Knitting in peace

I worked over the weekend. I know. I know. I can barely bring myself to work a regular work-week as it is, what gives? I've been trying to schedule time on a particular microscope at Oak Ridge National Lab for a few months now, and they couldn't accommodate me for months unless I was willing to work over the weekend.

I like to bitch and moan, and this was prime B & M-ing material (not to be confused with BM material, which, ew), but truth be told I was pleased to get out of the apartment for a while and to be able to knit in peace. No waiting for Sammy to pass out at 10 PM so I can get a little bit of knit on without anyone trying to consume my yarn and/or knitted object.

Turns out, the instrument operator understood many things in addition to how to make kick ass samples, 1) Making samples using this particular technique is incredibly boring, 2) One should combat this boredom by multitasking, and most importantly 3) It's the freakin' weekend so multitasking can include knitting. I finished a respectable piece of Mystery Wedding Project (which technically is no longer a mystery, considering the wedding has occurred and I've also informed the couple what they can hope to receive at some point).

Usually when I knit for a long period of time with non-knitters, I get a few questions about the logistics, the materials, the point. No such luck in this case, and for the entirety of Saturday I never succeeded in even steering the conversation away from microscopes. Sunday, I managed to slip in some football and housing market chit-chat, so, baby steps I guess.

I didn't have a camera to document my awesome garter stitch, but the microscope we used to make the sample did have a camera....so, geeks read on (and non-geeks, electron microscope photos can be very pretty):

Bulk sample is cut from the surface by a beam of atoms


Bulk sample is 'glued' to a tip and lifted out

Bulk sample is 'glued' to a grid

The bulk sample is thinned with a beam of atoms to the final, ridiculously thin end product (the areas that look 'broken' are the sweetest thin area)

It's so thin that electrons can pass all the way through it...giving you and image kind of like an X-ray photo on a much much tinier area

I was also accused of being a little old lady by another instrument operator. Maybe so, dork-wad, maybe so.

Oh, (cold) snap!

As my commenters so wisely predicted, a chance to wear my (relatively) newly minted fingerless mitts would come sooner rather than later. The first chill came on Friday, and I took the mitts for a test drive at their 'intended' use: typing. I started them during a time when I was a visitor in a very chilly lab. I wanted to keep my hands warm, but I needed my fingers so I could still type for important work stuff like blogging, as well as knitting while my experiments run.

Of course I didn't complete them until after I'd returned home, but they are indeed good little typing mitts. I gave them another test drive this morning as bike commuting mitts, and again, awesome-ness. I love 'em! I'll try and find out if the designer ever published the pattern, if anyone is interested (they were a test knit).

I also started suffering under the delusion this week that I might finish Mystery Wedding Project on time. Two months ago, it became clear that the only way that I was going to complete MWP by deadline was to go through one skein a week, and that certainly hasn't been happening. The reason it seems possible, methinks, is that I only have three panels left to complete--however, these are big-ass panels compared to the previous ones. But only three! That sounds doable, right? The pile of skeins that aren't even wound yet says no. I'm reminded of this Dilbert comic:



Since I haven't achieved any of that (yet), my idea is to take a picture of what I have and put it in a card, possibly with a sample of yarn. What are your thoughts on that? Any other ideas?

Bon appetit!

Trying to find some instant gratification via the Netflix 'Instant Queue' (a.k.a., "You didn't plan for your evening, so we're throwing you a bone with a limited selection movies you can watch through your computer"), we ended up watching Julie and Julia. It follows Julia Child through her early cooking years and a parallel(ish) story of blogger Julie Powell as she works through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year. I could have done with all Julia Child all the time (She was a spy! She revolutionized American home cooking! She was 6'2"!) and no Julie blogging (She works in a cubicle! She has no ambition! She cries!), with the exception of this segment:



Dan Aykroyd on Saturday Night Live as Julia (with hilarious thumb chopping results!). Julie and her hubby watch the skit one late night.

