In honor of the fact that I get to see Star Trek on Friday, this Monday's Hilarity will be something I may have actually linked to before on this blog, but which is worth viewing again because it is just that hilarious (to me, anyway). Since, like any good nerd, I love Monty Python as well as Star Trek, I find this charming as well as hysterical.
And yes, sadly, it is already Monday here. Suck.
Anyway, here you go:
Just reminds you how completely ridiculous the original series was, doesn't it? Yet so delightful.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Yarn and Piles of Stuff
Yarn! Delicious, silky soft wool!
This will shortly become the October Baby Blanket, for Brenda's firstborn, due in (come on now, you can guess this one). She hits five months very soon, and in two weeks she's going to find out the baby's gender, as long as the bouncing fetus cooperates for the camera. Either way, this color will go nicely with even the most gender-specific colors and clothes. And since the winters here in Yats are cold and the heating/insulation non-existent, baby will be happy with a wool blanket. I haven't discussed yet how much of a pain in the ass this is going to be to wash with Brenda yet, though. I'm saving that until it's way too late.
So as soon as I got the yarn I had to try it out. The pattern calls for size 9s, and the only ones I have are the standard scarf-knitting length, which will clearly not work for a blanket. I cast on some anyway, because if I had to go buy new needles I wanted to be sure that 9 is really the size I want. I was a bit nervous that this yarn was a little too thin for that size, but actually I rather like the way it looks. And it seems to be a quick knit, which will certainly save my skin in the next two months.
Speaking of how much time I have left, I bought my ticket home! SQUEAL! I leave Japan for good on July 29th, stop over in Seattle long enough to make my sister and her husband drive all the way out to the airport to have coffee with me, before moving on to Orlando by way of Detroit, for some reason. Though I leave Tokyo at four in the afternoon on the 29th, I arrive in Seattle at 9:15 am on the 29th, so I gain a whole day - which I then immediately waste almost entirely by flying to Detroit, sitting there for over an hour, and then landing in Orlando at midnight of the same day. So in a way, it's like it only takes seven and a half hours to get to Orlando - by the calendar. In reality, it takes me twenty-three hours, and will seem interminable.
Anyway, I'm going home. Awesome. And once I get there - well, things are going up and down, and I am alternately seriously depressed/worried about finances and starting over, and incredibly elated/thrilled about everything else.
Someone was telling me (I forget who now, so if it was you, bear with me) that this isn't starting over, it's just moving on. This person should definitely be made to be in charge of the packing, throwing stuff away, and then re-buying, re-locating, and re-acquainting me with America, as well as making all my new friends for me. You should see the giant pile of STUFF I've made in the corner that will need to be dealt with. Hang on, actually -
And that, my friends, is not even all of what I have to deal with before July. Bleah.
Well, anyway. The Prepster Librarian is coming along swimmingly, even if I am heartily sick of 1x1 ribbing. I've tried it on and realized I will need to make the 1x1 ribbing longer than I originally thought to make it fit the way I want, but that's okay. It is pretty and it will be nice and warm when it's finished.
In other news, Star Trek is coming to Yatsushiro! Yea! And that's what I'm doing next weekend.
This will shortly become the October Baby Blanket, for Brenda's firstborn, due in (come on now, you can guess this one). She hits five months very soon, and in two weeks she's going to find out the baby's gender, as long as the bouncing fetus cooperates for the camera. Either way, this color will go nicely with even the most gender-specific colors and clothes. And since the winters here in Yats are cold and the heating/insulation non-existent, baby will be happy with a wool blanket. I haven't discussed yet how much of a pain in the ass this is going to be to wash with Brenda yet, though. I'm saving that until it's way too late.
So as soon as I got the yarn I had to try it out. The pattern calls for size 9s, and the only ones I have are the standard scarf-knitting length, which will clearly not work for a blanket. I cast on some anyway, because if I had to go buy new needles I wanted to be sure that 9 is really the size I want. I was a bit nervous that this yarn was a little too thin for that size, but actually I rather like the way it looks. And it seems to be a quick knit, which will certainly save my skin in the next two months.Speaking of how much time I have left, I bought my ticket home! SQUEAL! I leave Japan for good on July 29th, stop over in Seattle long enough to make my sister and her husband drive all the way out to the airport to have coffee with me, before moving on to Orlando by way of Detroit, for some reason. Though I leave Tokyo at four in the afternoon on the 29th, I arrive in Seattle at 9:15 am on the 29th, so I gain a whole day - which I then immediately waste almost entirely by flying to Detroit, sitting there for over an hour, and then landing in Orlando at midnight of the same day. So in a way, it's like it only takes seven and a half hours to get to Orlando - by the calendar. In reality, it takes me twenty-three hours, and will seem interminable.
