Unfortunately a silver car is hard to photograph. In real life,
the damage looks even worse.
October 29, 2005
I was planning on posting yesterday,
but after going out to my car in the morning, I figured any post would
just be a string of foul language.
To recap the story, I went out to my car around 12:30 to go run some errands and pick up the final components of our Halloween costumes (since I didn't get to it Thursday because my stupid sewing machine broke and I had to go buy a new one). As I'm walking up to my car (which is parked where it always is in the street in front of our place), I see one of those UPS notes stuck to it (you know, the ones that they leave if you aren't home when they try to deliver a package that needs a signature). And I thought "how would the UPS man (or woman) know to leave a note on my car if he was trying to deliver something?" Then I read the note, "A blue Saturn with license 174L did this (with arrow pointing down) at approximately 11:30am." I look down and there is an enormous dent and scratches on my driver's door. Some fucking asshole (oops, I guess I'm still pissed) in a blue Saturn hit my car, and this is not a bump that you wouldn't really notice or think you did damage, this is the kind of hit that you KNOW did damage, and just drove the fuck away!!!!!
Unfortunately a silver car is hard to photograph. In real life,
the damage looks even worse.
I'm just so upset that someone could do this and drive away. Normal, decent human beings would get out of their car and leave a note, "Sorry, I'm an asshole, here's my name and insurance information." Thankfully, I have the nicest, more wonderful insurance company (New Jersey Manufacturers). I love them so much I almost don't want to ever leave NJ and change to someone else. After speaking with the police, I talked to the insurance company and the very nice woman there assured me that they would help cover the repairs, which I took to the repair place (same place that fixed it when the tree fell on it last summer) and they estimated 3 days of work and $900, which I definitely can't afford on my own. So while there are many assholes in the world, and one who drives around the New Brunswick, NJ area in a blue Saturn with part of the license plate 174L (if you see that car, please spit on it), there are some very nice people at my insurance company and body shop. I really wish people in NJ would learn to drive and to be considerate.
In knitting news, I haven't been knitting very much the past couple of days because I've been sewing my Halloween costume (you'll see that by Monday or Tuesday). I did get to go knitting Thursday night with Marian and Cordelia, and a newbie to our group, Lelah. Lelah has a little yarn business and is trying to develop an online knitting/crochet magazine. If I can get it finished by mid-December, the pattern for Top Secret will likely be available there. Very cool!
Before the sewing madness, I was working on Kevin's gloves...
I got something awesome in the mail this morning (that I ordered), but I didn't get a picture, so you'll just have to wait!
Comments:
Thanks for all the great suggestion on making
the Mitten Snowman complete. I really want to make the carrot nose
as suggested by Katie,
Lauren, Cordelia,
Heather,
and Vicki.
But I don't have any orange yarn, so I'll have to look around for something.
A toothpick or something similar as suggested by Marian might also work.
And I'll definitely have to fashion a little tophat for him.
Linda, yes we did get Bon Jovi tickets (although they were mailed to my parent's house, so my mom is holding them hostage). Our seats are in section 202, which for the amount I paid are not great, but at least we'll be there. I can't wait! My mom said I should email Jon that it will be my birthday that night and maybe he will play me a special song. Hahahaha! My mom saw him on Oprah a couple of weeks back and is convinced he is the nicest guy. Last time I saw Bon Jovi, they played "Bed of Roses" while some guy got on stage and proposed to his girlfriend. The concert and my b-day are only 1 month away!!
Terby, thanks for the congrats on finishing the grading. I suddenly feel like I have so much more free time (until the next round come in). Rebecca G., I teach Social Psychology to college students. You'd think that they'd know how to write a paper by the time they reach college, but no, they don't.
And yes, la vie en rose, I've had PomWonderful and I like it a lot. I don't buy it too often though because it is a little pricey, but it is a great treat!
