The most frustrating thing about knitting is...

there is no one way. You'd think that'd make it easier. And sure it does to dome extent. But if a pattern is designed with the stitches, say, twisting just so...my stitches may not come out twisting just so. It was a bit of a surprise to discover the other day that I've been purling 'incorrectly' all this time. I had to watch knittinghelp.com's video over and over to see what was off between what she was doing and what I do. After some research, it seems I purl like Annie Modesitt's Combined Method, I scoop the yarn rather than wrap it...clockwise rather than counter-clockwise I think, but knit western continental like normal (I'm beginning to wonder.) What this means is that my purl stitches don't twist like they should...maybe. I can't tell the difference. On the combo knitting info site, knitting in this way means you should swap your decreases...k2tog instead of ssk etc. But my dragon scale gauntlets look okay. I will eyeball them again however just to check.

I'm only making a fuss about this because I am attempting to make the Juno Regina and I want it to look good when I'm done. I am not having much luck finding info on how to work yarn overs either. Heh. God forbid someone be book taught. *g*

All This and Headaches Too?

I'm beginning to think they will never end.

Anyways...

I'm officially in over my head!
I'm working on the Secret of Bad Nauheim shawl 'cause a secret shawl just seems really cool.
And on Juno Regina with the really nice but lighter than I expected Spirit Trail silk.
And on the xxxxxx for xxxxx's xxxxx even though it's xxxx. But it's gone thru alot of redesigns.
And on Avalee's teddy bear, which I'm called B.B. Bear (for Bright Blue Bear cause...dang that yarn color!).
And on the socks. But I think they are the wrong size and I don't believe I have enough yarn for both at the rate I'm going through it.

Secret of Bad Nauheim and Slow Bee

I should collect the info I get through the Yahoo group...

Yarn amount (SB) "what about math? ;-)) 300g are 3 skeins of yarn, each is 950 yards, would be a total of 2850 yards. One yard is about 0,9144 meters, if you use all 3 skeins this would be in meters 2606 meters.
I have done the "Dem Fischer sin Fru" in the longer version and used 280 grams. The smaller one was 225 grams. As the skeins have a weight of 100g each, you will need three of them to make the shawl. The bigger shawl would need 2660 (2430 meters) yards the smaller one 2140 yards (1960 meters).
But the amount of yarn also depends on the pattern, so you cannot calculate exactly how much it would be."

Yarn type/color/theme clue (SB): "o.k..... I don't want to reveal too much of the theme of the shawl, but those who might have expected fire and flames as we knit in summer are on the wrong track.... when it is hot outside, we must have something cold on your needles.
We can start over in May with the shawl and knit during summer. At this
point of time the "Secret of Bad Nauheim" ist finished and you will have
enough time to get yarn and accessories.
I suggest a solid colour for the shawl and also a cold colour. Mine is made
vom undyed Merino lace, 950 yards per 100g. Or you may use a very light blue
and of course any cold colour you like.
You will need a crochet hook size 14 US and lots of beads (I don't know the
exact amount at the moment), size 6/4mm
"as far as I remember my beads had been size 6 when I bought them... maybe I am wrong, I took the measure and it is 3mm maybe it is size 8, but some of them are so small, that I can hardly get them on my crochet hook and over the yarn, so 4 mm would be easier to handle. And yes... they can show and "sparkle""
"no spring.... maybe the last leaves from autumn...."
"I would recommend www.colourmart. com. I'm going to use a multiple
strand of cashmere/silk, not sure what color though. I have several
options already waiting to be used ;-) Very reasonably priced and
shipping IS included in the price."
"even as pink and violet are listed on this webpage as "cold colour" it does not go with the theme of the shawl. You may use white or natural yarn, light blue or dark blue, but not teal . Dark violet may also go with the pattern. And if you like black it would be fine."