Anyway, I'm going home. Awesome. And once I get there - well, things are going up and down, and I am alternately seriously depressed/worried about finances and starting over, and incredibly elated/thrilled about everything else.
Someone was telling me (I forget who now, so if it was you, bear with me) that this isn't starting over, it's just moving on. This person should definitely be made to be in charge of the packing, throwing stuff away, and then re-buying, re-locating, and re-acquainting me with America, as well as making all my new friends for me. You should see the giant pile of STUFF I've made in the corner that will need to be dealt with. Hang on, actually -
And that, my friends, is not even all of what I have to deal with before July. Bleah.Well, anyway. The Prepster Librarian is coming along swimmingly, even if I am heartily sick of 1x1 ribbing. I've tried it on and realized I will need to make the 1x1 ribbing longer than I originally thought to make it fit the way I want, but that's okay. It is pretty and it will be nice and warm when it's finished.
In other news, Star Trek is coming to Yatsushiro! Yea! And that's what I'm doing next weekend.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Hilarity Monday
We're trying a new feature here at Geek My Stitch Up, which I am calling Hilarity Monday. Let's face it, Monday sucks. You're going along, living your life, camped out on the couch or hanging with the pooches or taking your kid for a stroll or whatever it is you like to do, and WHAMMO! Monday comes around and screws everything up by making you work.
Well, with any luck your soul-sucking job allows you internet access. If that be the case, you can at least come here on Monday mornings and get a chuckle in before you commence the mind-numbing tedium.
Without further ado, I give you: Black and White People Furniture.
Also, please go check out Puff The Magic Rabbit's blog about the Boston AIDS Walk and donate if you can.
Well, with any luck your soul-sucking job allows you internet access. If that be the case, you can at least come here on Monday mornings and get a chuckle in before you commence the mind-numbing tedium.
Without further ado, I give you: Black and White People Furniture.
Also, please go check out Puff The Magic Rabbit's blog about the Boston AIDS Walk and donate if you can.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
More Finished Things!
Hey, maybe by the time this wee one grows up, she really will be able to walk on the moon. Here's hoping!
Name: Moon Booties, for Mary Kathleen, the daughter of Sheila, my infinitely patient friend.
Pattern: Christine's Stay-on Baby Booties, by Christine Bourquin.
Yarn: Hamanaka Wanpaku Denis in color 2, a creamy yellow off-white.
Needles: Japan size 1 metal DPNs. It was a tough fit - the yarn was a bit too thick for those needles.
Finished Measurements: Yeah, I forgot to do that for these too. I suck.
Pattern Mods: None.
Knitting in Public/Movies Watched: I do not remember. I finished these bad boys two months ago and only didn't do this then because I assumed I wasn't finished.
Number of Times Frogged: A few, I think. It took me a while to get the joining into the round going on this one because everything was so tight.
Things I Would Change Next Time: Nothing with the pattern. A better yarn/needle fit would be nice so I'm not hurting myself. Also, now I know not to bother with a i-cord and go straight for a ribbon, since i-cords and twist cords were both way too thick for the tiny little holes I made. But they were truly adorable, and I only hope they still fit.
I finally mailed those packages today, after struggling for some time yesterday to find the appropriate box from my collection. I keep wondering what the post office thinks I'm doing here - I receive and send packages pretty regularly, and customs has taken to opening all of my packages as they come in, and there was that incident with the sudafed last year... Oh well, anyway, I sent off the blanket and booties and my godson's birthday gift in one box, and my dad's extremely belated birthday gift in another. Now I have to get my act together to start the baby blanket for my friend here (I leave in just over two months, and given my record for the last two baby blankets I've done, I clearly do not have enough time), and I guess I should figure out my sister's birthday gift, since again, my record shows that I've got barely enough time to do so in a suitable time-frame.
Right now I'm trying to force myself to do things on my to-do list and delay starting the next Star Trek movie I have from the store. I watched number V last night (God, that one's terrible) and number VI today (possibly my favorite - I just love this one, and Christopher Plummer as a SHakespeare-quoting Klingon? Genius! "Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war." Guh.), and I'm itching to start Generations, but then I'll only have two movies to watch the rest of the week, and what will I DO with myself?