And thanks to everyone for all the great comments
on the Sheep Blanket. I still have not added more sheep, but I hope
to get back to that soon, so it can be finished finished. I wish
I had more time to personally respond to everyone!
October 26, 2005
Hi, I'm Mr. Mitten Snowman!
Notice the spots on my arm. Pomegranate juice. Fortunately
the beautiful sweater Kevin's mom made for me hides the juice that squirted
on it.
Stained hands, stained paper towels, stained cutting board.
The picture doesn't truly capture the amount of juice squirted all
over the counter.
Oh yes, the juice is on the floor and my socks.
Pomegranates everywhere!
Yummy! Aren't they the most fabulous red?
The pomegranates were mighty tasty after all the hard work (of cleaning up!!). But it reminded me of why I only eat them once or twice a year!
I am happy to report that I have finally finished grading papers. And now I get 2 weeks before the next round are turned in. Please remind me when I'm making the syllabus for next semester that 4 exams is easier than 3 papers!
A couple of you commented on my organization by putting my knitting projects in a little table. Seriously, I'm not really this organized, but if I didn't try, I would be starting 5 new projects with the Rhinebeck yarn and then I would have so much UFOs I'd be drowning in them along with papers from my class. I'm trying to set a plan of working through the projects in the table and then starting fresh with a plan following these rules:
Tomorrow... actual knitting content,
if I do some actual knitting...
October 21, 2005
To keep myself on track, I think
I'll keep posting my table of knits whenever there is a change or update:
| Once finished: | Can Start: |
| Mitten Snowman (replacing Sheep Blanket) | York |
| Top Secret | Kepler and planning of Cloak |
| Kevin's Gloves | Ribbed Hat |
| Wildfoote Knee-High Socks | Either pair of Rhinebeck Socks |
| River | Rebel Rebel Hat |
Oh, and why didn't anyone mention that I should have planned for my X-mas knits. Clearly, those are not in the above table. Well, so far I only have one idea for an X-mas knit and it is a hat, so it won't take long.
In the meantime, I have been hoarding pattern books. I loooooooove knitting pattern books even if I don't love all the patterns in the book. When I get a new book, I carry it around with me all over the house and to my office and just flip through it over and over. I've gotten three new books in the past two days.
Crafters Choice was having a buy 1 full price get the rest half price
and $2 shipping, so I ordered Scarf Style and Handknit Holidays as well
as a book not shown for my secret pal. I've already knit two things
(turtleneck shrug and ruffles) from Scarf Style and figured it would be
good to have the actual book. And I think I just love Melanie Falick
and her books, so I had to get Handknit Holidays. Last week, Kathy
brought her library's copy of Knitting Vintage Socks, and I instantly knew
I needed my own, so she got me a copy. I love pattern books.
Thanks for the compliments on the Sheepy Blanket, I'll try to post a better picture soon with a stuffed animal for scale.
October 19, 2005
Sheep!
Great suggestions for Halloween
costumes... keep 'em comin'!
October 18, 2005
Self Portrait
Tuesday: Self Documentary Series, Today's
Theme is Preoccupations
Things I am currently preoccupied with...
Grading papers. Here I am today grading M through P. The
stack under the plastic bag with the stapler, highlighter and the rest
of my grading "goodies" is the letter M, in the bag is N, O, and P waiting
to be graded.
My foot. It is feeling much, much better. Remember those
shoes I pictured on Oct. 7th. Well, those are so comfortable that
I can walk in them without extra bandages and without pain! Wearing
my sneakers or walking barefoot is still a bit achy. That bandaid
on the bottom is unnecessarily large, but it is the only thing that will
stick and not fall off.
It is hard to see, but I'm holding a clump of hair that came out after
brushing my hair this morning. I forgot that when you have long hair much
more of it falls out when you brush it.
Is that insane look in my eye because of grading too many papers or
because I love Katamari that much? Probably some of both. When
I give myself a much needed break from grading, I've been playing Katamari
and it is severely cutting into knitting time.
