Knit Run, Purl Run

Blogging Break Reason: Doctor Who!

Posted on April 16, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

So not only did I take a month off from blogging, but I also took a month off from running. Yes, I’m paying the price for it now, but what can I say? Every once in a while, one fascination will override an existing one. The happy news with running is that I love it so very much that I *always* return to it! ;) I logged 3 miles a couple of days ago along with a return to the seriously brutal workout Tae Bo Get Ripped Advanced. Whew, boy – did I ever pay the price for THAT! My legs have been so sore as a result (mostly due to the squats from the Tae Bo, at least). In spite of being hit with DOMS, I got my feet to the street again yesterday, logging a short 2 mile run. Not my speediest, of course, but by the end of the run, my legs felt much better than when I fell out of bed trying to get up that morning. LOL

Knitting

I’ve been really busy in this area as well. I finished the oldest manlet’s sweater only to turn around & cast on for the youngest manlet’s sweater. Both wanted the Hacky Sack Hoodie from Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch, of course. A bit of a boring sweater to knit, but perfect for mindless knitting while watching movies, TV or what have you (*smirk*). I had finished up the 2nd one some weeks back, but I had forgotten that he wanted the pocket on his. So last weekend, I picked up stitches & added a front pocket to it, following the instructions in the pattern for the number of stitches & increases so that it would be very much the way it would have been had I remembered that he wanted it. I think he’s going to find it a little too small, though. :( I haven’t shown it to him yet, nor have I snapped shots of him in it.

Also, I picked up my sock yarn blanket again & started working on it here & there. I actually made quite a bit more progress on it, adding another 3 or 4 rows. I also sat down & worked out the math so I now know exactly how many rows/squares I’m going to knit on it. 431 squares! Wowza. It will have 21 rows by the time I am finished with it. Right now I’m sitting at 30% complete on that. :)

My latest sock design has been really tough to work out. I love the colorway, it is utterly FANTASTIC! I’m designing the 2nd pattern of 4 for ShelbyB – she has some stunning Harry Potter themed colorways. I really cannot say how much I love her sock yarn. :) Anyway, I’m working on a design for her Lucius Malfoy colorway. I am on my 4th design idea for this colorway – I came up with different ideas, started knitting & then frogged 3 times before this one. Sometimes colorways can be tough to work out a pattern for – you have to find just the right stitches to show off the colors, rather than focus on stitches that represent the character, if that makes sense? Lucius begs for a cable intensive pattern, but cables are lost with this gorgeous colorway… so I had to find a compromise. I think I’ve finally got it right! I’m almost done knitting up the first sock. Once that is done, I’ll write up the pattern and have my test knitter tackle it. I already have someone lined up to test knit, yay!

Sometimes test knitters can be tough to find. I’ve had test knitters before, but sometimes they drop off the grid and you don’t hear back from them. I have high hopes this time round because my test knitter is very enthusiastic. {{{hugs}}} to ya, sknitsofrantic! ;)

Blogging Break Reason: Doctor Who!

So yeah. Every extra moment that I had available the past month has been dedicated to my renewed love for Doctor Who. I admit it. I am a total Doctor Who geek (“enthusiastically obsessed” with it) – as you all already know. I was able to work through every single episode that has been aired of the show. For those of you that don’t know, that’s 758 episodes (as of April 10, 2010), spanning from 1963 to 2010 (and includes the 1996 movie as one “episode” count).

Now… I used to watch Doctor Who whenever I could find it as a kid. That was tough to do here in the States, because the only channel that ever played it was PBS. The classic Who episodes would make up one story – so “An Unearthly Child”, the very first story, was actually made up of 4 episodes, with little cliffhangers between each episode. Well… I can honestly say that I never got to watch an entire story arc as a kid because my local PBS station didn’t seem to get that. So I would get one piece of this story with the Fourth Doctor, then the next time I would get another piece of a different story with the Third Doctor! Very frustrating, it was. All repeats, of course.

Since watching all of them, I found that my order of preferred Doctors has had a few changes. No surprise, of course. The biggest change was that I didn’t used to care much for Jon Pertwee (Three)… but after watching his episodes from the beginning to the end, he has moved way up on my list of favorite doctors. He even rivals my love for 5 and 8 (who I desperately wish had gotten TV episodes). He just might have become my 2nd favorite Doctor, truth be told. I’ll have to re-watch some episodes before I decide for sure.

So now my list is something more like this (from most favorite to least): 10, 5 or 3, 8, 9, 2, 7, 4, 1, 6 Yes, I’m sure you’ve noted that 11 does not appear on my list yet. The jury is still out on him – as a matter of fact, the jury is sequestered in some cheap miserable hotel because it’s going to be a LONG time to reach a decision on this one. I do not like Eleven, but I do not dislike him either.

