tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54404112007-11-02T15:58:36.922-05:00Hyvetyrant KnitsMelissaBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-2532651619469505932007-07-08T11:10:00.000-05:002007-07-08T11:14:29.709-05:00This blog is in the process of moving here:<br /><br />http://hyvetyrant.typepad.com/talks/<br /><br /><a href="http://hyvetyrant.typepad.com/talks/">Hyvetyrant Talks</a>Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-54637414876571171182007-04-24T15:07:00.000-05:002007-04-24T15:09:35.330-05:00Amazing news!!!!<br /><br />Knitter's magazine is publishing a new book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Babies-Toddlers-Knitters-Dozen/dp/1933064064/ref=sr_1_2/103-4066719-7018248?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177445156&sr=1-2">Babies and Toddlers</a>.<br /><br />In this book is the MUCH asked for Fish Blanket pattern. As you may know, the Fish afgahn was in the LONG sold-out Issue 53. It is now be available again! <br /><br />HooHoo!Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-67079464310979133062007-04-05T16:01:00.001-05:002007-04-05T16:01:10.678-05:00What Have I Been Doing?<br /><br />Some Knitting....<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/0611-1HTblog.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/0611-2HTblog.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/0703-4HTblog.jpg"><br /><br />(there's more somewhere, but without pictures. Like 2 Clapotis...)<br /><br /><br />Some Cooking...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/0702-3HTblog.jpg"><br /><br />And, last night, a Harlot Visit!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/0704-1HTblog.jpg"><br /><br />There were lots of Knitters there...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/IMG_0991.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/IMG_0992.jpg"><br /><br />And, a crazy SquishyCow<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/IMG_0995.jpg"><br /><br />Who, got to meet the Harlot<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/IMG_0998.jpg"><br /><br />And, get a picture taken with the Travelling Sock, and the um... unfortunately shaped sock...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/IMG_0997.jpg">Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1161296424026911462006-10-19T17:20:00.000-05:002006-10-19T17:20:24.106-05:00<title></title>I haven't blogged. This is an easy way to increase content...<br /><br />Thanks Cara!<br /><br />1. FIRST NAME? Melissa<br /><br />2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My middle name, as well as both of my sisters, is in honor of my Aunt.<br /><br />3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? This happens so frequently, I don't remember... last week? Watching TV.<br /><br /><br />4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No. Absolutely not. I was always in envy of those _other_ girls with fancy handwriting in school... <br /><br />5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Hmmm... don't really have a favorite.<br /><br />6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'm not sure. I can be difficult - especially to get to know. And I think I may be annoying in person. (at least occasionally)<br /><br />7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?only my rather neglected blog<br /><br />8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yep<br /><br />9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? GOD NO! I'm terrified of falling.<br /><br />10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Rice Krispies.<br /><br />11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. Mostly, I prefer shoes without ties, but am pretty lazy when I take my shoes off.<br /><br />12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Sometimes<br /><br />13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Hmmm... tossup between Kemps Toasted Almond Fudge and Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.<br /><br />14. SHOE SIZE?. 10. <br /><br />5. RED OR PINK? Red. Always. When I was little, we moved to a new house and I picked my room based on a red light that was in there. However, the light went away with the former owners...(sniff)<br /><br />16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my temper<br /><br />17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Thats tough. I miss people for so many reasons - but today, I'd have to say my Grandpa. He and I shared a birthday...<br /><br />18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Why not?<br /><br />19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? White shirt with a brown shirt over it, blue jeans, and black shoes. I'm dressed for comfort, not style :-)<br /><br />20. LAST THING YOU ATE? cheetos.<br /><br />21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Office noise.<br /><br />22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple!!