Linda’s Neighborhood

Would you go on vacation by yourself, and if so where would you go?
Submitted by Sean & Stefan.

I have 4 kids, so when the rare and glorious opportunity presents itself, I'll gladly grab a minivacation alone. Hoping to take 3 or 4 days on Cape Cod this October, ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail and knit and read on the beach.

If a waiter stopped by right now to take your order, what cocktail or drink are you having?

Double Grey Goose on the rocks. It's been a long week.

Josh's sock

This is Josh's sock, as seen on top of some not yet blooming petunias. It's a garter rib pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks, easily my favorite sock book ever (however, to be fair, I've only been knitting for 3 years so I may some day move on to a new favorite. But I digress) in Trekking XXL #77. I'm rather fond of this sock and that's a pity because it just went to the frog pond. First off, I finally tried it on and, granted, Josh's legs are a wee bit a lot more muscular than mine, but his ankles aren't going to fill these. Clearly, I cast on 4 too many stitches. This sometimes is a side effect of not thinking through the fact that I'm casting on for a man whose feet are disproportionate to his height. Crap. Secondly, there was the unpleasant realization that this pattern (and the extra four stitches per round. actually, it's probably mostly the four extra stitched per round. idiot.) was going to kill the skein before I got the toes on sock #2. Ok, I briefly toyed with knitting the toes on both socks with orange Trekking, but, um, yeah, probably not. In the interest of completing the now non-existent socks before the very real deadline of June 2nd, I think we're looking at a simple K3P1 leg and a knit foot. I'm casting on in 20 minutes, after I finish the dishes.

Ice Sunrise

Now that winter is on it's way out, I'd like to share my favorite sunrise of the past winter. I took a series of pics the morning after the ice storm (4 degrees-brrrr!) and eventually they'll be part of the tree series I'm starting. 

I've recently cast on Rogue in Bartlett's Denim and I like the pattern enough that I'm going to make one for a friend in Green Heather (and I should tell you that, some day, when I figure out exactly where I left my camera, there'll be pictures to liven things up). Anyway, my rationale is that I've spent the money on the needles and, clearly, I ought to use them plenty to get a full return on my investment. On a non-knitting frint, I'm also futzing around with Joan Colvin's Nature's Studio.  I've been playing around with the idea of a quilted tree series for some time now, and spring seems to have put me in the right frame of mind. Spent the day making sketches and notes and I'll start off with some small-probably journal quilt size I think, just focusing on color and texture and I'll build from there.

With any luck, I'll find my camera soon and be able to share.

Video: Show us a TV series you own or watched on DVD.

Absolutely Fabulous: Complete DVD Collection

1 comment

I'm frugal, prone to serial monogamy, gleefully ignorant/defiant of current fashion trends, and I like to think of myself as a fairly decent person. I LOVE these two utterly wretched self-absorbed, hyper-consuming, fashion addicts (not to mention, the cigarettes, alcohol, and pot). Undoubtedly, my AbFab addiction paved the way for my next brain candy fixation:

Sex and the City - The Complete First Season

At this point, I should also confess that I'm a sucker for documentaries, addicted to NOVA & PBS, I abhor "reality" TV, and I'll take a book or intelligent conversation any day. Clearly, there's something lacking in my existence or I wouldn't like this stuff so much. I'm OK with that, though.

Did you order Girl Scout cookies this year?  What kind?

Tragically, I missed Cookie orders this year, in part because this is the first year my daughter was not a Scout so I didn't have an order form just hanging around the house tempting me into 10 boxes of Thin Mints. I'll pick some up this month when one of the local Troops is selling extras. I like Thin Mints, tho' my favorite is Samoas. The only problem with those is they're a little too rich-something I'm reminded of after I've succumbed to the urge to have a third cookie and suddenly find myself feeling a little gross.

What's one of your favorite quotes? 
Submitted by Georgie-boy. 

I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something. -Richard Feynman.

To put it into context:

"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing — that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."

That's pretty damn self explanatory. I'm having that quote tattooed this summer. I just need to settle on a font.

I know it's been an extended blog hiatus. I've been futzing around with my other blog and bogged down with the new store and spare time has been sorely lacking. There's been minimal knitting and an appalling lack of quilting, a direct result of 70 hour work weeks. Fortunately, I seem to be experiencing a wee bit of food poisioning and I'm staying home today. And tomorrow.  I've just been told we're getting an interim GM, very exciting news because he's arriving just in time for the start of bike season. I'm going to celebrate his imminent arrival by taking the Treks in for tune ups and rejoice in the distinct possibility that I'll have my Cape Cod Rail Trail long weekend this fall. And I can quilt again, free from the creative brain drain that results from all work and no play. Perhaps I'll actually finish a piece for the next Quilting Arts Readers Challenge instead of watching the deadline approach and seriously considering bringing my sewing machine to work (BTW, I decided against. Hand quilting at work is acceptable, but if I'm going to shift my sewing room there, I may as well put a bed in the stock room and save myself the expense of commuting)

Ah, and work. It's a beautful bookstore and I work with a great group of people and we've started getting regular customers which is what I love best about bookstores.  But the weather...we've had a fairly mild winter and even so, I'm convinced that the planners consulted a local weather almanac and intentionally oriented the store for the worst possible weather exposure. Of course, part of this half baked theory lies on the fact that the store has front and rear entrances, leaving it susceptible to the whims of the weather from either side. Last fall, I fell in love with the weather patterns around the store:

Sortsky2

I thought we were exceptionally fortunate to be treated to beautiful skies. Perhaps if I'd considered that meterologists for the area often use Rte 128 as a geographical reference point for weather changes (everything is either "inside or outside of 128"), I might not have be so inclined to ooh and aah at the prettiness.

Sortsky3

128 is literally 40 feet behind the line of stores are at the bottom of the picture on the left.

More importantly, we're built on hill, and oriented in such a fashion that a Northeaster basically starts out blowing up the hill and blasting through the downstairs automatic double doors. Then as the storm progresses, it eventually comes round and blows through down the hill and blasts through our upstairs entrance, also an automatic double door. We have no vestibules, clearly a poor choice in New England. Even with the awning, we've had winds so strong they've blown rain into the store and on the front tables. And yesterday, it was 6 degrees out with wind gusts between 25 and 35 mph. It was also merch day, which meant we spent the morning changing out the front of store displays and then watching the books blow off them. Rather dissatisfying. And damn cold.   

What is your pet peeve, the one thing which really drives you mad? 
Submitted by Beki.  

Whining. Not the "I'm have a bad day and I'm complaining" grumbles, but out and out incessant "O, woe is me, pay attention to me now, I have feeeeeeeeeeeelings" whining. I've been dealing with a great deal of that lately and I'm starting to run out of patience.