Damn Democracy!

Grumble grumble.

Ok I will finish the two already started projects. I put the kitty's blanket back on the needles last night. She has been happily sleeping it on unfinished and having fun tearing out the stitches with the yarn ball that was still attached. Now that I have the yarn to finish it, that I got a Stitches West, it won't take too long to complete. The only problem is that since the kitty already knows this blanket in progress is hers, she feels more than comfortable to sleep on the blanket in progress while I knit it on my lap. Oh well. It is hers. She might as well enjoy it and get love, while I finish it.

As for the polartec blanket. It just feels daunting since it is so huge! What was I thinking making such a huge afgan. It started out as 200 stitches and then I ripped it out and started over again at 100 stitches wide on size 13 needles. So you would think would go fast but no such luck the pattern helps to slow me down. Ironically it is the same pattern as the kittty's blanket, so I guess I can persevere this knitting hell that has become my life. [Reminding meself that this IS a hobby and I DO like it - I DO I DO - THIS IS FUN!]

All that yummy self striping sock yarn out in the world that could be mine and you guys want square blankets - ok ok - I am all for keeping my teeming millions happy but when the blog entries start to sound really strange from my insanity of making blocks for cat blankets and abnormally large afgans - it will all be on your heads!

Damn democracy!

Lost & Adrift

So I feel a bit lost today. The Winter Olympics & the Knitting Olympics are over. No more ice skating, skiing, or curling. My Olympic project is done and packed away in its little plastic zippy bag. Now I know I have about a zillion projects to work on including:

• Finishing the kitty's Christmas Blanket - way overdue but I needed more yarn that I now have.
  
• Finishing the human size polartec afgan - which is just plain huge and not very portable
  
• 3 Pairs of Socks - Need needles and to roll the sock yarn into skeins
  
• Adult Version of the Olympic Sweater - not sure of the color yarn I picked
  
• Re-doing my first purple scarf of which I reclaimed the yarn because I can now do better - mindless knitting
  
• Hat and mittens to match the purple reclaimed yarn scarf
  
• Mittens to match my vaudeville scarf & hat - but I need 2 more skeins
  
• 3 Baby blankets - my friends keep getting pregnant - need more yarn
  
• Baby Booties - for above mentioned friends - need yarn
  
• then of course I can begin the holiday knitting - yes I need to start now!
  

You can tell my enthusiasm in these projects - but I need to work on this stuff so my yarn stash can get smaller then I can of course get more yarn. It doesn't help that I keep eying the yarn at Webs! I am an official yarn junkie! My greatist wish is for some skeins of cashmere or angora. Yum! I would even make due with some alpaca - I am not that picky!

In my solace I am reading Yarn Harlot. I have decided this little joy is going to be my train book. I am only allowed to enjoy this on the train rides home because otherwise I will plow right through this hilarious book and I want to lenthenout the enjoyment as much as possible. I admit that giggling to myself on the train while reading may look strange but I don't care. There are way more crazy and strange people in San Francisco than the strange woman laughing at the yarn book on BART.



So I am going to take a huge leap of faith here . . . I am going to let my teeming millions of fans (the 3-4 of you who actually read this blog) comment and choose the project that I am going to embark upon full force with so much zealous that it will rival the Olympic sweater.

Ok - well maybe that is a little exaggerated but I will leave it up to you all to help me choose the next project.

Until then I am going to sit on BART and read the Yarn Harlot and work on the mindless knitting of the purple reclaimed yard scarf.

Day 14 UPDATE - Knitting Olympics Golden Finish

As I was waiting for the women's ice skating long program last night I finished the neck on the Olympic Sweater. At this point it was almost 8pm and I just couldn't see myself crossing the finish line on Thursday night. I know -- I know --I threw it down and predicted a Thursday evening finish.

Well I grumbled and I moaned and then I paced our living room floor. I was dreading the seaming. I fully admit that maybe I whined a little too much. But then I saw the first skater for the long program. The Italian woman who was just happy to be there skating her long program even with no hopes of being in medal contention.

It was then that I had a brief moment of Olympic clarity. I can do this - I am after all an Olympian! I made a bargain with myself - I will only knit during the commercials. The mattress stitch really wasn't that bad and once I got going there was no stopping me. Then I decided that I could keep stitching during the non-medal skating competitors and still watch. I am a talented multi tasker after all. By the time the Americans came up for their skate I had to put the Olympic Sweater down. How could I not watch Emily or Kimmie or Sasha? So then I decided I would only work on the seams during non-American skaters. This blew up in my face big time because I really wasn't paying as much attention to the Japanese skater who eventually won the gold. But in my solace I take heart in the fact that in my Olympics we won not just one Silver medal for Sasha's performance but also a Gold FOR ME! That's right I did it. I pranced around the living room and proudly showcased my work to both the husband and the cat, who were both in awe I might add.

