knittable kitten

Icarus

2008-07-19T12:01:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Icarus by Miriam L. Felton
Needles: 3.25mm Clover bamboo needles
Yarn: Fyberspates laceweight mohair (I can’t find the yarn on the site: I won it in the prize draws following the Knitting Olympics.)

Size:
Started: Spring 2007 (I seem to have listed September 2007 on Ravelry, but I’m sure that’s wrong; in September 2007, I had just moved to Khartoum, and there’s no way I started a lace shawl then. Must correct. And maybe look at the blog archives to see when I really started.)
Finished July 2008

Mods: None. I thought about adding another repeat to the quill part (and likely have adequate yarn) but I’m glad I didn’t. I was worried it was going to be small, but the magic of blocking has made it much larger.
Notes: This yarn is lovely, but very sticky (mostly to my hands) at times. I especially had problems moving the yarnovers over the joins in the needles when I was fighting the humidity.

As shown yesterday, I did manage to move a stitch marker or two during the ‘quill’ section. I ended up not using markers for the plum bit and it ended up being easier (I’m not sure if that’s what I mean – maybe more intuitive?).

Blocking this wasn’t really a problem, even if it overflowed my foam squares a bit. I did need a lot of pins (which could totally have been avoided if I had seen brainylady’s smart photo first.

Ravelry info

Things I learned while knitting Icarus

2008-07-18T12:39:00.002-04:00

1.Mohair yarn + humidity = bad idea. Look at that fuzz! I started knitting this over a year ago, but quickly put it aside when summer hit in Ottawa. I recently pulled it out for a trip home to ‘Big Sky Country,’ hoping the cooler, dryer summers would help me through. I didn’t quite get it done, but once I returned to Khartoum, I was so far along I just couldn’t put it aside again. But let me tell you, if it’s hot enough out, you make your own ‘humidity.’

2. Stitch markers are your friends, but they still don’t replace counting.

3. Count early and count often, because fixing mistakes in mohair is less fun than it could be.

4. Blocking doesn’t fix everything (unfortunately)

5. I could use a larger blocking surface (and more straight pins, but safety pins did the job in the pinch). But you'll have to wait for the FO post tomorrow to see!

View of Turkey...

2008-07-15T12:25:00.003-04:00

...from the Airport.

Starbucks are pretty much the same, all over the world.

I thought this was a novel idea! It's a charging station for cell phones. You pay a fee to lock your cell phone up in a secure box with the appropriate phone charger. I think it would be very popular here, because people are so dependent on their cell phones.

However, I couldn't quite figure out what this sign was all about. Any ideas? (It's above the toilet in a public bathroom.)

The Terminal: 24-hour version*

2008-07-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

Most of this post was written previously, but not yet posted. Something about not having the pictures ready… ;) I still don’t have the pictures ready, but I’m in the middle of the stupidest bout of jetlag induced insomnia yet (I say that every time. I always know the jetlag is going to be bad, and I’m always shocked by how bad it is. Apparently crossing eight time zones eastwards is more than my body can handle gracefully.) and I determined to do something “useful” after lying awake for many hours over the last few days. It’s currently 5:30am, and I’ve been awake since just after 2. Maybe I’ll add the pictures another day.

-------------------------------------------
So, I had a really impressive flight home from my vacation – and not in a good way! It was already due to be a 36 hour extravaganza of traveling fun, but a strike in Frankfurt and a little mistake in the rebooking made it so much more fun.

Things started reasonably at 05:00, when the alarm went off and everyone rushed around to be out the door by 05:30. North-central Alberta is surprisingly light at that hour. My parents were driving me to the airport, just over 2 hours from our house, and I needed to check in by 08:00 or so for my 09:30 flight. We did so well that we were able to have breakfast together before I headed off through security.

Things started to fall apart when I landed in Toronto. A strike had started in Frankfurt (I still don’t really know the details on that), and my flight was already running late. I spoke to the Air Canada agent where I disembarked, but she couldn’t look up Lufthansa information on her computer, and just told me that they would help me.

