Kat with a K

Okay, I get it now.

So maybe there's something to be said for rote learning after all. I've never hated the Kitchener stitch as much as many knitters seem to - in fact, I think it's kind of fun. But I haven't made enough socks to be totally comfortable with it yet, so I've always looked it up, just to be sure.

Apparently the knitting gods decided that it was high time I learned. I had thought, after Saturday night, that there was nothing that would make the Kitchener sequence sink in more thoroughly than reading it aloud for over an hour. I was wrong. After last night, I know that picking out the grafting so that the stitches could happily climb back up on their needles has put me on far more intimate terms with Lord Kitchener than I'd ever dreamed possible.

Someone in a library-related e-mail group just asked if anyone would be willing to teach her to knit at an upcoming group event. I may have volunteered. I mean, it seems I have the patience for it, right? ;-)

Firefly Barbies!

Alas, no, they're not for sale. But they're pretty darn shiny.

Team New Hampshire

A button, for anyone interested:

Come see our new group blog!

Other team members:
Erica (Stitch Witch)
Folkcat
Jo
Sara

Cheerleaders:
Cheryl

I know there must be more of you! Speak up!

"I am quite sick with delight"

For anyone who has ever read a bad historical romance... it's The Victorian Sex Cry Generator! (Not workplace- or child-safe. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Knitting Olympics Links

I'm home sick today, so I figured I might as well round up all the links I can find that have buttons or other fun stuff for the Knitting Olympics, because God knows Steph has enough to do what with entering knitters and constructing a house with her bare hands and all. And, well, I'm a librarian. I want things to be nicely organized in lists. Alphabetical lists.

I am quite sure that I have missed some, and that more will be added, etc. So please let me know!

NOTE: sign-ups are indeed closed for individuals, but I will continue adding teams, buttons, media links, etc. for as long as you send them to me. So keep them coming!

NOTE #2: If you see a team you'd like to join listed with no link yet, e-mail me and I can put you in contact with the team members.

NEW: Knitting Olympics Frappr Add yourself to the map!

Geographic regions:

Africa:

Team South Africa

Asia:

Team India

Australasia:

Teams Australia and New Zealand
Australia

Team Australia
Team Australia Buttons
Team Australia: The Heat Is On

New Zealand

Team Kiwi

Europe:

Team Belgium
British Isles

Team Cambridge (UK)
Team Great Britain
Team Scotland
Team Wales

Team Czechoslovakia
Team Denmark
Team Finland
Team France
Germany

Team Germany Blog
Team Germany Buttons
Team Germany Buttons (II)

Team Greece: e-mail yarn_diva
Iceland

Team Iceland
Team Iceland Button

Team Ireland
Team Italy
Team Luxemburg
Norway

Team Norway
Team Norway Olympic Village
Knitting Team Southern Norway

Team Poland
Sweden

Team Sweden
Team Sweden Blog

Latin America:

Team Cuba
Team El Salvador
Team Peru

North America:

Canada:

Knitanadian Kids: The Canadian Under-16 Team
Team Canada
Team Canada Frappr
Provinces

British Columbia: Team Knitopia
Team Manitoba
Ontario

Team Western

Team Saskatchewan

U.S.:

General

Team USA Blog
Team USA Button
Team USA Button (II)
Team USA Yahoo Group

Regional

Team Midwest
Team Northwest: e-mail Joan

States

Team Alaska
Arkansas

Team Hand Held

Arizona

Team Northern Arizona

California

Team Bay Area
Team California
Team California Button (Ah-nold's Kahl-i-fah-nia)
Team Sacramento

Colorado

Team Colorado
Team Colorado Closing Ceremonies Party

Team Connecticut
Team Florida
Team Hawai'i Nei
Illinois

Team Chicago

Team Iowa
Team Maine
Massachusetts

Team Boston
MIT Knitting Olympic Team

Team Michigan
Team Minnesota
Team Nebraska
Team New Hampshire
Team New Jersey
New York

Team Adirondack
Team Long Island
Team New York
Team NYC Button
Team NYPD
NYC: Team Booze and Yarn
Team Sit 'n Knit New York
Team Western New York
Team Woolgathering

