ProseKnitic – of Words und Wolle

It is peaceful in the back garden, boy and dog out for a stroll before we head on an outing.

Cambridge is on the list.

Map plus GPS gets us to a park and ride. 2.20 Sterling each covers both parking and a round trip into the city. Wandering around first through the inner part of town (unrelated to the University) we walk past

and old gates and doors.

We stopped for a late lunch at a lovely small Thai restaurant on a side street. When we were ready to leave, I reached into my bag for my wallet.

It wasn’t there. Or in my jacket. Neither were there any credit cards in the various purse pockets and my usual emergency stash of cash which I routinely tuck into my jeans pocket had been forgotten in our rush to catch the Park&Ride bus.

Flat, busted. Taking stock, I had three valuable things with me: my camera with lenses, my iPod, and the Mole.

Leaving all three in place, I made a dash through town, battling upstream through the crowds to catch the bus back to the Park&Ride. The bus driver looks at me, asks where is the other person. I explain that I have to make an extra trip. He punches out both tickets and tells me that I will have to pay again for both of us.

We are underway for over 45 minutes to accomplish the same drive that took 15 earlier this afternoon. Dashing to the car which is, of course, parked at the far end of the lot – I find my wallet sitting there smug and hardly visible against the black seats.

Naturally, the bus back to the city pulls out as I come running back to the station (same driver obviously).

Another 45 minutes, a job across town and I can ransom my son, bag, and pant. It is now dark out, too dark to take photos. The temperature has dropped to barely above freezing.

Day is busted – we make a couple of short stops but head back to the car and hit the road to home.

Might be nice to see Cambridge sometime….. with pockets properly loaded and my wallet tied to my belt.

Vår-Løysing

fussing around with a new camera lens, taking another picture of this vest seemed like a good target. Had to do something with the frustration.

Viking Ship Sweater

a bit more knitting on the second sleeve

while listening to The Better Part of Valor by Tany Huff. Marguerite Gavin does an excellent job with the narration. Huff is one of the few current authors who can actually write military science fiction that rings true.

The Mole came home this weekend – hung out with the pup who did not leave his side for most of the evening.

Viking Ship Sweater

Knitting the second sleeve is progressing more rapidly than the first sleeve. I both have the rhythm down, and follow the second chart is seems easier. It also might be that I have the stitches distributed across one dp and a circular needle so that the pattern portion is easy to identify.

with crashing early always a good option.

Because it has been cooler these last few days, the Canadian Geese have been hanging out on the field across from their pond.

The Nile goslings are quite a bit older

And a new pair have joined the ranks. Not at all shy, they came storming across the parking lot looking for a handout when I stopped to take a couple of pictures.

and went home to knit a bit more.

Done!

Trees & Wyverns if finished.

The front -

and the back.

Now all I have to do is write up the pattern, but going to ditch the large pattern lower border – too wide – and just put another border of the other trees around the lower edge.

Yarn is Finish Wool knit of a range of 2,75-3,25 needles.

Just a quick note to show you that the first sleeve is done.

Rather pleased with it, and the dragon on it.

There is the

Viking Ship Sweater

being almost done with the first sleeve. Other than the fact that the chart is much smaller than my eyes can see at the end of the day, I am making decent progress. (We will not mention that this sweater was started in Dec 07 now will we….

Trees

Completed, will start blocking tomorrow.

Audio Books

still working my way through Eve Dallas…..

Thank you for being so kind and looking at something other than knitting. For that, you have earned an update on the two knitting projects

Scheherazade

making a bit more progress

having finished up two of the six skeins (or is it eight?). Any way – there are six charts for each side with me being a few rows into the fifth chart.

Trees

Today just felt to warm for a lap full of wool, but I have started the V Neck and the trees are looking rather nice with the color changes in the yarn.

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I have calculated needing about 22 cm above the arms and am closing in on 10 cm.

Audio Books

and then there is the splurge on iTunes. The purchasing rules have changed again – with you actually have to be physically located in the country from which you are purchasing. Yes, I have a US credit card, but don’t live there. End result is that now have a number of books to synch that I am here in SF.

Finished Snow Fall at Hidden Lake – Susan Wiggs which is not too bad even if the main character spends entirely too much time being a Mary Sue. No one who achieves significant career accomplishments is that shallow or idiotic.

Which moved me along to Meg Gardiner’s The Dirty Secrets Club. Nothing like being in the city where a book is set.