<br /><br />23. FAVORITE SMELL? Ah, this one is strange. In my hometown, the elevators at the library had a distinctive smell. (They still do, far as I know - something about the combo of the elevator mechanics and the cleaning solutions used). It still means books, reading, comfort to me...<br /><br />24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Someone for work...<br /><br />25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes.<br /><br /><br />26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Yes. Even though I've not met her, I think Cara is a great blogger.<br /><br />27. FAVORITE DRINK? Tossup between Starbuck's Chai Tea Latte and Shaken Passion Tea Lemonade. <br /><br />28. FAVORITE SPORT? Football to watch. <br /><br />29. EYE COLOR? Hazel. <br /><br />30. HAT SIZE? No clue. Largeish.<br /><br />31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. Glasses for me - I wore contacts for a while in High School, but went back to glasses in college. Occasionally I consider Lasik.<br /><br />32. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate.<br /><br />33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings all the way.<br /><br />35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. I HATE winter. (I hate cold, I hate snow... remind me again why I live in Minnesota?)<br /><br />36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs <br /><br />37. FAVORITE DESSERT? That I can get? Beingets at the Po' House in San Jose CA. That I can't get? There used to be this style of cake mix that you made in a special pan, one variety was something like Chocolate Truffle Mousse cake... you baked the cake (chocolate), then put the truffle mousse (provided) in the depression the cake pan made, and then sprinkled on the almonds.... yum. I think they stopped making this when I was in High School. <br /><br />38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Noone - I expect no responses<br /><br />39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Noone - see above<br /><br />40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I just finished the Cryptonomicon and The Historian.<br /><br />41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? No mouse pad - optical mouse.<br /><br />42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing. The last show I watched was Grey's Anatomy on the plane on Sunday (caught up after the last 2 weeks)<br /><br />43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? falling water is nice. My children when they are happy. My husband's voice.<br /><br />44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles.<br /><br />45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Iceland!<br /><br />46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I have no clue. I do many things well enough, but nothing spectacularly. <br /><br />47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Santa Monica, CA<br /><br />48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I copied this from Cara at January One. 1Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1159412473673946662006-09-27T22:01:00.000-05:002006-09-27T22:01:13.736-05:00<title></title>Whew. I survived.<br /><br />Next version of <a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom/">Adobe Lightroom</a> is out the door. <br /><br />Last week was a very busy week, what with releasing software and all. So, no blogging, and not much knitting. And, no photos of what I'm working on yet. Not to mention the 4 day long headache...<br /><br />I ended up in 3 doctors offices in 5 days - one for me. I suffer from Migraines (hence the long headache). Icky, nasty things. I went to the Doctor on Friday, and got put on Beta Blockers to see if that will help. So far, so good.<br /><br />Monday I took Sabrina to the Doctor, because her thumb sprain from last Spring is acting up again. Its driving her nuts because it hurts to write, hurts to draw, hurts to play video games, hurts to play cello, and hurts to knit. (that last...) She will go to therapy starting next week. <br /><br />Then, yesterday I took this guy to the doctor.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/Tigger.jpg"><br /><br />This is Tigger. He's a 13 year old sweetie of a cat. (OK. He's also my pest from hell. These are not incompatible. ) He vomited a few times Monday night, and was very lethargic. He was found to be a bit constipated, and they gave him subcutaneous fluids. The vet sent out blood tests, and took X-rays. His blood tests came back today and he has elevated Liver enzymes, and elevated Muscle enzymes, and possible issues with his GI tract. Poor baby. He could be a seriously sick kitty. At least he seems to be feeling better today. (He's asleep next to me on the couch right now). I'll be taking him back next week for a recheck of the blood tests and a recheck on the x-ray. Then we'll move forward from there. <br /><br />If you can spare a good wish or two for my Tigger kitty, I would appreciate it.Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1158642801277303252006-09-19T00:13:00.000-05:002006-09-19T00:13:21.326-05:00<title></title>Last Sunday the Yarn Harlot was only 1.5 hours away from me - in Eau Claire, WI. I decided to head over and listen. I headed over by myself, and found some of the MN Knitbloggers there. I wore my Cashmere Clapotis. Somehow, I got petted A Lot as the night went on... go figure.