Monday, December 10, 2007

Pet Peeve Numero Uno

I keep telling myself that I'd like to make a pet peeve list - for no particular reason, just because. Maybe so I can expand on them and see if they bug the crap out of other people too!

So here's numero uno on the list (more in the future)...

Male/Middle-seat train riders!

I was coming to work this morning and I was in a window seat of a 3-seater. Another (male) commuter sat down in the aisle seat a stop later. A few stops after that - and the second to last stop for the train - another (male) commuter asked for the center seat. Now, I'm no skinny minnie. I probably take up my whole space - between my derierre and my bag on my lap, I stake out my territory fairly well.

But here's what peeves me today.

Middle seaters - generally male - who encroach on space outside of their own and feel they're not only limited to their seat - which, on NJ Transit, has CLEAR "lines" and upolstery "sections" - but ENTITLED to spread out and squeeze anyone in the window seat. I should stress that this happens more with MALE riders - especially when two are seated next to each other because, heaven forbid!!!, they touch even a centimeter of their clothes! Would that be gay of them??? URGH. Instead, it's ok for them to squash a female in a window seat and spread their legs as open as they can and hold their papers as wide as possible and, in general, show blatent disregard for their fellow riders. Male / center-seat riders are R-U-D-E.

And don't even get me started with the South Orange passengers who do NOTHING but complain about having to stand for a 15 minute train ride. Hello, I got my butt out of bed at 7:10 and was on the train at 7:47. They get on at 8:40 (or thereabouts) and bitch bitch bitch. Puh-lease!

I've digressed - it's all just SO frustrating

Tell me, how's your knitting going instead!!!

until next time...
kc

Friday, December 07, 2007

Sue will not buy Yarn Today #6

Sue will not buy yarn today...because I gave her yarn as an early Christmas present! Oh, I'm so sneaky!


The story behind this yarn is that Sue and I were IMing one afternoon and she sent me a link for this yarn from Doodlebirds - and I said "no, no, don't buy it you have enough yarn". Sneaky me bought the 2 skeins that were left - I kept the longer color change one for myself. Isn't it P-R-E-T-T-Y?!?!

Pay/Knit It Forward

Pay It Forward

Last week JoFrog posted about Pay it Forward. This has been making its way around the blogs and seems like so much fun! Her friend Hannah offered to make a gift for the first three people that commented on her post if they promised to do the same. Sign me up!

In turn I'd like to make something for you! Here are the rules:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this pay it forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Comment away and I'll get knitting!

Monday, December 03, 2007

Ah, short rows, my favorite...NOT!

So I had started to tackle the Short Row Hat using the Rowan Tapestry yarn I bought on the Vineyard. The beginning was going rather well. I haven't done anything on it for over a week so I picked it up again this morning on the train. And again, went rather well.

UNTIL...

If you've done the hat you know the directions are in numbered/lettered sections. I was statrting from section #3 toward the end. Everything was going so well. I began section #4 and got most of the way through it. I got to the crown portion and the number of stitches wasn't working out correctly. Which was funny because all along I thought it was. So I "stepped back" for a second and looked at the triangles. Looks like I dropped a stitch somewhere between the first "half" triangle and the second one. But ripping out/back isn't like ripping out a single row and picking up where you started from. It's like taking a detour back 5 minutes in your trip and then trying to readjust to your location.

So that's where I am - trying to figure out where I am. And it's not easy! I keep having to rip more out and write it down to try and match it up to the pattern. But it feels all backwards and I keep kicking myself for even trying to knit it on the train when I couldn't FULLY concentrate. URGH.

Patty has finished two and they look awesome - one was done in a Paton's yarn - pinks/browns - very cute. The second is a cream alpaca and the monotone looks pretty cool as well. I'm sure that once I can get through one complete go-through I'll have more of a handle on it - but gosh, getting to that point seems like an eternity (esp for me - Speedy Gonzales as Sue calls me!).

Anyway, that's it for today. The hat will sit there in my bag until this evening - and ALL DAY i'll wonder what went wrong.

Until tomorrow - have a great day and a wonderful week everyone!