Tag Archive for ‘dallas’ at adam knits!

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Being Ambidextrous Is Hard! 03 Jul 07

Thanks to everyone who left me well wishes on my burned hand, I appreciate them! Let’s just say that it’s not wise to touch the lawnmower exhaust 5 minutes after mowing the lawn…because this will happen:

I spent Sunday evening holding an ice bag and attempting to do mundane tasks with my uncoordinated left hand, because my poor fingers hurt so bad. Let’s just say I hope I never break my arm, because it’s down right impossible to eat with my left hand, as evidenced by the stains on my shirts and shorts from that day. But thankfully, it doesn’t hurt anymore and I’m able to once again eat without looking like a 2 year old. Oh and reskein yarn too, cause that’s a fairly important task.

I haven’t tried to knit yet, but I think I’m gonna attempt some work on the secret stranded project tonight, since the herald of July signals that I don’t have too much time left to finish this one. I tried to enlist Dallas’ help to do a few rounds, but he seemed to be all thumbs when it came to holding both colors. And not to mention that he wasn’t too keen to be featured in another blog post after the last photo shoot. (My entreaties of “you’re an Internet superstar now, your public needs you!” didn’t seem to perk him up either)

dallas gets in a bit of knitting before bed

I guess that leaves it up to me to complete the hat on time ;) It shouldn’t be too bad though, I’m definitely getting better at holding one color in my left hand, and everyone’s tips were super helpful. For me it’s been a matter of just getting my left hand used to having some form of structure so I can tension the yarn, rather than sitting there like a limp noodle that occasionally pushes stitches forward. I’m able to wrap the yarn on the left without using my right hand to thread it now, so I’m making progress.

Speaking of progress, I’m also super proud of myself in the bike commuting arena. I managed to ride in 4 days last week, and would have done 5 if my legs didn’t collapse into a pool of Jell-O when I woke up on Thursday. But I’m getting stronger and losing weight (3 pounds last week!), so the results are very encouraging. It’s a bit hot for the ride home these days (today’s commute will be extra sweaty since it’s 97 right now!), but I seem to have managed so far. If anything, all the sweat just adds up to a pound here or there ;)

Be sure to go check out the Yarn Nerd site soon too, because this week’s shop update is live and ready for the taking. The new colorways above are inspired by some of my favorite summer time treats, and I think they’re pretty awesome. There’s still plenty to be had, but it might not last too long, so go check it out!

And tomorrow’s July 4, woo-hoo! I’m hitting up a BBQ/Pool Party and then checking out some fireworks, how about you? Whatever you do, make sure there’s knitting, and be safe!

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Adam

in biking, colorwork, dallas, gifts, holidays, knitting, shop, why me? and yarn nerd

Yarn + Dogs = Less Yarn 26 Jun 07

14 Comments

I’ve been meaning to get this post up for a while now, but it seems I just haven’t found the time until now…isn’t that how it goes? It’s not really for lack of time, it’s just that I’ve been doing other fun things that have kept my free hours occupied. Like blitzing through the first 4 Harry Potter books in 4 days! Obsessed much? Yeah, I definitely am. I wanted to read them all again in preparation for the new movie and book in a month, but I just got a bit carried away. And I’m already making headway on Book 5, so I’m pretty much unstoppable at this point. Oh well, at least I’m getting some fun reading in…that doesn’t happen often when you’re in grad school!

In addition to reading my brains out, I’ve done a bit of knitting and yarn purchasing in the last few days. Village Wools is having a big closeout sale on Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Wool (only $4 a skein!), so I picked up a few of those, since they look perfect for stranded knitting. I got some great colors to make a Red Light Special for myself, in Gray, Yellow and 2 shades of Brown. I was inspired by Knitting Philistine’s new Fiberlicious! Flickr Group, and had a late night photo shoot involving bananas, yarn and peanut butter. I think yarn as food is my favorite new art form!

a banana w/ peanut butter and some milk…my favorite snack!

Unfortunately, Dallas went on a bit of a stash rampage when I wasn’t paying attention, and chewed up a gray and a brown skein, plus 4 balls of Felted Tweed I got from Fricknits! I wasn’t too happy, but it was my fault for not closing the office door, so I suppose that’s a lesson learned. (Combined with the previous lesson of not leaving freshly dyed yarn on the table, maybe I’ll be able to prevent future yarn tragedies!) I guess I’ll just have to go pick up more of that Jamieson & Smith yarn…what a shame.

