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Friday morning is a dim fog (and was midday Saturday)
Nope. Can't remember. Hmm, Christine did go see the doctor, and while she was out i had been crocheting...
I know we had hoped to run errands early and then collect Mr E at the appointed time of 12:30, but instead we collected him first after making "I Need a Forever Home" poster to leave at the vet.
After collecting Mr E, had a bite to eat and a bit of time at the computer and then went out to run errands. The hardware store stop included a variety of things for the dye project and lights and a fan for the cat isolation ward. Also a florescent "shop light" that i hope i can use to read by in the bath, and thus not run the inseparable light+fan combination during my soaks with books. In the paint section there was a set of three nested plastic buckets with measurement gradations and tight fitting lids. I also found shot glasses that had teaspoon and tablespoon gradations that have been useful.
I went into Michael's and ended up with two crochet books: more squares (which is why i went in) and an edging book. While there are loads of motifs on the web, i like charts -- and there aren't that many charts. I also made a impulse purchase of a miniature bird bath for Christine who worries where our birds drink. I'm not sure it's going to be a real help, but such is the nature of impulse purchases. With regards to the "200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans" i'm happy to find it's known for having errors (as the block i tried kept warping up, but there are no corrections for that block) but no one has complained than many of the two hundred blocks are simply color variations. (Oh wait, someone does - and she obviously needs stitch counts if she thinks there are 138 blocks when the first 100 are unique named blocks ant the second 100 have four color variations each.)I try to keep in mind that some people probably don't have the color sense i take for granted and would appreciate being shown four color variations. If the four variations were changing the different places where color changed, i'd find that a little more intriguing.) So, it's more like 125 named blocks, although, even then, if you didn't change colors in the yarn, it would be even fewer unique stitching patterns. Yet, there are some good lacy variations which are very different from what i have in books now, and if i *were* to want to go into the afghan business, there is one particular pattern for afghans called "Eastern Promise" that uses blocks that have a right-angle pattern to make illusions of bigger squares. It's wonderfully complex and reminds me that quilters have been working with wonderful tiling patterns for a long time: design inspiration could come from there. Despite my whining, i think i'm going to find it an excellent inspiration for stitching: both in solid grounds and some lacy motifs. And the color variations are good visual inspirations. It's really not deserving of this much grumpage.
Finally, i was at the grocery store to get fixings for yogurt pies (no crusts, though) and Christine's antibiotic for her bite.
Home, to mix up the dyes in the evening light. This is the OSHA focus time in this project as the powders are reputed to be lung irritants and to build up chemical sensitivities. So, a simple respirator (purchase), goggles (because i had them), etc made me look like a mad scientist and sound like Darth Vader.
I don't recall Friday evening, particularly, either. Overnight, Christine had cat sitting duty as Mr E was yowling in solitary. I spent the morning with him, reading the Palin Vanity Fair article and catching up on LJ. At 9 am i joined friends for drip coffee at Palo Alto's branch of Philz Coffee ("We wouldn’t even call this a cup of coffee; rather 'A Cup of Love.'") wherein i actually had coffee, the Turkish mix that was first on the menu, and an almond croissant. As everyone left at 10 for parade watching, i left to return home to lavender and emerald dyes. A plan was taking shape in mind for a tank top.
Dyed (post to come behind much cut), lunch and crochet, made and sampled yogurt pies, more dye, dinner, the annual watching of Jaws, rinsing out the blue dye, and to bed. We let Mr E out late afternoon and once he was placed on the couch next to Christine, he didn't move. The other cats are in a bit of a snit.
Apparently Christine again had a wee hours of the morning comforting session with yowly Mr E (who was back in solitary overnight). I woke for six am feeding and let Mr E have his food in an open bathroom. All the cats seem to need two yard radius "personal space" zones.
Since Christine is a much more strict vegetarian than i, we had a long chat about using the gelatin in the house with the yogurt pies. I made one per recipe with two packets of gelatin, and the other i tried to make with tapioca. I think it will need experimentation.
