7 Quick Takes Friday, 1/16

With thanks to Jennifer at Conversion Diary for letting us play along!

-1-

I bought myself Stephanie Pearl McPhee's Page-A-Day Calendar, Never Not Knitting, just after Christmas. It came with an offer for a free online page-a-day calendar that comes in your e-mail. There were a number of choices, including Cats and Brain Teasers, and I chose 365 New Words a Year. It's been a lot of fun to open the e-mails, scroll down just far enough to see the word, and quiz myself before checking the definition. Then, there's always a link to click for more information on the history and etymology of the word. Yes, I'm a word geek.

-2-

Living right across the Detroit River from Canada, I'd come to enjoy CBC Radio 2 for classical music and great programs like Vinyl Cafe. So I'm sad that they seem to have changed formats from nearly all classical to more eclectic. I have nothing against eclectic, but it was nice to have an option in addition to Detroit's WRCJ for classical. At least there's classical in the afternoon, and Vinyl Cafe is still on Saturday mornings.

-3-

I made a dastardly treat yesterday. But next time I need to make sure the butter is super soft and mix the ice cream in quicker. It was still pretty yummy (For those of you worried about Jamie, we didn't have it until after he was in bed since he sleeps most of the night, and I only used a splash of rum).

-4-

Is it just me, or are people using the phrase "It is what it is" an awful lot lately? I have nothing against the phrase in particular, but I'm getting tired of hearing it.

-5-

My little project is almost done (Ravelry link, because I believe the recipient occasionally checks in on this blog). I knit it up in four days, and it's taken me the last three to seam it. I hate seaming, but for this one, it's worth it. All will be revealed on Monday.

-6-

Last night I was mulling over ideas for this post as I was putting Jamie to bed, then came downstairs to jot down a list to remind myself this morning. Of course, my mind blanked out before I remembered them all. I was thinking and thinking about the last one, willing it to come back into conscious memory, and then it did! And then I clicked my pen with gusto! And then I realized that I was holding the pen upside down and the ball point was already out! And then I said "OW ow ow ow ow" and forgot what I had remembered.

-7-

I know Christmas is over, even for us Catholics, but I had to share one last picture of the season (the plants are fake):

Isn't he the cutest thing?

Mosaic

I've been wanting to do this project since I saw Jo's in July. I tried a few weeks ago, but one of the photographers had restrictions on his/her photos and so the mosaic had one empty box in it, and I had to start all over again but couldn't find the time. Well, now that Jamie's napping more reliably, I thought I'd give it another go.


Here’s how you do it:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.


These are the questions, and my answers (and commentary):
1. What is your first name? Kim
2. What is your favorite food? Sushi (this was a hard one -- how do you pick one favorite food?)
3. What high school did you go to? Theodore Roosevelt
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Connor Trinneer
6. Favorite drink? Coffee
7. Dream vacation? Ireland (Also hard. There are so many places I want to go.)
8. Favorite dessert? Hazelnut mousse (from Richter's Chalet in Dearborn, yum!)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Content
10. What do you love most in life? Cats (again, seriously? It could have easily been music, yarn, books...)
11. One Word to describe you. Competent
12. Your flickr name. Nualacat (I had to cheat and enter Nuala cat as two words because I got no results for my user name as it is.)

Oh my goodness

Two weird yarn-related items:

#1 The Bizarre Case of the Exploding Knitting Needle Old news, but who ever said I was on top of current events?

#2 Crocheted Mythbusters I can think of no better reason than this to pick up my crochet hook again. :D

And look, I've made it past the heel of my first Charade!

I may yet finish this pair of socks this year.

Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday. The Kilburns have developed a tradition of extending birthdays into a celebration that usually last three days, sometimes longer. It's a very nice tradition that makes up for my having to conduct (pun intended) two rehearsals yesterday.

It starts with "birthday eve," the night before the birthday, which is observed by the consumption of ice cream. Andy took me to Stroh's after choir practice (yes, I had three rehearsals in the space of two days; I love my job) and we had sundaes -- mine was Butterfinger ice cream with Sanders hot fudge and whipped cream. Yum!