**WARNING – THE LINK BELOW LEADS TO A DOCUMENT THAT CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SERIES 5**

So, the series 5 spoilers are contained here in my commentaries on the first 2 episodes. Click at your peril.

Some of my friends firmly believe that I don’t like the new Doctor because he’s not David Tennant. While I wish so badly that he was still doing Doctor Who, I really do understand his decision to stop doing it. I’m really looking forward to seeing him branching out more so that other people can really appreciate how talented the man is. Because he is just brilliant. Ask anyone who has seen ‘Recovery’, ‘Casanova’, ‘Einstein and Eddington’.

Now… do I hold all of that against Matt Smith? No, not at all. I loved Christopher Eccleston & I honestly didn’t think I would like David Tennant as the Doctor at all. All I had ever seen him in before Doctor Who was Harry Potter, so I had this image of a madman with a flicking tongue to go by. But I instantly loved his Doctor. Matt Smith, on the other hand… I don’t dislike his Doctor, but I wasn’t immediately charmed by him either. Only time will tell if I’m going to warm up to him or not. After all, look at how I felt about Jon Pertwee initially – and now he could very well be my second favorite Doctor – if anything, he’s definitely tied for that spot. ;)

Today’s Ravelry Search

So, Earth Day is arriving soon, yay! I love it for 2 reasons – because it’s Earth Day and it’s also the anniversary of my officially becoming single again. Hee! Have fun with these, remember that they are not my own & to view the pattern page, just click the picture. :)

* I love illusion knitting, it's always fun! :)

Celebrate doubly by knitting up a shopping bag to eliminate "paper or plastic?"

* SO cute!

* Pretty little baby hat, isn't it?

* Another shopping bag - crochet this time!

Oooh, I love this slouchy hat! :)

* Adorable, just adorable! The sweater is cute too. Hee!

Wow. This shawl is stunning - you *must* click the picture & see the other pics to get the full lace details! It's just lovely.

* OMG, this sweater is so cute! I definitely faved this one. :)

Love this vest!

* Free pattern!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Posted in Running | Tagged Doctor Who, Free Patterns, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | 8 Comments

Finished My Very First Sweater!

Posted on February 14, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

I confess to not running today. It was just too cold this morning, then I spent most of the day dedicated to finishing a project that I’ve been working on for a long time, so no run! I did, however, run 2 miles yesterday. Well… lightly jogged would be a more apt description. I ran 1 mile to Einstein Bros Bagels to meet a couple knitting friends. We then went on a tour of a local organic farm (which was a really awesome place to visit, btw!) for a couple of hours & returned to Einstein. I jogged the mile back home then.

I feel a bit twingy in my ankle again, but in different spots! I’m chalking it up to having run those 2 miles yesterday & the 2 miles the day before in my old running shoes. I should have worn the Vibrams to avoid getting sore!

Finished My Very First Sweater!

So I sat down today, determined to finish this sweater for my oldest manlet. It’s been OTN since Dec 31st and it was long overdue to be finished! ;) I sat down & had a Doctor Who marathon while I knit the sleeves. The hood is a bit smaller than he wanted, but overall, I am really, really pleased with how it turned out! It is the very first sweater I’ve ever knit – the biggest knitting project I’ve undertaken so far! I usually stick to socks, of course. LOL

Not the best photo, but check it out…

So yes, I’ve already cast on for the same pattern for the youngest now. LOL! He’s already been “mentioning” it to me a few times, so I figured I’d better get started on it right away to forestall any further mentions. Hee!

Today’s Ravelry Search

So in honor of my First sweater, here are some patterns I found when searching for “first”! ;) Remember, none of these are mine & just click the photo to go right to the Ravelry pattern page!

* A nice simple pattern for a first shawl

* Aw, I love the name of this pattern! Adorable baby blanket.

* Pretty little lace sock pattern!

* Hee! It's the First Doctor, so of course I had to include him!!

Wow, so pretty!!

* Baby's first sock! SO cute!

* First fingerless mitts! Simple & quick to do, I'm thinking.

* Baby's First Christmas stocking! I just LOVE Priscilla Hewitt's work.

* CUTE! My twin nieces would have loved these a couple years ago.

* OMG, cute hat!! I love this style of hat whether it looks good on me or not. :D

ZOMG! These are crochet - they are gorgeous!! (Plus they are tagged Help for Haiti!)

* Cute!

* Free pattern

Happy Sunday, all!

Posted in Running | Tagged Free Patterns, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | 15 Comments

When It Rains, It Pours!

