm not a huge chocolate fan - I like chocolate in things, but not usually a lot of chocolate all on it's own. Chocolate bars and the like are good - I can eat them in pieces and savor them - but things like chocolate chocolate truffles tend to be too overwhelming. I'm also not a huge fan of raw honey or maple. I *love* caramel and English toffee, though. And chocolate with mint.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

Lots. *grin* For fiber crafts, I am a beginning spinner (drop spindle; no wheel (yet?)), and I do tablet weaving, bobbin lace, lucet cording and a handful of other crafts from time to time. Mostly, though, I knit and spin if I'm working with fiber. I also dabble in brewing and vintning, book binding and, when I have studio space, pottery. I do NOT crochet - I've never really been able to get into the flow of it, but I know how to do it well enough to do edgings and the like on knit garments, or to start a provisional cast-on.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I tend to like more acoustic, folk-y sort of stuff, but that can vary. Common artists that come up in my iTunes (yes, I can play MP3s) include the Indigo Girls, Cowboy Junkies, KT Tunstall, Billy Joel, Loreena McKennit, etc. I also like some of the "jam bands" - the Dead, Blues Traveller, some Phish, etc. Oh, and jazz and blues standards - Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, etc. Feel free to surprise me, though; I like finding new good music, too.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I tend toward earth tones and jewel tones - deep, rich colors. I don't usually wear oranges or yellows except in socks - anything goes for socks! I'm not a big pastel person.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I'm married to my male partner and we have one dog, Jali, who is about 13 years old. I don't knit for Jali - she doesn't wear doggie clothes and would eat any sort of toy that I might make for her.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Sometimes? I wear scarves in winter, and a hat if my husband bugs me enough. I have a hard time finding hats that I think look good on me, but have toyed on occassion with the idea of making a fulled bucket hat or cloche hat. Mittens and gloves are pretty much a necessity in the upper Midwest in winter. Not big on ponchos, but I have a couple of lace wraps/shawls/stoles that I wear and a couple of wool cloaks for autumn/spring wear.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Depends on the day. I'm a project knitter - I buy yarn to make specific things. I have a hard time buying yarn if I don't have a project for it in mind; I'm afraid to buy too little of something and then not be able to use it, I guess. I like socks for smaller projects, especially with luscious yarns that are too spendy for larger projects. I don't really have a stash, per se - more just the bits and pieces of yarns left over from previous projects and the yarn I need and know I'll use for several planned projects. That said, I'm not opposed to the idea of a stash, I just have a hard time buying yarn without knowing what it will be used for (or, in some cases, who - my husband, mom, and father-in-law are allergic to animal fibers).

Hrm.. that didn't really answer the question, but I guess I'm not sure how else to answer it.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Holiday gifts. *smile* I'm working on the Breezy Cables cardigan out of Knit Picks Swish Superwash and have plans to make the Tied-Up tee (pattern from White Lies Designs) with some Rowan River Tape, and another top in Knit Picks Shine Worsted. I've got plans for some socks - some out of my own handspun and some out of pr'bly Reynolds Whiskey, but I'm haven't decided that for sure. I've also started a cardigan kit from Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mills that my sister got me for the holidays last year, but it's on hold while I work on the holiday gift knitting for now. I recently finished Rogue - which I love.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yup. Stuff that hangs on the wall is usually better than stuff that needs shelf space in terms of artistic pieces. Otherwise, soaps, candles, baked goods, cocoa mixes, music mixes, socks, homespun yarn, whatever, are all good.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Circs or DPNs. Bamboo. Metal straights or DPNs tend to make my hands hurt, but are okay in circs. I really don't knit anything on straights anymore, though; Circs are usually more portable and easier on my wrists even for flat knitting.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I have a yarn winder, but not a swift. I've found that one of the folding chairs my dad made some time back works really well in place of a swift for most skeined yarn.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Uh.. not very? See above - project knitter. *smile* At this point, my oldest UFO is pr'bly the Blackberry Ridge sweater, which I started over Labor Day. Before that, Rogue would have been the oldest, but even that was just started this spring and I finished it in September.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Pr'bly Thanksgiving. It's usually less stressful than Christmas, but we still get to see all our family. Autumn is my favorite season, so that helps, too.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Nothing that paricularly comes to mind. Fun little toys, maybe. I have a small collection sitting on my desk at work - things like a little Lego(tm) trebuchet.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Hrm.. if there are, they'll be on my Wishlist. Small size DPNS (like the multiple 0 sizes) are about the only thing that come to mind, and those I'm not really *dying* for, but am interested to try. I subscribe to Interweave Knits.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Mmm.. not really. I'd like to do more Fair Isle with finer yarns, or maybe some small gauge stockings in silk or finely spun wool.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yup. I wear a women's 8.5 or 9 shoe, wide, and usually socks knit to a pattern's medium or large will fit well enough. I prefer taller socks (I wear them under calf-height boots in the winter). I'd give you more precise measurements, but I managed to lose my sewing tape measure sometime in early September and haven't had a chance to replace it.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