Tomorrow (or Thursday, whenever I can find time)... an update on my Socktober socks and I also joined Nona's Peaceful Palms Glove-along, so maybe I'll actually work on Kevin's gloves. And look for an FO by the week's end (and yes, it is from the appropriate side of tha table from last post... can you guess which it is?).
Oh, one last thing... so Kevin and
I are going to a Halloween party this year and I'll be dressing up for
Halloween for the first time is too many years. My plan is that I
want to go as a Rock Star (Pop, Metal, etc) from the 80s. My thinking
is that the costume hinges on an appropriate wig, although I would be willing
to dye (permanent or temporary) my hair if need be. The clothing
could be easily pieced together at a thrift store. Please let me
know if you have any suggestions (I'm willing to be androgenous for this,
so suggestions don't have to be just women). I need something creative
(so more than just Madonna), but something that could be easily accomplished.
Let's say if I pick your idea, you'll get a Halloweeny prize (and if I
go with my own idea, I'll put all of the ideas in a hat and pick a winner
at random). (Bonus points if you can think of a "couple"... I've
already suggested David Coverdale and Tawny Kitaen, but Kevin wasn't too
enthusiastic).
October 16, 2005
About 80 papers graded, so about
90 more to go. And I get to do this twice more this semester.
Yippee!
But I bet you'd rather hear about Rhinebeck, huh? It was great; Cordelia, Marian, Kelly and I had a great time fondling yarn, watching the dogs, and buying the yarn. I was a rather bad blogger and didn't take any pictures, but I'm sure Cordelia will be posting some soon. We did have a few blogger sitings, although we weren't compelled to say "hi." Carrie did manage to find me even though I was being totally oblivious! It was nice to chat for a few minutes. I feel bad that I didn't get to meet up with anyone else, I feel like I know, yet don't really know, so many of you that I'd love to hang out with all of you sometime to be more than internet friends. If only there were time and money, and more wool festivals.
Rhinebeck was different than Maryland. There was much more for spinners and much less livestock. My foot was bothering me somewhat, but the thrill of finding another beautiful skein in the next barn helped push me on. I didn't splurge as much as I had anticipated (I took a certain amount of money out of the bank with the intention of not spending any more than that, and I still have quite a lot left over, and that's not to say I took out a lot to begin with... well anyway). Here's the goodies (well, all but one, which is an X-mas gift).
I couldn't resist these patterns
for felted sheep and alpaca/llama toys. They are so adorable and
require hardly any yardage. The patterns are Fiber Trends.
These are patterns by PJ Franklin
and sold by Times Remembered. The sweater is the Brandywine Gansey.
I've been interested in making a Gansey for a while now, but haven't been
able to find a pattern I liked. They had a sample of this knit up
(which I almost toppled over) and it was really nice looking. The
scarf is called the Honey Comb Scarf. It was a "toss this in too"
kind of purchase.
This is a bulky weight 100% wool
yarn from Ginger Hill Farm. It is only 80 yds, but should be enough
for the Just Ribbed hat in Just Hats. I was thinking of making
this for Kevin, but his reaction to the color was "oh, it's ok."
So we'll see.
This is the same yarn, but in red
(duh!). I'm going to make the Rebel Rebel hat for me.
Sock yarn. How could I
come home without sock yarn?! This is actually much more orange.
They would make great Halloween socks. The yarn is by Dorchester
Farms.
.
This is Hand-Painted 100% Superwash
Merino from Blue Moon Fibers. This reminds me very much of Toasty
Toes yarn. I was debating between this skein and a skein with lots
of pink, but then I remembered that the Toasty Toes yarn I got at Maryland
was with pink, so I opted for the blue and yellow.
This skein is Bartlet Yarns 100%
wool. I bought this because they had a snowman made out of a mitten,
and while they had kits, I figured I could replicate it myself with a quick
trip to AC Moore or Michaels. My mom really likes snowmen, so I figured
I'd make this for her.