Team NC
Ohio

Team Ohio
Team Ohio Blog
Team Lambikins

Oregon

Team Oregon
Team Abundant
Team Close Knit Portland

Pennsylvania

Team PGH
Team Philadelphia
Team Philly

Rhode Island

Team College Hill

Tennessee

Team Tennessee
Team Threaded Bliss

Texas

Team Texas Knits
Team Simpatico

Team Utah
Team Virginia
Washington

Team Evergreen

Team Wisconsin

Specific Projects

First Sweater
Hurry Hard Handwarmalong
Sock Team USA
Team Blue Knitters
Team Clapotis
Team DPN
Team En-Gauged
Team First Socks
Team Germany Schal/Shawl and Strickjacke/Sweater Buttons
Team Loom Knitters
Team Lopi
Team Odessa
Team Potter
Team Potter Icons
Team Rogue
Team Tempting II
Team TitBits
Team USA Sock Button
USA Team Cat Bed

Other Teams

Open to All

Curling Team
Drunken Pirate Knit-lympics
Injured Knitters
Off the Cuff Team
Team Angstylvania
Team Arrgh, Where's My Yarn
Team Deseret
Team Finish the Damn Thing!
Team Hooker: Crocheters Who Knit
Team Grad Students
Team I Hate My Project
Team Knitting in Public
Team Kvetch
Team Libra of the Undecided
Team Lion (Brand)
Team Procrastination
Team Rainbow
Team What the Hell Was I Thinking
Team WWSD?

Specific Groups

Dulaan Project Olympians
Team Briar Rose
Team Chattylibrarians
Team Crafts of the Wise
Team Elann
Team Knitting Chicks
Team Knitting Parents
Team Knittyboard
Team Pie (3WA)
Team Sybermoms Yarn Whores

Misc. and/or Multi-Category Buttons

Ancient Greek Button
Beadslut's Assorted Icons
Bob Costas Button
JenLa's Button Extravaganza
Paula's Button Collection

Alternate Challenges

Dual Olympiad: Knitting and Crocheting
Eddie Along - Enjoy the Process
Team Rather Bitch Than Knit
UFOlympics

Discussion

Knit_Olympics LiveJournal Community
Knitting Olympics Group Blog

Media Coverage

MAKE Blog, January 19, 2006: text
MSNBC.com's Clicked, January 19, 2006: text (scroll down)
SCAtoday.net, January 26, 2006: text
NPR's The World, February 3, 2006: text and audio
025.431: The Dewey Blog, February 6, 2006: "Knitting Pretty"
Blogging Baby, February 6, 2006: "Knitting Olympics: 423 Babes in Hand Knits by 2/26"
The Oregonian, February 8, 2006: "Knitting for the Gold"
SVT 1, February 8, 2006: video (in Swedish)
Stockholm Metro, February 12, 2006: text (pdf in Swedish)
Time, February 12, 2006: Gold-Medal Motives
icWales, February 13, 2006: "Knitters pick up stitches as they eye Olympic glory"
PembrokeshireTV.com, February 15, 2006: "Pembrokeshire Purler Knits for Victory"
News & Observer Notions Blog, February 16-26, 2006, "Knitter Olympics" Series
The Oregonian, February 18, 2006: "Who will get to the podium for purling?"
News & Observer, February 18, 2006: Top Drawer
Aftonbladet, February 19, 2006: "Stick och brinn - det OSar ju succe pa natet"
Providence Journal, February 23, 2006: Knitters Go for the Gold (registration required)
NHPR's Morning Edition, February 27, 2006: Knitters, Start Your Needles! - link to audio
Anchorage Daily News, February 28, 2006: "Knitters go for gold during Olympics"

Other Links and Resources

Knitting Olympics Drinking Game
Knitting Olympics in Wikipedia History of Knitting Article
Olympic Speed Knitting Tips

So that's why I feel so awful.

According to a British scientist, this is the most depressing week of the year. And, um, yeah, that wouldn't surprise me. I'm off to go curl up in a ball somewhere and cry.

My hair is gone!

Well, not all of it. But... a lot. 15 inches or so. Enough to feel like a big huge change.

(And that's my pretty new dress I got for my grandfather's birthday party.)

Huh, I kinda like this finishing idea.

First, the promised picture:

Yup, I finished three things this weekend. Three! Now, granted, two of those scarves had just needed their ends woven in for quite some time, but still. I am proud of myself, and have three fewer things to feel guilty about.