12/13.

I still have a moose.

I've never been good at remembering anniversaries. *shrug* But all the same, happy belated "gotcha" day* to Wilcoxon.

I promised a few pattern repeats ago to post pictures of Breezy Cables.. yeah.. here it is as of yesterday morning.



The detail picture is a little more color accurate on my monitor; the first one glows a bit too much! Progress is going pretty well on it. I haven't had as much knitting time as I'd have hoped lately, but I'm hoping things will calm down some again in another little bit. I'm another repeat or so along and about to start decreasing for the armholes on the back now.

I'm pretty concerned about this one stretching out a lot when it's washed though. It's superwash wool, so I think it will be okay, but it just feels.. loose to me. And the last time I knit something that felt this loose, it ended up about 4 sizes too big after washing. That one was made with an acrylic yarn, though, so I'm sort of hoping the superwash wool will hold up better and that even though it's superwash, washing it in warm water will tighten it up if it starts to stretch. (And yes, I know I could wash a swatch, but I've found with sweaters they don't really stretch out until they're all done and the full weight is there. But, I have to wash a swatch of the Cotton Fleece soon anyway so I know how it the item I knit from it will behave in the wash, so maybe I'll do it anyway..)

And I decided to order the Tied-Up tee pattern from White Lies Designs to see if I'll like it well enough in person with the ribbon yarn. If not, I imagine I can find another yarn to use with it as it's something I'll make anyway.

I'm trying to figure out if I need to start setting deadlines for the holiday knitting. I need to finish Breezy Cables, the Tied-Up tee, and another full top, in addition to a couple pair of socks. I'm on track to finish Breezy Cables by mid-month, hopefully. The socks are good little projects and I'm not worried about them. I'm guessing I can finish the Tied-Up tee by Thanksgiving and then have almost a month for the last one, so assuming that all stays on approximate schedule, I shouldn't have to worry too much.

Oh, and I'm contemplating participating in a Breed Swap that someone on the Spindler's list is organizing. I have enough of the Clun Forest lambs wool to do it, and I think that even though it'd be nice to have all that fleece to myself, it would also totally rock to have the reference book that participants will get. The reference book will have a page or two of information on each breed, a sample of a washed lock, an ounce of spinnable fiber, and a yard of preferrably two-ply yarn, for up to 32 breeds. Given that I don't know much about sheep breeds, I'm thinking that for a relatively small investment, I'd get quite an excellent resource in return. But it means I'd have to do some research on Clun Forest for the reference book before the end of October and given our schedule.. yeah.. that might be tight. I need to email the organizer back and find out how much is expected for the research part - and whether I can quote from applicable web sites and books extensively (properly attributed, of course) - or if they want more of a "hands on" type of description of how the wool works up. And I need to ship the fleece off to Blackberry Ridge to have them clean and process it into something spinnable sooner rather than later (the stuff I washed will be what I'll use for the locks part of the book).

Coming up next.. my SP9 questionnaire!