Nope. Can't remember. Hmm, Christine did go see the doctor, and while she was out i had been crocheting...
I know we had hoped to run errands early and then collect Mr E at the appointed time of 12:30, but instead we collected him first after making "I Need a Forever Home" poster to leave at the vet.
After collecting Mr E, had a bite to eat and a bit of time at the computer and then went out to run errands. The hardware store stop included a variety of things for the dye project and lights and a fan for the cat isolation ward. Also a florescent "shop light" that i hope i can use to read by in the bath, and thus not run the inseparable light+fan combination during my soaks with books. In the paint section there was a set of three nested plastic buckets with measurement gradations and tight fitting lids. I also found shot glasses that had teaspoon and tablespoon gradations that have been useful.
I went into Michael's and ended up with two crochet books: more squares (which is why i went in) and an edging book. While there are loads of motifs on the web, i like charts -- and there aren't that many charts. I also made a impulse purchase of a miniature bird bath for Christine who worries where our birds drink. I'm not sure it's going to be a real help, but such is the nature of impulse purchases. With regards to the "200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans" i'm happy to find it's known for having errors (as the block i tried kept warping up, but there are no corrections for that block) but no one has complained than many of the two hundred blocks are simply color variations. (Oh wait, someone does - and she obviously needs stitch counts if she thinks there are 138 blocks when the first 100 are unique named blocks ant the second 100 have four color variations each.)I try to keep in mind that some people probably don't have the color sense i take for granted and would appreciate being shown four color variations. If the four variations were changing the different places where color changed, i'd find that a little more intriguing.) So, it's more like 125 named blocks, although, even then, if you didn't change colors in the yarn, it would be even fewer unique stitching patterns. Yet, there are some good lacy variations which are very different from what i have in books now, and if i *were* to want to go into the afghan business, there is one particular pattern for afghans called "Eastern Promise" that uses blocks that have a right-angle pattern to make illusions of bigger squares. It's wonderfully complex and reminds me that quilters have been working with wonderful tiling patterns for a long time: design inspiration could come from there. Despite my whining, i think i'm going to find it an excellent inspiration for stitching: both in solid grounds and some lacy motifs. And the color variations are good visual inspirations. It's really not deserving of this much grumpage.
Finally, i was at the grocery store to get fixings for yogurt pies (no crusts, though) and Christine's antibiotic for her bite.
Home, to mix up the dyes in the evening light. This is the OSHA focus time in this project as the powders are reputed to be lung irritants and to build up chemical sensitivities. So, a simple respirator (purchase), goggles (because i had them), etc made me look like a mad scientist and sound like Darth Vader.
I don't recall Friday evening, particularly, either. Overnight, Christine had cat sitting duty as Mr E was yowling in solitary. I spent the morning with him, reading the Palin Vanity Fair article and catching up on LJ. At 9 am i joined friends for drip coffee at Palo Alto's branch of Philz Coffee ("We wouldn’t even call this a cup of coffee; rather 'A Cup of Love.'") wherein i actually had coffee, the Turkish mix that was first on the menu, and an almond croissant. As everyone left at 10 for parade watching, i left to return home to lavender and emerald dyes. A plan was taking shape in mind for a tank top.
Dyed (post to come behind much cut), lunch and crochet, made and sampled yogurt pies, more dye, dinner, the annual watching of Jaws, rinsing out the blue dye, and to bed. We let Mr E out late afternoon and once he was placed on the couch next to Christine, he didn't move. The other cats are in a bit of a snit.
Apparently Christine again had a wee hours of the morning comforting session with yowly Mr E (who was back in solitary overnight). I woke for six am feeding and let Mr E have his food in an open bathroom. All the cats seem to need two yard radius "personal space" zones.
Since Christine is a much more strict vegetarian than i, we had a long chat about using the gelatin in the house with the yogurt pies. I made one per recipe with two packets of gelatin, and the other i tried to make with tapioca. I think it will need experimentation.