Posted on February 12, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

I have managed to sneak in a run or three here & there. Nothing too much exciting to write about, though. The usual 3 mile run, in my vibrams. I’ve decided to get the next size up, as this size is fine for short runs, but when I go for 5 milers, my toes start to feel a bit put upon. A little bit more room in the shoe would go a long way towards helping that, I think. Next time, I’m going to see if I can find an all black pair. :)

Had an unplanned 2 mile run this morning, as I took the car down to the mechanic. His father wasn’t in yet to give me a lift home, so I just ran back home the 2 miles. It was a bit awkward as I had dressed for the cold: sweat pants, 2 sweatshirts & a wool hat. I also had my wallet, keys & blackberry to deal with, but I managed! I got home before his Dad was even scheduled to show up for work, so it was all good.

When It Rains, It Pours

Oh, the car is at the mechanic’s shop, you say? Yes, for the second time this week. On our foray out to pick up a new computer for home, the car overheated. We put half a gallon of water in it & the temp seemed fine. Made it to just outside of my office when it stalled, then ran really rough. I got it pulled into a parking space at work & it quit again. Seems the overheating problem exacerbated the low oil problem. Yes, yes – I am just as bad at forgetting to feed my car as I am at feeding myself. At least the car warned me this time instead of just going kaplooie. While the mechanic had the car, I had him check the CV axles because I knew there was a problem there again – that lovely creaking/grinding sound whenever I turned left was a dead giveaway. He never did find a leak, the hoses & radiator were all fine – so it was just the oil and both CV axles had to be replaced (which is so not cheap!!).

I got the car back on Wednesday and headed out for knit night that evening. It was cold, so I flipped on the heat. Within 2-3 minutes, the temp gauge spiked up towards the danger zone! WTF?! So yeah, it’s back with my awesome mechanic to have the thermostat checked out now. Yeesh!

However – the happy news is that I have a nice shiny new computer w/an awesome monitor! And I will totally be having myself a happy Doctor Who marathon on it shortly. As soon as today is done with, most likely. LOL

Knitting

I’m making slow but sure progress on the Hacky Sack Hoodie! YAY! I finished the body completely & had to pick up the stitches for the sleeves. That was quite the challenge for me, as I decided I wanted to knit the sleeves two at a time, magic loop, so as to ensure they were exactly even. Not to mention they are going to have to be SO freaking long that I knew they would seem to last forever. LOL I think I got the stitches on the needles the right way after about 4 attempts. But, I finally managed & have been moving along quite nicely with them! I’m happy with them – and I love how the colors are striping – check them out!

Today’s Ravelry Search

So today’s patterns are all in the results when I searched for “car”. Lots of cute things for kids & babies, for sure! ;) Remember, none of these are mine – click the photo to go to the Ravelry pattern page.

* Adorable little hats!

* Pretty little car seat blanket!

SO freaking cute!! :D

* Adorable! Vintage car coat!

And a nice, thick car coat for Mom too!

* A crochet version of the car seat blanket!

* Cable car socks! Simple but nice looking!

* Oh now, this is just too cute for words! Adorable knit for a baby girl!

Steering wheel cozy! I need to make one for mine, actually.

Oooh, I love this crochet bag! ;)

* TurtleGirl's Car Socks! She is teh ossom, I had the pleasure of meeting her at SAFF last year. :)

* I love this blanket. I am definitely going to make this one at some point!

* OMG, seriously, how cute is this tea cozy?? :D

* Another steering wheel cozy, cool!

* Ded. Ded from teh cute!

* SO cute!! Pockets! :D

* Oh man, I wish I'd found these sooner, my friend could use them in her truck! These are actually tunisian crochet - LOVE!

* And a knit version! ;)

* Free pattern

Happy Friday, all!

Posted in Running | Tagged Free Patterns, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | 2 Comments

Welcome February & a Meme!

Posted on February 2, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

I’ve been so bad, I don’t even know why I’m bothering to write about it in this post. *sob* I’m getting my feet on the street in the morning, though – I am determined! If I can just manage to get to bed at a reasonable hour…

Welcome February & a Meme!

Yay, it’s February! Time for income tax refunds and the annual bonus from work. I’d mention my raise, but it is SO not worth mentioning. Budgets being slashed to the bare minimum & all that. I’m just lucky I have a job, right?! ;) Anyway, I’ve got my taxes done & e-filed. I’ll be able to finally fix the air conditioning at home & the transmission in my car. With my annual bonus, I’m hoping to fix the home computer and maybe even get a new one for gaming. It will be nice to have a computer available for each of us, seeing how we all spend so much time online. There is always someone dancing about, hopping from foot to foot, saying “c’mon, hurry up, will you? I need to get on Facebook & check my [insert farm, restaurant, island, whatever the latest game addiction is here]!!”