So, now we come to a slight error of tactics on my part. I went off and found my gate, and, not finding any Lufthansa people to help me, had lunch. A nearly fatal error. Knowing what I know now, the correct response was to go immediately to the ticketing agent to rebook that flight. Because after lunch, when I realized that my transatlantic flight was at least four hours late and that I would most certainly miss my next flight, it was too late. There was already a line of other people waiting to do just that. A line in which I stood for three hours.

When I reached the next available person (who wasn’t a ticketing agent, but was helping out anyway), we searched for flights that would get me to Khartoum. The next iteration of my original flight wasn’t for two days, so I had to transit through another country if I wanted to get home sooner. Finally, we found a flight through Istanbul that would get me home, less than twelve hours after the original schedule!

Things went reasonably well (apparently too well) from that point on, until I arrived in Istanbul and walked up to the Turkish Airlines desk to check into my flight that evening. I was told, politely, that the paper I was holding showed I was on the 17:50 flight tomorrow… 24 hours from now.

Even that wasn’t enough to really get me down. I decided to leave the airport, get a room and have a good sleep, likely leaving enough time for a short exploration of the city before I had to check in the next afternoon. The visa official told me I didn’t need a visa, so I stood in line and walked confidently up to the passport control. He looked at my passport and pulled out a sheet of paper. He looked carefully at my passport and the sheet of paper again. And then he called his friend over. At which point, I started to get nervous. When the second agent got on the phone, I started to really wonder what was going on. Finally the first agent leaned towards me and said apologetically, “You’re a transit passenger, aren’t you?” To which I said yes, I fly out tomorrow afternoon. And he said, “I’m sorry, but you can’t leave the airport.”

I was stunned. Shocked, even. What was I going to do in the airport for 24 hours? And then I realized the really bad part: because it was too early to check in for my next flight, I couldn’t go into the next portion of the airport, and would be staying in what was essentially a hallway. There were a few metal benches, but not much else (including sources of food or water). So, I made a fuss and had the head rep for Lufthansa called down, and when I still didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, I cried. Not very noble, but it seemed the only option at that point.

That poor rep didn’t really know what to do. The airport hotel was full, and she couldn’t defy the Turkish government. Finally, she smuggled me through to the First Class Lounge, and left me there. For 19 hours. I mean, I know that living in the lounge is better than being on the streets, or a lot of other things I can think of, but still…

All this to say that Turkey didn’t really get a fair shake on my first time through, so I’ll have to go back at some point for (hopefully) a more representative experience. I did quite like the Turks that I met, though. I was a bit taken aback the first time someone started calling, “Lady! Lady!” to get my attention, but that seemed to be the norm.

I also had an interesting moment with the lounge attendant to woke me to ensure I wasn’t the person they were currently holding a flight for. After determining that I was not the person for whom she was looking, she looked at me and said, “You don’t have to sleep.” My sleep addled brain fumbled with that statement for a while, causing her to repeat herself twice. Did she mean that I thought I was being forced to sleep, but didn’t actually have to? Or that Turkish people didn’t need to sleep, so I didn’t need to either? She finally added “You might miss your flight,” at which point I reinterpreted her to mean that I shouldn’t sleep. And then I think I went back to sleep.

Eh, at least I had my knitting!

* All times are approximate in this account, and are based on my personal perception. What I do know is that I was in transit from 06:00 MDT 1 July 2008 until 22:00 KSA 3 July 2008. There’s a 9-hour time difference somewhere in there, but whatever the time really was, it was long.

River City Yarns

2008-07-08T04:10:00.000-04:00

In Edmonton, I dragged an obliging friend (thanks D!) off to River City Yarns before heading off on the rest of my peregrinations. This store, although not that easy to find, was very nice and full of light. They had some spinning supplies, and lots of nice yarn, including a "Made in Canada" corner showcasing all of the great Canadian yarns out there!

I bought some of the lovely new Misti Alpaca laceweight hand dyed in a very subtle cream colour.

The Knitting Room

2008-07-08T03:43:00.001-04:00

While in Calgary, I was also able to visit The Knitting Room. What a great store! It's got tonnes of yarn (including lots of things I'd never seen in person before!) packed in to a small(-ish) space, and the staff were very friendly. (If you look at the photo on the first page of the website, it's a little out of date. There were a lot more shelves in that space, and the table had been moved into the back room.) Also, who can turn down easy free parking?