<br /><br />The talk was held in the Masonic Temple. Stephanie took picutres of all of us with the sock.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/YarnHarlotVisit1.jpg"><br /><br />Then I laughed for an hour. Really. I almost fell off my chair giggling at the Cardigan for Penance. (Three Hail Mary's and a Cardigan). It still makes me giggle.<br /><br />After that, we all wandered over to Yellow Dog Knitting, met the fabulous Dixie who is an amazing Cashmere pusher. (I took a couple pictures of her, but since I still want her to like me, I won't publish any.)<br /><br />I got my picture taken with both the sock and the Stash Weasel. (I LOVE the stash weasel).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/YarnHarlotVisit3.jpg"><br /><br />And, I got to move another blogger from Imaginary Friend Status to Not-So-Imaginary Friend Status - <br /><br />I met Vicki from <a href="http://knitorious.typepad.com/knitorious/">Knitorious</a>.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/YarnHarlotVisit2.jpg"><br /><br />She is as lovely and nice in real life as you'd expect from her blog.<br /><br />I was very, very glad I made the trip over. It was a wonderful evening.<br /><br />Tuesday is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Ahoy, Mateys!<br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1158542963880821552006-09-17T20:29:00.000-05:002006-09-17T20:29:24.166-05:00<title></title>Yes, I'm finally breaking my long blog silence.<br /><br />Work is kicking me six ways from Sunday, I'm a _bit_ overextended with other commitments (remind me again why I agreed to be on the board of our school's version of the PTA?), and school started.<br /><br />Since I last posted, I finished my Clapotis (its lovely to wear!), and my Potomos-Hippopotamus socks (unfortunately, out of 2 different colorways of Koigu...sniff...). I also recived the most awesome package from my Lace Swap partner. Thank You!!!!!!<br /><br /> Also, I've returned from Iceland, (final gallery of my pictures <a href="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/iceland/content/index.html">here</a>, and you can read more about the adventure <a href="http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/adventure/">here</a>) sent and had my daughter come back from French Camp for 2 weeks (highly recommend the <a href="http://clvweb.cord.edu/prweb/">Concordia Language Villages</a>), had her start 7th grade, and had the little one start figuring out words (yes! the start of reading! WOOT!). <br /><br />I've got some pics. Not many, and not of my Clapotis (I'm not sure why, I've worn it a half dozen times, but haven't photographed it yet!), nor of my socks. (That's because I'm trying to ignore them.)<br /><br />So. A couple pictures.<br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/FirstDayofSchool.jpg"><br /><br />Sabrina on the First Day of School. Isn't she so grown up?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/KnitMonkeyDress.jpg"><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/KnitMonkeys.jpg"><br /><br />I saw the amazing Sock Monkey dress at the MN State Fair. It was really impressive. I could almost see wearing a cocktail-length version :-)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/WovenMonkeyDress.jpg"><br />And, there was this woven one. Also nice, but I prefer the knit one.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/LaceSwapPackage.jpg"><br /><br />And, my Lace Swap package. Look at that dragon stitch marker! Isnt' it awesome!!! And, the purple and burgundy lace yarn is .... amazing.....<br /><br /><br />Tomorrow, I will share my Visit With The Yarn Harlot. (OK, more the story of when I got to be in the same room as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee)<br /><br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1154137857447778172006-07-28T20:50:00.000-05:002006-07-28T20:53:09.450-05:00Impressions of Iceland - day 1<br /><br />What, Iceland you say? Yep. After ignoring my blog for weeks, I'm in Iceland.<br /><br />Since I posted, I've had a French 14 year old in my house for a month (went very well), spent a long weekend up on the north shore of Lake Superior (also went well (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaul/sets/72157594211732302/">pics on Flickr</a>), finished a Pomt...Ponta....Pompat... Whatever sock and am working on the gusset of the second, and have gotten my passport and flown to Iceland for work.<br /><br />Yep, work. I managed to snag my way onto the <a href="http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/adventure/">Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop Iceland Adventure</a>. 8 days of taking picutres in Iceland. (OK. I also have to be gathering customer data and providing tech support. Still)<br /><br />I arrived at 6:15 or so local time, and am capturing some of my impressions here.