Tag Archive for ‘biking’ at adam knits!

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Lather, Rinse, Repeat. 03 Oct 07

Well, it appears that it’s high past time for a new blog post, as evidenced by my family’s gentle chiding.

Truth is, I got nothing. Nothing that seems particularly exciting to blog about that is. Life is just chugging along, humming with the day to day routine: wake up, ride to work, work, ride home, make dinner, watch TV & knit, pack bags for commute, and go to bed. Repeat. This is not necessarily a bad thing as I’m a creature of routine, so I rather enjoy the doldrums of daily life. But sometimes you just need a bit of something special to spice things up, you know?

Like some tasty Pumpkin beer and yarn to match.

Quite fiberlicious eh? It’s a new colorway dyed specifically to evoke my deep love for everything Pumpkin, and it certainly makes me happy. It’ll be present in my next shipment to the Loopy Ewe, so you can get yourself some too.

The yarn also serves as a reminder that no matter how much I may have gushed about the arrival of Fall, the devil is in the details, and those details involve colder weather. Ergo, my leg hair isn’t quite cutting it as insulation against the cold morning air. Not one to be deterred, I went out and bought a few Fall commuting essentials.

Let’s just say, you may now call me Captain Spandex. Don’t ask for a picture, cause you’re not getting one ;) I just think it’s really funny that when I started biking my mantra was “no spandex, no way”, and now I’m sporting some tights of my own. I guess it really is function over fashion!

Ok, enough rambling. Sorry for the lame post, but I promise I have some better material coming soon. It’s Socktoberfest after all.

Published

Adam

in a nerd's life, biking, dyeing and yarn nerd

Not Sitting on the Dock of the Bay 18 Sep 07

25 Comments

I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier for Monday to roll around than yesterday. Because this Monday brought with it the promise of a better week, one where I could ride my bike and sit on my butt without wincing. You never know what’cha got until it’s gone right? Well, let’s just say, you never know how much you appreciate having the ability to sit down until it becomes very painful. I don’t really want to go into details (because they are slightly more intimate than I prefer to reveal on this blog), but let’s just say I ended up having a minor procedure last week involving my tailbone and a scalpel. Ouch.

My solace came in the form of doctor mandated hot baths, which can be very nice when paired with a scotch on the rocks. Thankfully, this week is already a lot better, and I’m almost back to normal. I can ride my bike again, and sit down at work without needing an IV of Ibuprofen (not really, but it would have been nice…).

And another reason to appreciate Monday? Why getting your “therapy for a crappy week” purchases of course! First up is this sweet shirt that I scored at Threadless. They printed this one a while ago, and it just got reprinted, so I jumped on it.

I think it’s also a sign of good things to come with my next grand transportation experiment, as I am now car-less for the week, and maybe next week too. It’s another long story, but someone hit me quite a few months back, and I’m finally just getting my car fixed now. It’s just body damage, but that means it’s gonna take a long time in the shop. Giving me the perfect opportunity to see how truly car-free I can be. My goal is to only bum rides off friends and family if absolutely necessary, otherwise I’ll take the bus and ride my bike everywhere else. I don’t think it should be too difficult, as I’m already riding my bike lots of places already, but I’m interested to see how it goes when the car safety net is no longer there. I’ll keep you updated.

My other “poor me, I can’t sit down” purchase is this lovely hand-spun yarn:

I came across this link to Crumbs & Co. in one of Megan’s posts, and when I clicked over, I saw it. The very same skein of yarn I had seen on Flickr and drooled over was sitting right there, pleading with me to buy it. So I did. And now I have this lovely skein of yarn in my possession. It’s Merino spun up in DK weight and it’s absolutely exquisite. Go check out Crumbs for yourself, she has some awesome stuff!

And to top off my wonderfully good happy week, I took this awesome picture yesterday. Things are definitely looking up. Thank goodness for the ability to sit. And scotch.

Published

Adam

in a nerd's life, biking, hand spun, nerdy, the stash and why me?

Yarn Overdose 07 Sep 07

25 Comments

You know, one of these days I’m going to actually blog more than once a week…but that’s not the case today. I think Maryse hit my mood about blogging right on the head, so I’m going to copy her and oust the transitional sentences. Lists rule.

The order for The Loopy Ewe is done. Phew! I took Labor Day weekend to finish it up, and shipped it out last Monday. Sheri has already received it, and says that it should be up sometime soon, so keep an eye on her store. And in case you wanted to know, this is what 100 skeins of Yarn Nerd yarn looks like.

Holy Sheep Batman, it barely fits on my little table! It was a lot of work, but wasn’t nearly as hard as I anticipated. It’s easy to get into a rhythm and dye up around 15 skeins in an evening and 40 or so on a Saturday. So after a weekend here and a few spare evenings there, it was all dyed. Reskeining is a different beast though. This is about how I felt after reskeining all 100 skeins.