So I am an official Gold Medal winning Knitting Olympian! I want my Gold Medal! Oh Yarn Harlot queen of the Knitting Olympics send that Gold Medal picture for my blog site, so I can proudly display it for all time.

You can all say you knew me when I was a nobody -- just a nameless faceless knitter among millions -- becasue now you can say you officially know a Gold Medal Winning Olympian!


Olympic Sweater finished at 11:59pm on
Thursday, February 23, 2006



Top: Finished Olympic Sweater
Top Middle: Cable Detailing
Bottom Middle: Kitty couldn't wait to have her Olympic moment too
Bottom: My brilliant mattress seaming

Dreaded Seaming - Olympics - Day 14

I admit it. I am now in procrastination mode. I have discovered that I hate seaming especially when it is so much easier to knit in the round so you don't need a seam!

The mattress Stitch is the stitch I have to learn. If you look at the nifty little diagrams and explanation it looks so very easy - well if it is anything like the shoulder seaming I have to make sure we have some Kleenex on hand because I ripped out those shoulders at least a half dozen times each!

On top of all this drama the Women's Ice Skating long program is tonight and I don't want to miss out on that because I was sobbing over my Olympic Sweater! Such a dillema! I will finish though - this I do vow!

FINISH LINE IN VIEW - Olympics Day 13

I can see the finish line! I didn't think I would survive and I was sure my fingers would fall off or I would be struck down by lightening for swearing too much during my shoulder seaming frusteration.

Anyways as you can see below I have picked up my stitches at the now seamed shoulders and have arms! I just have to finish the neck and learn how to do the mattress stitch for the side and arm seams and I will be done! I am predicting a Thursday evening finish. I can't wait to show off the completed garment. I might even have enough yarn left over for a cute little hat to go with the sweater as a bonus!

Right now I am living and breathing the Olympics especially now that Women's Ice Skating is in full swing!

Also just to let you know the official photographer of the Knitting Olympics is the husband. He said that he always wanted to shoot the Olympics and now he is getting his big chance! As an added bonus he actually gets to sleep with one of the Olympians. I don't think I'll get disqualified for that -- We are married after all.

Olympic Sweater with Arms

Yarn Explosion! / Knitting Olympics Day 11

So I went to Stitches West this past Saturday with a coworker. I spent ALL of my budget and then some! In my defense it wasn't ALL yarn I did buy a super huge basket just for my yarn stash. The convention was super fun - like going to the mothership of all yarn stores. My biggest complaint was that there weren't a ton of cool notions to check out and purchase. I know these things are small and at large cons that kind of inventory can be hard to keep track of and prevent shrink but still you can do it if a seller displays them properly like in glass cases and such.

So becasue of this two of my wish list items (a beaded row counter and a sheath for my scissors) want by the wayside in favor of really cool self striping sock yarn, yarn to finish the kitty's christmas blanket (which still isn't done but she has been sleeping on it needles and all anyways), some yarn for the adult size version of the sweater that I am currently making for the Olympics, and a pattern for another spring time sweater that features a Berroco Ultra Silk (I can't wait to work with silk!), and a knitting journal to keep track of all the FO's (finished objects).

All in all it was a very successful con but I definitely reccomend only going with cash because your CC and debit card only get you in trouble at these things. I easily could have spent $500 or more if I didn't only have cash!

In the Olympic Child Sweater event arena -- The redone back is now complete again (since I ripped it out and started over), the front is done and has a very twisty cable and has a hole for the neck too. Now I have to seam up the shoulders so I can work on the arms. I am currently having trouble seaming. Don't get me wrong I can sew but you try to make it look like it's all one piece! It's not as easy as you might think! I ripped out my seams 5 times last night and got so pissed that I told the husband that I couldn't talk to him because I was so upset! I was trying to use my Stitch 'N Bitch book for the matress stitch but I kept F***ing it all up! I finally had to go to bed at 2 am and just leave it alone! I WILL GET THIS DAMN THING DONE - I WILL!!! I WILL!!!! I really want my gold metal so much I can taste it!

Olympic Sweater prior to shoulder seaming

Na na na naaaaaaa na!

So Logoann already knows this but I absolutely love to say "I told you so!" Especially to my boss becasue he is such a crud. (This is my new favorite word ever since the LogoAnn's 5 flash video.) So last night I am at work late till 9pm for our Board Meeting and as it turns out - more board members wanted to call in for the meeting - making it absolutely impossible to dial them all in individually. So what does my boss do - he arranges a conference call - JUST AS I SAID WE SHOULD. So after the meeting my boss and I were chatting and I actually got to say "I told you so" and he said that "de deserved that" - he conceded! Ha! victory is so sweet - I love being right! Not that I am keeping score - but ok, I am.