I did almost as well with the other finishing projects. I only finished one book, but I realized that the closest to the end I was in any of them was 150 pages, so that's not bad. I'll make some more reading progress before bed. And I didn't write a whole draft of my story, but that might have been an overzealous goal for a day in which I also wanted to accomplish other things. I wrote an outline and about 1000 words of story, so I'm satisfied. My goal is to have a draft before my trip/the Olympics, and then revise it afterwards.

I did watch two Netflix DVDs. Apparently it was a weekend for historical epics, although now that I think about it, most weekends would fall into that category for me, especially if the epics in question involve pretty clothes and questionable historicity. Anyway. Last night I watched the first two episodes of Into the West. It started slowly, but ended up being captivating in that Oh-God-I-cannot-believe-another-horrible-thing-is-going-to-happen-to-these-people way. And every time blankets appeared, I had to restrain myself from yelling "No! Smallpox! Don't take them!" at the screen.

Tonight I watched part one of Henry VIII. I spent the first half hour or so trying to decide whether I'd seen it before; I eventually decided that I had, but figured at that point I might as well just keep watching. I'm planning a post about it after I watch part two (which I am quite sure I have not seen before), so I'll just say a few things for now. First of all, it prompted the declaration in my household that the beheading of Helena Bonham Carter is the hallmark of a good movie. (Don't tell me you haven't seen Lady Jane.) Also, the people who made both this movie and Into the West seem to be rather confused about the whole birth idea. Um, people, there's this thing called the umbilical cord. I really don't think you can pull a baby out of a mother and immediately walk across the room with it. Right? Someone with more experience (Ais? Erica? Kristen?) want to back me up on this?

Happy birthday, Roe v. Wade

Today is the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Honestly, this is an issue I've struggled with, but I have come to realize that the goal is the creation of a world in which abortion is not necessary. Since we do not live in that world, however, abortion needs to be safe, legal, and available. So I am joining hundreds of other bloggers in "Blog for Choice" day. Click on the icon for more information and to see the list.

Go Team!

I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for the Superbowl. No, really. Thanks to its Superbowl sale, my LYS will be open on a Sunday, so I can go get yarn for my Knitting Olympics project. Between the two jobs, I am at work for all of my preferred yarn store's regular hours of business, so this is quite a treat. Anyway. (As long as I can find the magazine with the pattern in it,) I've decided on Nancy Bush's Cable and Rib Socks from the Fall 2005 IK. I hope to find some of the Bearfoot the pattern calls for - I know they carry it, but it tends to sell out quickly. If there's none of that, I'll probably go with either Weaver's Wool (same brand) or, um, that stuff from that other company that is basically the same. Yeah. Oh, Cherry Tree Hill. Right.

That said, here are my Olympic buttons:

I'm getting rather excited about this.

I've been having some... control issues, or "WTF is going on with my life??" issues, or something, which is one of the reasons I haven't been blogging much. We don't have to get into how this manifests itself, but it's not fun. So. I've decided that this is one of those weekends during which getting things done will actually make me more "relaxed" for the coming week than actually relaxing would. Or something. I've found a self-imposed writing assigment - a call for submissions for a short story anthology, 5000 words max, due March 16. I'm not terribly optimistic about my chances, but at least it is a manageable goal and will (I hope) get me into the swing of writing. So tomorrow I'm going to go to my favorite local cafe, to which I haven't been in months, and bang out a draft.

I also need to finish something, if only to help with the control issues above. I have three Netflix discs, several books I'm reading, and, well, dozens of knitting WIPs, but a few that are awfully close to being done. I'm feeling... scattered. So. By tomorrow evening, I hope to have accomplished the following:

Watch at least two DVDs
Finish at least three knitting projects
Finish at least two books
Write a short story draft
Various housework (won't bore you with the details)
Various paperwork (ditto)
Blog about it. WITH PICTURES. (To get back toward my daily blogging goal.)

Wish me luck!

Random Wednesday: The Cassandra Edition

(Cassandra, like the prophet. Because Wednesday isn't until tomorrow. Never mind.)

1. I'm going on a trip soon. Did I mention this? I can't remember. In any case, I am excited and freaked out by the whole thing at the same time, and so I am making lists. Lots of lists. At this point, my lists have lists. Fun times.

2. Okay, so Vintage Knits: Thirty Knitting Designs from Rowan for Men and Women? Why did no one tell me about this? I discovered it yesterday. I am in love. (With the patterns. Erica is in love with the model. But I digress.)