That's the haul! The X-mas gift that I can't show you is from Tongue River Farm. They had a lot of really nice yarns that are very similar to Lopi.
I really want to jump right in and
start playing with this yarn, especially since they all have projects ready
to go, but I really need to finish what is on the needles because I have
too much stuff started. So here's the plan:
| Once finished: | Can start: |
| Sheep Blanket (knitting, not necessarily sheep) | York |
| Top Secret | Kepler and planning of Cloak |
| Kevin's Gloves | Ribbed Hat |
| Wildfoote Socks | Rhinebeck Orange and Brown Socks or Rhinebeck Blue and Yellow Socks (yes, these needs a better name) |
| River | Rebel Rebel Hat or Mitten Snowman |
Long term projects include Squares Blanket, and Elspeth and Flirty (which are on indefinite hold).
(Oh, I also bought a sheepie mug,
but I totally forgot to take a picture. I'll try to post one tomorrow
or Tuesday).
October 16, 2005
Ah, yes 170 papers. I am completely insane. If I stop drowning in the papers, I might get to knit and maybe post something fun. On the agenda for today, sitting at the car dealership while they do things that will cost me too much money and grading papers with last names F through H.
October 11, 2005
Self-Portrait Tuesday will return
next week. My students turned in their papers on the "self" yesterday
and I have to read about 170 selves, so I wasn't in the mood for posting
about my own self. Moreover, I was very tempted to take a series
on my foot, and you don't want to see that. My foot is doing much
better, I can actually walk... well, limp. I sort of feel like that
episode of Seinfeld where his foot falls asleep and he is limping around
and the guy who he's dealing with (who really has a limp) gets all offended.
Thanks for the great compliments on Tube Toporini! Y'all always make my day. Even though I don't get a chance to reply to each of you, I love reading your comments. And I'm constantly rereading them because they make me so happy!
So we'll end today with a silly little game I found from Karma:
Type in your name and "needs" into google and see what you need!
“Kim needs to talk” Maybe,
that’s why I blog.
“Kim needs some hints” Yeah,
give me those hints!
“Kim needs some Guinea Pigs” Hmmm..
guinea pigs are fun.
“Kim needs to be replaced”
What?!
“Kim is just confused, she needs
some help, we hope she gets it” Me too!
“Kim needs independent strategic
leverage against China and Russia” Yes, I
do. Maybe that’s what the hints are about and the guinea pigs, too!
“Kim needs to be comfortable out
on the road, so they got a memory foam mattress installed and even got
some girly sheets and pillows for it.” Hahahaha!
“Kim needs to look spiffy for the
camera crew that has been shadowing her almost everywhere she goes these
days.” You bet I do!
“Kim needs to give it up her shyt
is tired! She's just not hood!” Kim sad now.
“Kim needs.” Yes,
that says it all.
I spent waaaay to much time laughing
about those.
October 10, 2005
Tube
Toporini
Inspired by Heather's,
I continued the cable through the "under the boob" ribbing. I thought
about making straps similar to hers, but in the end I just wanted to finish.
So I chained 60 and then single crocheted back, so they aren't super thin,
but they were quick straps.
Mirror shot! Please ignore my closet in the background.
I was a little nervous about how this would look, but after seeing the
picture, I'm very happy. (I can stare at myself in the mirror in
an outfit or a handknit for hours and be undecided about how it looks,
but take a picture and see it on the computer and I know instantly if it
is a "go" or "no go." Toporini is a go!)
This is blurry, but the best of about 10 pictures. Most of the
others I was only half in the picture and one oddly was a close up of my
ear!
I'm very happy with Toporini!
It is knit from Kimmet
Croft Fibers Softie (75% merino, 25% angora). I haven't blocked
it yet, but the label says it will bloom after washing. I don't think
I've ever had a knit bloom, so I'm excited to wash it and see what happens.
