'pod covers and p*rn.

Here are the photos of completed Ipod Nano cozies or sweaters. The orange one is made from Koigu, I believe it's color 216 but I could be wrong. The dark purple one is Gems pearl merino in eggplant. The third one is Noro Kureyon. Just some leftovers from socks and a booga bag. The sweater I use the most is the Koigu one. I can get to the controls through the sweater. It took some experimenting but I can even turn up the volume without taking it out of the cover.
The Kureyon bag is a little bigger and I can poke the headphones in with the nano. I added a strap too.
When it comes to using them, I prefer to just stick the nano in my pocket and not have a strap to deal with along with the headphone cords. I've been listening in my car alot and it seems I alway get the headphone cords and seatbelt intertwined and I have to take off the headphones to get out of the car. Yes, I'm very graceful that way. I'm thinking I need to get the little cassette adapter so I can play it on my car stereo.

I've been listening to The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. This is my February book group book. I'm not very far into it (chapter 8) and it's getting interesting. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at first because it's a story within a story told from the present day looking back a few years and most of the interesting stuff went on in the past. There is not alot of information about the present day characters in the beginning and they just seemed like a framework or stretching device to make the story set in the past take longer to unfold. I was impatient whenever the book lingered in the present, but now I can see how the past is impacting the characters in the present and the two stories are unfolding together. I'm really starting to enjoy it. It doesn't hurt that alot of the 'action' takes place in archives around the world. Lots of research and digging, just my kind of thing.

In knitting news, I've finished all the pieces for the Manos sweater except for the hood. I've got about one quarter of the hood completed and should easily finish it before the end of the week. This yarn really knits up fast and nice. It's very soft to work with and the colors are beautiful. I haven't included any photos yet as they have all come out looking too orange. I have blocked all the pieces (except the hood) and even the photos in natural light where I block don't look very good. I really need to play with photoshop more so I can tweak my photos. See photos above for example... they could really stand some cropping. It would be nice to post a photo without a cat's tail in it... but Scout, ever helpful, loves to help with photographing stuff.

One photo I took did come out pretty good, so I'll leave you with some yarn p*rn.

Pictures as promised

Here are the photos of my completed cabled jacket. It has no buttons, nor has it been blocked, but the knitting is done! It was a fairly quick knit, I can't remember when I started it exactly, but about a month ago. The cable detail is very easy and fun.

It's very soft and it fits, (although I think I know now why I don't own anything with raglan sleeves, I don't really like how they feel when I'm wearing it) and I'm sure I'll wear it.

What I really love is the yarn, Jo Sharp aran tweed. I bought more:-) Two sweaters worth. I don't have patterns picked out yet, one might be a sweater for DH. The other might be for a Rogue for me...

Last night I picked up the Manos sweater I started while the cable jacket was blocking and worked on it for a while. I don't know if I can get it finished before the Knitting Olympics starts but I'm going to try. It'll be good training!

Olympics? Me?

Ok, stop laughing. I've joined the knitting olympics hosted by the Yarnharlot. I am going to attempt to complete a cabled sweater in 16 days. My current project is a cabled cardigan, I'm not quite done with it and I've been working on it for almost a month. So... it will be a challenge, but my current project fell among all the holidays and all the festivities may have cut into my knitting time (realistically I had more time off and I did take my knitting with me everywhere...). I was also temporarily sidetracked when my Nano arrived sans cover and I had to design and knit 3 ipod sweaters. Yes three, I have to have choices and they're small and fun to design. I must get pictures posted soon.

So, other than the knitting olympics.. I've been busy with work stuff, some fun projects there.. weeding, curious george program, knitting group, reading workshops for parents, movie night planning... work type stuff.

My book group met for the first time Monday and it was fun, good discussion of Wickett's Remedy and interesting thoughts about the sidenotes and other articles and stuff inserted in the story. I listened to most of it on my nano, although even at the fastest speed it's much slower than I read. So listening takes a long time. Our next book is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Should be interesting- great reviews and I've heard lots of good things about it...I have to go get it from Audible so I can start listening to it.

Got birthday presents from my parents they got in Hawaii.. great yoga cat shirt with all the poses written out in hawaiian.

Also heard from Ulla,my friend in Finland, today!!! She says it's -25C there, very very cold, but all is well with her wonderful family. Hello Ulla, drop me a comment if you visit my blog! We may be going to Scotland in 07, and if we do I'll have to sneak in a hop to Tampere and visit. It's been a long time since I was there.... it's a beautiful place, so many good memories.

I'm off tomorrow, if I finish the cabled cardigan I'll post pictures. Well it's time for me to get training.

Happy New Year...

I am not one for making resolutions ... although this New Year did find me scanning all the things I'd like to get done but for whatever reason haven't. So I've actually been working on projects that have been waiting patiently for me to find the time. I like to think they were ripening. I've started with my studio... baby steps here. Mostly it's decision time, although I've reorganized yarn and shelves and have decided that the goal is to get all my yarn in containers, on my shelves. Then I'll move the rest of the furniture.

The first picture is of the shelves before the reorganization.. actually long before but they hadn't changed much... lots of books. Big surprise for a librarian. Mostly school stuff, articles and papers, that I would like to take out somewhere and have a big bonefire... not a good idea right now in Oklahoma. So I've just stashed them where I can easily load up and take to the recycling bin.

Here is the progress after the reorganization. Still alot of books, but the yarn is taking over, and is fairly easy to find and get to and the baskets are off the floor.

Aside from reorganizing, I've been knitting ( surprise!) and I've just about finished a cabled jacket. It's blocking in the newly created space on my cutting table. Once it's done I still have to add the collar and button band, but it's mainly done. I used Jo Sharp silkroad aran tweed and it's lovely! My lys had a sale on it after Christmas and I bought enough for two more sweaters.

While it's blocking I needed something to knit so I went back through my stash and pulled out some Manos and started another sweater. I started yesterday, and today finished the back. It's a quick knit, mostly stockinette. Manos is lovely to knit with also. The yarn was a Christmas gift from DH last Christmas and I just didn't have the right project. I finally decided to make a simple hooded pullover that will show off this pretty yarn.

I knit most of it while listening to Wickett's Remedy on my new Ipod Nano (Happy Birthday to me!) with my new subscription to Audible.com. I have really slacked off on my reading since I started knitting. I used to read about a book a week, until about July 2004 when I started knitting. Since then I've read only a smattering of titles and some of my favorite authors have had new books that I've taken home and back to the library without reading them. It seems I would rather knit right now. So the audio book thing seemed perfect for those times when there isn't anything I want to see on Turner Classic Movies.

Well I'm off tomorrow and one sweater or the other is going to get larger. I'm also going to do more catching up here soon. Then tomorrow night, my book club meets. Just the kick in the pants I needed to get back to reading. Should be fun.