Name: Moon Booties, for Mary Kathleen, the daughter of Sheila, my infinitely patient friend.Pattern: Christine's Stay-on Baby Booties, by Christine Bourquin.
Yarn: Hamanaka Wanpaku Denis in color 2, a creamy yellow off-white.
Needles: Japan size 1 metal DPNs. It was a tough fit - the yarn was a bit too thick for those needles.
Finished Measurements: Yeah, I forgot to do that for these too. I suck.
Pattern Mods: None.
Knitting in Public/Movies Watched: I do not remember. I finished these bad boys two months ago and only didn't do this then because I assumed I wasn't finished.
Number of Times Frogged: A few, I think. It took me a while to get the joining into the round going on this one because everything was so tight.
Things I Would Change Next Time: Nothing with the pattern. A better yarn/needle fit would be nice so I'm not hurting myself. Also, now I know not to bother with a i-cord and go straight for a ribbon, since i-cords and twist cords were both way too thick for the tiny little holes I made. But they were truly adorable, and I only hope they still fit.
I finally mailed those packages today, after struggling for some time yesterday to find the appropriate box from my collection. I keep wondering what the post office thinks I'm doing here - I receive and send packages pretty regularly, and customs has taken to opening all of my packages as they come in, and there was that incident with the sudafed last year... Oh well, anyway, I sent off the blanket and booties and my godson's birthday gift in one box, and my dad's extremely belated birthday gift in another. Now I have to get my act together to start the baby blanket for my friend here (I leave in just over two months, and given my record for the last two baby blankets I've done, I clearly do not have enough time), and I guess I should figure out my sister's birthday gift, since again, my record shows that I've got barely enough time to do so in a suitable time-frame.
Right now I'm trying to force myself to do things on my to-do list and delay starting the next Star Trek movie I have from the store. I watched number V last night (God, that one's terrible) and number VI today (possibly my favorite - I just love this one, and Christopher Plummer as a SHakespeare-quoting Klingon? Genius! "Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war." Guh.), and I'm itching to start Generations, but then I'll only have two movies to watch the rest of the week, and what will I DO with myself?
Friday, May 15, 2009
It's the Ides of May, so Tracy must be blogging.
Hey, kids! Whoa, I have been gone a while. I am terribly sorry, honestly.
It's just that, for some reason, my job has suddenly required me to work. Like, the whole time. And when I'm at home, I have been way, waaaaaaayy too lazy to do anything, you know, productive.
So here's a brief report and I will attempt to do better from here on out, but I can promise nothing, since I expect the next two months before I leave Yatsushiro to continue being super busy. After those two months, of course, there's the whole "going home" bit, followed by the "moving" bit, succeeded by the "high school reunion," "starting school," and "working" bits (that last one is more of a hopefully), and so who knows?
But for now, a few loose ends.
The Leaf Blanket. It is done. It has been done for over a week. It is still in my apartment. It moved from the blocking futon to the coffee table pile of stuff to ship, to a box, to the spot next to the door where I put things I need to take out of the house - so there's been some progress - but still, it's in Japan and Mary Kathleen, the very Catholic-ly named baby girl for whom it is intended, turns three months old today. Not in Japan.
Details, anyway.
Name: Leaf Blanket, for the daughter of my good friend Sheila, whose other child is my godson (and shamefully neglected as such).
Pattern: Lace Paneled Baby Blanket, by Sarah Bradberry.
Yarn: Hamanaka Wanpaku Denis in color #2, an off-white leaning towards yellow.
Needles: A Japan size 7 round needle. Maybe 40 cm? Not sure. For the edging, Japan size 7 straight needles.
Finished Measurements: Um. What an excellent question.
Pattern Mods: None for the body - it was a really nice pattern, actually. My first few major failures in counting took place before the revelation of regularly placed stitch-markers. I cannot recommend those strongly enough. As for the edging, the pattern suggests a couple, and it became clear that the yardage for those was not included in the pattern yardage. I used one sent to me by my mom - something she scanned, so I don't know where it's from. But it was quite easy, and aside from the fact that it took FOREVER, is very pleasing.
Knitting in Public/Movies Watched: Please. I worked on this thing for months. Most notably, though, I took it with me to the top of the 777 steps a couple of times, and while at first I could not watch tv while doing the pattern, I got comfortable and enough and only knit on the edging at all while I was watching something. Mostly, it's been episodes of CSI season 6, the first half of Heroes season 1, and the first season of Battlestar Galactica (and no, I'm not done yet, I've been sidetracked by Star Trek and will return soon).
