Common Quandary

Well, I wasn't quite sure if I was dealing with a quandary:

quan·da·ry: \ˈkwän-d(ə-)rē\
noun; plural quan·da·ries; origin unknown

: a state of perplexity or doubt

or a conundrum:

Noun
1. a puzzling question or problem
2. a riddle whose answer contains a pun [origin unknown]

As it turns out, it seems to be more of a quandary than a conundrum.

I've become quite fond of knitting my socks from the toe up for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is the ability to use up the yarn in a more efficient way.(When knitting from the cuff down I am uber paranoid about not making the leg too long so that I don't run out of yarn an inch short of finishing up the toe.)


However, when I knit toe up socks using one skein/ball of yarn from which both socks must come, I find myself in the same quandary time and time again.

I almost always knit the first sock with too short a leg/cuff because I'm worried about having enough for the second sock. I've done it once again on the Brachs Sox I'm making. Have a look:




There is obviously going to be plenty left in this lovely skein of Trekking XXL to make the second sock's leg a respectable length. (The first sock is short by at least 2".) So my plan is to go ahead and knit the second sock to the length I'd like. Then I will go back, take out the bind off and add length to the first sock.

What a pain.

I do wish there were a solution to this dilema. Anyone have any suggestions??

In other news, I'm slowly getting back up and running with the new hard drive. My reinstall of Photoshop Elements is complete, but the program is acting a bit wonky and not performing functions as it did before the crash. I'm sure this is due to the fact I'd made some changes to it through the months I'd used it. I'll be darned if I can remember what off the top of my head though! (Of course, with the flaming head cold I've got going at the moment, that's not too difficult. Hard to think, let alone concentrate!) I guess I'll go get another cup of hot tea!

Happy Knitting!

A Slight Delay in Proceedings

I'm writing this from my hubby's computer.

Mine tanked.

Bit the dust.

Permanent failure.

Hard disk gone forever.

And no,

I hadn't backed anything up for several/many weeks.

(I know, I deserve whatever losses come my way.)

I'm waiting for a tech from Dell to deliver and install a new
drive.

Then I'll have to reinstall all my programs.

And hope I can find most of my bookmarks.

And email addresses.

And photos.

Not to mention all my work documents.

To keep my sanity, I'm knitting on my beautiful lace scarf pattern Doug gave me for Christmas with the wonderful handspun/hand-dyed artisan yarn he gave me to go with it. It is sheer pleasure and as soon as I'm able to hook a camera up to something and actually upload it, I'll make a post about it.

Until then, I salute everyone with a working computer!

(Don't forget to run a backup....tonight.)

Never Not Knitting

I have had big smiles the past few days in turning over and reading Stephanie Pearl McFee's daily calendar, Never Not Knitting.

For example:

Saturday, March 7 read:

"You Know You Knit Too Much When . . .

. . . you'll watch a movie just because you heard there's a good sweater in it."

I find this to be particularly true with period films.

Also there's a TON of scrumptious knitterly goodness in The Village. (I think I remember about half a dozen pieces I wish I'd had the pattern for!)

I wasn't really knitting when I saw The Piano many years ago. I wonder if there are any good knitted items there? (Otherwise, I personally found that movie nearly intolerable. What WAS the Academy thinking with the Oscars that year????)


Also, I was particularly struck by the quote she found to use on yesterday's date.

"All knitterly creation stems from on simple element: yarn. It is the baker's flour, the jeweler's gold, the gardener's soil. Yarn is creation, consolation, and chaos all spun together into one perfect ball." -Clara Parkes

Amen! Couldn't have said in better myself!

Parting Shots

One of my favorite parts of putting together the Fort Dodge Today magazine each month is doing the "Parting Shot" on the last page. I get to showcase a photo and find a quote to go with it. Ususally I try to attach it to some theme for the month or a theme of one of the articles. Sometimes it's my only chance to draw attention to a holiday or such when there hasn't been room to do so elsewhere in the preceding pages.

The Parting Shot always runs on page 40, the final page of the issue. This will be the Parting Shot for our upcoming April 2009 issue, which is still in layout and not due to hit the racks until March 20 or thereabouts.

Consider this your "insider" sneak peek!



My friend, Regina, who has been the head of the art department since I've been working for the paper is changing positions. She will become the webmaster for our newspaper and its associated publications (including the Fort Dodge Today magazine).

Regina will be setting me up with a blog on that site in the near future. There I'll post photos now and again with commentary or quotes or "how-to" photography info. Stay tuned and I'll let you know when it's up and running!

Happy Shooting (& Knitting!)

Bird Song

I heard a lot of bird song this weekend. I love to hear the birds as they sing from the treetops and telephone wires around the neighborhood.

Cardinals

Chickadees

Robins

Nuthatches

Sparrows

Finches

Spring is stirring in the inner places that makes their chests swell with the need to mark their territory and claim their space in the universe. The birds are making ready.

Strings of geese were flying north over the Hy-Vee parking lot when I stepped out of the van on Saturday. Looking up, I noticed three seperate "V's" aloft. They were cheering on the leader with their enthusiastic honking, alerting all of us below that the change of seasons cannot be far behind.

Welcome back dear friends!