My friend, the lovely Thrift Goddess tagged me! Cool, this is a new blog experience for me! ;) So, without further ado…

1. Do you like bleu cheese?
Only in a dressing & dipped w/freshly steamed artichokes!

2. Have you ever been drunk?
I have, yes. Not for years, but I have been in my lifetime.

3. Do you own a gun?
Oh, HELL no!

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite?
No idea… black cherry, probably.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Nah.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
I didn’t like them even when I did eat meat. *shudder*

7. Favorite Christmas movie?
Die Hard. LOL! I don’t know… A Christmas Story, The Santa Clause…

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Coffee made in my french press.

9. Can you do push ups?
You betcha!

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?
I’m not big on jewelry, but I love my mom’s vintage carnelian necklace that Dad gave me for a gift a couple years ago.

11. Favorite hobby?
Running, reading, watching Doctor Who, knitting, crochet

12. Do you have A.D.D.?
Nope

13. What’s your favorite shoe?
My Vibrams Five Fingers, of course!

14. Middle name?
Marie

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
OMG, I love this version of Hamlet!
Aaaackkkk, Leonardo! Get outside, that was FOUL!
Think I’ll shoot for 4 miles in the morning.

16. Name three drinks you regularly drink?
Coffee, water, Diet Dr. Pepper

17. Current worry?
Not having my home pc working.

18. Current hate right now?
I do not hate, it’s an ugly feeling. I do dislike not having another computer, though. LOL

19. Last thing you said to somebody?
“Holy CRAP, Leonardo, that was disgusting!”

20. How did you bring in the New Year?
Champagne at my friend Margaret’s house where we had a total of 6 manlets running around. Yikes!

21. Where would you like to go?
Scotland, England & Hungary.

22. Name three people who will read this?
Anett, Suse & Kristi

23. Do you own slippers?
Actually, I don’t. I want to knit a pair, but just never seem to have time.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now?
Green

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
Eeww, no.

26. Can you whistle?
Not so much while I have braces!

27. Favorite colors?
Purple & green

28. Would you be a pirate?
Nope, not my style! I don’t drink & running laps on the boat would get old REALLY fast! LOL

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don’t sing in the shower. In the car, yes. Shower, no.

30. Favorite girl’s name?
I can’t say that I have one.

31. Favorite boy’s name?
Harrison, Dakota and David

32. What’s in your pocket right now?
Nothing

33. Last thing that made you laugh?
Something someone posted on Facebook.

34. Best bed sheets as a child?
They had images of dolls dressed in folk costumes from around the world.

35. Worst injury you had as a child?
Getting my foot caught in the bicycle spokes – I still have just a couple layers of scar tissue over my left inner ankle bone from it!

36. Do you love where you live?
No, absolutely not. I’d move to a place with real seasons in a heartbeat if I could.

37. Who is your loudest friend?
Scott

38. How many dogs do you have?
Three, one for each of us!

39. Does someone have a crush on you?
Ha! No.

40. What is your favorite book?
Oh, there is just no way to pick only one!

41. What is your favorite candy?
Twix, I guess.

42. Favorite sports team?
Green Bay Packers

43. What song do you want played at your funeral?
I’m On My Way by The Proclaimers, Run by Snow Patrol, Horseshoes & Handgrenades by Green Day

So I’m not tagging anyone, as it is getting late. :)

Knitting

I’m making solid progress on my manlet’s birthday present. Poor guy, he’ll get it about a month after his birthday. *sigh* But I’m pretty happy with how it’s working out – I think he’ll like it. :) I did take a break from it this weekend to knit up an adipose. I’ve been wanting one for my cube at work for some time & now I have one!! YAY!

Today’s Ravelry Search

Short list today! Click the pic to go to the Ravelry page, as always.

* The ever popular February Lady Sweater

* Oh, CUTE!!

* Such a pretty scarf!

* Pretty sweater!

My friend Manda pointed this one out to me - adorable, isn't it??

* Such a pretty little blanket!

* Stunning socks, just stunning!

* Free Pattern

Happy Monday/Tuesday, all! :)

Posted in Running | Tagged Free Patterns, Knitting, Meme, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | Comments Off

Adventures in Dyeing

Posted on January 30, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

I’ve been bad the last day or two & haven’t run… though in my defense, the weather today was just horrible! ;) I have been running shorter runs, going 3 miles at a time. I do not want to get the ankle hurting again, so I am taking it easy. :)

Adventures in Dyeing

So I finally ordered some bare worsted from Knit Picks rather than trying to dye the Wool-Ease. I played a bit with dyeing with it, but it is a wool/acrylic blend. Just the wool took the color and it was really quite nice, but it was a pale tweedy look. I wanted vivid colors to go with the black for the manlets’ sweaters. Blue/green/black for the oldest and red/white/black for the youngest – of course! LOL I wanted the colors to be long runs, though – so it was a new thing for me to play with. I’m not sure how they are going to work out, but I have hope that it will not be too busy. We shall see once I start knitting it up, anyway!