Number of Times Frogged: Body, three times. Edging, once, when I changed to another pattern completely.
Things I Would Change Next Time: I think it's a beautiful blanket, in need of no changes as is except a better understanding of how to attach the edging, especially at the corners. I would certainly give myself a lot more time, though. This thing took me three and a half months from yarn purchase to shipping (assuming I do ship it today as fully intended).
Yar. That's that. The Moon Booties that go with it are also finished, now that I finally bought ribbon, and will go out with the same package, but I don't have a finished picture of those so it'll have to wait. I swear, I will update again next week.
Surely that's enough for one entry? Anything else I have to report is just about how I'm trying to get ready to go home - freaking out about packing and shipping and plane tickets and money and resumes and laptops and getting rid of furniture and having to buy new furniture and all that mess. Nasty. Oh, and Star Trek comes out here on the 29th, and it had just damn well better come to Yats. Else we will have a problem on our hands.
I've been re-watching the movies in preparation, and will get to watch my old favorite, The Voyage Home, tonight. Score!
Friday night at my house sure is kickin', ain't it?
It's just that, for some reason, my job has suddenly required me to work. Like, the whole time. And when I'm at home, I have been way, waaaaaaayy too lazy to do anything, you know, productive.
So here's a brief report and I will attempt to do better from here on out, but I can promise nothing, since I expect the next two months before I leave Yatsushiro to continue being super busy. After those two months, of course, there's the whole "going home" bit, followed by the "moving" bit, succeeded by the "high school reunion," "starting school," and "working" bits (that last one is more of a hopefully), and so who knows?
But for now, a few loose ends.
The Leaf Blanket. It is done. It has been done for over a week. It is still in my apartment. It moved from the blocking futon to the coffee table pile of stuff to ship, to a box, to the spot next to the door where I put things I need to take out of the house - so there's been some progress - but still, it's in Japan and Mary Kathleen, the very Catholic-ly named baby girl for whom it is intended, turns three months old today. Not in Japan.Details, anyway.
Name: Leaf Blanket, for the daughter of my good friend Sheila, whose other child is my godson (and shamefully neglected as such).
Pattern: Lace Paneled Baby Blanket, by Sarah Bradberry.
Yarn: Hamanaka Wanpaku Denis in color #2, an off-white leaning towards yellow.
Needles: A Japan size 7 round needle. Maybe 40 cm? Not sure. For the edging, Japan size 7 straight needles.
Finished Measurements: Um. What an excellent question.Pattern Mods: None for the body - it was a really nice pattern, actually. My first few major failures in counting took place before the revelation of regularly placed stitch-markers. I cannot recommend those strongly enough. As for the edging, the pattern suggests a couple, and it became clear that the yardage for those was not included in the pattern yardage. I used one sent to me by my mom - something she scanned, so I don't know where it's from. But it was quite easy, and aside from the fact that it took FOREVER, is very pleasing.
Knitting in Public/Movies Watched: Please. I worked on this thing for months. Most notably, though, I took it with me to the top of the 777 steps a couple of times, and while at first I could not watch tv while doing the pattern, I got comfortable and enough and only knit on the edging at all while I was watching something. Mostly, it's been episodes of CSI season 6, the first half of Heroes season 1, and the first season of Battlestar Galactica (and no, I'm not done yet, I've been sidetracked by Star Trek and will return soon).Number of Times Frogged: Body, three times. Edging, once, when I changed to another pattern completely.
Things I Would Change Next Time: I think it's a beautiful blanket, in need of no changes as is except a better understanding of how to attach the edging, especially at the corners. I would certainly give myself a lot more time, though. This thing took me three and a half months from yarn purchase to shipping (assuming I do ship it today as fully intended).
Yar. That's that. The Moon Booties that go with it are also finished, now that I finally bought ribbon, and will go out with the same package, but I don't have a finished picture of those so it'll have to wait. I swear, I will update again next week.
Surely that's enough for one entry? Anything else I have to report is just about how I'm trying to get ready to go home - freaking out about packing and shipping and plane tickets and money and resumes and laptops and getting rid of furniture and having to buy new furniture and all that mess. Nasty. Oh, and Star Trek comes out here on the 29th, and it had just damn well better come to Yats. Else we will have a problem on our hands.
I've been re-watching the movies in preparation, and will get to watch my old favorite, The Voyage Home, tonight. Score!
Friday night at my house sure is kickin', ain't it?
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