On other fronts - I did rip out the back panel of the Olympic Sweater. Yea I know it was all done and you even saw the pic of it a few days ago. So now I have set myself back. Last night I realized that maybe subconsciously I am redoing it to avoid the neck, arms and seaming and of course because I am a perfectionist - in essence procrastinating. I admit it I have inherited a terminal case of procrastination passed on through my mother. Yes mom I am blaming you on this one.

Tonight though Phatfrog and I are getting together to work on the Olympic Knitting while the husbands play with their comic books. Sometimes it feels like we are married to 9 year olds but I digress.

I'll post pics of the Olympic Knitting progress this weekend.

I am so done with this!

Have you ever had one of those days at work when you are JUST SO DONE WITH THIS JOB?! Well I AM SO DONE WITH IT! I am so sick and tired of my boss shooting down all my ideas. So you already know about the handbook issue that he is dragging his feet on and today - even though it was a small issue and not a big deal (at least you would think it wasn't a big deal) his attitude so turned me off. I suggested a conference call for our board members who are joining us via phone for our board meeting tomorrow night (which I am staying late for 5pm -9pm!) To make it easier it is so much easier to conduct the call via a conference call service either one we pay for or our free conference calling service from freeconferencecall.com, which I highly reccomend by the way. I suggest this because conducting a three way call via our phone system can be tricky and sometimes drops callers. Now our board members as most board members tend to be very self important people, who don't like their time wasted, and rightly so they are volunteering their time for us. So I would hate to have tech difficulties with the phone and potentially drop board members while I am SIMULTANEOUSLY trying to serve them dinner AND take their damn notes for the meeting.

Now I may just be a whiner on this one but it feels like my boss just wants to shoot down my ideas even the not so life shattering ones that will make our lives easier? I am convinced that he just has it in for me. Seems that the highly controversial ideas of updating an out of date 5 year old handbook and having a conference call to keep our sanity during a stressful board meeting are just too much for my boss to handle.

Knitting Olympics Day 4

My entry in the Knitting Olympics was officially posted on the Official Knitting Olympics Homepage! So please check it out - we have a Knitting Olympian Pledge and everything!

I know you are all just dying to hear about the progress of the Olympic Sweater:

[Insert inspirational Olympic march here followed by annoying sportscaster voice.] NeonApple is bravely working through her knitting injury that she suffered last week during her training. She has made significant progress in the Children's Sweater Event. The back panel of the sweater is mostly complete and the front is about 6 inches long so far. Her first cable on the front panel is starting to get twistier much to her apparant glee. However could a setback be looming over the horizon? NeonApple seems to be contemplating ripping apart the back panel? This could set her back days - but the alure of perfection is difficult to ignore. Stay tuned for another update on the drama that is the knitting Olympics.


Olympic Child Sweater with Front Cable



Left Side: Back Panel Right Side: Front Panel with center cable

Let the Knitting Begin! DAY 1

Today marks the opening day of the 2006 Winter Olympics which coincidentally coincides with the Knitting Olympics - how convienant! The Opening Ceremony is tonight and the Knitting Olympics kicked off last night at ImagiKnit in SF. So DAY 1 of has commensed and I have begun on the back of the Olympic Kid Sweater. So far I have a 1 inch ribbing along the and about 4 inches of the back of the sweater. Next comes arm shapping! I know you are all just holding your breath in anticipation and excitement becasue I know I am!

Anyways - I wanted to put a plug in for the other blog that I have going right now. Some of you already know about it because I sent you exclusive invitations to it - there is much drama going on with that blog so please check it out I am anticipating maybe having to write multiple postings this week there just becasue my live is oh so very interesting and I do want to keep my fans happy. If I forgot to send you an invite to the other blog - please email me and let me know but I think the address has already made the rounds based on the comments I am already getting there.

Oh - also on the knitting front - Stitches West a fiber crafting convention occurs next week in Santa Clara, CA Feb. 16-19. I am planning to go so if you want to come with - please let me know!


Stitches West 2006
February 16 - 19, 2006
Santa Clara Convention Center & Hyatt Hotel
Santa Clara, CA

Going for the gold

Let the games begin! Tonight I am going to the kick off ceremony of the Knitting Olympics at ImagiKnit in San Francisco. I imagine myself to be in the Children's Sweater Event.

I have been in training this week - studied my pattern - wound my yarn into balls - knitted a swatch and figured out my stitch count. I am just waiting to hear the gun go off so I can cast on! However the Olympic drama has already begun.