But it was still a blast, and I’m excited to do another order in the future! Oh, and 1500 MHz Sport Merino is now on order, so look for that soon. Since I know a lot of you want it (including me!).
The bike is fantastic. Not only are my hot legs getting even hotter (gotta love the efficiency of clipless pedals), I’m also quite speedy these days. I guess that’s what happens when you shave 10-15 pounds off your commuting machine. Also, my adventure with the ABQ bus system continues, as I’m finding more and more ways to incorporate biking and the bus into my errands and daily routine. If I were in an RPG, my character would have the following stats: Gas Usage = -20, Knitting Time = +50, Pounds Lost = -15 and Smile Factor = +10. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, perhaps you should unsubscribe and save yourself before it’s too late.)
I’m all caught up on the sweater front, and am cruising away on the body. I do need to start a sock though, since this project will soon become to large to squeeze into my bike saddlebags and wield on the bus. I do need a bit of room for a change of clothes and a sack lunch… ;)

Oh, and Mom? I’ll work on your shawl tonight, ok? Promise!
If I seem to be lacking my usual nerdy exuberance today, it’s probably only because I’m all alone in cubicle land, and I haven’t had human contact in around 4 hours. And after 4 hours of computer programming, you kinda start to feel like a computer yourself.
Finally, here’s another little project that I’ve been hiding up my sleeves for a few weeks now. If you are in Scout’s Swag Club, and haven’t received your latest yarn fix, you may want to stop reading, since this will spoil it. Inserting requisite paragraph breaks…

Not yet.

Nope, still no dice.

Are we there yet?

Maybe.

Oops, false alarm.

Keep going…

Almost there.

You’ll get a cookie if you keep going!

Ok, not really, but a fake gold star at least.

Scrolling all the live long day!

. . . .

Oh, now what’s this?

Why it’s lovely yarn! 40 skeins of it in fact, for Scout’s Swag Club for August. Scout asked me if I would like to be a guest dyer for the club a few months back, and I graciously accepted. The colorway is called Chuck T’s, and I think it’s quite smashing. Thanks again Scout, I appreciate the shout out!
Alright that’s it. Move along, nothing left to see. And have a lovely weekend. :)

Published

Adam

in biking, dallas, dyeing, knitting, nerdy, shop, sweaters, work, works in progress and yarn nerd

Oooohhh, Shiny! 01 Sep 07

28 Comments

Hey everyone, thanks for all your great comments on my yarn being at The Loopy Ewe! I’m finishing up the dyeing and reskeining this weekend, so it should be off to Sheri and up at the store soon. Keep an eye out! Also, I’ll be placing an order for some 1500 MHz Sport Merino as soon as I ship off the wholesale order, so keep an eye out for that yarn at www.yarnnerd.com.

In other news, I got a new toy!

That’s right, I finally had enough money saved up to go pay off my bike and get it out of layaway. I picked it up last night, and my Dad helped me put on some clipless pedals and showed me a few things, and off I went! I was a bit worried about using the clipless pedals, but commuting these last few months has made me a lot more confident on the bike, and my fears turned out to be unfounded. The pedals are super easy to use and it’s definitely a lot more efficient than straight push pedals. My Dad was kind enough to take a picture of me riding (wow, I look like a 5 year old boy in that picture) around the neighborhood.

It feels really great to have a bike that actually fits me, and I’m really looking forward to next week’s commute now. I’m interested to see how much time I can shave off, since this bike is super fast. Oh, and it’s super light too, so it should be a bit easier to load it onto the bus to school (and hopefully it will get me less grouchy bus driver stares, since the mountain bike was a bit hard to load onto that rack).

All in all, it’s only been a few months since I started bike commuting, but it’s already drastically changed the way I look at transportation. I absolutely love my commute now, and I’m always looking for opportunities to ride instead of driving. Plus, I’m so happy to have finally found a form of exercise that I really enjoy. In the past I never found something I really loved, so it was always hard to stick to a routine. I just wish I had given cycling a serious try sooner!

I also have another pair of socks under my belt to show off. (Two pairs in consecutive posts! What is this blog coming to?)

Remember these?

“Jolly Good Chap” Socks

Pattern: Gentleman’s Sock with Lozenge Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks, by Nancy Bush.
Yarn: Hand-Spun by Anne, received in a swap.
Needles / Gauge: 7.5 spi on US #1’s. Knitted with Magic Loop.
Construction: I stuck to the pattern on this one, except I used a slip stitch heel instead of a stockinette one. I also modified the lozenge pattern to be over 60 stitches, since my gauge was less than the book’s.
Completion Time: 4 months (May - August)

I really love these socks. This was the first time (at the time of cast-on) that I had used hand-spun, and it was a very different and wonderful experience. The wool that Anne used is a bit more coarse than I was used to, but it makes a really sturdy and warm fabric. Anne’s spinning job was superb, and I know that these socks will be around for many years to come. They’re a bit slouchy around the leg, because the pattern gauge is a bit bigger than stockinette gauge, but the ribbed cuff holds them up, and I think that slouchy socks are wonderful. They’ll be perfect for cold winter evenings, to keep my feet warm while I drink coffee and knit. And the pattern gives them a very sophisticated look; so much so, that I fancy myself a Brit while wearing them. ;)

So thanks Anne, the yarn is wonderful, and the socks are even better!