<br /><br />The Iceland Airport is small. Has hardwood floors, and a 3 or 4 huge duty-free shops. I got the first stamp in my passport!<br /><br />I rode on a bus to REykjavik and my hotel. (The airport is approx an hour outsize of Reykjavik) The area was very prairie-like, but there are these stacks of stones I am very curious about. They seem to be (primarily) 3-4 stones stacked 6-8 feet high. Many look like silhouettes of people.<br /><br />Got to my hotel at 8 or so, and was very lucky that my room was ready. I napped until noon, then got up, showered, and wandered the streets to take some snapshots and have lunch.<br /><br />Then I came back, Video Chatted back home, and napped again. Tonight we had a great dinner, preceded by a lovely slideshow by the author of Lost in Iceland. He takes beautiful photos - very inspiring. <br /><br />One of the photographers gave me an idea. He said that it can be very interesting to look at pictures that ask a question instead of making a statement. I like that idea. It is sitting in my head.<br /><br />One thing I'm also working on... the houses here are just a little off what I'm used to seeing. I'm not sure why - but the urban landscape has a very foreign feel. Something about the angles, and the size of the windows.<br /><br />It was overcast today. Still lovely.<br /><br />Reykjavik is lovely. OK Quaint might be a better word. (I used Cute earlier, but knew right away that was not right). Right now its 1:30 in the morning, and its like just after sunset. Its also very noisy on the streets. Its also hard to spell.<br /><br />I've got pictures up on my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaul/sets/72157594214995204/">Flickr site</a><br /><br />Well. Off to bed. Tomorrow we leave Reykjavik and head out to another smaller town and hotel which will be our base for a couple days. G'night!Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1151004282850253612006-06-22T14:24:00.000-05:002006-06-22T14:24:42.913-05:00<title></title>I was going to post earlier today about my panic... I have a 13 year old coming from France to visit. For a month. Whom I've not met - only communicated with her mother. <br /><br />It would have been a post on the order of "only 4 hours until she's on the ground! I hope the month goes well!" and stuff like that.<br /><br />Then, my phone rang. It was her mother, calling from France. My houseguest (temporarily adopted daughter?)'s plane was delayed in Paris, and it looks like she'll miss her connection from Detroit to Minneapolis. My panic has only grown...<br /><br />Instead of arriving at 4, it looks like she won't arrive until 6. And that is only if the airline is sensible, and puts her on the 5pm flight out of Detroit!<br /><br />Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop....Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1150686451946950952006-06-18T22:07:00.000-05:002006-06-18T22:07:32.040-05:00<title></title>Is this still live?<br /><br />I've been busy. Very very busy. But, I have pictures and knitting to show later in the week.<br /><br />For now, I'll leave you with an article that partially explains my extreme busy state:<br /><br /><a href="http://photoshopnews.com/2006/06/15/a-visit-to-the-adobe-lightroom-engineers/">A Visit to the Lightroom Engineers</a>Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1143607084979445862006-03-28T22:38:00.000-06:002006-03-28T22:38:05.016-06:00<title></title>Hi!<br /><br />I'm Melissa, and this is my knitting (and stuff) blog.<br /><br />Since I've barely posted for months, I think its time for a do-over. <br /><br />I'm a knitter. (OK. I'm a bunch of things, but I'm trying to focus here....)<br /><br />I've been knitting for almost 12 years now, since my firstborn was a baby. I finished my first project about 10 years ago (it was my 10th or so _started_ project, which tells you a lot about what kind of knitter I am...)<br /><br />I have 2 darling children, 12 and 4. (Scroll down for the 4 year old.) The 12 year old is also a knitter, and will pop up often with finished objects to show.<br /><br />I am happily married to a wonderful <a href="http://www.troygaul.com/blog/">guy</a>.<br /><br />That Guy and I work together at <a href="http://www.adobe.com/">Adobe Systems</a>, on this <a href="http://labs.macromedia.com/technologies/lightroom/">little project</a>...<br /><br />I _have_ been knitting lately. I finished the second Birch shawl (just like the first, but purple), and gifted it. It went over very well! I can hardly wait for the stained glass-return trade. (since it was so identical, I didn't take a picture...)<br /><br />Now I am knitting Birch Shawl 3 for my sister. This one's a wedding shawl - and I'm in a bit of a rush. Wedding is May 14th. I've finished 2 repeats to date.*<br /><br />I am also working out a pattern for tesselated kitties like the tesselated fish. (the fish blanket is my big-comment post to date. I really wish I could share the pattern with everyone who has requested it, but copyright...)