I bought four hanks of the Estelle Cloud Cotton Eco. This yarn is so soft, I can hardly believe it's cotton! I bought the four hanks left in the colour I wanted... no idea what I'll do with it, but that's never stopped me before. And, I bought Barbara Walker's A First Treasury of Knitting Patterns. As I find myself designing more things, or combining elements from different patterns, I see more and more the value of stitch dictionaries.

Make One Yarn Studio

2008-06-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

Make One Yarn Studio

This is an amazing LYS, I just have to say! Amy has done a really wonderful job with the place. It's very bright and inviting, has a good variety of fibres and price points, and nice, friendly staff. Granted, I was there on a weekday morning, so it was less busy than it might have been, but they made me a pot of tea! And, they had comfy couches for me to sit and knit while and drank my tea, before continuing with the shopping.

And, for full disclosure, I bought two skeins of Dream in Color Classy and a few Zephyr Style patterns: Wicked, Rusted Root and Juliet.

Custom Woolen Mills

2008-06-22T14:49:00.001-04:00

So, I'm back in Canada for a little vacation right now. I was lucky enough in my travels to visit a few fibrey locations, which I thought I might profile (because the rest of my vacation will include a lot of sleep, which just isn't that exciting...)

On 19 June, I stopped by the Custom Woolen Mills. Even though it is a production mill and everyone was hard at work, people took a few minutes to walk me through the process!

First, they wash all of the materials in this huge thing! I was amazed that it doesn't felt, as they use really hot water to get rid of the lanolin, but it comes out the other side just fine.

Then, items that are dyed go through the dye bath.

After they are dry, they need to be prepared. This is the carding machine on the way in. This machine is preparing fibre to be used for sleeping bag/duvets. You can see the machines for yarn production in the top part of the picture. When carding for yarn, the fibre goes through a double carding process, with the second one perpendicular to the first, to ensure the fibres are thoroughly blended.

And this is the out end of the carder. This comes out as a sheet, whereas the yarn system cuts the sheet into a pencil roving as its finished product.

This is the Spinning Jenny, which takes the pencil roving and spins it into yarn. After this, there are a few more steps to end up with skeins for sale.

This is the sock knitting machine! It knits a continuous string of socks with two heels per sock. Then, a person has to cut them apart and finish the second heel as the toe. It looks much less time consuming than my knitted socks!

And the store, of course! I did buy a pound of woolen-spun, worsted weight yarn (as opposed to their worsted spun option... I learn new things from every knitting book... this is from Nancy J Thomas' Tweed book) in a natural grey. ~~Anyway, it's cloudy today, so I will add photos when the sun comes out again.~~ (ETA the photo is now here)

All in all, a very nice afternoon!

Book Meme

2008-06-10T13:00:00.001-04:00

What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote (I own)
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife (I love this book)
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin (I own)
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked: the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian: a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum (I own)
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath (I own)
The Poisonwood Bible: a novel (I own)
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (eta: I may have read this?)
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

I might be crazy

2008-06-01T12:30:00.003-04:00

So, I've run into a problem, which has me thinking I'm going out of my mind. When I last worked on this sweater

I was sure I had lots of yarn. Now, I've only got half a skein left, and I'm not sure whether it was me, or the only other person that moves things around my house: my cleaner.

I'm aware that this is going to sound bad. Most people can't even afford a cleaner, so I'm very lucky to be able to have someone. But half of the time, it makes me mental, to the point where I can no longer remember what I've done because someone is regularly moving things when I'm not here.

Anyway, having tossed the stash, I've determined that I don't have any more of this yarn, whatever I may have thought before. Which leaves me with a dilemma: I have more than half of a sweater, and no chance of finishing it unless I find more of this yarn... which I got in France last summer. Anyone have a contact in France who can help me obtain a fifth skein?

(Handknit) Laundry Day

2008-05-30T08:39:00.003-04:00

What's a knitter to do when the water that comes out of the tap is hot enough to burn, and the clothes are always steamy when they come out of the washing machine?