Sidenote: Watching this is one of my earliest memories as a kid. Don't ask me why I was awake for SNL or why my parents were letting me watch it (way to go, guys) but I remember being very concerned for the nice lady who was bleeding everywhere. I think the memory stuck with me because I was surprised when my dad informed me that the blood was fake and downright baffled when he said that the 'nice lady' was a man. I was beginning to think this was a fabricated memory since no one else seems to remember this sketch; it's always nice to take steps away from the nuthouse instead of towards it.

However, the blogging segments for some reason struck concern in my copilot, who practically shoved Mystery Wedding Project into my hands mid-movie and prodded "Knit. Knit! You haven't been knitting or blogging, slacker!" (I'm paraphrasing). He even snapped a photo for me [WEDDING PROJECT SPOILER AHEAD]:


It was nice to see the progress. All 4 colors are involved! The copilot's concern was a little perplexing, though, since a major source of conflict in the movie is the couple's dearth of nooky due to the demands of the blogging project...impressive confidence, I guess!

Reporting from an undisclosed location

Just like Dick Cheney! Nah, I kid, I'll disclose. I'm in Oak Ridge, TN, doing some work at the national lab here for the week. I won't get into details (we don't want anyone shooting themselves in the face out of boredom), but it involved a back-room type deal where I make a bunch of samples during 2nd and 3rd shift type hours, and the person I make them for gives me a bunch of data. We'll see if it actually pans out that way. Mad scientists are one thing, but some of them are just not what you'd call "team players" (not that I'm referring to who I'm working with *cough*).

Travel started in the wee hours of the morning, and after checking in at the lab I was anticipating an epic nap at the hotel. I entered my room to a noxious and overpowering odor and some strange glass container on the desk full of ash--"What the...?" I can now say I've tested all but one of the hotels in Oak Ridge, and am crossing this one off of my list. You may laugh, but I didn't know that smoking rooms still existed ('smoking rooms' sounds weird, like they're on fire--would it be a non-non-smoking room?). They got me switched to a non for the first three nights, but couldn't guarantee the fourth; I'm bitterly awaiting my stay in the chamber of stank. Maybe I'll just sleep in front of the instrument I'm working on all night. Speaking of what I am planning on doing with all of the down time:


My ever faithful traveling companion, Murray, guards my stash.

I can say, without hyperbole, that half of the stuff in my suitcase was knitting related. Now of course, I could be reading journal articles and working on a paper in my downtime, but seriously? Between the stash and Season 11 of Top Gear that my copilot put on my hard drive, I'm going to have a good time down here if it kills me damn it! Now if you'll excuse me, Murray and I need to have a nap.

Also: I'm back to the point-and shoot-camera for the week, so I apologize in advance for the crappiness of future photos. And no tutorials this week. Sadness...

Testing, testing

I want to take a quick break from the rigorous topics of blog week to update on the status of the Infinite Cabled Hat. Encouraged by Natalie J, last Sunday I pulled the trigger on submitting a request to the Free Pattern Testers group in Ravelry. First of all, let me say that my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I requested three testers, one each for sizes S, M, and L. I immediately got one tester, then service was a little slow but the next two came in a day or so. Oddly enough, two additional people volunteered after I posted this picture in the thread to show how the brim looked when someone was wearing it:


I know, right? For some reason me imitating the Fonz is a selling point. But it has been amazing to get so much feedback, and so quickly. The first tester who started was terrified when she first cast-on and her work looked like it was going to be a gigantor hat (the cables pull everything in a lot). She actually took what she had started apart thinking that it must be a typo. She recommended that I add a line to assure the pattern user that this was in fact expected and correct, something that I never would have thought of. I know how it's supposed to look, so why doesn't everyone else (because everyone is a mind reader, right)? So what I'm saying is that I love my testers and I want to marry them. Well, maybe that would be rushing things. Civil union?