Lastly, I want to leave you with a bit of a somber warning. If you are ever knitting a sweater, be sure to count the number of stitches in your gauge swatch instead of assuming. Or, if you always knit your swatches over 32 stitches, don’t make a 36 stitch swatch, and then measure your gauge thinking your swatch is 32 stitches. Cause that means all your impeccable math and perfect sizing doesn’t mean anything…, and it leads to this inevitable outcome:

Oh, and listen to that nagging voice in your head that says, “hey, maybe before you get too much farther, you should take it off the needles and try it on!” Cause it will be right. At least I was only 1 inch past the hem, so no harm no foul this time. I forge ahead, because I am determined to have a cosy sweater to go with my Englishman socks this winter.

Published

Adam

in biking, dyeing, exercise, finished objects, frogging, hand spun, knitting, socks, sweaters, works in progress and yarn nerd

He’s Got Legs…(You Know the Rest) 24 Aug 07

33 Comments

Ok, we have a lot of ground to cover today people, so grab some coffee and hunker down. This could take hours. You know, metaphorically speaking. And you know how we roll when there’s lots to cover at Adam Knits…bullets!

from the "oh my goodness, what have I gotten myself into" department:

You may have seen this little announcement, already, but if not, this is news to you. I’m proud to announce that Yarn Nerd is the newest indie dyer at The Loopy Ewe! So now all you crazy Loopy Ewe fans can get your Yarn Nerd fix, along with all the other great yarns and stuff that Sheri stocks. I’m really excited about this, and am looking forward to breaking into the wholesale market. And if the response I’ve gotten so far is any indication, I think this will be the beginning of a great thing. I’ve admired Sheri’s shop for a while, and I e-mailed her to see if she was interested in Yarn Nerd, and got an emphatic yes. I’m hoping to have the order finished in a week or two, so you should be able to grab some soon.

There are a few ramifications (hehe, I love that word) for the Yarn Nerd shop, mostly since I do need to sleep occasionally. At least for the next few months, all 900 MHz Merino will be dyed up for The Loopy Ewe, so if you’re looking for it at my shop and can’t find it, that’s the reason. I am planning to bring back some of my other yarns though, which means that I should have 1500 MHz Merino in stock by mid-September. I’ve had a lot of requests for this one, and it’s one of my personal favorites, so I’m excited to be bringing it back. It’ll be available in your favorite colorways, or as a custom creation with Create Your Skein. Plus, to satiate all you spinners (including me!), there will be a lot more roving being thrown about in my dye kitchen, so keep your eyes out for that.
from the "spindles are fun! I don’t need a spinning wheel, really! so stop tempting me!" department:

I spun up the last of my roving stash (don’t worry, I promptly bought more…), and I’m definitely getting better at the spindle. I’m starting to actually draft while the spindle is spinning, rather than stopping, pinching, moving my hands up, etc. I think this lovely 2 ply speaks for itself :)

Hello Yarn Corriedale in the Granita Colorway. Isn’t it lovely?

I also received my newest fiber purchase yesterday, a lovely BFL top from Flawful Fibers, in the Safari colorway. This picture, although terribly cute, doesn’t really show off how lovely and subtle this roving is. I can’t wait to spin it, but I’m also worried that I won’t be able to do it justice. But my desire to spin it outweighs my worry of flubbing it up, so I press onward. Yarn Ho!

"do these braids make me look fat?"
from the "I wish I could show you my sexy biker calves, but that might be a skosh inappropriate" department:

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on the biking, but I’m still going strong. I’m averaging around 4 days a week, and occasionally getting a weekend ride in as well. The benefits are many: hot legs, less gas tank fillups and a bunch more energy. And coupled with the fact that the Albuquerque bus is now free for UNM students, I can ride down to the park & ride a few miles from my house and take the bus to campus on school days. In fact, I’m loving the bike so much, I went and put a new one on layaway. There were some killer end of season deals, and the store happened to have one model of the bike I wanted in my size left, so I jumped on it. Hopefully I can pay it off by the end of September and start riding it! It’s a svelte 24ish pounds, compared to 40 something for my brother’s bike (that I’ve been riding), so I should be a speed demon on the new bike. Watch out ABQ, here comes Adam with his hot legs! (I wonder how many times I can say hot legs in a blog post…)
finally, from the "yes I do still knit, I’m just very lazy about taking pictures of the knitting these days" department:

Here’s some socks that I finished while on vacation, and I figured it was about time to give them the spotlight. I really love these socks, since they have all my favorite colors (you should see my closet, it’s a red and black explosion). I went for the no frills method, with a short row heel and a simple pattern, but I think they’re awesome. They definitely make me feel like a rockstar. And they match my red shoes. Oh yeah.

"there’s no place like home" eye candy

Pattern: Basketweave (6 stitch) from More Sensational Knitted Socks.
Yarn: Yarn Nerd 900 MHz Merino in Love and Peace or Else
Needles / Gauge: 8 stitches / in on US #1’s. Knitted Magic Loop style.
Construction: K1, P1 ribbing, then patterned over the leg, short row heel and round toe. Easy Peasy!
Completion Time: 3 weeks (July 22 - August 10)