<br /><br />My daughter is really doing amazing knitting these days, though. Look at this adorable panda she knit:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/pandafront.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/pandaside.jpg"><br /><br />Isnt' that wonderful? The pattern is from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0715312243/sr=8-2/qid=1143606035/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-1388912-5423012?%5Fencoding=UTF8">World of Knitted Toys</a>. She worked very hard on it, and its lovely. She has a good friend who loves pandas, and its a gift for her.<br /><br /><br />Sadly, last Monday was Sabrina's last lesson with her piano teacher (her teacher has decided to stop teaching... sigh). We've been going to lessons since Sabrina was in Kindergarten. But, as a thank you gift, Sabrina made these:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/gauntlet.jpg"><br /><br />I (with a great sigh) let her use some of my Malabrigo yarn. The pattern is based on <a href="http://savannahchik.typepad.com/knitting/natalya_gauntlets/index.html">Savannachik's Natalya mitts</a>. (Lovely pattern). Sabrina perused my pair, and requested larger cables to make them more visible. I thought about it, and made a slight mod to the pattern. Instead of a 2x2 cable, we used a 3x3 cable, and increased the non-cable row repeat from 3 to 5. This was nice, because she could still cast on 40 stitches, and I didn't have to work out changes to the gusset. I think they turned out VERY well!<br /><br />OK. That's enough catching up for now. I'm really going to try to post more regularly....<br /><br /><br />*Actually, I've done 3. But one got ripped out, because the yarn was not going to work with her wedding dress. I re-bought yarn, and have restarted...)<br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1143606015003306812006-03-28T22:20:00.000-06:002006-03-28T22:20:15.056-06:00<title></title>Hi!<br /><br />I'm Melissa, and this is my knitting (and stuff) blog.<br /><br />Since I've barely posted for months, I think its time for a do-over. <br /><br />I'm a knitter. (OK. I'm a bunch of things, but I'm trying to focus here....)<br /><br />I've been knitting for almost 12 years now, since my firstborn was a baby. I finished my first project about 10 years ago (it was my 10th or so _started_ project, which tells you a lot about what kind of knitter I am...)<br /><br />I have 2 darling children, 12 and 4. (Scroll down for the 4 year old.) The 12 year old is also a knitter, and will pop up often with finished objects to show.<br /><br />I am happily married to a wonderful <a href="http://www.troygaul.com/blog/">guy</a>.<br /><br />That Guy and I work together at <a href="http://www.adobe.com/">Adobe Systems</a>, on this <a href="http://labs.macromedia.com/technologies/lightroom/">little project</a>...<br /><br />I _have_ been knitting lately. I finished the second Birch shawl (just like the first, but purple), and gifted it. It went over very well! I can hardly wait for the stained glass-return trade. (since it was so identical, I didn't take a picture...)<br /><br />Now I am knitting Birch Shawl 3 for my sister. This one's a wedding shawl - and I'm in a bit of a rush. Wedding is May 14th. I've finished 2 repeats to date.*<br /><br />I am also working out a pattern for tesselated kitties like the tesselated fish. (the fish blanket is my big-comment post to date. I really wish I could share the pattern with everyone who has requested it, but copyright...)<br /><br />My daughter is really amazing these days, though. Look at this adorable panda she knit:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/pandafront.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/pandaside.jpg"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*Actually, I've done 3. But one got ripped out, because the yarn was not going to work with her wedding dress. I re-bought yarn, and have restarted...)<br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1141356245766497132006-03-02T21:24:00.000-06:002006-03-02T21:24:05.830-06:00<title></title>We had a wonderful day yesterday - <br /><br />Rebecca turned 4.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/rebeccabirthday/img/IMG1.jpg"><br /><br /><br />If you want to see a photo gallery of the birthday girl, go here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/rebeccabirthday/index.html">Rebecca Pictures</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Happy Birthday Rebecca!!!!!!<br /></strong><br /><br /><br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1141081032082170092006-02-27T16:57:00.000-06:002006-02-27T16:57:12.136-06:00<title></title>Picture of Tubey...<br /><br />I love the sweater. I'll finish it soon, really. (hopefully tomorrow, actually).<br /><br />I have 4 inches knit on the body. I need 14.5 more inches. I have determined that I hate 3x1 rib (I keep trying to make it 4x1 rib).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/tubey-dnf.jpg"><br /><br />The yarn, lovely. (Rowan Cashsoft in a steel grey color). Lovely to knit with. Looking forward to finishing.