3. Have you registered for The 2006 Knitting Olympics yet? What are you waiting for?

4. I started knitting a Moebius. FUN. Unfortunately, it's not helping in the whole finishing of the Christmas present department, but...

5. Crap. I just realized I haven't written my Christmas thank you notes yet. Ack.

6. I think I have more or less made some semi-major decisions. I think this is a good thing. But it's also why I've been insane for the last few weeks. (Because, you know, I'm normally so very sane.)

7. I also had the revelation this afternoon that considering I'm always going on about wanting to be a writer, I should probably sit down and write something sometime. Um, yeah. So I started a young adult somethingerother tonight. We'll see.

8. Have you tried the Diet Black Cherry and Vanilla Coke yet? (Or, as my roommate called it, the "black cherry lime grape... vanilla stuff"?) YUM.

Okay, off to do dishes and hang up the laundry before Gilmore Girls starts...

December Reads

I know, I know. Better late than never, right?

(Explanation of the ratings)

Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality by Andrew Sullivan
Genre: Politics
Rating: 3.5
Comments: My roommate handed this to me with the words "This explains why all of the political arguments about it are wrong." And yup, it does. Very interesting, although a bit frustrating: a few times I wanted to ask Sullivan if there was anything he liked, or if he just disliked everything. Other than that, though, it provided a lot of context in a readable way, and convinced me that I need to learn more about Foucoult. Also check out Sullivan's blog.

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
Genre: Books about books
Rating: 5
Comments: This was a reread, or rather, a rereread, at least. I don't remember exactly how many times I've read it. I love this book. Obviously. Nelson, then book editor at Glamour and now editor of PW, tracks her reading and how it intersects with her life over the course of a year. She's on my "Can I be her when I grow up?" list for sure.

The Object of My Affection by Stephen McCauley
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Rating: 3.5
Comments: Honestly, I'm not sure what I thought of this. I really enjoyed the writing. And I wanted to shake the main characters because they were being so stupid. But it's worth a read, especially if you like the movie.

KnitLit the Third: We Spin More Yarns by lots of people
Genre: Knitting
Rating: 3
Comments: A fun read for any readers who have missed it so far. The quality is uneven, and I found myself getting bored/distracted a few times when I tried to read too much of it at once. I think it does best in small chunks. But there's some great stuff in there.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Genre: Juvenile mystery
Rating: 4
Comments: Fun! I loved this one. The characters were great and the plot was definitely a page-turner. And I'm a sucker for anything involving, you know, clues hidden in artwork or anything. The only thing that bugged me was there were important letters written in code, and I was trying to finish the book so I could go to bed, and decoding the code was slowing me down. But really, not a big deal.

Shadowland (The Mediator, Book 1) by Meg Cabot
Genre: Young adult fantasy
Rating: 4
Comments: I love Meg Cabot. She is also on my "Can I be her when I grow up?" list. One of the reasons I like her is that she writes in various genres - and it all works - but she doesn't lose her distinctive voice. This one was the first of a series about a teenage girl who sees ghosts and has to deal with them in various ways. Not necessarily my choice of subject matter, generally, but oh so fun. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

New boots!

I know, I know. Boots. I'm really stretching. But they just came today and I'm very excited. And they're the little sisters of my roommate's boots. Look how cute:

Various appalling links

Yeah, I'm still here. I've just been trying to actually do work at work, and spending less time online at home, and that means less blogging time. But meanwhile...

... Pat Robertson and friends are are building an Evangelical "theme park" in the Holy Land

... and not that it's surprising, but people said really horrible things in 2005

... and Jon Stewart is hosting the Oscars, which is good, but read the comments on this page

Okay, now that I've distracted you from my lack of content... December book list is coming soon, I promise. And maybe even something about knitting.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2006, and happy birthday to this blog! I ended up having a lowkey but very enjoyable New Year's Eve: my roommate and I watched Harold and Maude and then shared some cheesecake and a bottle of champagne. We barely stayed awake until midnight, but we made it, and I was asleep by 12:15. Oh, and all of the above was accomplished while in my pajamas. There are certainly benefits to staying home.

2005 wasn't my favorite year, but I think it was a fairly important year, and I learned a lot and am ready to have a better 2006. There's an old saying that says something about how what you do on January 1 is what you'll do all year. So far I have called my mother, made coffee, blogged, and knit. I think that's a pretty good start.