Archive for April, 2007

Is It 5 Yet? 27Apr07


18 Comments - you know you want to

Man am I ready for this week to be over! It’s been a long one, full of late hours at campus and lots of homework. I also had lots of Yarn Nerd orders to ship out, (thanks everyone, you rock!), so I often found myself awake at 1 am, packing yarn or working on math simulations. The math simulations aren’t so hot, but at least the yarn shipping is still a labor of love, so I don’t mind packing a few skeins up in the wee hours. I keep telling myself that I’ll keep more humane hours after school is over, but then I’m sure I’ll spend a few nights watching movies and knitting into the early hours too. At least I’m still young, because I think in a few years this lack of sleep thing won’t be so easy to recover from.

I have a nice relaxing weekend planned, involving dyeing up some Create Your Skein orders, knitting on my sock, and a little yard work. The yard work isn’t terribly relaxing, I have to install a new sprinkler timer and a new pond pump, but it’s a change of pace from bit error rate calculations so it should be nice. Speaking of the weekend, I woke up this morning to find my sock (which may or may not be a physical manifestation of my inner fratboy) trying to convince me that it was high time for a beer. While the sock made a convincing argument on why I deserved a nice treat after a long week, I had to tell him that it just wouldn’t happen. Just because it’s “5 o’clock somewhere” doesn’t mean I can just go hog wild, at 8 am nonetheless. I guess I’ll just have to wait until 5. ;) Anyone else looking forward to quitting time after a long week?

the sock doesn't care that it's 7:45 AM

The sock is progressing nicely though, and I’m hoping to sail down to the foot this weekend so I can seam it’s mouth shut…I’m getting tired of it trying to get me to shirk all my responsibilities…

Also, my Eye Candy for today is the lovely pond Irises (I think that’s right, is that what you said they were Mom?), which are beginning to bloom. I’m looking forward to the summer as my backyard is a great place to hang out and listen to the pond, while taking a nap in the grass. It’s a lot of work to get it up and going, but I’m making steady progress. Plus, I think the Irises alone make up for all the labor!

pond lilies blooming

Finally, the last thing I have before sailing off into the wonderful land of miller time is a finished object that I’m very proud of. Although I didn’t knit this sock, I did dye the yarn for it, and I think it’s smoking hot. It was knit by Chawne (I don’t know if she has a blog, but her Flickr photos speak for themselves), with my 900 MHz Merino the in Tour de France colorway. This is one of my favorite colorways and I think she did real tribute to it with her simple sock design. Isn’t it sweet?

I was sad :( to find that Chawne found 4 knots in the skein when she wound it. 4 knots? Man that would make me mad if I was knitting it! Knots do occur occasionally when hand-dyeing, but I always try to limit them, and I would definitely not send out a skein with 4 knots if I knew about it. But sometimes the skeins come from the mill with knots already, and those ones are sneaky little buggers.

Anyway, the short of it is, if you buy yarn from Yarn Nerd and are less than pleased, do let me know! I want you to be extremely happy with every Yarn Nerd purchase, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you as a Yarn Nerd fan. I value my customers highly, and I would love to hear your opinions on my yarn (good and bad). Because good customer service just makes the world a better place, ya know?

Oh boy, 10 minutes until 5, I can’t wait! Have a great weekend everyone!

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Buy Some Yarn, or the Schnauzers Get It! 24Apr07


9 Comments - you know you want to

Just a quick post to say that I did update the shop yesterday, and there’s still some goodness to be had, so go grab it while it’s hot! The colorways pictured are still available (lots of Project Spectrum goodness!), both in my 900 MHz Mega Merino and 900 MHz Mini Merino. What is this you ask? Well now I’m offering my sock yarn in both mega and mini versions, both of which are still 100% Superwash Merino. The Mega Merino comes in 450 yard skeins, so you’ll have plenty for a big pair of socks, or some socks and wristwarmers! And the Mini Merino are just like little skeins of crack…Each skein has 190 yards, so they’re the perfect size to make some anklets, or buy two to make a larger pair of socks! Did I mention that the Mini Merino skeins are the same base yarn as Koigu? ;)

Still There!