Although I'm wearing it today unblocked, I'll wash it tonight. I
knit this on size 6 needles in the largest size (to compensate for the
change in gauge).
October 9, 2005
Thank you for the compliments on
the shoes and sympathies for my foot. I still can't walk. I
can sort of hobble for short distances, so I'm worried about tomorrow when
I have to teach! But enough whining, I was interrogated this morning
by the W.I.P. Inspector, who we'll refer to as WIPI.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WIPI: Ms. Kim, can you please explain what this is?
ME: Uhm... that's Tube Toporini. Isn't it cute?
WIPI: Ms. Kim, I am not here to debate the cuteness of knits. I am here to investigate why, when you've had an entire weekend of knitting, that you have not made significant progress on your WIPs.
ME: Well, I started the sleeves of Top Secret.
WIPI: Yes, I know that, but you haven't even finished the body.
ME: Uh... I thought... well, you see...
WIPI: That's the problem! You didn't think. You had all day Saturday to make significant progress on Top Secret. You probably could have finished the body up to the armholes. Or, what about Sheepy Blanket. You could have finished the knitting of Sheepy Blanket yesterday, if you gave it a little love.
ME: I have a plan with Sheepy Blanket... 4 rows a day and I'll be finished before November. I mean, the completion date for the blanket isn't until January-ish.
WIPI: What about River? I saw her buried under a pile of books. A PILE OF BOOKS! And Elspeth? She's about to be officially listed on the Missing Knits list. Are you prepared to take responsiblity for her disappearance? Kevin's gloves... what about them? It will get cold soon and his fingers will freeze. Do you want those frozen fingers to be your fault?
ME: Uh.. uhm.. I..
WIPI: But to get back on track. Where did this Tube Toporini come from? You just started a new sock the other day, how could you start something else new?
ME: Ok, you see, I saw the top on several other people's sites and I saw that it required less than 400 yds of worsted weight yarn. And I had this skein from Maryland that I hadn't knit up yet, and I figured I can't go to Rhinebeck with unknit yarn from Maryland, right? And I had 400 yds of it, and it would work. And..
WIPI: And you spend the entire day Saturday knitting on it. Are you at least going to finish it today? Or are you going to toss it aside unfinished to start something new?
ME: No! I promise, I will finish it today. And then I'll turn my attention back to Top Secret. I promise!!
WIPI: Well, just be warned. If you don't deal with some of these other WIPs soon, I'll have to send the UFO Inspector over here. And believe me, you DO NOT want to mess around with her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, that was close. WIPI almost confiscated all my needles that weren't in use so that I wouldn't start anything new.
And finally, just because this makes me laugh when I look at it:
You see, this doctor is 40 minutes away. Maybe that's normal for some of you, but here in Jersey most things should be 5-10 minutes away (excluding traffic of course), and even more so, it should be close because there is a hospital and medical school right over the bridge in New Brunswick. My other doctors are over there. My dentist and eye doctor are within walking distance. But when you get a referral, you don't get much choice, so I have to drive almost to Princeton to see this dermatologist. When I went to my appointment two weeks ago, I noticed there was a Target 2 minutes up the road from the doctor's office. So I left early and went to Target before my appointment. I tried on some cute shoes, but none fit well. So I left with 2 cute Halloween t-shirts. Then I noticed there was a Famous Footwear in the same shopping center and I still had some time. I tried on many shoes, but no luck and many others weren't even in my size. But finally, I found these:
Cute, huh? I like them and
they fit well. But you want to know a secret?
Rollover this image to learn the secret:
Did you rollover?
Did you discover the secret?
I'll wait while you rollover again...
Lalalalalala...
You got it now?
Oh yeah...
I can wear GIRL'S shoes. And guess what? These aren't even the biggest girl's size. These are size 3. What is worse is that the size 2 1/2 fit even better than the 3, but I went with the 3 so that I could wear socks with them if I want. My feets are so tiny! Unfortunately, I probably won't get to wear these for a week or two until my foot is more healed from the mole removal.
