I really like Vox, but haven't been posting much. Not too many friends to read private posts, and not too many things to write about that can be public (not supposed to be posting in the public domain). Not too much free time to write either. Maybe I should turn to Twitter or similar community -- or maybe I just need more friends who are really interested in the web-media world. Anyway, I'm in and out, just not that active. See ya around!
Neotoma's recent posting of her multi-directional diagonal scarf prompted me to get out my camera and take a picture of my own recently finished (pardon the not-yet-woven-in ends) multi-directional diagonal scarf. It's made of a nice yarn I picked up in Philly last year (I think) but I can't remember which one or which colorway... it's a fast knit but I worked on it for a while and then put it aside before picking it up and finishing it in one afternoon... I think I've moved more than once in the meantime... t's been so long since I bought the yarn I don't have the slightest idea where the yarn labels might have gone to.
I'm a subscriber to O'Reilly's Make, but I'm not an avid electronics tinkerer. So I was excited to see earlier this year that they're launching CRAFT later this summer, and I've just become a subscriber! Check them out at craftzine.com. It looks to be off-beat and cool, like MAKE, except crafty, which is more like me. Of course, I don't do crafts that aren't fiber related, but it's fun to dream... The first issue looks to have a "knit your own chain mail" article, which I think we can all agree is just what we need... to add metal loops to our already overgrown yarn stashes.
When you were younger, were there any game shows that you religiously watched and wanted to be a contestant on?
When I was a kid, it was a family thing that my parents and I would sit around at the dinner table (sometimes during dinner, sometimes before or after) and watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune on a tiny TV every night. It was a family joke that Dad was great at Wheel of Fortune but had such bad luck he would never be able to actually win because he would always spin bankrupt or lose a turn if he ever got on it. I remember back then people had to "spend" the money they won buying hideous things out of those fake rooms. It would be way better to be on now that they actually give away the big bucks.
I'm not much for crochet, really. I learned when I was really young because I found it a lot easier than knitting, but gave it up, and once I learned to knit, I never looked back. But I recently wanted to crochet a flower as part of an Xmas gift, and found a pattern online, and decided I should get a book. After browsing through books at the store and finding that I thought almost all the patterns were hideous, I decided on the Happy Hooker -- really great pictures with the clear instructions, and patterns I actually like.
Not that I'm much for following patterns, actually. Instead, I have crocheted up this little wallet bag from some Takhi Cotton. It's just the right size for my wallet (the jimi) and my cell phone. It was extremely simple, single crochet all the time except for a row of double crochet to thread the strap through, and seamed on the bottom and one side.
My life is all about food right now... today I had lunch at a restaurant that just opened in town -- Restaurant Brana. Check out my review at my other blog.
Miami Restaurant Month is underway, and I've had an excellent first week of eating. I've tried to really pack in the dining since I'm normally travelling too much to really have a chance to go to as many places as I'd like to.
- Chispa for dinner
- Cacao for lunch
- Pascal's on Ponce for dinner
- OLA Steak & Tapas at Merrick Park for dinner
- Doraku for dinner
What is your current computer desktop image? Let's see it!
First I had to choose which of my computers to think about... but then I realized my other computers all have boring default images. Here's the current default for my Vaio ux!
I expect that a lot of the public content of this blog might end up being knitting content. A few years ago, I was keeping a knitting blog, and I made entrelac socks from the Socks Socks Socks book. Or rather, I made one rather beautiful (if I may say so myself) entrelac sock. The only problem is, the pattern was a bit confusing and before I could get to the second sock, I forgot the adjustments I made to the pattern in order to complete the first one. So it has languished as a single example of the entrelac sock technique.
I just completed a a full pair of entrelac socks -- this time with variations designed by me. The pattern above uses a contrast toe and heel with a circular toe -- I used the same
yarn continuously, beginning with the short-row toe and continuing up
to the short-row heel (same technique). The yarn is Trekking XXL. I
used a self-striping yarn which yielded some unfortunate color
pooling, but I'm telling myself this was just an experiment. I loved
knitting them -- I really really enjoy entrelac for some reason -- but
I'm still not sure I"ll make another pair soon, because really, how
many pairs of entrelac socks does a person need? But if I make them
again, a few changes -- first, a slightly heavier weight yarn as
recommended by the original pattern like the one I used the first time
around (can't remember what label the first yarn was -- Schaeffer? Lola something?) but with the same
target gauge. Second, not a self-striping yarn, to avoid the color
pooling, or at least more attention to the length of the color repeats.
Soda? Cola? Pop? What do you say? Any other regional words that set you apart?
Question submitted by Gladys.
I grew up saying "pop" but then I lived in California for a decade so now I think I say "Soda". "Would you like a can of soda?" Yeah,I think that's what I say.
This question reminds me of back in college when`my friends used to make fun of me for how I would pronounce the word "bag." The best I can do with phonetic spelling is 'bay-g." It was a really long time before I could even figure out how to pronounce it differently as ... ok, I can't figure out the way to write this phonetically. Maybe "bhag"?
And speaking of regional language differences, if you know what a "bubbler" is, you're probably from my state.