Starting the journey home in the morning…..

Every 30 minutes, from 0730 to 1630 (excepting lunch – of course there are keynote speakers for noon time entertainment) there are four-five different presentations on upcoming firms and products in the medical and biotech investment space.

Now, I don’t have money to buy either public stock or to invest in start ups – but there am always very interested in upcoming technologies. (Leaving out the fantasies on behalf of the potential money that there is to be made.) Not to say that the other half’s business doesn’t involve some of the above.

These thoughts took me out for a wander about on a break (there is only so much time one can spend in meeting rooms before going completely insane. These are not listen as you knit presentations – even if I had brought mindless knitting).

Down the street – there is a medical arts building. Obviously dating since (we all remember the earthquake don’t we?) – I thought the representations were pretty apt.

also, out watching the passing pedestrians – there are critters tucked in here and there on the walls -

How many times do we just motor along – looking neither down at our feet nor up at the sky?

What is the potential for missing the beautiful -

the absolutely whacked -

or architectural details of department stores that would otherwise pass you by?

Of course, it helps if you are in San Francisco and invited to fancy receptions. Even if they turn out to be barely adequate on the munchies leaving you plenty of time and hungry to appreciate the rest of the evening.

could be a business idea that projects where a business is headed and what they expect to achieve. Reality? Fantasy? Or somewhere in between. Certainly all of the projections in the difference seminars I attended were caveated with an extensive number of disclaimers.

I think all of us do this regularly with our knitting, spinning and other craft projects. There are highly flying ideas of how much we can accomplish is a short time, in the medium range and the long term.

Isn’t that why we have such extensive stashes?

Never mind that life, the economy and currently unknown factors are going to slap us upside the head long before any of those predictions are met.

But a business really couldn’t say – now this is our SWAG (silly wild ass guess) for the next fiscal year, now could it?

After the last couple picture heavy posts – you are getting a break today. Attending the J P Morgan Medical Technology Conference is always interesting.

Looking around the audience at the different presentations today – there was a sea of dark suits. Perhaps a variety on the colors of the shirts, but it didn’t seem to matter to the few females among the herd of white males; the uniform of the day was a dark suit. A sprinkling of Asians were present. It didn’t matter, my red blazer was the only spot of color.

One other thing was quite noticeable. Obesity was almost absent. In spite of the increasing prevalence in the US – not this crowd. Out of the hundreds packing the Ballroom for the Keynote address – perhaps five counted as heavy and two as obese. That is it.

After a new session every 30 minutes all morning and early afternoon, I headed off to a conference at the Four Seasons. First, the address I was given was close, but not accurate. The next challenge was that the room number I was given was incorrect. Since I didn’t know who had rented the Suite – there was no way I could ask.

Giving up, I went to the Apple Store. Now, if I had remembered 15″ instead of 17″ every thing would have been completely ducky.

Knitting

Now, it seems like every guy in the place is busy on his Blackberry. Not quite acceptable, but it doesn’t make noise or attract attention. I think the assumption everyone around them makes is that the activity is work related and therefore “ok.” Perhaps in another 10 years, I can knit in the meetings and not have anyone bothered. It is hard to consider knitting as work related.

Not as much progress on my vest as I would have hoped – 25 cm done. Planning on doing the armhole split around 32cm.

I was up a bit late last night. Between the 8 hours time difference from the UK and getting suckered into “just one more row” on my vest – suddenly it was after 0200.

Not a great idea when you really had planned on being up early to hike around the city. And so it was a bit later than planned when I headed out, camera slung over my shoulder.

Museums

The Museum of Craft and Folk Art had a lovely small exhibit on paper cutting/folding from the Asian Tradition called The Shape of Things. And if you are an Origami person and are not familiar with Robert Lang go immediately to his site. You need Treemaker. Nothing like combining math with history to develop the fold-lines for about anything you would like to craft.

Of course, no interior photos were allowed.

Across the street is the Contemporary Jewish Museum which just opened in 2008. Built out of the Jessie Street Power Substation, the history of the building before, during and after the 1906 Earthquake is chronicled on the lobby walls.

The outside is glorious and inner design is impressive. Can’t say as much for the three exhibits (local SF – typical of type; Andy Warhol – commercial; upstairs exhibit – neither well posted or presented).

Around the Area

Special parking just for motorcycles, and at a great price!