Since I'm under orders to sit and
not walk, I'll be knitting, knitting, knitting. Look for pictures
over the weekend!
October 6, 2005
Just Hats and a Sock.
As much as I'm loving Top Secret, and to a lesser extent Sheepy Blanket, and an even lesser extent River, and an even lesser extent Kevin's Gloves, and whatever other UFOs are on the needles, I'm feeling in the mood for socks and hats. Maybe I just want small, portable and fast projects, but I'm really drawn to hats right now and socks are always awesome (oh my, Kathy had a sock tonight at knitting that she was making from Trekking... I need Trekking yarn!!!). I joined Lolly's Socktoberfest.
There are some really cute hats in Just Hats. I guess my hat and sock yearning is good for the trip to Rhinebeck. Sock and hat yarn won't (well... shouldn't) break the bank.
Since it is late and my brain is shutting down, I'll just leave you with this email I received a couple of days ago:
Greetings, Kimberly!Kimberly... I think the RSS feed for my blog is http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~kfairchi/feed.rss. I hope that works!I was just surfing the internet looking for Rutgers sweaters, and I
chanced upon your lovely Rutgers sweater creation under March 26, 2005
at http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~kfairchi/march2005.htmlIt's a real nice item. If you ever decide to ditch it, please consider
donating it to the Rutgers-Camden Rutgers memorabilia archive. I create
displays here for alumni and recruitment events and for display in our
library. One of a kind items like your sweater always have a place here!I just received a lovely 1960's letter cardigan today, which is why I
was looking for Rutgers sweaters on the Internet. I was hoping to bump
into an image of one of our alumni wearing a sweater like the one I
received to include in the writeup tag for the sweater.do stay well,
J.M.
Oh, secret pal, I love you!! You are so awesome!!
Clockwise from top left: Some funky, cool monkey bookmarks. Pretty,
pretty beads. Wildfoote yarn (which I have been dying to try, but
have had a hard time finding in person). Some Burt's Bees lotions
(again, which I have been wanting to try, and conveniently I just ran out
of lotion this morning!). Simple Knits with a Twist!! Wow,
I looked at this book months ago and wanted it badly, but somehow resisted,
and now it is mine! All mine!!!
Thank you, thank you, secret pal!!
You are the best!!!!!!!!
(Shhh...I think I'll take the book
with me to class and while the students are watching a loooong video, I'll
be picking out new projects! Shhhh!)
I picked up Mariah from Grandma's Tailoring yesterday. For $8, they installed the zipper flawlessly. I'm so happy!
Zipped down!
It even opens at the bottom!!!!
Beautiful stitching (although too blurry to see).
I am so happy with this that I can't
wait to start either Kepler
or York
(from Noro Knits). Because I don't have to do the zipper myself!!
But I've made a rule that I can't start either of those until I finish
either the Sheepy Blanket, River, or Top Secret.
October 4, 2005
Self Portrait
Tuesday: Self Documentary Series
The topic of my documentary for this week is... What I'd rather be doing right now.
Mmmmmm sleepy time! It is damn hard to take pictures of yourself
pretending to sleep. And yes in picture 2 that's my knitting bag.
I'm dreaming of knitting! Of course, ideally Kevin would be cuddling
with me, but these are self-portraits.
Knitting content. *crickets chirping*
Knitting has been slow recently. Partly because I can't work as much as I want on the only project I feel like working on, so when I do have a little knitting time (which is greatly reduced, damn work!), I'm not very motivated.
But here is a secret picture for
you to enjoy.
Rollover for more lovely secrets.
To y'all going to Rhinebeck, I can't
wait to see ya! Please don't hestitate to run up to me and say hi
because I have a tendency to hide and debate what to say to someone and
then they are gone. Stupid pathological shyness. (Ok, yeah
that makes no sense with the fact that I can stand on a stage in front
of 500 students making a fool of myself, but that's different.)