* A "gotcha" day is a day one of my friends celebrates with her adopted daughter. They celebrate her birthday, but also the day that she came to live with her mom. I think it's an awesome term for this - much less heavy and informal and fun than "Adoption Day" or something like that. And while it's not really quite the same with Wilcoxon, who is, after all, a stuffed moose, it still works.

Bits.

My feet hurt. I think that the new running shoes I got yesterday need some more arch support. I knew that the two new pair of boots I got would need it and suspected the running shoes would as well, but a day spent walking around Cranfest in them pretty much confirmed it.

I have just over 4 pounds of Clun Forest lambs wool. I'll be sending it to Blackberry Ridge later this week so they can clean it and process it into roving. I decided that while I am capable of cleaning it myself, I currently have no means to comb or card it myself. For this batch it will be cheaper to send it to them for processing - $14.35 for the cleaning and pr'bly about that much for processing - than to purchase stuff to process it on my own, and it will be far faster.

Speaking of wool, I also picked up 4 ounces of a pumpkin heather wool roving at Cranfest. So.. yeah.. I'm getting quite the fiber stash. I have 3 pounds of merino roving, the aforementioned Clun Forest, and then this little bit, which should keep me busy for awhile. *smile* Oh, and the grey merino is almost finished. I weighed the first little skein and it's only 41 grams, so this next skein will be a bit bigger.

Hrm.. it's been awhile, hasn't it? Mom's Panobo is finished but-for blocking and weaving in the ends. I started working on the Breezy Cables cardigan for Judy this weekend and it's coming along nicely. I'm about two skeins and two and a half pattern repeats into the back. When I started it I was initially concerned that it was going to be futzy with all the little 1/1 cables and the monstrous 3/4 cables, but it's turned out to be pretty easily memorized and not really all that futzy, especially since I'm not doing the bobbles (hate bobbles.. both knitting them and how they look). I'll try to get pictures once it gets light out tomorrow.

Where have you been?

So, can you tell the school year's started? I certainly can! Sorry to have been so scarce, but working 10-12 hour days means that about the last thing I want to do when I get home is look at a computer screen.

Unfortunately, I've also not been terribly motivated to knit or spin. But I have made some progress on holiday projects - the superwash merino is almost finished, mom's Panobo wrap is similarly progressing - and ordered yarn for several more. Progress has been somewhat hampered this weekend by the head cold that seems to have taken up residence in my sinuses. It's better today, but I'm still feeling a bit drained (or maybe.. not.. ?).

I swatched yesterday for the Breton jacket in the Rowan River Tape and decided that it's simply not the right yarn for that project. And while I originally thought I'd just find a different yarn if that happened, I'm now starting to think that maybe I can find a different project for the yarn. It's really a rather interesting yarn and I think it would break up some of what will undoubtedly become monotony of working several items in similar weight wool and wool blends. And if there's enough left over, I might see about making the Mikado ribbon gloves.

O is for Oblique.

Yes, fine, I'm cheating. I can't come up with a good O post and this.. well.. works.. in a way..

I'm not what you'd call a "chocolate lover". Most chocolate desserts are too rich and gooey and.. chocolaty. Fessing up to this tends to get me looks akin what to I'd expect if I said something like "After I cut off his feet...". Don't get me wrong - good plain chocolate (as in chocolate bars or candy pieces) I'm fine with. It's those "death by chocolate" type desserts that are just too much.

However, mix the chocolate in one of those gooey desserts with something like caramel or mint, and I'm all good. Which would explain why the huge brownie with half an inch of mint frostening, consumed in bites between crises today, made things.. bearable.

In other news, I promised pictures.



First up - recent fleece acquisitions. The front left is the peacock merino (2 pounds!) and the front left is the khaki merino (1 pound) roving from Mary Kay. It's very soft and very lovely and I imagine it will be rather dreamy to spin. The back is the 4 ounces of camel down I picked up at the state fair a couple weeks ago. I was warned that this has a short staple and likely to be slippery, but I think after the merino superwash, it will be okay.



