Off the Needles: Progress Socks

You may notice in the picture below that these socks don’t actually match. The colors are the same, but one looks like a nice stockinette sock while the other one looks like its mutant counterpart. I’ve named these the Progress Socks because I actually feel like I learned something from one sock to the other.

I really like magic loop sock knitting, but when I first started, I was concentrating more on getting the pattern right than I was in using my common sense. I believe the reverse stockinette in the Mutant started because I did the heel flap in the middle of a round instead of waiting to finish the round like I should have. Whether that really was the case or not, the second sock came out really well and I have no officially knitted my first pair of socks.

Despite the fact that they’re merino wool (mostly) and the weather has been warm, I wore them to work today. They’re soft and comfortable and didn’t match my outfit at all, so probably looked kind of goofy, but it’s not as if I’m the fashion guru of the office anyway.

The verdict on socks: I’ll definitely be making more and already have a new pattern to cast-on for, possibly later tonight.

ALF

From the Queue: Thr3E, Seven Pounds, and Asian Horror

J and I have an insane amount of movies on our Netflix queue, so I decided to try to pare down some of it by watching some things that have been on there awhile or deleting things I’ve decided I really don’t want to see. Movie and TV watching is one of my go-to activities for when I’m knitting, so generally the more TV I watch, the more knitting I accomplish.

This past weekend, we watched several movies. The first was the movie “Thr3e,” a fairly non-mainstream filmed based on the book by Ted Dekker. The main character, a seminary student, begins receiving threats from a voice telling him to confess his sins. When he doesn’t do what the mad man asks, something or someone gets blown up. With the help of a detective who lost her brother to the psycho and his best friend from childhood, the student tries to figure out what the bomber wants before more people are killed. It sounds like a pretty straightforward movie, but it’s got some turns I didn’t see coming. The acting wasn’t great, but it’s the kind of story that sticks with you after it’s over. Dekker is known as a Christian writer, but the nuances are subtle in the movies (I have yet to read one of his books, though I’d like to at some point).

“Seven Pounds” stars Will Smith and is supported by Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson. My first impression of this movie was that it was really slow. Will Smith plays a tax man who, at first glance, seems to be on a mission to help random people. The mystery of the story unfolds, though, and the story gains some depth. While it still felt sluggish, the ending was worth it and it was another movie that kind of haunted me afterwards. Good acting in this one. I like Will Smith and I love Harrelson, so even though he wasn’t a main character, he still added a lot to the movie for me.

My BIL and I watched a couple Asian horror movies. J is not a fan, so even though I found I could watch subtitled movies while knitting, I’m still on my own with these ones. The first was “A Tale of Two Sisters,” a weird story about two sisters and a mystery concerning their father, their stepmother, a strange presence that haunts the house. It was fairly creepy and a little confusing. I think I understood about half the weirdness and the rest just went over my head. The second was “Shutter.” This was made into an Americanized version a few years back, and there didn’t seem to be many changes to the plotline. I still felt the Asian version was better. If you haven’t seen this one (either version), a young couple is haunted by the image of a ghost that keeps showing up in the pictures the man takes. When his friends all begin committing suicide, the couple goes to find out the mystery behind a woman they hit on the road one night.
Also, we slogged through the first two movies of the Star Wars series (Episodes 1 & 2). The first one is okay. “Attack of the Clones” was a couple hours I can’t get back. I’ll be happy to get to the original three, though I’ve seen parts of “Revenge of the Sith” and found it fairly entertaining, even if the acting didn’t get any better.

ALF

Knitting Talk: Acrylic’s Bad Name

In one of the podcasts I’m listening to, the podcaster made mention of acrylic yarn in a negative way. She may have just been rambling, and maybe the acrylic she used was yucky (some are), but it kind of irked me a little bit that acrylic has such a bad reputation.

Acrylic yarn (to bring my non-knitting friends up to speed) is synthetic yarn. It may come blended with animal fibers, but some knitters refuse to use it, wanting only to use yarn that comes from a natural source (sheep, bunnies, alpacas, etc.). Some find acrylic to be less texture friendly. Red Heart yarn of the old school variety helped with this bad reputation. It’s stiff and somewhat scratchy. However, many of the newer acrylics are much softer. Even Red Heart knits up some good things, like afghans and animal beds, really well.

I don’t take exception with people for not wanting to use acrylics. It’s a personal choice. I enjoy using acrylic yarns. Their texture doesn’t bother me, they come in all kinds of colors and they’re cheap, which means more affordable knitting. New knitters shouldn’t feel like there’s anything wrong with acrylic yarn, especially if they’re not entirely sure they’re going to enjoy knitting (or crocheting).

When I first started knitting, I was reading blogs and books about it and came across several harsh comments about acrylic. Considering that was what I was using at the time, I wondered if I was less of a “knitter” for not working with wool. I’m glad I got over that in a hurry and now know that there are people who don’t like working with wool either.

There are a lot of different yarns out there with different feels and different costs. I finally moved to something besides acrylic: first cotton (great for washcloths) a merino wool and nylon blend for a pair of socks. I love the feel of both of this yarns. Does this mean I’m going to shun acrylic and lock it in the closet like an evil poser? Nope. I have a ton of acrylic that can still be used for something awesome, including some old Red Heart which…rough as it is…softens really well in the wash.

ALF

Headaches

There was a time when I rarely had headaches. When I lived in Michigan, I remember having a few headaches and only two migraines. After I moved to OKC, they started becoming more frequent but they were still sporadic enough that it didn't seem to be an issue.