Knitting

I finished up the scarf I was working on, another gift. :) Today I’ve been knitting a super special toy for my office. I’m nearly finished with it, but not close enough for pics yet. Enough to say, I can’t wait to finish it – my fellow geeks are going to love it. :D

Tomorrow I’m going to hang out with some knitting friends & knit. I’ll be able to get back to the oldest’s sweater now that I’ve got the yarn dyed up for it. Yay!! :)

Today’s Ravelry Search

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, so how about some new patterns to make for your Valentine? None of these are mine, click the pic to go to the Ravelry pattern page!

ZOMG, I lurve this one so much!! Adorable!

* Very cute tablecloth!

* Another really cute pattern!

* Giggle - Ok, so I'm 12. :P

Nice scarf for your valentine! :)

Such a cute pattern!

Oh now this is just so adorable!! Awesome sweater for a baby girl!

* Oh, I am SO going to make one of these! Love it!

* This pattern would make a great gift for kids for Valentine's Day.

* Seriously awesome heart!!

* Ok, sorry for the overuse of cute, but CUTE!! :D

* Such pretty socks!

* Wow, these are wild!

* Free Pattern

Happy Saturday, all!

Posted in Running | Tagged Free Patterns, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search, Yarn Dyeing | 6 Comments

Desert Island Discs, My Version

Posted on January 25, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

I put in 3 miles yesterday and the ankle felt perfectly normal. YAY! I am not going to push it too hard too fast, though. I woke up at 4am this morning to get my feet on the street, but the second I heard the weather outside, I knew I was going back to bed! It was raining like mad out there, but even worse were the gusts of wind howling around the house. I looked it up later, we were having wind gusts 20-28mph around that time here! Yowza!

I popped out during my lunch hour instead. The weather had cleared up beautifully – not a cloud in the sky, just the perfect temps for a high noon run! I thought that I had a tele-meeting at 1pm, though, so kept it just another 3 miles. Upon my return, I was dismayed to find that my meeting is actually NEXT Monday, not today! I was not a happy camper, I would have done 5 had I paid attention to the date on the meeting request! Ah well – at least it felt fantastic again! :)

Desert Island Discs, My Version

Last night I took another listen to Desert Island Discs. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a radio programme on BBC Radio 4. The interviewee picks a track from the 8 records they would want to have with them on a desert island, along with 1 book (the Bible & the Complete Works of Shakespeare are already “included”) and 1 luxury item. It’s an interesting program interspersed with a more intimate interview than what you might normally hear. I’ve really enjoyed the couple that I’ve heard so far – Sir Michael Caine & David Tennant (of course!). So it got me to thinking… what would be MY selections?

The Book

The Tibetan Book of the Dead would absolutely be the book I would take with me. My father gave me a copy a year ago – which was rather funny because I had given him a copy of it in audiobook format at the same time! :) I would read this book any time and will read it over & over in my lifetime, each time learning something new & feeling inspired by something different.

The Luxury Item

Borrowing from David Tennant’s page – I too would like to have a solar powered DVD/TV system, except mine would include every episode of Doctor Who, of course!

The Tracks

Xanadu by Rush from A Farewell To Kings – the first Rush song I ever heard. I was instantly hooked by the amazing lyrics! Every time I hear this song, I’m transported back to high school, hearing it in my friend Scott’s car as we left Country Kitchen from our usual hours long conversation over coffee.

Wicked Game by Chris Isaak from Heart Shaped World – I love listening to Chris Isaak. I just love his style and his voice.

Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode from Violator – I used to sing this song to the manlets when they were babies. This CD was one that I could never hear enough!

Whole Wide World by The Proclaimers from Life With You – picking which CD from this duo was the hardest part! I love all of them and I almost went with Sunshine on Leith. But I loved this song so much already & when they did it, I was over the moon!

Henrietta by The Fratellis from Costello Music – a new favorite of mine, actually! I love to run to this song, it gets my feet moving every time it comes on the iPod!

Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven – but I’d want the box set of all of them! I have always loved Beethoven above all other classical composers.

Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre – my one choice for a spoken word CD to listen to. First, because this book utterly sucked me in from the very first scene. it’s an amazing story, with many laughs along the way – I never would have thought that such a vivid & grotesque description of a grisly murder scene would make me laugh, but this one takes the prize for it. Not to mention it’s read by my favorite guy in his native Scottish accent. This audiobook would keep my happy for quite some time. No clips to be found anywhere, but if you follow the link, you can listen to a sample via the Audible site.

21 Guns by Green Day from 21st Century Breakdown – one of my happiest memories ever will always be taking the youngest to his very first concert – to see the band that has been his favorite band since he was 10 or so. :)

There you have it! Those are my choices at this moment in time. :)

Knitting

Well I’m still on hold for the manlet’s hoodie – I couldn’t get the yarn to take the color vividly enough, so I place an order from Knit Picks for some of their bare superwash worsted. When it arrives, I’ll be dyeing that in the colors that I know he wants & I’ll be able to make progress on it! In the meantime, I’m still working on little projects to fill an advent calendar for my sister as well as the Lucius Malfoy socks. Time to get back to finishing those patterns that are perculating in the back of my brain already!

On the subject of my patterns… I must say, I am SO thrilled with the response of all the folks on Ravelry to the ‘Help for Haiti’ tag!! In just over a week, I’ve already collected $160.00 to donate to Doctors Without Borders! You all are just amazing!

Today’s Ravelry Search

As always, these are not my patterns! Please click the picture to go right to the Ravelry pattern page for more info!

A nice little vest/tee!

I love Ysolda Teague's designs so much!! Just lovely! (Plus this one is in the 'Help for Haiti' projects!)

I just love lace! This is so pretty!

* Another lovely lace scarf!

* What a cute pattern for some self-striping sock yarn!

* Such a nice little tank! I love it!

* Wow! That is one heck of a scarf! Cute!

Cool looking crochet scarves!

I really like this mesh tunic, lovely!

* Free pattern

Happy Monday, all!

Posted in Running | Tagged Desert Island, Free Patterns, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | 6 Comments

Which fictional character are YOU?

Posted on January 23, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

So I took a rest day on Thursday just to be safe. My ankle did not hurt after my 3 mile run, which is a very good thing!! Yay! I wanted to run again yesterday, but the weather here was absolutely foul, storming a good part of the day. Then in the afternoon, I was struck with a headache, which cancelled any hopes of running for the day.

Today I should have been running my 2nd half marathon. SO discouraging that I had to give it up. I’m feeling a bit depressed over it, but I’m trying to get myself focused on the upcoming half in March instead. It’s hard this morning because by now, I would have finished the race! *sniffle* However, that headache of yesterday is still with me, so perhaps it all worked out for the best?

Which fictional character are YOU?

On Facebook, an online friend had posted a status about using a picture of a fictional character that best represents you for your profile picture. It got me to thinking, pondering which one would best suit me. Unfortunately, there really isn’t a single one that I could choose to represent ME! I do have some choices, but individually, they aren’t quite right. If I could mix them up a bit together, that might work! LOL I have yet to think of a fictional female character who is hopelessly addicted to Doctor Who, though, so that particular element would be missing no matter what. he he he

Other than that missing element, these fictional characters mixed together would be fairly close… LOL The main elements missing? Running & Doctor Who!

Luna Lovegood – because she’s geeky and lost in her own little world, like me.
Lisa Simpson – because she’s also geeky, a band geek (except I played bass clarinet), a vegetarian and a liberal environmentalist!
Hermione Granger – geeky (yeah, definitely the main theme here!) book lover
Liz Lemon – another geek who has glasses like my geek glasses, I hear she forgets to eat AND she loves Star Wars
Jordan Cochran – geek grrl from the movie ‘Real Genius’ – she knits an entire sweater in one night. LOL

Knitting

So I finished my rainbow pooling scarf! w00t! I’m very pleased with how it turned out. I have a picture of it, though it isn’t a great shot… I took it real quick during a break in the rain yesterday – you can see my fence is soaked! LOL The lighting is terrible, but you can see how the colors are pooled anyway…

My friend Natalie & I are planning a dyeing session tomorrow. She learned some new dyeing techniques & is eager to give them a try. I still need to dye the yarn for the manlets’ Hacky Sack Hoodies, so we’re planning to work on it together. I’m really looking forward to it, it should be a blast!

Today’s Ravelry Search

* Homer Simpson!

* ROFL! I don't watch the show, but this is priceless!

* A knit version! ;)

* ::giggle:: Look! It's Mr. Dangly! he he he

* ZOMG!!! It's Animal! SOOO added to my faves!

* Yes, there is even a Simpson dishcloth! LOL

* Cute, Alien Bunny! he he he

* Free pattern

Happy Saturday, all!