Speaking of which, I rinsed and hung the skein I plied and wound it into a skein. I was pleased to see it didn't seem to unply much in the process, though it did bloom a bit and is gorgeously soft stuff.



And here's Rogue, all seamed up, but unblocked. The sleeve picture is pr'bly the most color accurate. The seam in the hood is a little wonky and I'm pretty sure I screwed something up in the decreases for the top of the hood because it's not really flat, but I rather like how the hems turned out, even if the bottom hem left a visible line where it caught in the back.



And here it is blocking. I'm relieved that it relaxed and stretched out quite a bit once I soaked it, so here's hoping it will be quite comfy when it's dry. You can see in the picture on the left what I mean about the hood being sort of wonky. Not sure why some of these pictures look all washed out.. the one on the right is more color accurate.



And last, at least for the pictures for now, is the red Rowan River Tape I got from Saun. This is slated for a holiday project, so it's likely the last you'll see of it until January.

Where did I put that whiskey bottle..?

Who the hell let's their Director of Institutional Research talk to the press?! I mean.. really?! Usually they try to keep us away from the press. We know too much, we get carried away in the data sometimes and stop speaking English, we don't have that certain special gloss that shines under the bright lights and attention, and we certainly don't ever report data without appropriate context, like it or not. We're really like little nocturnal creatures that prefer to hide away in our caves offices away from all the big scary people. We *like* to spend hours immersed in data at our desks*, venturing out only to acquire more coffee or for the occasional unavoidable meeting. Really.**

Now I just need to convince our PR Director to stop putting reporters directly in contact with me. I'm really a much happier and calmer person if I'm not fretting how every word I say (or type) might be taken out of context by some intrepid reporter out to make their name.***

.. I need (another) drink. .. and maybe a Society for the Protection of Institutional Researchers. *sigh*

* Preferably with the nasty, evil overhead fluorescent lights turned off and our little desk lamp (with a daylight bulb that blends in perfectly with the lights coming in through our windows) on so that you can't really tell if we're in there.

** No, I mean.. Really. Honestly and truly.

*** Not really. Well.. maybe a little.

Tease..

I was going to put off posting on weekend progress and recent acquisitions until I could take pictures, but given that I have plans most nights this week, I'm not entirely sure when that will be. So, the short list of accomplishments from the holiday weekend:

• Rogue is finished! It's slightly too small, but I'm hoping some judicious blocking (and twice weekly water aerobics starting next week) will fix that. I also think my gauge was tighter on the sleeves than on the body because the sleeves are fairly tight through the forearms. I admittedly have larger than average arms, but usually it's the upper arms that tend to be tight.
• I am just about half way through the rest of the steel merino roving. This half seems to have fewer snarly bits, which is nice, but I think I'm spinning it a bit thicker than the previous batch. Might have to alternate rows to make sure the socks I intend to make with the finished yarn end up the same size.
• I have about 2/3rds of the Panobo wrap finished. My hope is to finish this one in the next week or two so I can move on other holiday knitting and still have some time to squeeze in work on..
• .. the Blackberry Ridge sweater my sister got me for my birthday/Christmas last year. I started the body this weekend, but am only a very few rows into it, so it's not very exciting yet. I dithered a bit about what size to knit (after Rogue, I started to wonder if I shouldn't just always go bigger than I think I should), but I think it will work out okay.

I also received a couple of recent acquisitions - namely the roving from Mary Kay and some red Rowan River Tape yarn from Saunshine. I got the River Tape with a specific project in mind, but in getting a closer look at it, I'm not sure I want to scrunch it up as much as I'd have to to make gauge for that project work. I'll have to knit some swatches and see where it looks best, but I'm excited to have enough of it to make a sweater.

I also need to order yarn for at least a couple more planned projects, but that will likely wait until this weekend at the earliest.

Right then! Pictures soon, hopefully.

Oh! And the other IR folks out there will pr'bly appreciate this - I was approached today by a graduate assistant in our office and thanked rather profusely for speaking English. She was apparently terribly relieved to hear me speak at a forum last week and not feel like I was speaking some foreign binary language. Heh.