Firstborn children are the cleverest
neener neener
I thought my younger sister Di would appreciate this: Firstborn children are the cleverest. And its on a website that has "scientist" in the title -- and being the science geek that she is -- she can't dispute science!!!
Yay me!
A funny thing happened...
... on the way through the parking lot
I was walking to my car yesterday and just cracked up when I saw what had parked in front of me. I'm usually not one to criticize... at least not publicly. I'm sure some people have a reason for driving a car like a Hummer 3, or a Chevrolet Suburban XL, or some other gas-eating-emission-spewing-parking-space-hogging-monstrosity... but I can't think of one at the moment. I'd get a 4x4 if I still lived in Salt Lake, I'd need one out there. I'd use it. But out here? Not so much. But I really can't imagine ever needing one of those big SUV things. Ok... end vent. I gotta finish packing.
Climb4Life 2007: tickets booked
Join the team!
Sam and I just booked our flights for Climb4Life 2007 in Salt Lake City. We had a great time last year. We raised lots of money for the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation, we met a bunch of pro climbers, we climbed in the Rocky Mountains, we saw the premier of a few climbing videos. We had SO much fun. I can't wait til September. (For those of you who don't know, the HERA Foundation promotes Ovarian Cancer Research and Awareness through events called Climb4Life).
So far, Team Bury the Dragon has raised over $8,000 and has 7 members. That's awesome, but -- we need to raise more money -- we need to promote more awareness -- we need to get more team members! We've got 3 more months, we can do it. Join now! Tickets are actually really cheap right now to Salt Lake. If you use Delta Sky Miles you can get a 1st class ticket for 45,000 miles and $5. Or you can get a 1-stop flight on a few other airlines for under $250.
Of course... if you don't want to join the team, we'll glady take your money! Donate now! All donations are tax deductable. Plus you'll get that nice warm fuzzy feeling.
How I started
all thanks to my Grandma Fay
I began to crochet about 11 years ago. My grandmother always crocheted. She made lots of blankets and what not. She lost her eye sight as she got older and couldn't crochet any more. She gave me her crochet hooks and said I could keep them as long as I learned how to use them. A few months later I bought the book The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts (this link isn't to the edition that I had, but I would think this edition is just as good). I love instructional books with pictures: cookbooks, craft books, all that stuff. This book is FULL of pictures. I was able to teach myself how to crochet, and how to read a pattern from this book.
I crocheted for a few years. First I did a bunch of hats, purses, and blankets. Then I found a magazine called "Crochet Fantasy" (which I don't think is in print any more) it had lots of great non-blanket, non-doily crochet patterns. It had shirts and skirts and sweaters and what not. Granted, some of them were a bit scary - but there were some REALLY great patterns in there.
Then I got bit by the bug -- the I-want-to-make-cool-things-with-yarn" bug. And there were just SO many more patterns out there for knitting then there was for crochet. So one evening I grabbed my handy The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Needlecrafts and taught myself how to knit. Initially it was much more frustrating than crochet. But the number of available patterns was a huge motivator.
I remember my first knitting project was WAY out of my league -- but it was a good challenge and I learned a lot. I made tried to make a a sweater jacket for my sister Di. I'm sure its fallen apart by now. I should try making it again... well.. once I get through the massive list of projects that I have on my wish list.
This little historical glimpse into how I got into this whole thing is really just a way to say I owe it all to my Grandma. Knitting and crochet have become a huge part of my life. It's my past time, its my creativity, its my passion, and its my way of keeping myself busy while still feeling productive. I love it.
My grandma died last Saturday. If I remember the date correctly, she died exactly 27 years and 1 month after my grandfather died. She was 96.
I love that I was able to tell her all about my knitting and crochet projects whenever I'd go to visit. I love that I have that connection to her. I'll miss her.
Sheldon
a knit turtle toy
We had a great trip to San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend. Of course, a trip to San Francisco lends itself to lots of knitting time on the plane, and I found the perfect project: Sheldon.
I'm really excited with how it came out. And mostly -- I'm thrilled that I think its going to match Jay and Meg's baby room. I don't know how they're doing it -- but somehow they have the patience to not find out the sex of their baby before its born. So they decorated the room in gorgeous greens and yellows with a frog / turtle theme. The pictures look great. Hopefully Sheldon finds a nice home there.
- the materials
- 2 balls Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in contrasting colors, I used a dark brown and a light green.
- 1 pair size 3 straight needles
- 1 set size 2 double pointed needles
- polyfill stuffing
- the pattern
- The full pattern is available on knitty.com, its called Sheldon.
- The original pattern calls to use safety eyes. Instead I crocheted some eyes and attached them.
- eyes, make 2
- with CC and leaving a long tail, ch 4, form ring with sl st to first ch
- ch1, 8sc in center of ring, sl st to finish round. Finish off, leaving a long tail, break yarn.
- attach to head by pulling tail up through the the center of the eye and wrapping the yarn around the eye while attaching the eye to the turtle. Once you go all the way around the eye (maybe 5 or 6 wraps), tie the two tails together in the middle of the eye and pull tails into the head to hide them.
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