<br /><br />Sigh. Trying was at least part of the goal, right?Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1141016958028048382006-02-26T23:09:00.000-06:002006-02-26T23:09:18.096-06:00<title>Olympic Knitting - DNF</title>Sigh. I didn't finish my olympic knitting. I'm still 14.5 inches from the end of the body on my Tubey.<br /><br />It was fun to focus my knitting, though - I kept myself from other knitting distractions for a while! Thanks, <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/">Stephanie</a>, for a great idea!<br /><br />[pictures to come later]<br /><br /><br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1140132427605868442006-02-16T17:27:00.000-06:002006-02-16T17:27:07.663-06:00<title></title>I love my socks... and I love my Valentine's Day flowers.<br /><br />Thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday - it was a very nice one. I took the day off, watched Olympics, finished my socks and made my favorite Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting for my Birthday Cake. <br /><br />(Sniffle alert here)<br /><br />I share my birthday with my Grandpa. He was a quiet man, dependable and down-to-earth - with a sideways sense of humor, and a true tie to the land. I have a wonderful memory of him sitting in his recliner in the pig house, talking to the pigs. For 22 years we celebrated together - and my Grandma always made German Chocolate Cake. He died 3 weeks before my 23rd birthday. Fortunately, he met both my husband and my older daughter. I miss him, but never more than on our Birthday.<br /><br />(OK. Sniffles gone now)<br /><br />I got nice presents - More duckies (thanks Betsy!), nice things from my parents...and.... a Ring Flash! I'm so excited!<br /><br />Granted, I didnt' use it for this picture of my FIRST PAIR OF finished socks - because I'm trying to get it posted before I forget. Socks and Roses!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/JawalkersandRoses.jpg"><br /><br />I have gotten many compliments on them today - I was at school this morning, and a bunch of people who have seen me knitting them there told me how nice they looked! And, they are so comfortable!Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1140071664610482792006-02-16T00:32:00.000-06:002006-02-16T00:34:24.623-06:00Happy Birthday to me!<br /><br />Happy Birthday to me!<br /><br />My first pair of hand-knit socks are done,<br /><br />Happy Birthday to me!<br /><br />Yes, I finished my Jaywalker socks. And I love them.<br /><br />(the second must be knit slightly looser than the first, it fits over my ankle better.)<br /><br />Pictures tomorrow! (or whenever I get around to taking them off!)Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1139976282270002362006-02-14T22:04:00.000-06:002006-02-14T22:04:42.316-06:00<title></title>Gah, last week was... intense.<br /><br />Headed out to California for a work conference, at which things didn't quite go as planned - due to circumstances beyond my control, I only got to about half of the talks I wanted to get to. However, it is always nice to be in 70deg. weather in Feburary!<br /><br />We've now released our Beta 2 of <a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom/">Lightroom</a>! Pretty awesome! Its really coming along.<br /><br />It was also Trivia last weekend. The first of 2 50+ hour contests we particpate in, we came in 15th.(A very respectable showing) This contest is held out of St. Cloud, MN, starts on Friday at 5 and ends Sunday at 7. We are now focusing on the Big Contest - Stevens Point trivia in April.<br /><br />Now, Knitting.<br /><br />I had, until just over a week ago, decided to pass on the Knitting Olympics. I have enough stress in my life (I told myself) - why add more by trying to finish a project in 16 days. And, the first 3 days were Trivia, with very little knitting time. And, I want to finish my Jaywalkers soon.<br /><br />Then I got caught up in the excitement. And, enchanted by the red dragon of the Welsh team. So, I decided to join in.<br /><br />My personal challege was to knit <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter03/PATTcoronet.html">Tubey</a> from Knitty. Not that its a hard sweater - but its something I wanted, and had the yarn for, and was going to be tricky to finish. But, the real challenge was to keep my scatterable attention focused on one project. Really - that's tricky. I've already needed to put off designing a Kitty blanket to match the Fish blankets. (AAHHHH! even mentioning it is making my fingers itch to work out how to do the whiskers!)<br /><br /><br />I really tried to finish my Jaywalkers first - I've up to midfoot on my second sock. However, I needed sleep on my flight on Friday. (6:30 am flight). I'm allowing myself to switch off socks and sweater so I can finish my socks! <br /><br />But. The sweater is going well. I'm 15 inches (of 21.5) in on the back piece. I'm looking forward to switching over to circulars for the sleeves. I'm making it in a nice charcoal colored Rowan Cashsoft Aran, and loving it. However, I need to swap out needles sometime - the joins on the Clover needles I'm using are...rough. I have a pair of Susan Bates needles, but they are visibly smaller. I'm hoping that I can get to the yarn store to pick up some of those needles-I-love-and-can't-remember-the-name-of. <br /><br />I will do that tomorrow, as I'm taking the day off 'cause its my BIRTHDAY! 