yarn type/color/theme/stuff (SBN): "any colour would be fine."
"I would choose the Zephyr 2/18. It is such a lovely yarn"
"nadelstarke-3.5mm" I'll guess that means needle size.
"you can use any kind of yarn for that shawl, as the pattern is a modular design which can be adjusted for several sizes. The swatch is about a third of the pattern in the width and I have knitted the pattern twice to get the width for the shawl. You can also divide the pattern in the length one time to adjust it to your favourite size. I think we don't need to talk about the total length at the moment, if you come close to my swatch with yours the remaining parts will also fit. I have knitted the whole pattern 3 1/2 times for the length and you need to add about 18-20 cm for the border. The shawl has a finished size of 178 x 78 cm if you follow my pattern. If you want to change something I can assist you calculating it.
I have knitted the shawl with Merino Lace 950yards per 100g and size 3,5 mm. You will need pretty close to 200g but I would suggest to be on the safe side, that you get 3 skeins of yarn."

"for Slow Bee it is approximately 2,850 (3 skeins of the 950yards) And
Secret of Bad Nauheim is approximately 1900 yards (2 skeins of the 950
yards)"

How to Knit with Beads "for all who don´t know how to knit with Beads here are some Instructions http://www.jonesclan.net/ms3.htm (english with video)

Is this true?

Alle Kunst ist umsunst Wenn ein Engel auf das Zundloch brunzt. All skill is in vain if an angel pisses down the touch-hole of your musket.

The foolishness of wanting a certain house

The house we are in now is a typical mid 80's ranch. 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and a bonus room. It's mostly ok, but there isn't a usable yard, we're on a rather busy road, and we are tight for space. So, out we go into house hunting land again. It's a scary thing, not knowing what you're actually gonna get with a house, what problems it has and whatnot, and collecting the upfront costs of the deposit, moving truck, and transferring utilities. But we've got 2 full time kids and 2 part time kids and we don't have a YARD. So...

It's hard to search for rentals online for places other than major cities. It's even harder when you want to rent a rather large house for a low amount and have it be in a quiet, safe neighborhood with decent schools.

What do we want?
-at least 3 bedrooms with a bonus room or basement. Preferably 4 rooms with a basement. We have what I call the elephant in the room, the full-sized air hockey table we got this christmas.
-MUST be quiet.
-must have a yard good for playing in
-must have functioning a/c in every room
-must have decent schools and after school care of some sort
-can't be too far from the university. I'm putting this at about 20 minutes tops.
-We'd prefer to be close to our friends for mutual support.

The house doesn't have to be pretty or new. I'd prefer it to not be falling over or leaky. I'm really okay with it being out in the sticks.

I did find a few online believe it or not. But our house searches often lead to much hilarity due to our getting lost and the house being rather weird.

There's one posted on craigslist. It's out on the other side of the next town over. The google map directions don't seem to match the roads we took. Pavement seemed to end a road or two before the one the house is on. But the house! It's next to a farm. There's one house kind of behind it and another house down the road. It's old. Very Public Works Administration if you know what I mean. If it was just me, I'd be moving in already. It had it's own yard. It faced a large horse pasture and some woods. There's lots of windows. Lots and lots of windows in the kitchen. The floors were all wood except in the kitchen where it looked like linoleum tile. It had two stories. The stairs had a cubby underneath with two doors like a pass through. There's a wide, open porch all down the front of the house. There's two front doors, one on each end of the front of the house. There's a screen porch out back, about as big as a walk in closet. It looked like it had a formal dining room, two living room things, a bedroom, and a bathroom off the kitchen that had a claw foot tub. The place was SPOTLESS. Unfortunately, the floor in the kitchen had a bit of wave motion going on and we just aren't sure if the rooms are big enough. The fireplace was blocked off. And after it was pointed out to me, I don't remember seeing any closets. But the view, solitude, age, and airiness of the place was really danged appealing. We might still take a look inside for shits and giggles.

The other place was south of our town. South by another town or two. It felt further out than the first place, but it's hard to tell. We drove past it a couple times before we realized you couldn't see ANY of the house from the road. We did find the driveway. It had a metal gate across it. There was a goat farm to one side. There was a goat wandering the drive way. :) It happens to be managed by the property people we're with now, so we may take a look at it.

I'll just keep envisioning myself knitting on the chairs on the front porch of the first house. Looking out over the pasture and day dreaming.