Mock Albums

I ran across this the other day and thought it would be fun to try. It is! Mary, I think you will enjoy this...

Here are the rules:

1 - Go to Wikipedia's random article page - The first article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to the Random Quotations page - The last four words of the last quote is the album title.

3 - Go to Flickr's Interesting photo page - Third picture, no matter what it is, is your album cover.

Put it all together to make your album. Either crop it to CD cover size, or just use the raw image itself... the only rule is you're only allowed to add the album title and artist title.

Here is mine:
Now go make your own. :)

Coriolis

After a slight internal struggle I decided to frog the Tantalizing sock. It really wasn't progressing as I would like and I didn't want to forge ahead only to be severely disappointed.
After ripping it out, I promptly cast-on the master Coriolis pattern from the same book. Here is the first sock.

Ok, it's a little wonky looking when not on the foot. But when worn...

Much nicer. Here is a better view of the top...
I didn't do any of the suggested variations. Instead I just knit the master pattern with a plain heel. After the heel was completed I knit for another 1 1/2" and then did 4 rnds of 1x1 ribbing. I knit one round of purl, and then 8 more rounds of knit and cast-off. This gave it a nice rolled edge, but with ribbing to keep it in place.

I'm very happy with the way this one turned out and will be casting-on the second sock tonight.

That being said, I have a huge complaint with the New Pathways book. The patterns are revolutionary and, once you muck through everything, fairly easy to knit. However the layout of this book SUCKS! You are constantly having to flip pages just to knit one pattern. For this "master" pattern I had to have 3 pages bookmarked for reference. If I had chosen a variation it would have been more. On Ravelry there have been a lot of people who have taken their copy to Kinkos to have the perfect binding chopped off and a spiral binding installed. I'm seriously considering doing this.

On top of the layout issue, because the patterns are generalized for all the variations (and presumably unwritten variations) they are not specific enough. There were several times where I had to stop and try to figure out what they heck I'm supposed to do, and I'm an experienced knitter and very well versed in sock construction. It's so bad that I think if I knit another project from this book I will have to go through and write everything out beforehand so I'm not constantly searching for the correct page, and possibly missing a step because I didn't pay close enough attention. :(

So, overall I would give the book a B. It really is innovative, but the layout went for style over ease of use and coherency. I would only recommend this book to experienced knitters. Definitely not for the beginner or novice.

Mememememe

I've been tagged again. :)
These are the rules:
List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
Tag seven people to do the same.
Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it".

1. I'm a huge control freak when it comes to driving. I get really anxious if I'm not driving, unless I'm in the back seat or in a different city.
2. I'm petrified of spiders.
3. I had a speech impediment as a child and had to go through speech therapy for a few years. I'm still really self-conscious about it and it tends to creep back into my speech when I'm really nervous, like when I have to speak in public or when I'm meeting a lot of new people at one time.
4. My eyes change colors. The are usually green, but can shade to brown or yellow depending on my mood (or so I've been told).
5. I really, really, really (can't emphasize this enough) REALLY hate house cleaning.
6. I'm not fond of chick flicks/lit, except for Jane Austen. I would much rather watch a grisly horror flick.
7. I love my cats, but deep in my heart I am a dog person so I tend to give Corrina preferential treatment.

Ok, I tag Joanne, Mary, Denise, Anita, Ruinwen, Ruth & CJ

The Pen

Silly Claymation from Jemaine Clement of Flight Of The Conchords. You must watch all 4 episodes, particularly Sean! XD

Tantalizing?

Well I think I'm slowly coming out of my creative funk without the aid of the spa (I'll save that until I'm really stressed out!). However, I'm not there yet.

A few days ago I cast-on my first project from the new Cat Bordhi book New Pathways For Sock Knitters. I have to say when my sil first showed me this book I was blown away. The patterns are so creative and the construction is quite different. I was so excited when I received the book for x-mas! Imagine my dismay when I discovered that I couldn't just jump into a pattern but had to read the book first, and then actually do math (shudder) to determine the number of stitches required for every pattern! I, who fearlessly knit sweaters without checking gauge, am now required to knit a swatch for every pattern just to determine the number of stitches required! Tsk! :)

Anyways, I dutifully did my swatch and got my numbers and then started knitting Bartholomew's Tantalizing Socks.



I have to say that I'm not feeling the love for these. I really like the pattern, but I'm not liking the way this attempt is progressing. I think a froggin is in order.

Good Reads

Thanks to Denise I have a new obsession. I've been busily entering all my books at GoodReads. It's quite addictive and easy to use. Plus you get to compare your reviews to others and get book recommendations. :) Now if I could just remember all those that I've read that I don't actually own a copy of...

Silly Slippers

Ok. I just had to share these with you...

And they've got memory foam in base which make them super comfy as well as completely goofy! XD

Creative Slump

It's probably just post-holiday burn out, but I am feeling decidedly non-crafty. I've got several projects waiting to get started as well as a pattern to write up, but I've no motivation to get going. I actually tried casting on a sock the other night & after messing it up 4 or 5 times I gave up in disgust and haven't want to look at yarn since!

Usually when the knitting blahs hit I get excited about some other craftiness. Most often it's spinning, weaving or sewing, but occasionally drawing... and rarely writing. This time I've got nothing else catching my fancy.

Perhaps I should just use the spa day that honey gave me for x-mas. Maybe if my body is reinvigorated the mind will follow...