At least today's word is scientific...

A week ago Saturday we had an Anti-Bachelorette Party for my friend Anne who is getting married on Nov. 1. It was an "Anti-Bachelorette" party because, for some outlandish reason, Anne is not into barhopping while wearing a tiara made from replicas of male anatomy. Go figure, right?

So we congregated at Veronica's apartment, provided Anne with mimosas on-demand, played games, and watched The Wedding Singer. We did give her a bridal tiara and a magic wand, but we did not require her to wear them in public (nor were there any body parts of any kind represented therein).

Anne loves the game Apples To Apples, so we made a custom version of the game that contained words pertaining to her and her fiance, along with some standard wedding terms. It was a big hit.

Anne did not wear her tiara for the requisite smooshy-face pictures. Darn her.


An important thing I learned was that, with my hair pulled back and a sparkly tiara perched high atop my head, I look frighteningly like Toni Colette as she walks down the isle in Muriel's Wedding. Of course, my forehead (fivehead!) is even bigger...::shudder::


Veronica looked adorable, as always:



And we learned that Rachel's hair was not meant to hold such an insubstantial trifle of a tiara. She requires a full-on crown. Pity we didn't have one.


We ate, we drank, we made merry, we sang along to 80's music, and a grand time was had by all. You simply don't need a giant inflatable penis for that.

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Yes, I said "doody"

There are two amazing things about this post:

1. I'm posting two days in a row. This hasn't happened since sometime in July. I even think I have something to blog about tomorrow. It's like I'm on fire or something!
   
2. I have a snowflake for Snowflake Mondays. (Judy! Lookie!) This hasn't happened this year. It's horrifying. Or, rather, it's going to be horrifying when the holidays come and I realize I have no snowflakes because I was a doody-butt slacker all year and didn't make any flakes. ::sigh::

But today -- today -- I am victorious! I have one cute little snowflake!

#15 from 99 Snowflakes by Leisure Arts
Design by Helen Milinkovich Milton
Made with size 10 Knit Cro-Sheen by J.P. Coats in White
and a #6 steel hook

Yesterday I also started a new fall purse. It's also the first time I've worked with Patons Soy Wool Stripes and can I just tell you how much I love using this yarn? It's all slick (though not in a bad way) and cooshy (another technical term) and doesn't ever split. Awesome! So, I'm making Inga's Haekelbeutel with SWS in Natural Navy and I'm gong to felt it when I'm done. I've never felted before but I have a friend who has and she said she would help me. So I'm very excited! I've only got two squares done (I'll need sixteen), but I like the way the yarn is pooling so far. I don't think any of the squares will be alike, which is just fine by me.


So I'm just flitting along up here and all is well. And now I'm going to watch my beloved Broncos play on Monday Night Football, knit dishcloths and stop obsessing about my upcoming experiments. Maybe this posting every day thing will become a trend!!

For Pete's sake, don't hold your breath.

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Shawl we dance? (I should be shot for that one)

Yesterday I finished the Seraphina Shawl and it was a lumpy, stiff mess. I had really hoped that the weight of it would cause it to smooth out and drape better, but those were pipe dreams at best, I now realize. Here, I'll demonstrate:


Ew. (And yes, it was a hat day, what of it??) It didn't even look much better when I smooshed it out (technical term) on the floor:


See? Even smooshing couldn't make it lay flat.

So I blocked it.

"Now, wait a minute," you're thinking, "you said you were making this from acrylic! Acrylic doesn't block!"

Okay, so let me rephrase. I steam ironed it.

ACK!! Ironing acrylic???? I know, right? But I have this method, and it works pretty well, and I haven't started a fire or died of fume inhalation yet, so I'm going to continue to use it in certain circumstances.

Here's what I did:

• Lay the shawl out on the floor, as smooth as it will get.
  
• Fill the iron with water and set to "wool" (so it will steam).
  
• Very Important: Lay a pressing cloth over the portion of the shawl you are going to start with! I use a clean flour sack dishtowel.
  
• Make sure the steam is roiling out of that sucker.
  
• Run the iron lightly! over the section of the shawl covered by the cloth, hitting the steam button for all you're worth the whole time. Do not put any pressure on the iron; just let it do a bit more than make contact with the pressing cloth. And steam. Really go for it. Your thumb should kinda hurt from pressing the button so much.
  