After I moved, to Kansas, however, I started getting one or two on a weekly basis. It doesn't seem to matter what I do: drink more water, stay away from caffeine, have caffeine, sleep well, exercise...none of these things have ever worked. I almost always have a headache toward the beginning of the week and then another one towards the end of the week.

The severity varies, but I have not been immune to the occasional migraine. I remember one migraine I had in our previous apartment that had me banging my head against the wall. Seriously. I know this sounds counterproductive, but the pain was that bad. The only thing that seemed to relieve it was to have J press down hard on my temples. The pressure relieved the pain, but of course when he stopped it was that much worse.

Today was a potential migraine day, and I still don't know if I'm in the clear. I took some ibuprofen and napped, and while that seemed to take the edge off, I'm still having some head issues. I've also been nauseous off and on during my waking hours. Strangely, noise doesn't make it worse. In fact, I've been listening to podcasts through my iPod and that actually seems to dull the pain. Maybe it's because I'm not focusing on the pain, or maybe it's some weird scientific thing. The pain gets worse when I stand up.

Hopefully I'll get some more sleep tonight and feel better for tomorrow. It's a day off from work but I have some things I need to get done before the work week starts, plus I'd like to get together with friends tomorrow night, and I don't need a stupid headache barging into my plans.

Hope it was a good 4th for everyone who didn't have a headache!

ALF

A Little Bit of Everything Type of Day

Happy Fourth of July weekend!

The people outside are celebrating and have been for about three days. By celebrating, I mean they're popping off firecrackers constantly. It doesn't seem as loud as it did last year, which is nice. Or maybe I'm better at ignoring it. Yes, I'm not very celebratory this weekend, preferring to just lay low and relax. I keep thinking I'm going to do some housework, but I haven't yet and who knows if I'll get to it. The day is almost over and I haven't had the shot of motivation I need.

I have kept busy doing non-productive things though. Last night I finished the June washcloth KAL project from Rachel's Knitting Room. It was a really fun and quick knit and I didn't have to go rip back anything like I did with the May KAL.  I'm not sure if I want to keep the June KAL or give it to a friend who likes to garden.

I also finished the cuff on the current pair of socks I'm knitting. The first one looks like it needs a severe blocking, but I doubt if I'll do it formally other than wearing the socks around when they're done.

In the course of knitting, we finished watching the final season of  Wire in the Blood and the first season of   Lie To Me. Watching it reminded me of how much I like Tim Roth, and I'm not on a mission to get J to see Four Rooms.

I played some XBox too. I've generally been pretty darn lazy today but that's okay. Isn't that what a three day weekend is for? To recharge and do nothing? Tonight is our STAR WARS marathon, and even though I know it'll keep me up all night, I'm debating making some coffee to sip on tonight.

ALF

Aha! Moments

I’m in the process of changing positions at my job and while I was the one who made the decision to do it, I always find that training for a new job/position/duty is extremely uncomfortable. In general, I like learning new things. It’s like school…the initial idea that I’m going to inherit a new wealth of info seems awesome. I have mental images of fresh notebooks, new pens, early class coffee mugs and…in the workplace…new cubicle decorations.

By the second week of college, the new class honeymoon was over. By the second day of training, I was wondering what the heck I was thinking.

Today, though, I had an “aha” moment and was reminded of just how cool it is to suddenly have new information make sense. What was once a crazy disarray of information fell into place. Synapses connected. The process suddenly “clicked” and I had that feeling of accomplishment even though I didn’t actually do anything except learn it.

I like knowing my job. I like not having the stress of confusion or the worry of making horrible mistakes. If I do make a mistake, I like knowing how to fix it and I like doing great things with my massive knowledge. But I also like having something to strive for and I love the process of letting the new puzzle pieces of a new job come together in my mind.

ALF

Just Keep On Keepin' On

Today, I reunite with Blogger.

I decided to stop using this platform, partially because I didn't have much to talk about and partially because Tumblr seemed to offer alot more. After my hiatus, I've realized that Tumblr offers different things, but not necessarily "more." I like Tumblr, I really do. It's like having a little online scrapbook. But I can also blog here and post links to Tumblr if I want and vice versa, so it might not hurt to get back into Blogging on a better known platform.

On a good note, I haven't changed up my hobbies much, though I have learned more in my time away. 1. In knitting, I've learned cabling, double knitting, and socks.
2. I'm still reading and have kicked out a bunch of good books and some not so good books.
3. Writing is slow but it happens here and there.
4. I'm gaming every other week and actually running a game, which is fun.
5. I've also revisited some video games for the first time since my days on the first Nintendo system. J has an XBox 360 and I've become a fan of the Lego games as well as a few other platform type adventures.
6. I'm cooking here and there, though baking has been put on a backburner.
7. I'm using my knitting time to catch up on TV shows and movies from Netflix. I've been cable TV-free for over a year and don't miss it. In fact, a few months back we stayed in a hotel room with cable and complained about not having our Netflix Instant Viewer.
8. I have a love for podcasts and have found quite a few good ones, mostly about knitting but a few humor ones, a reading one, and a gaming one.

Can I promise I'm going to be an avid blogger? Not really. I'm kind of flaky when it comes to blogging, but I am going to use this one more in the scheme of things. You'd think with such a list of things I do I would have more to talk about. I'll still keep my Tumblr account too and there may possibly be a podcast of my own in the future.

ALF