Interesting buildings -

and those of historical significance. (Guess the Simon Winchester book made more of an impression on me than I thought. It is such a lovely city. To live here? )

And Fire Station #1 just tucked in, barely visible on what seems to be a side street.

Sculpture around the area

Besides lobbies, there were sculptures next to a few buildings and along a pedestrian walk-way.

Griffin Vest

The yarn – you can see the shades of natural brown through which the yarn cycles

and progress. The lower band is complete (20 rows plus edges) and half way up the first tree repeat

If you want to understand where you really fit in the size of the world – go to Muir Woods National Monument.  Walking along, being dwarfed by trees while traversing the occasional ray of sun which makes it through to the forest floor, it was peaceful and quiet in spite of all the hikers.

Looking at a cross-section from a tree harvested 90 years ago -

that started growing about 1000 years ago.

The day is gorgeous, about 16°C with the sun shining and a crisp wind blowing. The bay has an amazing lack of sail boats out on the water. Perhaps they are not allowed?

Janet picked me up this morning and we are cruising- military and interesting sites. We are not quite the same as when we worked together at 5th G Emergency Room in the early 80s. Life has happened to us. But underneath those changes, there has been steady treelike growth with the ability to weather challenges.

The Presidio has passed from Army hands to those of Immigration -

remains, the housing is now rented by private individuals, Letterman has been closed for almost 2 decades.

In other locations, the Park Service or Coast Guard has taken over former Army sites so that you can now take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge

or walk on the beach/study marine mammals on a former Nike Missile site

We lunched at Saul’s Delicatessen in Berkley then took a side trip to Oakland. Small store there with the unlikely name of Article Pract. Yarn store. We spent time both looking around and adding to our respective stashes.

I found some interesting sock yarn called Mini Moochi, a merino and nylon blend.

and bought three colors of baby Merino Malbrigo lace. Neither the photos or the monitor really does these amazing luscious feeling skeins justice.

Griffin Vest

I finally managed to get past the ribbing on the Griffin Vest -

ok – from the right side you can start to see the feet!

with the base and first six rows of the pattern knit

Scheherzade

I had only 20 rows knit when I got on UA 901 yesterday. Finishing the third set of charts put me at 150 rows and about 25% complete. This is for the Eldest. The color is periwinkle and the yarn is lovely. Even so, I don’t think it is going to turn out to be what she wants. So sometime between now and 23 May I might have to squeeze in an alternate shawl.

It is late and I am not sure at all about my body and the time zones. Helpfully, it is still 10°C here while it is -12°c in Heidelberg and 3°C in Camberley. I think I have the best of the three locations.

Lately when I have been flying it has been overcast, night on those rare occasions where I have been able to score a window seat.

On this forever flight from Frankfurt (who new it was cheaper to go Heathrow-Frankfurt-San Francisco than to change planes in the US) I just left the camera in my backpack. Buried under everyone’s coats and gear. We will not talk about crowded planes or people who think that they should be able to sit where they choose in spite of seat assignments now will we).

Flying west – the skies were clear and sharp. Flying west at 1430 Frankfurt time. Staying in a bright day the whole time. Over coast lines, waters, imposing Greenland. Hudson Bay chocked with ice flows. Vast barren tundras of Northern Canada and the magnificance of the new world mountain ranges. On approach, the jewel that is San Francisco sparkled in the sun with the arches of the Golden Gate reflected off the water; sun still clear above the horizon.

And me without my camera.

I leave way too early in the morning for comfort. To make a 0950 flight, I need to be at the airport a couple of hours before that. It takes 20-30 minutes on the bus. To get to the bus I need to take the train from Camberley to Feltham. To get to the train station and buy my ticket for the 0617 train means that I have to walk the 10-15 from wherever I park the car wheeling a suitcase. And to drive to the car park.

You get the idea.

I could just take a cab, but that would cost 42L sterling rather than 8.50. The difference I saved can then be allotted to the yarn account. Right?

I have to take several changes of business type wear, a couple of casual things and the assorted extras. I finished packing everything but the knitting projects by 2100.

Yes, trip knitting projects. I decided against socks or taking along the sleeves of the Viking. I just didn’t want to deal with dps on a crowded airplane. Walk-in-the-Woods is on a metal circ. Fine hand sewing is out of the question.