Then, the actual day is celebrated with cards and dinner. Because of my schedule, we're having our dinner out tonight -- see, a three day celebration. We're going to Black Pine Tree for sushi, then to Borders to grab armloads of books and browse through them while sipping coffee and eating bad desserts.

Then, the best part -- the fall Knitty came out yesterday, happy birthday to me! and I got my Ravelry invite this afternoon, very happy birthday to me! So I'm going to be spending some time browsing and playing, and dreaming of projects-to-be.

What kind of yarn?

This was kinda silly, and I'm not sure how the questions related to the end result, but it's eerily accurate. "Dishcloth cotton" also would have described me.

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
Take this quiz!








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Start 'em young

"Mama, can I knitting?"
"Sure, baby, here, I'll cast on for you"
"Oh, ganks. I love to knitting."
"I making you a sock, Mama!"

One Monkey done

Isn't it pretty? I can't believe how excited I am about a sock, for cryin' out loud. It took me a week to finish this first one. That's the shortest it's ever taken me to knit one sock. Must be the pattern.

I found this link to a knitter who used all knit stitches in her Monkey, and it looks amazing! Aren't they lovely and swirly and smooth? I'm going to borrow this idea for my next pair. Which I'll probably start as soon as this pair is done. I'm ill, I tell you.

A good time was had by all at the Wyandotte Street Art Fair this past week. The weather was just perfect. It was cool, breezy, and sunny. We saw two artists who really impressed us. One did Chinese-style paper cuts, and we bought this from her:

The other was exhibiting several really outstanding works of art, and this was his business card:Craig M. Linderman. Please check out his stuff -- it blew my mind. If you can find the one entitled "Face It" (it's under pen and ink), take a look at it. That was my favorite. I may have to order a print from his website.

Also had good, good friends visit from out of town. Monica and her family, including little Luke, who came to be deeply loved by Rose in a very short period of time.
Here they are bonding over Rose's Sesame Street toy. A very good time was had by all.

A new friend

On our last visit to Greenfield Village, we took my grandmother, and she felt Rose needed a little something from the gift shop. This is what Rose picked out (with no input from me!):

Her tag reads, "Wrinklee -- the merino sheep." See the zipper?

Here she is, all freshly shorn, with her fleece lying beside her. Rose decided it is a girl, and her name is not Wrinklee, but Lambie. Isn't that sweet?

So I'm raising my daughter to be a fiber-loving girl. Tee-hee. Yesterday she felt she needed to put on a pair of my (hand-knit) socks and my Cozy.

Hey, Rachel, see what she's playing with? That set was Andy's when he was little.

Lastly, this is the best photo I could find of the "mall hair" I mentioned a few posts ago. It is not me, so the face has been marked out to protect the innocent. ;)

Those bangs were an art!

This 'n' that

I've been having some groggy mornings lately. The sun is up earlier now; it should be easier for me to get out of bed. Today I almost scooped coffee grounds into the toaster instead of the coffee maker.

...

I was knitting on Green Gable and watching T.V. and a commercial came on for a sleeping pill, I can't remember which one. Anyhow, there's a shot of a sleeping couple in bed under a blanket, and a giant pill floating above them, and the pill has two layers. The narrator is speaking about how one layer dissolves quickly to put you to sleep fast, and the second layer dissolves slowly to keep you asleep. While he is saying this, the first layer breaks up and sprinkles onto the bed, forming a second blanket, then the other layer does the same thing, forming a third blanket. And at the bottom of the screen, it says, "DRAMATIZATION." Good thing, because I thought maybe a giant pill did float above your bed and turn into blankets. ?!?

...

Rose loves to ride the carousel at Greenfield Village. She's been calling it the "horse-go-round" for a couple of months. Well, as of the last visit, she's realized it's not really called that, and now she's calling it the "carouself." With an f. Cutie pie.

...

Love,

Kim

Funny and not so funny

funny:

I just wanted to share a little malapropism that my dear husband discovered in the program of a community theatre production we attended last night. Below a list of people and organizations that had helped was this gem: "We apologize to anyone we indivertedly left out." That's my new favorite word.

not so funny:

Just received an e-mail from eBay stating that "Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorized listings, we have temporarily suspended activity on your account in order to allow us to investigate this matter further." Now, I haven't used eBay in ages, so I suspect someone has been trying to mess with my account. I've been waiting for some Live Help for about half an hour now, and it's just making me crazy. I'm feeling very paranoid, and as soon as I post this, I'm going to change all my passwords for everything. Grrrr.