• Set down the iron and remove the pressing cloth quickly. Pull and shape the fabric while it's still hot. You'll be surprised how much more supple it is now. Of course, that's because you just melted it a little bit, but we're not going to worry about that. Concentrate on the suppleness!!
  
• Continue moving the pressing cloth to other areas and repeating the ironing and shaping.
  
• Thrill to the sight and feel of your much less lumpy project!

It's ever so much nicer now! It drapes much better (and it's bigger now, too!):


And it lays out nice and flat:


And it drapes nicely on the sofa, too:

Seraphina's Shawl by Doni

TLC Heathers yarn in Blue Moon

Size K hook

So, yes! I am completely unrepentant that I ironed my acrylic project. I'll do it again, too! So there! Ppbbfftt!

:)

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Festival farewell

It was another uneventful week in the lab (except for that annoying yeast infection in all my cell cultures, but I really hope I have that under control) and another fun and busy weekend -- thus insuring that I will not become a dull girl because of all work and no play.

Friday night I went with Veronica, Rachel, and Rachel's family to the Lakefront Brewery tour and then for a fish fry. Rachel's son brought a date for me -- a giant stuffed alligator to stand in for Gator, my DH. He was quite the star of the tour, too! He loved posing with me:


We had a ball. Rachel's kids have taken to calling V, Anne and I their "Crazy Aunts", which I absolutely adore. I try to live up to this as much as I can!! Plus, there's nothing like chasing 8- and 11-year-old boys down the street so you can hug them good-bye and give them cooties! Hee!!

Saturday was Party On The Pavement and Art Walk in Racine, WI. I went down with my neighbor and we had a great time. First we walked around part of the residential area down by the lakefront. At Gateway Technical College there stands the first statue erected of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln portrayed together:


We strolled past the Hardy House, a Frank Lloyd Wright original:


This crazy pink Victorian explosion was the second house in as many blocks to have a sawed-off classic Milwaukee Harp Street Lamp in the front yard. I love these lamps. Apparently there is a way I can get my own one day. That is good to know.


I love the cool facades found on many Masonic Temples:


It was a gorgeous day for October -- the sky and the lake were clear and beautiful!


Soon, we headed to the festival. There was awesome Spanish food and tasty beverages and quite a crowd down at Monument Square:


Most importantly, this crowd included Chewbacca!!! And he spoke Shyriiwook fairly well!


Yes, that was pretty much the highlight of this dork's day! :)

We only got to enjoy a little bit of the festival nightlife before we had to catch the last bus back to Beer Town:


Back home, I listened to the Brewers beat Philly only to listen to them lose today and end their season. It was sad, but I'm glad we didn't get swept in the series and at least had one post-season win. At least that's something.

After the Brewers lost I watched the play-by-play internet coverage of the Broncos game, which they won. Apparently the Brewers and Broncos are not allowed to win on the same day. I hope this means smooth sailing for the Broncos here on out.

It's been cool but pretty up here lately, but today it's been nothing but rain all day. I'm glad I got my partying in when I did. I fear it's the last festival of the year. :(

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Rolling scientists gather no moss

Things have been busy here in Beer Town. I've been reorganizing the lab since late summer in between running experiments and TAing cell biology. But, never fear, I found plenty of time to play and frolic in the waning late-summer days!

I walk a lot here in the city, but a couple of weeks ago was the first time I walked in an organized fashion -- my first 5K! Al's Run is a major event up here -- there were over 15,000 people running, walking, and racing wheelchairs this year. It was a beautiful day for a 5K, but for a walk, it wasn't much of a challenge. Not only is it not very far, but there were so many people, strollers, wagons, etc. that I never got beyond what I would call a leisurely pace. It was a little frustrating, frankly. But I was walking with friends and once I was able to let go of my frustrations, I had a great time. The shirts were cute, too:


You can see that I was proud of the fact that I'd become a number:


Yes, that's the reaction for the hydrolysis of ATP on the back of my shirt. The Biological Sciences department had a team. That was our artwork. We are complete dorks.

More fun was had last Friday night when several of my classmates went to Caffrey's a local pub for happy hour. We weren't very good at darts, but we had a lot of fun trying. Here, my friends Xi, Priyanka, Radhika, and Mae give it a go:


And while I do truly, truly suck at darts, it turns out I'm not half bad at bar shuffleboard. Who knew? I think I'll be playing that more often!