A lot of hand washing! (and yes, these are the clothes I was using when I was in Canada in March. It takes a lot of effort to get me to do hand washing.)

Normally I try to do the easiest thing possible and put things in the washing machine on a gentle cycle and cold water. I don't normally have a problem.

But in Khartoum, our water comes from the Nile and is stored in tanks on the roof of the building before we use it. (I've hypothesized that it both allows sediment to settle out of the water and ensures a basic supply is available when the electricity goes off, but I'm not certain why it's done this way.) The problems is that the tanks are black, and so as soon as we use up the water that's in the pipes inside the building, we're using water superheated by the sun. In this country, solar water heating works too well for most of the year. Given that any agitation would lead to felting of most of these items, I hand wash.

In an unrelated story, has anyone seen Willie Nelson's Ballband Dishcloth hat in the video for "I am a worried man?"

Kenya part1

2008-05-29T11:55:00.004-04:00

Nairobi is a beautiful place! I think what I decided (and friends concur) is that the nice things that Khartoum has are missing in Nairobi, and the nice things about Nairobi are definitely missing in Khartoum. A few examples:

Khartoum has:

Safe streets: you can walk at night or by yourself (within reason) without worrying about your safety
Crazy, but mild, traffic – many roads are unpaved and potholed, but traffic circulates relatively unfettered

Nairobi suffers from:

High crime rates: even trips of a few blocks require a taxi to avoid robbery
Heavy traffic, which can add hours to a commute time, especially with a number of crumbling roads

Khartoum suffers from:

Hot, dry climate, which goes beyond my comfort levels
Brown, with few public spaces. Also a lot of garbage (although I admit that I only saw a small part of Nairobi)
A few good restaurants, "adventurous shopping", limited night life

Nairobi has:

Moderate temperatures, more comfortable for a (this) Canadian
Very green, with lots of public parks (which you can’t use, see number 1 above)
Lots of shopping, restaurants, bars
More diversity

Unfortunately, Sudan seems to have killed my picture taking skills, so I don’t have many from the city itself.

We did go to the Langata giraffe reserve, which was really amazing!

This is a Rothschild giraffe, which are only found in Kenya.

One of the giraffe handlers knew how to get all of the great photos, and he worked with us to get the photos everyone wants...

like the giraffe eating from your hand.

And a good kiss!

Quick update

2008-05-25T15:36:00.002-04:00

I'm back! After a random hunt for a computer store that might have an AC adapter compatible with my laptop, my computer is back in service!

I had planned a bigger post, but all of the scanning associated with turning the computer on after a hiatus has cut into my time. I just thought I'd point out some thoughts on blogging here.

Cut off

2008-05-20T07:15:00.001-04:00

P5170038web
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

Well, I had meant to blog about my great trip to Kenya (I stayed at two resorts that I highly recommend: www.shaantihhr.com and www.impiripiri.com), and then we had an attempted coup. And, I've been knitting! So, I've got all of this stuff to talk about, but my computer has forsaken me. I don't think it's a serious issue technically, but I have no idea how I'm going to get it fixed here. So, I'm stuck with occasionally stealth blogging from work and a colleague's computer when I can.

This is a photo fo the Sixth Cataract on the Nile. It doesn't look like much, but it is a little rapid. I drove out of town for the afternoon on the weekend to see it and go for a little boat trip on the Nile. Not overly exciting, I'm sure, but a nice afternoon.

Safe

2008-05-11T05:19:00.001-04:00

P3060098
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

Sorry for the snowy picture, totally unrelated to the blog topic, but my computer is having issues, so this is the only way I can post right now.

If you're watching the news, I am safe at home right now, and the situation is calm where I am. I'll try to update when I can.

Another hint

2008-05-06T14:57:00.002-04:00

Look closely... It's not Saskatchewan or the Ukraine, but I certainly did feel at home.

Where in the world

2008-04-30T16:26:00.003-04:00

was tara?

I'm back from a great vacation, so expect lots of pics to come! For now, I need to get some sleep...

A day late is better than not at all

2008-04-08T11:32:00.002-04:00

I saw this the yesterday, but I forgot to post it! Sorry!