Rachel, I saw you yesterday and forgot to bring you bread and starter. You will not escape. You will get Friendship Bread. :)

Three yarn shops and a pedicure

My lovely husband, Andrew, gave me a day off this week. I, of course, took that opportunity to visit yarn shops!

But first, this diversion:

The ballband dishrag made popular again lately by the gals at Mason-Dixon Knitting.

I had picked up two balls of Sugar n'Cream Cotton on our last trip to the local dime store.

They made for great "mindless" knitting for the evenings for a couple of nights.
Don't the colors look great in our kitchen?

Okay, back to my day trip. I wanted to check out two stores in Ann Arbor that I've never been to. First I hit Flying Sheep, where I placed an order for enough Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Robin's Egg Blue for a Green Gable for myself.

Then I drove through campus (luckily I wasn't in a hurry) on my way to Knit A Round, where I bought some sock yarn and three books by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Last, I drove into Detroit to hit City Knits, the LYS that is closest to me and the one I usually shop at. I bought three lovely tribbles of Kid Seta for Kiri, as well as a new knitting tote, which I am totally loving because not only is it cute, but it has pockets and dividers so that I can put some of my personal items in (lipgloss, wallet, etc.) as well as an emergency diaper and a packet of wipes for Rose, and still have an entire large section just for a project or two. I didn't get a picture of that, yet.

Then, as a lovely cherry on a lovely ice cream sundae, I stopped and got a pedicure on the way home. I loved every second of the day, and love Andrew so much for giving it to me.

Next time: a cute sweater for Rose!

Love,

Kim

I Am Bert

Rachel, I bet you had your suspicions...

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Love,

Kim

Weirdness

Alright, alright, alright.

Jo tagged me for the "Six Weird Things" meme, and I think I've finally found six. I mean, I know I've got my weird points (be quiet, Rachel), but listing and describing six? It was tough.

1. I count. I mean, when I'm walking down the stairs in the morning, I count each step. I know how many steps there are, but it doesn't matter. I count them. I count the number of times I move my toothbrush as I brush my teeth. I count the number of stirs as I mix batter. Anything I do that happens at a steady pace, I count.

2. I have watched and loved Star Trek since I was a teenager. The original series, of course, but also each incarnation as it was introduced. My geekiness is in full swing at this time, as all five series are now on television at once, each on one channel or another. I can't remember that ever happening before, and I'm loving it.

3. I have to lie on my back when I first get into bed, to get sleepy. But as I get sleepier, I have to roll to my side to actually fall asleep. I have no idea why.

4. Speaking of sleeping, if I ever have trouble sleeping, watching "Are You Being Served" always helps. It's not that it's a boring program, as a matter of fact, it's one of my favorites. It's just that Detroit Public Television has always played it at 11pm on weeknights, so I think my brain just associates it with getting sleepy. I could pop in a DVD of it at 8:00 and be ready to crawl into bed at 8:30.

5. I know the words to more songs written before 1950 than I do current songs, or even songs that were popular when I was younger. Working in a nursing home for three years contributes to this, but even in high school I could sing "The Sheik of Araby" from beginning to end, not to mention "We'll Meet Again" or "Oh How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning."

6. I love words. I love learning where words come from. I loved finding out that "diva" comes from the Latin for "goddess." Brilliant! And "disaster" -- "dis" (apart) "aster" (stars) -- "separated from the stars, or heavens." How cool is that?

I'm going to break a rule of this meme and only pass it on to my friend Rachel. I'll help you think of weird things if you need me to! Brazil.

Love,

Kim

I miss Smack The Pony

Dear Rachel,

Did you ever watch this show when it was on Bravo? I wish they'd show it again.




One of the best British imports ever.

Love,

Kim

Oh my gosh

Dear Rachel, I've just found my next project.

Love,

Kim

Goodbye 2006

Dear Rachel,

I'm here, coughing and sniffling, but ready and rarin' to greet the New Year in the traditional Kilburn fashion: eating junk food and playing board games in our pajamas.

