This and That

So I've been home with laryngitis and related maladies which means I have not been out taking pictures or doing anything of interest.

I have gotten some knitting done...I also watched the entire third season of The Tudors (what a nasty lot they were!)...and I started a new book, The Maze of Cadiz which is quite good (look at that - it's a series - who knew?).

For entertainment I will link up a few things of interest that I have found and saved up for weeks such as this one.

• Unconventional knitting in a slide show, from The Guardian
• The top 40 nature photographs - a set on Flicker (found because a Minnesotan shot four of the forty)
• Check out this piece on reasons we love Mr Rogers.
• And this very cool video which you've probably already seen, but what the heck:

Fly Trap and Some Knitting

I believe I mentioned that I got a Venus Fly Trap last week at the annual plant sale on campus. I love the "Little Pot of Horrors" idea:
Can't wait to see the fruit flies get caught in the jaws of the plant this summer:

I've been knitting, too. I tried to get the colors right but I'm not so motivated today. This is a baby hat that I started yesterday:
And a cardigan that I started last week:
I'm doing some stealth knitting too, but I want to wait 'till it's further along before showing it for better effect.

So much yarn, so little time.

Bulls

Still playing with the camera.

I think I've overcome my overexposure problem. These are all untouched:

I like the effect of this one - the buds on this tree are pretty bright pink but the blossoms are white (it also smells fantastic):
And the color of these is spot on:
Forgot to snap shots of knitting and the Venus Flytrap...will try to get to those this weekend.

First Amendment Wins

Woot!

U.S. vs Stevens has been decided in favor of the First Amendment.

Photographic Practice

So I've been playing with my camera, now that I had a crash course from Franklin on how to use it better. It's such a fun time of year to take photos anyway, what with all the color and the light:

The kids on the block are out en masse. This was on the steps of the house where two girls live, which is next door to the house where four boys live:
Campus is beautiful too.


Speaking of campus, I bought a Venus Fly Trap today. I'll try taking pics of that and my knitting to post next.

Yarnover 2010

Yarnover was extra-amazing this year.

Cat Bordhi was the keynote speaker. Didn't get a decent photo but loved listening to her talk.

Then I had class with Jared Flood. He is a boy wonder, imho. (He reminds me of Boy-child in a young-man-hipster sort of way):
And you probably already knew that I'm in love with Franklin Habit.
I got off to a slow start, but started none the less with improving my photography skills.
The reflection on the desk in this on was, I thought, particularly nice. It was an accident though; I have no idea how I got that effect.
Other shots were taken to compare and contrast. Check out the difference between two shots of my Wisterious Monkey:

As Franklin told us, it's just like knitting - as long as you got what you wanted out of it you did it right.
I got Franklin's book for myself and had him sign it.
And I made some very unlikely yarn purchases.
Explanation to follow (eventually).

Goodbye

It doesn’t seem right that someone can die in springtime. All the tulips are in bloom, the fruit trees are blossoming and the grass is greener every day. And yet that is what has happened. My great friend and Knitting Partner in Crime, Sue Fisher, passed away this past week.

I worked with Sue for many years at The Evil Airline that No Longer Exists. We weren’t close but frequently chummed it up on breaks. Then she started bringing in things she’d knit and crocheted to sell at craft fairs. I used to drool over the stuff. A lot. I purchased a few things. I told her I’d learned how to knit and crochet from an aunt when I was a teenager. She encouraged me to pick it up again. A lot. When I retired she gave me the book Hip to Knit as a retirement/going away gift. I looked it over. I liked what I saw. I thought, “She’s right, I can do that” and I signed up for a class.

The rest, as we say, is history.


Sue retired not long after I did. We started going on knitterly
outings together. We went to Knitters’ Guild meetings. We got seats on the bus for the Shop Hop. We went to Yarnover, World Wide Knit in Public Day, and we cruised the Mississippi together. We e-mailed each other constantly, chatting not only about knitting but about politics and books and libraries.

She had breast cancer about ten years ago. She fought it valiantly. She’d been sick for a while and last December found out that the cancer had metastasized. And now she’s gone. I miss her. A lot. She had a huge influence on my life and as I’ve encouraged Girl-child and others to knit, she’s changed lives of people she never met too.

Funny how that works.
It’s a wonderful life.

Thanks, Sue.

Expressionist

Your result for The Personality Profile Art Test...

Thinker and a Doer

87% Abstract, 87% Impressionist, 93% Renaissance, 87% Japanese, 87% Islamic, 83% Agreeable, 3% Challenging and 100% Expressionist!

Your test indicates that you have a preference for expressionist art. Expressionist art lovers are usually people that easily show their emotions. They tend not to hide their feelings regardless of what those feelings are. They tend to be quite expressive and have a deep love of art, music, and creativity. The do not believe that there is only one viewpoint to things, but many. They love individualism and embrace change as it can show them something new that they may have not yet experienced.

People that love expressionist art tend to be trend setters. They love to think outside the box.

You also scored higher on agreeableness than on challenging.

People with high agreeableness scores engage positively with other people. They are keen to understand people's feelings and feel real warmth for others. As they are so empathic, they like to make sure other people are happy and will do what they can to put people at their ease.

Take The Personality Profile Art Test at HelloQuizzy

Urban Beautification

Quite a few people working on the fence now. We were even featured on a U radio show.

A Cardigan, A Shawl, and Springtime

Did I mention I'm almost done with the Circumnavigated Cardigan? When we last visited it, the button band was the only thing left. Then we broke our wrist.
Ok, so I'm not actually finished - I just have to bind off, weave in ends and sew on the fabulous buttons that I found today.

I also finished that shawl I made as my what-to-make-with-a-broken-wrist project. I've dubbed it the "Scaphoid Seaweed Stole."

It's enormous. I have no idea how to wear it.
It's really pretty, though.

It blocked out nicely although one end looks completely different from the other. So what, I say, I made this thing with a broken wrist!

Also, spring has sprung here. I guess the shovels can be put away.

Tomes and Talismans

Holy Cow! I don't even know what to say this is so delightfully tacky!

There's an article in The New Yorker about it here.

Wined and Dined

I've been wined and dined a lot over the past week or so.
I guess it's because I'm old.
The Oaxaca Brats were delicious.
And this is the latest addition to the salt and pepper set.
I'm reading Little Bee and it's great.

Girl-child introduced me to Corinne Bailey Rae which I'm enjoying very much.

Boy-child bought me Cool Hand Luke.

Life is good.

Peeps Dioramas

Happy Easter folks!

For funsies take a look at the award winning Peeps Dioramas in the Washington Post.