Medical Care

2008-04-02T09:23:00.003-04:00

see more crazy cat pics

So, I finally actually had to seek medical care in Sudan, and it went better than I expected. The only real issue was peeing in a cup on a squat toilet. Let's just say it makes a difficult process more so. I am fine, but on antibiotics for the next few days.

Umm, other than that, not too much going on.

Joy!

2008-03-29T03:21:00.000-04:00

see more crazy cat pics

I'm enjoying a good day off!

Temporary disruption

2008-03-19T13:35:00.002-04:00

This blog has gone off-line for reasons beyond our control. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Prepare for a return to regular programming shortly... like, maybe next week.

What do you do with a pile of puppies?

2008-03-06T15:19:00.002-05:00

You cuddle them!

For those who don't know, J's dog Chudder

Who me?

had puppies a 9 days ago, and I was lucky enough to have a little free time to go out and visit!

And, for Nancy, a cat!

Eeyore is big!

Hope to see everyone at Bridgehead on Friday!

What I did…

2008-03-03T12:48:00.003-05:00

On my first days back in Canada!

So, I am back in the country for a little while, mostly for work, although there will be some relaxation as well.

1. I knit a hat!

Interestingly enough, even though my skin is still dry and parched, this took three or four times as long to dry here as it would have in Sudan. Since its now warming up (to a balmy –4C), I don’t know how much I’ll need it. I suppose the weather is always volatile, so it will probably cool down again at some point. ~~(There's no picture yet, because its still wet!)~~

2. I also knit a swatch.

I did a very poor job of packing before I left. (I’ve counted at least a dozen things that didn’t make it into my bag, and I’m sure that number will continue to grow. I know I can buy anything I need here, but I find it frustrating to be replacing things I already have tonnes of at home: running shoes, bathing suits, lotion, soap, face wash, hair elastics, etc.) Anyway, I didn’t pack nearly enough knitting or reading material, so I’ve purchased supplies in both of those areas. I’m thinking of a top-down cabled cardigan in some Patons Classic Merino.

3. Shopping: What is it about this country that makes me instantly want to buy everything? I have yet to shop for much beyond food in Sudan, and yet I’ve spent a couple of hours shopping each day of the weekend.

4. Reverse Culture Shock: Somewhat surprising, since it’s only been four months since I was last in Canada, but it is definitely here. It started with the lights of Amsterdam (so many!), and was compounded by entering the country as a visitor (according to the CBSA, I am no longer a resident, since I, you know, don’t live here). Everything is so big, and spread out, and I’m needing to adjust to driving in a law-abiding society (stop signs are more than suggestions, and when people honk at you here, you are probably actually doing something wrong) and there is just so much stuff! My jet-lag is wearing off, which is helping, and I’m starting to adjust, but it still feels weird to be sitting here.

FOrama!

2008-02-23T11:24:00.002-05:00

I finally finished my Gatsby Girl! It only took a few hours to seam the sleeves to the body and do the crochet and buttons at the neck edge, and it looks very good! I do think its a little short in the body, so I'm thinking about picking out the cast on edge and adding an inch or two. I have the extra yarn. However, that's a lot of work, so I think I'll wear it a few times!

I also thought I'd get around to posting pictures of a few other things. This is a little vest knit in Handmaiden Stretto! I knit it in one piece from the back, over the shoulders and down the front again. I knit the front a bit longer than the back, and then made them match up by gathering the side seam around the chest area. I quite like it, but you know, its a bit hot here for wearing.

Here's the scarf I was making with my last skein of Noro Kureyon and some Wool of the Andes. It will match the mitts I made with the first skein of Noro (although I think they're in storage, so it will be a few years before I get to wear them together). I will be wearing this in the snows of Canada in only a few days.

And, since I realised that I had never posted a picture of it, this is my finished Olympic sweater!

All project details are on Ravelry!

Feminism relies on us all

2008-02-16T04:14:00.002-05:00

I've been trolling around the internet a lot lately, looking for inspiration, and I don't know what else. This article is amazing, and I'm thinking about grabbing the book when I'm back in a place with book stores.

I'm also really enjoying the Inspiration Project.

Where do you turn to for inspiration?