I also picked up some Dale of Norway yarns, in black and white, for a secret gift project. I’m working on it now (and loving it!), but I’m afraid I won’t be able to give too many details until it’s gifted. It’s my first major project with stranded colorwork, and it’s quite interesting so far. It requires a lot of brain power to manipulate my left hand into holding one of the colors continental style, but I seem to be getting better at it. If anyone has any tips or tricks for stranded knitting, I’d love to hear them!

Then I spotted this fun swag at the checkout counter…“where my stitches at?” I’m not sure who got the buttons and dropped them off at Village Wools (Scout?), but I was sure happy to score one. Ravelry is an awesome site, and now I have a cool button to show it off!

You know what’s even cooler? Casey quit his day job so that he could work on Ravelry full time, because he and Jess feel that strongly about building an awesome site for us fiber lovers. That also means that development speed will pick up, so those of you still on the waiting list, don’t despair, because I promise they’re getting close!

Finally, in bike commuting news, my goal is to ride all 5 days this week, and so far I’m meeting that, having ridden today and yesterday. I’m getting lots more confident and really enjoying myself, so I’m determined to keep at it. The shrinking gas bill is definitely good motivation. Wish me luck on the last 3 days!

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Adam

in biking, dallas, hats, knitting, local yarn store and ravelry

Obsession is Normal. 24 May 07

37 Comments

My neighbors must think I’m a loon. Actually, they might not be too far off. If you were in my neighborhood yesterday, you might have been taken aback as well. So what on earth was I doing?

Well let’s just say that I had a little dog photo shoot involving baby knits…

No Schnauzers were physically harmed during this photoshoot, although emotional damage may have occurred.

"did you say treat? you better deliver!"

I better get a freaking treat out of this.

"Arrrr! shiver me timbers, I’ll get you for this! Arrrr, dArrrrr, dΘ"

I would explain, but there’s really nothing to explain. Some good friends of mine just had their second baby, and seeing as I have had lots of time, I cranked out a few hats for their adorable new son. I wanted to get some pictures of the hats before I gifted them, but wanted something more than an ordinary lightbox shot. I thought about using a comforter (like brooklyntweed does for baby knits) to model the hats, but then I realized that I had something even better. Live models with furry little heads. Next thing I knew, I was laying in the grass, saying “Treat!” over and over, trying to get my poor humiliated dogs to look at the camera. The things I do for the blog…

You have to admit though, these pictures are darn cute.

Dallas is wearing a very lovely Top Down Bonnet in some red Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. I loved this pattern, but I wasn’t paying attention and increased too much, so I ended up making the child size instead of the baby size. It’s all good though, because I promised my friends a hat for their daughter over a year ago, and now I can finally deliver on that promise! Sorry it’s taken so long guys!

Emma is wearing a Children’s Cotton Hat, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, knitted up with less than 1/2 of a skein of Patagonia Nature Cotton. It was leftovers from another baby hat, and I didn’t have too much, so this hat turned out to be more of a baby skull cap. I also knitted another one with some Manos Cotton Stria, but it wouldn’t stay on Emma’s head. I really like that hat pattern, it’s quick and simple, and makes a very cool looking baby knit.

So congrats on the new baby Sam and Rosemary, he’s absolutely adorable! Hopefully there’s not dog hair on the hats, but Schnauzers don’t shed, so they should be hair free! ;)

In other news, the yarn for my Seamless Hybrid came yesterday. It came in a USPS shoe box, which prompted me to wonder why I was receiving shoes that I hadn’t ordered, until I opened it and was greeted with the sweet smell of wool. Ahhh, Cascade 220, how I love thee. This color is so great too, it looks like a mixture of coffee and red wine, with a bit of chocolate thrown in. I’m planning to use the olive green to do the sleeve hems, and possibly the neckband too. I can’t wait to get started on this!

one of these things is not like the others

I also wound up my Tree Scum Handspun, to begin the project planning phase. I’m such a planner when I knit, and I want to be especially conscientious with this yarn since it’s so nice. The project planning phase (or PPP) usually involves making a swatch or two with different needle sizes, washing and blocking those swatches, then measuring them to get accurate gauge. Of course, this all gets written down in my yarn notebook, so that if I ever use a particular yarn again, I can just "check my notes". Then I pick a pattern, and usually adapt it in some form to suit what I’m looking for. Then I can finally cast-on! There’s also obsessive amounts of trying on and measuring during the knitting phase, to ensure that the item comes out perfectly.