Last night I went to the rally to send off the Brewers to their first playoff series against the Phillies (sorry, Mr. Yarnthrower, but I really hope your boys lose!!). The turnout was enormous and I couldn't see a thing. I could barely hear a thing, either, but it was fun to be there nonetheless. Also, I have no pictures, but they would have just been of the backs of the heads of the 14,000 people standing in front of me, so just close your eyes and picture that for a moment. Wow, it's like you were there!!! We didn't hang around for the party after the players left the stage, so as we were walking back to the bus stop, we were pleased and surprised to see the players buses come to a stoplight right beside us! We waved, they waved -- it was the best part of the afternoon! Turns out I'm a science dork and a sports dork!! Tomorrow I'm watching the first playoff game with my friend Anne, even though I kinda have to sneak out of work to manage it (it's an afternoon game). It will be worth it! Plus, I figure, watched cells never mate, so I'm really helping my experiment by leaving and ignoring them! It's actually a scientific strategy! I'm a genius! Just give me my degree now, please!

Well, since that's probably not going to happen, I'll just plug along in the lab and spend most of my evenings doing handwork. The last couple of nights it's been the Seraphina shawl. I love this pattern, but I wish I had softer yarn to work with. This is one of those times in life when one cannot justify yarn expenditures when there are four Rubbermaid totes of yarn in the front closet and one's stipend just went down. So, it's stash acrylic and it's a little stiff. It's a very pretty color, though -- TLC Heathers in Blue Moon -- and much prettier in person than in the pic. I think the weight of the finished product will help with the drape.


So that's what's been keeping me so busy. Which is good, because moss is so hard to get out from between my toes.

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Bad news football; good news baseball

So maybe I just shouldn't watch football this season.

I hadn't watched any Broncos games until today and they were undefeated until today. Maybe I'm bad mojo. This is, of course, ridiculous -- my presence or absence in front of a television screen has nothing to do with how the players perform miles away from me. But as far as sports superstitions go, it's completely reasonable. I will ponder this possibility and decide what to do before next week's game.

Since I have no television of my own, I had to go to the Union Sports Annex to watch the game -- they have Sunday Ticket -- and it just so happened that the screen showing the Brewers game was right next to the screen playing the Broncos game. It was maddening. It's bad enough watching two different football games at one time, but to watch two screens showing two games of altogether different sports, both of which I was heavily invested in, was really difficult. Plus, the football game was horrible, while the baseball game was terrific. An emotional roller coaster if ever I've been on one.

Anyway, the good news is that the Brewers won and the Mets lost, so the Brewers are going to the playoffs!! We're all very excited up here in Beer Town, to be sure. Go Brew Crew!!!

Oh, and I made one and a half dishcloths while watching all of this. True multi-tasking, I'm telling you. I had completely depleted my random dishcloth stash when I visited my family this summer, so I really needed to start stocking up again. I think I'm up to around four. Many more to go!

Okay, so I know I promised State Fair pictures a long time ago. But somehow this pressure has become too great and I've just not been blogging instead of doing all the photo manipulation required to present such a post. And, since Yarnthrower reminded me that I made a New Year's resolution to not feel guilty about my blog, I'm permanently throwing that to the back of the back burner for the sake of blogging in general. So there, guilt! Away with you! Ppbbfftt!!

On to a little progress report! The Maui Shrug is indeed finally finished (the one I tried to do for the Ravelympics and failed horribly) but I don't have pictures yet. It really needs to be modeled to be seen properly, and that will require enlisting the help of a second party to snap the pic and looking decent myself for the picture. This will require planning. So it may be a while. I can't help it. I'm vain yet lazy. It's a terrible burden, I assure you.

My friend Anne's bridal shower was a couple of weeks ago and I finished all her gifts in good time and went on to have a blast at the event itself. It was held at a wine bar and there was quite a spread. And I couldn't believe all the gifts she got -- what a haul!! And that was just the shower!!!

My addition to the haul included dishcloths,


potholders,


lid hats,


and a market bag.


I put it all together and made fiber content/washing instructions tags for everything.


She loved it! Here's Veronica, Anne, Me, and Rachel at the shower. It was great!


I have also finished the wedding gift for Anne and her finace, but finished pics will wait until after the giving. Just in case.

Tonight I started the Seraphina shawl. I've never felt the shawl love, but this pattern is calling to me for some reason. I've only got a tiny bit done, so I'll save pics for next time. But I'm really enjoying it so far. In fact, I think I'll get back to it right now!

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Fail

Yes, I failed.