But. It wasn't all chocolate and roses. I wasn't sure that I was going to even discuss this, because it was actually fairly upsetting to me. Since the rest of my experience has been so much fun, though, I think we're OK. After I'd confirmed my first tester, I got this message. I'm going to quote verbatim, so there's no chance of hyperbole:

"It’s really adorable. I’m wondering if there may be some copyright issues with Cully’s Cabled Hat. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional when you designed it, its just terribly similar."

My jaw dropped. I was ready for my testers to rebel, saying that my pattern sucked ass and was completely wrong, or not to get any testers at all, but this wasn't even on my radar. This penetrated deep into my stone cold heart. The post was edited about a half and hour later to add:

"Then again, culley’s is two color, and what do I know about copyrights. Just something for you to consider when you publish.
Good luck with the test!"

I'm assuming the addition was brought on when the poster realized how incredibly bitchy his/her first post sounded, so I do appreciate that. But the whole thing really threw me for a loop.

Now if you check out Cully's Cabled Hat, you'll see that it's actually the same concept as what I was referring to as the South Face Hat: the two color stranding that I didn't think turned out very well as a swatch. Even barring the difference of being one color, my design has a different brim and a much different decreasing scheme (which I prefer, naturally). Now this was from Vogue Knitting (the Winter '09/'10 edition), the supposedly high fashion knitting mag; apparently we are both so cutting edge that we knocked off a hat that I've been seeing on the ski slopes for at least two years now. Needless to say, I've decided not to pursue constructing the South Face Hat, unless I completely redesign. I think to actually get the effect that I'm going for, we're going to have to go entrelac (which definitely has already been done).

What I've taken away from this is that I need to be confident in my creations and stand behind them! Grrrrrrr! (That's my scary-stand-behind-my-creations growl).

Also! New stash came in. Behold:


First peek.

The skein at the bottom has the football, I think.

That's what we call a 'made my day' right there.

Blog week & new stash

Just for poos & giggles, I've decided to participate in Blog Week, pioneered by Eskimimi over at Ravelry. Check it out (she has the info on her site), and feel free to participate whether you're a Raveler or not. Starting Apr. 26th, each day will have a specific topic and everyone participating will expound upon said topic. Fun fun!(?)

If you'd like to check out other blogs that are taking part, Eskimimi has devised an ingenious tagging system, which I shall not attempt to explain, but quote from her site:

"Knitting and Crochet Blogging week is gong to attempt to use google to implement a tagging system. Each of the 8 topics (7 daily topics and one wildcard) has a code, starting with ‘knitcroblo’ and then a number 1-7 or ‘wc’ (for wild card) at the end. If you use the appropriate tag in each of your blog posts during Blog week (or add them at the end of your blog post) then Googling those terms will bring up a list of blog posts for that same topic, from all blogs taking part."

So if you're searching for the first day's post, it would be knitcroblo1. Since it's not a real word, it should only yield hits from those participating. Clever.

I've also taken the first step in a project for a friend who is getting married. First step - get materials. I guess deciding on the project was the first step, but we're talking the first concrete step. Money has changed hands, so there's no going back. If you are my friend, and you're getting married soon, read no further or your surprise will be spoiled (and I'll kick your ass).


Are we alone now?


Good. So I'm diving into the world of log-cabining. If you've never heard of it, check out the Mason-Dixon gals--they make it look gorgeous. You knit in garter stitch (knit stitch only), typically rectangular shapes, then turn the work and pick up stitches from the side when you decide you want to make a new color block. I just dropped [undisclosed amount of money] on [undisclosed number, because if said friend is being naughty and looking, she knows how to do math] skeins of Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold. It is a line recommended in the Mason-Dixon book for a blanket, and I'm buying it sight unseen (and un-felt, which might be more important); this is fairly unusual for me. I have yet to meet a silk-wool blend I haven't liked though, so I figured let's flippin' do it! Let's make an heirloom blanket! Check out the colorway:



That's eggshell, deep pink, sandstone, and bristol, clockwise from top left. I'm going to go for a mod look, with large blocks of color and no real symmetry. I'm pumped!