$ cat /var/log/meri

Hi, everybody!

On Thursday, I decided to start a new project: the Vivid blanket by tincanknits. (See one of the (unblocked) completed squares below.) (more…)

See, I’ve signed up for the Game of Thrones-inspired Stormborn Shawl mystery knit along [1]. And I’m loving the pattern. It’s clever and geometric and just makes sense. It has unusual shapes in it, and I can understand why they’re there. It’s challenging enough to keep me interested, but not so challenging that I’m spending more time tinking than knitting. I should be having an absolute blast with this.

But I’m not.

All because I’m pretty unhappy with the yarn I’m using.

(more…)

Well, not one of you, necessarily. But I’m hoping that one (or more) of you can point me to some awesome doctors.

That’s right, kids. It’s time to make the rounds and find me a new passel of doctors to try to keep the creaky meri boat afloat.

(more…)

Since some people have asked, here is a photo of the completed Eden Prairie shawl, on the very dirty basement carpet.

It isn’t perfect, and it still needs to be blocked, but I’m pretty fond of it. I would definitely make this pattern again. I think this one in particular is being sent to my grandmother as a belated Mother’s Day gift.

TL; DR: meri is asking for warm bodies to carry things outside.

If any of you happen to be available this Saturday (or potentially Sunday) to help G and I make the final push on this whole “decluttering of the house” thing, we would both be eternally grateful for your assistance. Mostly, what we’re looking for is people who are willing and able to pick up stuff that we point at and take it (often up stairs or down stairs) outside to a waiting truck and/or pile. We will do all of the actual sorting, it’s just help getting things from various points in the house to the actual outdoors with which we need help.

In exchange for your kind assistance, we offer beer / soft drinks / coffee / tea / water, and pizza. And, a good chance that you might find some stuff that you want in the stuff we’re getting rid of. Also, this will likely be the last “social” thing that G and I do before we take Mr. Soule’s advice and head west.

If any of you are interested (or not interested, but inclined to help), please send me a message, and I’ll send you our address and contact info.

Many thanks!

Mary

CAVEAT: If you have cat or dust allergies, you should probably sit this one out. 4 cats. Lots of dust.

I’ve used a little menu bar app called GrowlVoice for a very long time. It let me send/receive SMS messages and phone calls from my computer, without having to have an app open in the dock, and was generally very handy. However, it seems that there was a recent change in the GrowlVoice setup, and the app has stopped working for me (it appears to still be working for some others). It throws a JSON error at startup, and just… sits there, lost and forlorn. The little bit of information that I’ve been able to glean from the Interwebs indicates that the developer is no longer going to be supporting the app.

Well, crap.

I’ve installed Google Voice for Chrome, but… the app won’t acknowledge that I already have a Google Voice account. I suspect that this has something to do with the fact that I’m logged in with two Google accounts in Chrome. I’ve tried logging out of both accounts, and then only logging in with the one that’s actually associated with Google Voice, but no luck. I just keep getting the little “The Chrome extension only works with Google Voice accounts that use a Google Voice number or use voicemail,” popup, along with a link to get a Google Voice number. Of course, when I click on the link, it loads my Google Voice account. Grrr.

Once, just once, Google Voice for Chrome notified me of an incoming SMS. “Huzzah!” thought I, thinking that maybe the magical world of conflicting cookies had worked themselves out. And they had… kinda. It seems the extension is now in “Client Only” mode, and cannot initiate anything (such as responding to an SMS, or making a phone call), just receive. It’s taunting me!

Ahem.

So now I’m trying VoiceMac by someone who calls himself Mr. Gecko. It’s … functional, but not nearly as polished as either GrowlVoice was or (from what I’ve seen of G’s install) Google Voice for Chrome is.

Anyone else have any suggestions for an app to replace GrowlVoice? Or hints on how to get the Google Voice for Chrome extension to work reasonably?

I’ve started culling the yarn stash. I’m doing my best to be brutal about the process. I’m getting rid of novelty yarns that I bought when I was but a wee knitter (so to speak). I’m getting rid of the random skeins that I only bought one of, and now have no earthly idea what to do with (10 Stitch Blankets and Bee Keepers Quilts aside). I’m getting rid of yarn in colors that I would never find enjoyable to stare at for hours while I knit. I’m getting rid of lots.

Luckily, I already have a recipient in mind for the yarn, and so I can imagine her (and her daughter) enjoying the new stash each time I get a pang about putting something in the “to-go” bag. I’ve already filled a 13-gallon trash bag, and that’s just by going through the stuff that resides outside of my actual yarn storage bins. (I don’t have a problem. A problem implies a need for a solution, and I fail to see that as necessary.)

But it’s an interesting process, destashing.

I am preparing to do a massive craft destash. I haven’t used a bunch of the stuff in my craft room in the year since Jer and Shamala came down to help me clean the room, and that means I probably don’t need it.

I’m not sure the best way to divest myself of these things. They’re all perfectly good craft tools and supplies, not crap. (For instance, I have *4* guillotine paper cutters. I want to get rid of two of them.) I also don’t want to hold on to things forever waiting for someone from Facebook / FreeCycle / Craigslist to come pick things up (the goal being to make these things go away). Schools are remarkably hard to give thing to. I tried giving a bunch of craft supplies to my local elementary school the *last* time I did this, and there was a whole process, that was going to take several hours that I didn’t have the energy for.

(I know what to do with yarn that I’m going to be rehoming. Unless anyone here has an interest in it, and come get it, or meet me somewhere, I will be taking it to Cloverhill Yarn to offer to friends, and then adding it to the charity knitting box.)

But for the rest of it: What to do, what to do?

My dear friends at Cloverhill Yarn have chosen the next knit along (KAL) project: the Eden Prairie shawl. It will be my first foray into the world of intarsia, and I’m both excited and nervous. It’s a beautiful shawl, and I don’t want to mess it up!

I’ve ordered my wool for the shawl (using up the rest of my Christmas present from Jer and Shamala), and am pleased with the color choices (at least, with the way they look online). Here’s the lineup:

All Madeline Tosh Merino Light. From left to right, they are:

• Dirty Panther (borders)
• Tern (diagonal panels)
• Mica (diagonal panels)
• Robin Red Breast (central diamonds)

Very meri colors, no?

Until this yarn shows up, I still have work to do on the Maple Leaf shawl (2 more corners, all the loose ends, and blocking to go) and the Simple Shawl for Fancy Yarns (almost done with one ball (of two)). I also still have to block and ship Missy’s cowl, Jakob’s present, and Ash’s present.

Never a dull moment!

The Maple Leaf Shawl is continuing apace. The whole base of the leaf is done, as is the first corner (top right). I have the stitches for the second corner (top left) separated out and ready to go. Overall, the shawl should end up being 51″ wide, though that’s with some pretty aggressive blocking. Also, there are a bazillion loose ends.