Also, I’m excited to introduce a new Yarn Nerd feature, called Create Your Skein. Basically it’s a cool new way to do a custom colorway, or order an existing colorway in whatever base yarn you want. All you do is browse through the Yarn Nerd color gallery, pick your colors (up to 5 for a custom skein), and checkout. Then I’ll dye up your custom skein and send it out within a week. So simple, yet so dangerous. I currently have 2400 MHz Worsted wool in stock, and a new yarn that I am excited to offer: 1500 MHz Nylon, a 90/10 Superwash Merino/Nylon blend. It’s so soft, I pet it everytime I walk into my office…

Anyway, that’s the Yarn Nerd scoop these days, so go on over and check out what I’ve been cooking up in the kitchen!

PS: Guess what? This week is my last week of “new material” in class! That means no more homework after what’s due this week! The light is getting slightly bigger…although I do have a few take home finals to do first…ugh!

PPS: No Schnauzers were harmed in the writing of this post. I’m just full of empty threats ;)

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In Which I Become An ADD Knitter 21Apr07


18 Comments - you know you want to

You know, I used to be really good about only having one project on the needles. But lately that seems to have gone completely out the window. I actually have 2 projects that have been sitting for over a month, 2 that have been on my needles for at least a week or two, and I just cast on for another pair of socks today! What’s happening to me?! What’s next, buying yarn with no project in mind? Oh wait, I’ve already broken that rule a few times.

I guess I’ll just chalk it up to anticipation for school to end, and my short attention span these days. I’m juggling so many balls it seems that I can’t spend a prolonged amount of time with anything, so I guess that has migrated to my knitting habits too. Although, one positive note is that it gives me lots of knitting content to show off now!

So what do I have on the needles anyway? Let’s see…

  1. Garden Shawl (for my Mom) → I really need to pick this up again (sorry Mom!), but it definitely won’t happen until the semester is over. When it takes 30+ minutes to do a round, it’s difficult to find time to get much done on it.

  2. Emma’s Sweater → I’m not entirely sure this one is even going to fit, and seeing as it’s quite warm these days, I think this might be destined for the frog pond until Fall.

  3. Topi (for my brother Clay) → This one is a fairly quick knit, but it seems to have not gone right a few times. I’m knitting it out of a skein of Yarn Nerd 2400 MHz that I saved for my brother a while ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to make it sturdy and still have enough yarn. After a few false starts, I ended up double stranding the top, and single stranding the rest. I was almost all the way done when I realized that I’d made the bill way too big, it looked like a duck bill! (Why is it that it’s never possible to fess up to these things until it’s too late?) So now I’m almost done, I just have to wrap the bill, stick in the insert and sew it shut.

topi - for my brother
  1. Medallion Mitts → I needed to use up the rest of the yarn from my Dad’s Jaywalkers, so I cast on for these fingerless mitts, from my Knitting with Balls book a few weeks ago. I’m close to finishing the first one, but still seem unable to do so…they would be nice though, since my new cubicle is a bit on the chilly side.
medallion mitts
  1. Broad Spiral Rib Socks → This is a new knit (cast on today!), and I’m already in love. I happened to be browsing a bookstore yesterday when I noticed that they had a copy of More Sensational Knitted Socks. Needless to say I bought that sucker, and spent the evening browsing through it, and it’s totally awesome. There’s both toe-up and top-down instructions for all the socks, how cool is that? And lots more discussion on different heel and toe techniques, as well as lots of different cast ons and bind offs that can change your sock’s look. Charlene Schurch? I love you!
my newest infatuation could these socks BE anymore sensational?

Anyway, I was smitten with the Broad Spiral Rib socks, so I cast on first this morning. I don’t have a picture of the pattern, so you’ll just have to wait until I get there ;) The yarn is some Austermann Step that I got in Chicago a while ago, in turquoise, gray and black. Kind of last month’s Project Spectrum colors, but let’s be honest…I’m much more of a greys/blacks guy than a pink/yellow/green guy. (Although, if you want some PS goodies, check out the Yarn Nerd update on Monday!) At this point I’m definitely smitten with the sock, but looking at the above list we’ll see how long that lasts.

Do you think a doctor will prescribe ritalin for knitting ADD? Yeah, I figured not ;)

So there’s your knitting update, now onto Saturday Sky! Today’s lovely sky photo features some nice sky, clouds and…a green toilet? Yup, coming to you from the metropolis of Socorro, NM, here’s the crazy antics that those nerdy engineers are up to down at New Mexico Tech.

ah, the college days

One of my former roommates took this and sent it to me, and I just about died laughing. Some students managed to get a green toilet up on top of the library clock tower, which is actually pretty darn high. So high in fact, the firetruck ladder won’t even get close to it, so the poor school has no idea how to get it down! Ha! How good is that? We engineers can be pretty clever!