tree scum handspun - waiting for the cast on

I know my process is a bit obsessive, but _what else would you expect from an engineer?_ And one benefit is that I can almost always guarantee that my knitted objects will fit well. The few times I have strayed from this process are the few times where things have gone horribly wrong. So I take comfort in perfecting my art through the use of my calculator, ruler and notebook. Someday I hope to pass the knitting bug onto my kids, and leave them all of my notebooks so they can know what a weirdo their Dad was. As if the dogs in hats pictures aren’t proof enough ;)

So what’s your process? Are you like me, or do you prefer to be a bit more free form? No judgment here, I’m just interested to know if there’s other obsessive knitters out there! Besides Grumperina of course, because she totally rocks the math skills too.

Oh, and if you have any pattern ideas for my handspun, please toss them into the hat! I’m thinking something Nancy Bush, or Anne’s Smokin’ Socks, but I’m open to suggestions!

Published

Adam

in baby, dallas, ee, emma, finished objects, gifts, knitting, knitting techniques, nerdy, patterns, schnauzers, socks and sweaters

I Heart Yarn 19 May 07

16 Comments

All this free time is making me go knitting crazy! I love it! I actually got to go the LYS yesterday, for the first time in who knows how long. It’s been a few months at least. It was a wonderful experience just to browse, fondling many of the yarns and thumbing through the books. Sometimes I think I’m around yarn so much with all the dyeing, that I forget how much I really like this stuff.

I did pick up a few things at Village Wools yesterday, including this Debbie Blish Cashmerino Chunky in a deep red color. It’s super nice stuff, and I’m planning to knit up an undisclosed baby item as a gift for some friends who are expecting. (Past due now actually!) You guys know who you are! ;) I think it will look pretty sweet, and I’m looking forward to working with this yarn, because it’s so unbelievably soft and buttery. Yes, buttery.

I also got a copy of the fabled book, Knitting Without Tears, by the knitting legend herself, Elizabeth Zimmerman. I’m planning to make a Seamless Hybrid Sweater (much like this one by the talented Julie Frick) over the summer, and I figured I should get the instructions first!

Oh, and somehow 6 skeins of Cascade 220 wandered into my shopping cart the other day and are now on their way to me. It all happened so fast, I don’t really remember it, but I’m pretty sure I gave into the bad angel on that one. (But at only $4.89 a skein, I just couldn’t say no.) I place all the blame on Jared, with all his gorgeous sweaters, how could I not be tempted to learn sweaters for myself?

Then to top all the yarny goodness off, my Tree Scum Handspun from Anne arrived today. It totally makes me weak in the knees. Just to look at it and know that it was spun from roving blows my mind. It’s a beautifully spun yarn, with very even singles and plying, and the colors are phenomenal. I’m super excited to cast on my for first handspun experience, I think it’ll be a good one.

my first handspun (well I didn't spin it...)!

Now the hardest thing I have to decide is which project to cast on for first! (Oh and don’t worry Mom, I’ve actually gotten 5 rounds done on the Garden Shawl in the last few days, so I’m not neglecting it entirely!)

And what would a Saturday afternoon be without a sky picture? Today’s picture was taken just moments before hail started pelting my street in a torrential downpour. This is only 5 minutes after there were no clouds in the sky. New Mexico weather is weird stuff…

I did manage to have a little panic attack when it started hailing, since hail and I don’t have a very good history. (Google the 2004 Socorro Hailstorm if you don’t already know what happened). But all is well, because I have a garage now, and was able to get my car into safety in mere moments. Then it promptly stopped hailing. Yeesh!

I’ll leave you with some shots of the kids dogs, since I think it’s been a while since I’ve had obligatory dog pictures on the blog. I got them some new collars today, aren’t they sweet? (You know you’re living in the fast lane when you get excited over new dog collars). I had to bribe Emma with her chew bone to get her to take a picture…she’s such a diva. And Dallas? Well give him a toy and he’s pretty much oblivious to everything around him.

the only time she lets me take her picture...

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make a pile with all my new yarn and roll around in it.

PS: All the Ravelry invites are spoken for, sorry if you didn’t receive any love from the random number generator! Just be patient a little longer ;)

Published

Adam

in albuquerque, dallas, emma, knitting, local yarn store, patterns, schnauzers and sweaters

Mmmm, Yarn! 17 Apr 07

9 Comments

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!

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. ;)

Published

Adam

in dallas, grad school, schnauzers, shop, unm, work and yarn nerd