Posted in Running | Tagged Free Patterns, Geek, Geek Grrls, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | Comments Off

Dead Computer Woes

Posted on January 20, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

So I made myself rest since my last run. I ran the 4 miles on the 7th in the cold – I’m not sure if it was all the bridge running or if I twisted my ankle or what… but it’s been almost 2 weeks of pain. I tried to keep it wrapped as much as I could bear during the time & I succeeded pretty well, I think.

I got out this morning for my first run in nearly 2 weeks. I kept it easy & short – I went 3 miles. The first few steps I felt a bit of a twinge in the ankle, but it went away pretty quickly. The rest of the run went surprisingly well, much to my happiness. I’m waiting to see how it feels through the rest of the day to decide if I’m going to continue running or go back to resting.

Either way – I’m not going to be able to run my half marathon on Saturday. I’m not too happy about that, but I know that no matter how well healed my ankle is, that would just be pushing it way too hard too soon. *sigh* Well, they have added a new half marathon in March… YAY! I’m so going for that. In March, it will be unpleasantly warm, but not unbearably so.

Dead Computer Woes

Last week, the computer rebooted by itself, as it has been wont to do of late. I probably should have paid closer attention to the fact that it was doing so, as it is a sign that not all is well. I’m pretty sure that the power supply was going. When it rebooted, it tried to boot from USB – which at the time had an iPod connected. So we tried to reboot it again after disconnecting it, but it was locked up. We finally got it shut down, then tried to start it back up – only to discover that now it shuts back down 2-3 seconds after switching on the power.

So… I replaced the power supply. No change. So next up will be replacing the motherboard, as I’m quite sure it got fried with the power supply problem. Not a big deal, we wanted to upgrade the processor anyway. Now, I could go ahead & change out the motherboard & begin the process of changing from Athlon to Pentium… but I’m going to stick to a simple upgrade for now. My plan is to keep this computer for web surfing. I’m working on getting in either a new computer or a refurbished one through my work that will work for surfing & gaming. We have 3 of us at home, but have had only 2 computers to use – so you can imagine how interesting it gets when everyone wants to check in on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and so on at the same time. LOL

Knitting

I hit a stop point on the manlet’s Hacky Sack Hoodie – I need to get the yarn dyed for the colorful striping across the chest & arms now. The downside is that I’m using a wool/acrylic blend, so I’m not too sure how well it is going to take dyeing. I plan to play around with it & see how it will turn out. I know that acrylic doesn’t take dyes like animal fibers do, so I’m kind of hoping for a cool tweedy effect when I do the dyeing. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out! The plan right now is to have long runs of blue, gray & green… or so I hope, anyway! :)

Since I’m on hold with his sweater, I decided to play around with this gorgeous & very bright yarn that I got from a friend at knit night. It’s South West Trading Company’s Bamboo yarn – it’s really fantastic yarn to knit. The colorway is a very bright rainbow – not normally my style, but I totally love it! I played around with it, doing some test knitting, trying out different stitch patterns. I finally decided to try an intentional pooling experiment – and loved the results so much that it’s what I’ve ended up doing with it. :) I’m nearly done with the scarf now, but here is the beginning of it…

Today’s Ravelry Search

Today’s search is a bit different. All of these patterns are ones that can be purchased via Ravelry. I’m highlighting some of the choices from designers that are donating proceeds of their sales to Haiti. These patterns are all tagged with “help for haiti” on Ravelry – each designer donating anywhere from 25% to 100% of their sales for January to various relief efforts to help with the devastation in Haiti. I have some serious love for my fellow designers – so please, PLEASE – go buy one of these gems today if you can! :)

50% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% goes to Disasters Emergency Committee

100% of proceeds goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% of the proceeds go to Canadian Red Cross

50% of the proceeds go to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

100% of the proceeds goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% of the proceeds goes to an unspecified relief effort.

100% of the proceeds go to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% of the proceeds go to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

100% of proceeds go to Concern's Haiti Appeal

50% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

100% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% goes to the Red Cross

100% goes to the Red Cross

100% goes to the Norwegian Red Cross

50% goes to unspecified Haiti relief

50% goes to the Red Cross

100% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

80% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

50% goes to MSF (Doctors without Borders)

I’m also donating 100% of my pattern sales for the month of January to Doctors without Borders. My patterns can be seen here altogether.

I have been so thrilled by the response on Ravelry – as of right now, I am up to $110.00 already! Thank you, thank you – everyone has been truly fantastic!

Happy Wednesday, all!