Really, I just wanted to say:

Happy Birthday, Lena!

Love,

Kim

Happy Hanukkah!

Dear Rachel,

Love,

Kim

Back to the Log Cabin

Dear Rachel,

I still haven't recovered from yesterday's excitement. Neither has Dermie. He has very strong feelings for natural fibers, you see. He felt the yarn was meant for him. I haven't been able to convince him otherwise, yet.

Thank you for loaning me your #5 Options. As you can see, the blanket is fitting much better on this circular. This is six stripes on each side (almost). I'm aiming for nine on each side, although if I run out of yarn or patience before then, I reserve the right to end it all early.

I am really enjoying working with the Options needles. The cable has zero memory, the tips are solid, slippery, and really sharp. I picked up all those pink stitches with no hassle. The needle went right through and pulled back the the yarn first time, nearly every time. Not so with the Addi Turbos I had been using. I was almost to the point of dreading picking up all those stitches (with each edge getting longer and longer) because the yarn kept slipping off the needle before I could pull it through the stitch, and it was taking forever to get started on a new color. I'm telling you, I breezed through the pink. I like how sharp they are, too, although I may have to alter my knitting style slightly because of it. When I use circulars, and the stitches get bunched up on the left-hand needle, I usually take my right index finger, put it to the tip of the left needle, and use my left fingers to slide the stitches down onto the cable. Well, with Options, it's not very comfortable to do this. I'm experimenting with alternatives.

I like the Options so much, I probably will own a set by spring. An interchangeable set just makes so much sense, and the quality is good. Thanks for letting me try yours.

One last thing, just for fun, and just because I want to see if I can manage to put it up:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Love,

Kim

Yarn from Peg (or, Thank you, Peg -- part II)

Dear Rachel,

Here's to hoping that Blogger feels like letting me upload some pictures... Okay, ready? Here we go:

Hooray! I'd better write fast before it decides it doesn't want me to show any more pictures. This is Lang Jawoll Superwash and a ball of softer-than-butter Grignasco Merino Gold, neither of which I've ever seen or felt in person. Yes, Peg, I'm definitely going to make Rose a pair of socks from the Jawoll. I've heard a lot about it and I'm really looking forward to knitting with it.


Here are four balls of Sari cotton yarn. This will become a spring and summer top for Rose. It is so soft and light, and the blue will really set off the blue of Rose's eyes. Beautiful!

And, finally, this gem:
This is handspun, handdyed laceweight yarn. It's a blend of mohair, wool, and nylon, locally produced near where Peg lives. This photo comes close, but doesn't quite capture the blend of rust and gold and midnight blue and rich violet that blend throughout the skein. It's very striking. I'm thinking a lace scarf or a shoulder shawl. I have to find a fitting pattern.

This exchange has been such a treat! I keep peeking at my sendee's blog, but I'm sure my parcel won't arrive there until the end of next week at the earliest. I'm having an awful lot of fun with this. Thanks, Ms. Knitingale, for starting it, and thank you, Peg, for such a lovely and thoughtful care package!

Love,

Kim

Thank you, Peg!

Dear Rachel,

I received a package today! Peg from British Colombia sent it, all full of some wonderful stuff -- so without further ado: the pictures!

There was mineral bath and milled soap with the scent "Tea & Oranges." It smells fantastic.









This box is labelled, "Hot chocolate."









Opened:
Goodness. Speaking of smells, if I could digitize what this chocolate smells like and send it as a file, you'd drop dead. It's just wrong how crazy good this chocolate smells. I can't wait to taste it.






Here is a package of postcards with New Yorker cartoons that feature cats. Tee hee.
And Peg also sent a board book edition of The Velveteen Rabbit and a funny little dog for Rose. Here she is smiling and saying "Thank you!"









Okay, now apparently Blogger does not want me to upload any more pictures. I do have more, and they're all of yarn, which I know is what everyone (well, everyone who thinks like me) wants to see. This is what I'll do. I'll end this post, then start another one tonight after Rose is in bed. She's been a good girl this whole time, playing with cans and boxes out of the pantry, so I'm going to play with my baby. By tomorrow, there will be another entry with pictures of yarn.

Love,

Kim