35 years old tomorrow. Where does the time go?<br /><br /><br /><br />Pictures soon. I have to get them off my camera....<br /><br /><br /><br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1138848389953535052006-02-01T20:46:00.000-06:002006-02-01T20:46:30.010-06:00<title>Jaywalker Sock</title>Here is my Jaywalker sock.<br /><br />I love the heel. I love the toe. I like the body - just not as much...<br /><br />But it fits!!! (a little tight getting on around the ankle, but once on its perfect!)<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/Jaywalker1Finished.jpg"><br /><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/JaywalkerFits.jpg"><br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1138596720900347632006-01-29T22:50:00.000-06:002006-01-29T22:52:00.913-06:00OK. I've got a post brewing about my knitting for the last month of silence... but I have an announcement...<br /><br /><br />I finished my first Jaywalker Sock!!!!!<br /><br />And it fits!!!!!!!<br /><br />Pictures forthcoming (daylight would be nice :-) )<br /><br />(I immediately cast on for the second sock.)Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1137132669185680352006-01-13T00:11:00.000-06:002006-01-13T00:12:48.123-06:00<strong>Where have I been for the last month?<br /></strong><br />Launching this application:<br /><br /><a href="http://labs.macromedia.com/technologies/lightroom/">Adobe Lightroom Beta</a><br /><br />Its a Mac-only (currently) Photography workflow tool. I use it a lot, and love it. And, we've gotten some really good press since Monday when we announced it.<br /><br /><strong>Where am I currently?</strong><br /><br />Spending a lot of time on this board:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/webforums/forum/categories.cfm?forumid=72&catid=591&entercat=y">Adobe Lightroom Beta Bug Reports</a><br /><br />I should have a knitting update (pictures!) tomorrow.Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1135397399214651412005-12-23T22:09:00.000-06:002005-12-23T22:09:59.266-06:00<title></title><img src="http://www.rubber-ducky.net/blog/images/tree.gif"><br /><br />Posting will resume (hopefully) after Christmas. But if work doesn't let up, I won't be here much until after the New Year.<br /><br />I've been busy - unfortunately not knitting.<br /><br />(BTW - Can the Jennifer who responded to my wish for the USB directed missles please email me? I've tried to respond to you a couple times, but have heard no response THANKS!)Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1134536613739445342005-12-13T23:03:00.000-06:002005-12-13T23:03:33.783-06:00<title></title>Ah, kids that knit. What fun they can be.<br /><br />I've been having a great time this fall and winter teaching a group of 3-5th graders to knit. 14 of them. (10 girls, 4 boys) We only learned the knit stitch, because we were knitting bandages for World Health. (I'm giving them a learn-to-knit handbook next week - Lion Brand gave me permission to print out copies of their online PDF for the class - and I'll hopefully teach a couple to purl and such) Out of these 14, I think I ended up with 4-5 Knitters. The rest are all trying still - which is amazing in and of itself... there are a couple kids in there who are having a really rough time of it, but every week they pull out their needles and TRY. Really. A couple of them have had their knitting ripped out three and four times because it was unsalvageable. They can see that their knitting is not even, has big loops, dropped stitches, looks like a boot (direct quote, there). They still TRY. Every week, they try some more. They might only try for 10 minutes of the half-hour we're together, but not one has given up. This is the best lesson I've learned in my weeks doing this. (I love these kids)<br /><br /><em>Background - this knitting class is part of an after-school program at my church called Logos. Starts at 4 with large group activities and snack, then at 5:15 they break up into small groups for Worship Arts and Bible Study. At 5:45 the ones in Worship Arts go to their Bible Study, and vice versa. At 6:15 they have dinner, and they head out around 7. Its a good program, my daughter participated last year. Knitting is part of the first Worship Arts time, along with choir, handbell choir, and Reader's Theater, and a couple more options. We're only doing knitting for the first half of the year, next semester I pick up either Reader's Theater or Puppet Theater (not sure which at this point). Last year I directed the Good Friday play second half, and first half directed the choir. The woman who runs the Worship Arts section lets me play to my strengths, and have fun.