For Ravelympics, I picked the Maui shrug, which I though was an easy pick (even though you're supposed to pick something that would be challenging to finish during the Olympics) but the joke was on me. I didn't finish it. I got the body piece finished, but I did absolutely no finishing or construction. So, what I have to show you is a somewhat long rectangle.



Beyond this, I've also failed to post about the things I promised would be soon in coming in my last post. Three strikes and I'm out?

Which brings up an interesting topic -- how long after an event is too long to post about it on a blog? Not the sharing of childhood memories or past events that tie in nicely with some current topic, but just the kind of stuff we go around and take pictures of, thinking, "I going to blog this". The WI State Fair was weeks ago, but is it ever really too late for pictures of amazing quilts and Elvis impersonators? Yes, but how about the photos of me with Tom Bodett and Carl Kasell from when I attended a taping of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! last fall???

Miss Manners just doesn't address these kinds of things.

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Promises, promises

There's a lot to tell you about, but I'm in a flurry-of-activity place right now, so I'm going to post a little bit and make promises that I will post more really soon. And then we'll just see how that goes. :)

I tagged a project for the Ravelympics, though I didn't join any teams or anything. It'll just be between me, myself, and my blog readers. So, about five of us. It's the Maui Shrug, and I started it during the Opening Ceremonies at my friend Rachel's house while drinking wine and eating cheese and grapes. She knows how to throw my kind of party, that Rachel. I'm using sport weight yarn instead of worsted, so I went up a hook size and the result is that the pattern has less definition than the example in the pattern and considerably more drape. It will be close-fitting, so I think it will work out fine. I've made some progress, but I'm going to have to crank it up if I want to get it finished and blocked (such that acrylic will, but it will a bit) before the Closing Ceremonies. Here's my progress so far:


That's about 18 inches and it needs to be at least 42 inches. Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern:


I would have more done if I could work on it while I actually watch the Olympics. Why can't I, you ask? Well, because I tried crocheting while riding the exercise bike, but it just doesn't work very well.

Don't even ask, I'll just tell you.

I don't have a TV in my cute little abode, so to watch the Games, barring a party at the home of someone with a TV, I have to watch in the exercise room of my building (or I could go to a bar, but then I'd have to buy something, and I've become such a miser lately). If I watch in the exercise room then, ostensibly, I have to exercise. Most especially if someone else is there. Often there isn't and I can take nice, long breaks. But during my 2 1/2 hours of watching last night, I rode for 1 1/2 hours total. And during my breaks I was all sweaty. So, no crocheting. But I'll get the shrug done -- I still have plenty of time to sit around on my backside and listen to All Things Considered. Never fear.

Along with my increase in bike riding, I've also started a new little fitness regime. Last week I started the One Hundred Pushups program, wherein one trains to do, oddly enough, one hundred pushups.


Yes, I know. One hundred pushups. Every time I say that in my head, it sounds like Dr. Evil saying "One million dollars". And it sounds like a ludicrous thing that I, the queen of sloth and no-upper-body-strength, could never ever do. I'm doing "girl", or knee pushups, obviously, and for my initial test I could only do three. Three. And they were some of the crappiest pushups you've ever seen, too.

So I'm a week and a half into it, and I'm happy to announce my humble little progress -- in my max-out for the last two days I've achieved seven very respectable-looking pushups. Yes, I'm pleased as punch with seven. It is, after all, a 133% improvement in a week's time. And they're no longer crappy! My high school gym teacher wouldn't even yell at me to keep my butt down!

It's a "six week" (LOL!!) program, but it will likely take me the rest of the year. But I don't mind. As long as I stay reasonably motivated, I think I can really do this. I'll keep you posted.

That's all for this morning, but watch for coming posts about the Wisconsin State Fair (including Elvis impersonators!!) and my dream about The Apocalypse! Yes, it's all excitement, all the time, here in Beer Town! Have a great day, and don't get too wild out there!

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Thankfulness

I'm playing hooky from church to get some stuff done around the house before I go to the State Fair today. Even though I'm staying home this morning, I should still take a few moments to be thankful for all that I have. I will share this very incomplete list with you.

• My sweet, loving, supportive husband, who I love very much.
  
• My relatively good health.
  
• A wonderful bunch of friends in Milwaukee who are fun and caring and who keep me from becoming a hermit, which is something I tend to do.
  
• The ability and opportunity to do graduate studies in an exciting field that makes me happy and has obvious application in the "real world".
  
• An awesome family of really cool people who put up with my foibles and love me anyway.
  