Griffins & Trees

Finishing the graphing and calculations for Griffins & Trees – I wound the base green yarn + a long change in browns. Both are a bit heaving than Kauni and were purchased in May on that Helsinki trip. Appreciating the twisted ribbing from the vest I just completed, I am using that – ribbing on 3.00 needles and the body to be knit on 3.5mm.

My source for the three different charts  is Nancy Spies’ excellent book Here be Wyverns modified to suit knitting.

Meanwhile – the 4th Eve Dallas book is entertaining me while I paste together graphs and realize that it is close to midnight. Really going to be well rested? Not.

or at least it seemed that way.

I dashed into work early to empty out all the work email, talk to a few people in the building and look at the long range schedule.

Picked up the Mole at Heathrow (plane was late, luggage was checked). Came home. Took him to Rochester (Kent, not New York) to get him settled in at school. Drove home.

Crashed.

I didn’t have enough energy to knit, sew, do laundry or even think about summer.

Audio Books

am working my way through the JD Robb series again in audio. Had Heather Graham’s The Dead Room going in the car. Ms Soprano had the opinion that the main character was too much of a “Mary Sue.” I am starting to get bored with four disks to go… have lots of other choices. Might just move on to a Linda Howard collection

It is cold, damp and a New Year. Time (so they tell me) to head back to work.

I would rather talk about knitting. Staying home knitting with a nice cup of coffee, or tea, or cocoa. One can always find an excuse for a cup of cocoa with mint.

Vår Løysing

Ends woven in, and the vest is blocking upstairs even if the room is cold enough to make my hands ache.

Tomorrow I will move it to the drying cupboard and get a better pix from the back side.

Scarf

Well, this is the third one of these alpaca scarves that I have knit. Not usually being a person for orange, I might not wear it that enthusiastically. But it is soft and warm and I still love the mindless knit that turns into fake plaid.

This takes my project list down to only two projects actually under way. Gives me the opportunity to decide what goes on the needles next.

The van left early this morning – headed home to Heidelberg. Ferry crossing at 1000.

Ms Soprano and I headed north to Lakenheath. I can’t find the Texaco Fast Fuel card, hopefully with enough remaining diesel to see us through to the other end.

Mildenhall does not have diesel. The Esso back out the gates does which seemed like the best idea considering that I was running completely on fumes. After running all the Lakenheath errands – it turned out that my authorization card was not in the car either. We made a regular fuel stop on the way home. And yes – there is a significant difference between 96.8p/liter and $0.74/liter.

Knitting

Making progress on my third Hummingbird

and then there is Vår Løysing. Rather pleased with my progress. The I-cord is complete and just blocking ahead.

Audio

Continuing with the J D Robb Series.

The shoulders are now bound off.

the steeks have been cut

It is looking decent with all three cuts complete

and I have started on the I-cord (tedious job, that)

The end is in sight!

It wasn’t very early this morning when I poked my nose out from under the covers into the cold of my bedroom.

After all, it was just short of midnight when we dragged our tired bodies in from the car towing suitcases just to fall into bed. I managed to turn the heat on just before crashing. According to the dear guy in my life who braved the kitchen in order to start a pot of coffee – it was 42°F in the kitchen this morning.

Ok, not bad – it is above freezing and the pipes should be fine. Not so the under 21 female humans who complained bitterly of cold feet.

We retrieved the dog from her sojourn at friends before crawling back under the covers. It also meant that I was able to get some mail – and found these fun kids in a package from Carmen.

Knitting Update

This is my current status on various projects -

first – a simple scarf (third one) in alpaca. And yes, it is orange, purple and tourquoise; eye searing bright as a matter of fact.

then there is the Viking Ship Sweater -
comparison on the cuffs – (and you can see why I restarted)

and where I am on the first sleeve

Moving on – the body is done on Vår Løysing – tomorrow I am planning on sewing and cutting the steeks which will leave me only the Icord on the front and neck.

Since I couldn’t do more on the vest (like lack of sewing machine) – I went back to the Hanne Falkenberg Blues Vest – finishing the left front

and getting started on the right -

and finally, my DvD watching knitting – Butterfly, another Hanne Falkenberg pattern knit out of three remainders coned shetland yarns. The body below the armholes is knit in one piece. On 3mm needles, this is a lot of stitches in garter….

and if I don’t go insane waiting for the server, I should be able to get several of my planned posts from Egypt up on the blog this evening…

Meanwhile – wishing you all the best in 2009!