</em><br /><br />Last week I was a bit late (2 minutes), and the kids were in our room knitting when I ran in. The group time before knitting time had run to loud music, it seems. I come in to a room with 5 small groups of kids, overhead lights off, table lamps on. Very quiet, focused group enjoying the peace and tranquillity of knitting. Talking quietly, doing handwork. It was impressive. <br /><br />We started in October. By next week, we'll have 4 4foot bandages knit. Some will be a bit wide (25 stitches instead of 15), because in the first six inches the knitter added a few too many, but got the hang of it and it seemed a waste to start over. We'll end up with a couple more bandages, because I'll graft together the partials. <br /><br />And, there will be 4 or 5 more Knitters in the world. Today, one girl brought in a scarf she had started, out of lavender Fun Fur (I think... some furry yarn, anyways), that she is making for her mother for Christmas. (Definitely a Knitter.) (Especially the part where its some too-short-amount of time until Christmas, and the scarf is about 5 inches long) Another was telling me a couple weeks back about how she and her mom sit and knit while watching TV. One of the boys was telling me how he and his mom plan to spend much of the winter knitting and watching movies. Another boy was telling me how with these needles, he has 6 pair. Most don't want the class to be over next week. I know I don't. (I haven't quite worked out how to fit in a Knitting Circle in my schedule yet... but I know of another half-dozen kids at church who knit, and a bunch of adults as well. I'd like to encourage them.)<br /><br />Tomorrow - I get to gush about my blog readers. TTFN!<br /><br /><br />Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1134433366611034702005-12-12T18:22:00.000-06:002005-12-12T18:22:46.670-06:00<title></title>Busy. What is it about December that brings out the worst in the busy-ness? What, Christmas? You think?<br /><br />I've been running 5 ways from Sunday for the last couple weeks. Haven't made a dent in my Christmas shopping. (I don't do Christmas knitting - but that's an entire different blog post). My house is an unmitigated disaster. Work is piling up. Both kids have nasty colds. (The little one was up doing the seal-bark cough and labored breathing at 1am...fortunately, we have the nebulizer and meds on hand at all times)<br /><br />But, this is not a blog post to complain about my busy life. NO! Its a blog post to celebrate the joy of being a knitter. I have a story! (I, actually, have 2 stories. The second may wait until tomorrow, though.)<br /><br />On Thursday last, I was stitting doing Greeter Desk* at my daughter's school. Its an easy job, and I bring my knitting. Sometimes I have other projects to do as well, but knitting is my standby. So. Thursday one of the buses was late, and one of the secretaries came out to watch the kids get in, so they knew about how long to hold attendance for. She noticed my Jaywalker sock, and went nuts. Evidently, some of the school staff has a knitting group. This woman mostly knits scarfs, but loves it. I also had my purple Birch along (and, for that matter the finished Moss Birch, cause it can get chilly at the Desk) She dragged me back to the main office because I had to show my sock off there. The women ooh'd and ahh'd over my shawl, but couldn't get enough of my sock. These knitters want to knit socks. They asked me to do a sock class for their group. Now, I've only knit 2 socks at this point - I tried to demur. Didn't get me anywhere. I think I'm doing a sock class in January.**<br /><br /><br /><br />In the course of this, I also found that the librarian runs a knitting group for the kids one morning a week (my knitter does not attend... she'd rather talk to her friends in the morning. I may continue to bug her about this one.)<br /><br />OK. Story two punted until tomorrow. TTFN!<br /><br /><br /><br />*Greeter Desk - sitting at a desk in the front entryway of the school, saying a cheery hello to everyone who comes in, and making sure the non-staff members go sign into the office. The first person someone coming into the school sees, as only one door is open from the outside during school hours. When we had lockdown drill a few weeks back, I had some rather uncomfortable feelings about this....<br /><br />** Any and all ideas for doing a sock class welcome. I think I'm going to do a mini-sock for the class, since just doing one toe and one heel is a huge confidence builder - at least it was for me.Melissatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5440411.post-1133672106709678892005-12-03T22:55:00.000-06:002005-12-03T22:55:06.746-06:00<title></title><strong>Reaching for straws here....<br /></strong><br /><br />Does anyone read this blog from England? I want these:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.marksandspencer.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Section_Id=8349&Product_Id=1900505">USB Powered Air Darts</a><br /><br />But Marks & Spencer doesn't ship overseas... I can't find them from a US source.<br /><br />Ah well. Someone here will carry it eventually...<br /><br />Melissa