Posted in Running | Tagged Haiti Relief, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | 2 Comments

011110 Geek Synchronicity

Posted on January 11, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

So the day after my 4 mile trek in the night, my ankle started twinging a bit. I ignored it (of course). I got too busy to get out for a run that day, but fully intended to head out for a run the following day. Woke up to an ankle that was twinging even more. *sob* Yesterday, I wrapped it up & started resting it. It feels like tendonitis, dammit – and even hurts to wear regular shoes that hit the spot of pain. The pain is exactly in the spot where the superior peroneal retinaculum joins the bone, as seen in this picture. I’m not sure what this means for my upcoming half marathon. It does feel a little better today after being wrapped. Too many bridge runs, methinks. *sigh*

011110 Geek Synchronicity

So today is 01/10/10. 30 in binary AND it’s a palindrome here in the States. It’s a silly happy geek thing, really. But my silly happy geek day was made 1100100 (that’s 100 for all you non-binary types) times better when the postal carrier arrived with THIS – my geeky gift to myself!

011110 Geek Synchronicity

Knitting

I’m knitting up a hat right now for Project Cozy, but I also have a couple scarves complete for it as well. I crocheted up 2 of them over the weekend. I plan to make a scarf to go with this hat as well. The manlet is a bit disappointed that there is a delay in his sweater, but he does get that right now there are people suffering in this cold that really need hats & scarves. He’s a good person at heart, in spite of trying to act like a tough guy. ;)

Today’s Ravelry Search

So, more fun for today! ;) None of these are mine, but please do click the pics to go to the Ravelry page. It’s a shorter list than usual, but there weren’t too many patterns that came back when I searched for “binary”! LOL

* Awesome! :)

* I really love this hat!

Another style of a binary hat!

Awesome - matching mitts!

* Love (eleventy)!! It's an ass hat! Sweet!

* I've shown this pattern before, it's wonderful! :)

* Cute water bottle sling! ;)

* Free Pattern

Happy Geek Day! :D

Posted in Running | Tagged Doctor Who, Free Patterns, Geek, Knitting, Running, Today's Ravelry Search | 2 Comments

Floridians: Biggest.Whiners.Evah!

Posted on January 8, 2010 by H3Dakota

Running

So I got in a 4 mile run last night. I meant to get out while the sun was still up, but one thing led to another & it just didn’t happen. I kept it to only 4 miles because I had so many errands to run once I got back home. It was a slower 4 mile run than I had anticipated, actually. It had been a few days since I tackled a bridge run & that’s the path I took – one of my bridge run paths. I didn’t actually dress in many clothes this time, thinking I would probably be ok in spite of the 45ºF temperature. Sure enough – I had on my running capris, long sleeved running shirt, a hat and the big sweatshirt from the manlets that is long enough to be a dress. About a mile into the run, I took the sweatshirt off & tied it about my waist. I discovered that I’m not a big fan of running in the dark at night time. Kind of weird given that it’s dark at my normal running time of 5AM, but there ya have it. LOL

Floridians: Biggest.Whiners.Evah!

Holy icicles, Batman!! I can honestly say that I cannot recall another time when I’ve heard this many people whinging & complaining about it being so OMFG IT’S SO COLD OUTSIDE, I’M GOING TO DIE, DIE DIIIIEEEEE. You might think I’m joking, but I’m sadly not. Sure, I feel cold when the temp drops below 72ºF, like the rest of the folks that have lived here 12 months or longer. I don’t whine about it though! I’ve had countless posts across the internet, on Twitter, and even more complaints in person than I can ever recall having before. Now we are looking at our coldest weekend this weekend – and it will probably be the coldest one for the entire “winter” season. Come March, the complaints about the humidity and/or heat will begin. LOL

It’s not just the complaints, though. It’s amazing how useless people become when threats of a freeze come along. So much so that news agencies have countless stories about “surviving the cold”. You think I’m kidding? Check it out here and here! ROFL! Yes, we should have an emergency cold weather kit in our vehicles, including tiny cups to melt the snow and blankets in case our battery dies while we are out driving around. Great advice for up north. Great advice (to an extent) for those driving in the country. But the article is from TampaBay.com – an area pretty much covered over by concrete and strip malls. If my car dies, I can walk over to the sidewalk and go inside whatever strip mall or building that happens to be right there. And honestly – what the hell would I do with those little cups, anyway?! Use ’em in the water fountain of the Circle K?

Now… some of the information is good, I reckon. Most of it is common sense. Misinformation abounds though – my son’s teacher told him not to leave a tap running all night because it would freeze.

Knitting

Not a huge amount of progress in this area – last night I had a ton of errands to take care of, so I didn’t get to knit at all! Ah well, plenty of knitting time over the weekend. :)

Today’s Ravelry Search

Winter goodies! :) None of these are mine – each picture is linked to the Ravelry pattern page!