• A great adviser and faculty in a graduate program that is close-knit and supportive.
  
• A fun neighbor who likes to show me around parts of the city I've never been before.
  
• The ability and opportunity to make pretty things for the people I love.

Taking the time to consciously give thanks is the most important part of going to church for me. And like I said, it's a really incomplete list. But those are the things in the front of my mind this morning.

With that last one particularly in mind, I have a couple of FO's to share. Even though they're both for me. Not that I don't love myself, it's just not what I meant... Oh, screw it. You know what I mean. Just look at the pretties, would you? ;)

I finished the Primavera socks and I like them very, very much! I think this is a pattern that will be used again! They're just lounging by the pool for a bit this morning...


Pattern: Primavera Socks by natalja.
Yarn: Berroco Comfort Sock in color 1811 (which I think is discontinued). Fingering weight; 50% nylon, 50% acrylic. This yarn is very soft, but a bit splitty. Overall I enjoyed working with it, but this pattern is more frustrating with splitty yarn. I managed pretty well once I got the hang of the "tricks" needed to overcome the problem.
Needles: Boye aluminum double points, size 2 (US).

I recently got new sunglasses and, as is the current style, the lenses are quite large. I love them and call them my Diva Shades. But I needed a case for them so they don't get scratched up in my purse. My other glasses cases were not big enough for the awesome largeness of my new shades. It also had to work up quickly because I wanted it now! I'm impatient like that. Enter a single skein that I got on clearance at my LYS last year and had never figure out what to do with:


Pattern: I made it up. Thinking of writing it up, even though it's really simple and you can probably tell what I did just by looking at it for 0.5 seconds. What do you all think?
Yarn: Lana Grossa Maxi in colorway 612 (also discontinued). Bulky weight; 100% virgin wool.
Hook: Size J (US).
I had the button lying around and it worked great. I like this very much. I hope I have enough yarn to make a little case for my digital camera, too.

Okay, must get ready to go to the Fair, where I will watch pigs race and eat many foods on sticks. It's going to be glorious! And people say that Americans have no culture. Bah!

I'm very thankful that you've visited my blog today. I'm thankful for those of you with whom I regularly communicate and for the lurkers I know are out there. I hope my blog does something for you. It does a great deal for me. Thank you!

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Random loose ends and progress report!

Oh, I forgot to include one of the awesome activities of my last day in Santa Barbara -- I ate at In-n-Out Burger! I hadn't been to one since we lived in Las Vegas in '00 and it tasted just as good as I remembered. My fave is the hamburger, animal style. I had to take a pic of the awesomely simple menu.


I love that they have, like, four things and then a secret menu for mixin' it up. And they make all their french fries from scratch -- we watched them putting potatoes in a little fry-making contraption which is totally low tech and very cool. Yay, In-n-Out Burger!

Okay, moving on to the handwork front, which is the main purpose of this post. While I was in Missouri, I kept finding clearance yarn. It was tragic. So tragic, in fact, that I had to buy a whole bunch of it and cart it home in my luggage. It was no small feat getting it to fit. And to think of how much ridiculously marked-down yarn I wanted to buy! I settled on this:


That includes four $.50 Red Heart skeins, four $.99 Baby Bee skeins, some clearance sugar n' cream twist, 40% off sugar n' cream ginormous balls, half-price Tofutsies in a discontinued colorway, and a $2 ball of mystery wool that I thought was pretty cool. The Austermann Step sock yarn I actually paid full price for. So this got crammed into my already overladen luggage and thus my stash is enhanced! Yay, bargains!

So, in order to get crackin' on some of this new yarn, I'd better get bustin' on some of my current WIP's, no? No worries, I have been. The second Primavera is coming along nicely:


I've also made significant headway on the Ripple afghan which started as a gift, then it was going to be for me, but now has gone back to being a gift:


My advice about ripple afghans? Weave in the ends as you go. I'm cursing myself roundly for leaving myself such a ginormous task for the end. It's not going to be pretty.

I'm off this evening to see Casablanca, which (can you believe it??) I've never seen. There's a restaurant down by the river that is showing it tonight on their patio. It's going to be a nice evening; it should be a very good time!

Oh, and I saw the X-Files movie. It wasn't good. But David and Gillian were, and it was very 'shippy, and I liked it. I'm eager for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it over and over so I can analyze the hell out of it. I can't do that in the theater. Yes, yes, that whole Phile Dork thing was spot on. ;p


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