[Insert annoying sportscaster voice here] Striving towards her first Knitting Olympics Neonapple is already a row behind her fellow knitters and the Olympic torch hasn't even been lit. After a strenuous few days of training before the opening ceremony, it has been rumored that NeonApple is suffering from a strained left forearm muscle. NeonApple's knitting coach and teammates are confidant that she can work through her pain and successfully complete her first heat this evening. Can Neonapple go the distance? Yard by yard we'll keep you up to date on her progress.
Exclusive coverage of Neonapple's progress will be posted here so you can all share in the excitement that is the Knitting Olympics. [Insert inspiring Olympic march here]

You can throw the bouquets of roses at my feet when I cross the finish line in 2 weeks - so don't pick the roses just yet. When I successfully complete the Knitting Olympics I get a gold medal icon to adorn my blog!

You can kill me now

Ok I have decided what to do for the Knitting Olympics. I am going to make my first sweater. I am going to be resourceful and use some yarn I already had and I have enough of it for a child size sweater. So maybe I will use it in the future or give it away - I am also contemplating making a cable down the front of it (a twisty looking braid).

Here is a pic of the yarn I am going to use:

Artful Yarns: Vaudville Color=Abbot & Costello Color #13 100% merino wool(retired yarn)


So that stress is gone - now just the stress of completing it in 2 two weeks during the Olympics -- why am I doing this again? - Oh yeah this is supposed to be something I enjoy.

On another front I feel like I am completely drowning in work at my office. Things keep piling up and my boss is being a jerk becasue he doesn't want to update our employee handbook to the current federal and California employment laws. He is one of those stoneage employers that thinks you should just be thankful to have a job and keep yourmouth shut - because he doesn't want to give you anything extra or even be nice about what he has to give you by law.

In short my boss has dug his heels in and the senior management team (of which I am a member) will probably have to go to the chair of the board to get this whole thing moving along.

Office politics - itn't it a wonderful thing!

Project Stress

So I need to start a new project this week for the knitting Olympics and I don't know what to do! As if I already don't have a ton of yarn at home now I am comtemplating a new project to challenge me for the Olympics.

Now normally this wouldn't be so bad but I am feeling poor and really shouldn't buy the yarn and needles right now.

I am so not ready to start the sweater project. I also have 2 scarf projects but I am practically killing myself with boredom of square objects - although I do have a hard pattern for one - if I could figure it out. Then there are the baby blankets and booties I am supposed to make this year for everyone I know who is either already pregnant or trying to get prego. Oh and there is also the afgan from hell that is about 1 foot long that really needs to be finished - and would be challenging to finish in the Olympic timeframe - but again just a big square.

What should I knit?? This is killing me! As I am typing this - I realize how absurd this rant is becasue a knitting project really isn't life or death or anything - I have got to stop worrying over this - it's silly!

Click here for the Rules of Knitting Olympics from the Yarn Harlot

Knitting Olympics!

Here's the deal . . .

• Pick a challenging Olympic knitting project (something challenging to you not impossible)
  
• Start your Olympic knitting project during the opening ceremony of the Olympics
  
• Watch coverage of the Olympics and knit - knit - knit - you are GOING FOR THE GOLD HERE
  
• Imagine NBC doing a spot on the progress of your project, how hard it was to choose the project which is only overcome by the challenge of choosing the yarn - THIS IS BIG KNITTING DRAMA HERE
  
• Finish your project before the end of the closing ceremony of the Olympics
  
• Wear your Olympic knitting project proudly - you are a Knitting Olympian!
  

Join us for the kick off of the Knitting Olympics
if you are in San Francisco at:

Thursday, February 9, 2006
7pm-9pm

ImagiKnit
3897 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114

Oh - so you say you don't knit? You quilt, crochet, sew, scrapbook . . . you get to have a whole different Olympic crafting event! Woo hoo!

Toasty Feet Part 2

So I finished my socks class last night and I have succeeded in closing up the toe with the elusive Kitchner Stitch. After actually doing the Kitchner it really isn't that difficult but having the instructions written out doesn't hurt.

Going to class last night was really wonderful especially after my horrible day at work. We had our senior management team meeting - a tedious 2 hour affair where my boss decided to be an absolute natzi about revising our Employee Handbook that is 5 years out of date and is completely missing the new family leave policies for California. He doesn't think that family leave is that important, but just because he may not ever plan to have a family doesn't mean that some of our staff members won't want to someday! What an insensitive moron!

An a happier note - I have been invited to the Knitting Olympics. Here is the deal, you start a challending project during the opening ceremony of the Olympics and you have to finish it by the closing ceremony. The kick off is on Feb. 9 at ImagiKnit in San Francisco. May the knitting begin!