So why is the toilet green? You really don’t want to know. Green is a very mythical color down at NMT, involving tales of green sheep and drunk miners. I remember many a St. Patrick’s day that involved naked green people streaking across campus!

yup, that's a green toilet

The things you do when you attend a school with a 7:1 guy to girl ratio I guess.

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Basking in the Fluorescent Glow 20Apr07


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It’s an absolutely gorgeous day outside today; the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming. So what am I doing? Getting a green tan from fluorescent lights. Such is the life of an engineer I suppose, especially when you work in laboratory buildings with no windows. The price you pay for being a math nerd…

Although I should mention that today is a good day because I’m finally moving into a permanent cubicle in my building. I just got to move into the building with my coworkers a few months ago (it’s very hard to find space in our building) after sitting in a temporary trailer for almost a year. And now my new cubicle is finally vacated and ready for me to move in. It’s actually a pretty sweet cubicle, I think even Dilbert would be slightly green with envy. It has a big wrap around desk, high walls and a sliding door! That’s right, a door! It’s so swank, I love it. And my favorite feature? The giant whiteboard! I love whiteboards so much, I’ve contemplated putting huge ones in every room of my house. You could brainstorm anywhere!

Ahem. Anyway, I’m super happy about having a permanent workspace now, because boy has it been a long wait! But you didn’t come here to hear about my obsessive love of whiteboards did you? You want all the details about the yarny goodness sitting in my home office!

How’s this teaser for you?

what do we have here?

The Yarn Nerd shop update will be this Monday, April 23, at 8 AM MDT. There’s lots of goodness to be had, including the lovely new color pictured above. That’s all the details I’ll give here on the blog, so you’ll have to come to the Yarn Nerd site on Monday to check it all out. And if you’re a newsletter subscriber, I’ll be sending out a more detailed announcement with a few more juicy details. I can’t wait, this is going to be a good update!

I hope you have a great weekend, and that it’s filled with some fun and fiber! I’m going to do some yardwork tonight (got to get the sprinklers up and going!), lounge around tomorrow (serious knitting time baby!) and do some homework on Sunday (no fun, but Viterbi Algorithm simulations don’t write themselves). I think it should be a relaxing weekend on average, so I’m looking forward to it.

Catch you later peeps!

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Mmmm, Yarn! 17Apr07


9 Comments - you know you want to

That’s what Dallas was thinking the other day as I was reskeining some yarn! I turned my back for a second and looked over to see him chewing on a freshly wound skein of Raspberry Sherbet. He didn’t eat any of it luckily, but he did manage to completely destroy any hope that poor skein had of ever being knit up into anything. He’s pretty thorough with those teeth!

yarn as a chew toy

Oh well, what can you do eh? He did get a scolding for playing with something he wasn’t supposed to, but I can’t really fault the poor guy, he’s completely out of toys! I need to go to the discount store and buy some more dog toys, since he destroys them as fast as I can buy them! He certainly keeps me on my toes that’s for sure :) And I wasn’t too mad, since it was one of my mini skeins (more info on those to come with the upcoming shop update), so at least it wasn’t a 450 yard skein that was ruined.

And I thought only cats liked yarn!

Things are still chugging along here…the shop update is getting closer to being ready, but school also continues to loom over my head like an anvil. It’s like I told a friend today…I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s still a bunch of roadblocks and potholes on the road before I get to the light!

I spent most of this evening trying to figure out how to find the bit error rate for a multi-carrier communications system using repetition codes and majority decoding for BPSK modulated subchannels under flat Rayleigh fading. Any one know the answer to that one? I think I got a solution, but I’m still not entirely sure…which is usually how the homework for this class goes.

Speaking of evening, it seems to have slipped away into night time, and I’m getting tired so I think I’ll hit the hay. I was a bit worried 15 minutes ago, because the water randomly shut off, but it seems to be back on now so I hope it sticks around until the morning. Just another small test to see how close my sanity is to the breaking point I suppose.

Here’s hoping a little sleep will bring me back from that breaking point…just ever so slightly. ;)

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