On sweaters and zippers

Since I had a very busy day of errand running today, the time is ripe for a Wednesday Night Bullet Post...

• There was an anonymous comment on yesterday's post about not having heard much about Box Tops for Education lately. The Box Top collection at Neatnik's school is an ongoing concern. I continue to collect them and send them in to school when our little collecting box in the kitchen gets full or when they are having a contest.



• The contest prize is usually that the class which collects the most Box Tops gets to pick a non-gym day to wear their gym uniforms.



• I had 35 Box Tops in our box. Then, while walking in the mall with Number Guy on Tuesday, I found a Box Top on the floor, so we now have 36 Box Tops in the box.



• Hey, you'd stop to pick up a dime, wouldn't you?



• Temperatures here have been in the 20s and the wind has been howling for days. This is why we have been walking in the mall rather than outside on the highways and byways around town.



• I prefer walking outside for a bunch of reasons:
  
  
  • Fresh air
  • Varying sights
  • Running errands
  
  but if the fresh air is so cold that it steals the very life from your lungs, it isn't worth it.



• Completed last night:
  
  
  • One cardigan collar
  • Ends woven in
  • Zipper pinned in place
  • Sweater modeled for Number Guy


• Discovered last night:
  
  
  • Zipper approximately one inch too long
  • Zipper installation more stressful than steeking
  • Yarn intended for next sweater is cabled


• Neatnik decided she wanted pigtails today.



• Have I ever mentioned that short-cropped me isn't really good at braiding hair?



• I gave it my best shot and my child went to school this morning channeling Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls.



• There are worse looks.



• This afternoon, I bought a zipper for the steeking project.



• Positioning the zipper was infinitely more stressful than cutting the sweater in the first place.



• The slightly felted fabric tended to bunch when I pinned it to the zipper.



• Solution:
  
  
  • Place a pin in the end to hold zipper and fabric together.
  • Start basting by hand.
  • Remove pin and continue to baste zipper into position (carefully!).
  
  
  
  Be sure to use contrasting thread!


• Machine stitch zipper in place and remove basting thread. You may wish to run a second line of stitches to ensure that the zipper will not part company with the garment during normal wearing.
  
  
  Success at last!


• I cheated a little bit with this picture.



• I'm holding the back bunched in my hands to make it look less boxy.

Well, that's my mid-week round up. Some knitters will tell you that cutting the knitting is stressful. I think that the follow up task of installing the zipper is far, far more angst-inducing.

Did I happen to mention that I bought a zipper for my cable/rib cardigan?

Perhaps I need a wee lie down before contemplating that.

Or maybe even a full night's sleep.

In which trek cuts a handknit

Is everybody ready?

On your mark, get set, steek

I am definitely committed now.
Or should I *be* committed??

Steeking? Nothing to it!

Just a zipper and a couple of minor details remain...

Veni, arti*, steeki?

Folks who have been visiting the wool and the word for a bit might remember that I cast on and knit a sweater that actually fit me back in 2008. This was a major milestone! It fit me.

The picture in that post, however, is about 30 pounds ago. I needed to make the sweater a wee bit smaller to fit on the new, "buff" trek.

Let me remind everyone here - just in case anyone out there is a thick as I am at times - one should never walk away from the dryer into which you have placed a 100% non-superwash wool sweater. Not even for a minute because a minute turns into ten minutes all too quickly.

While the sweater was not ruined by any stretch of the imagination, it did tighten up lose a small bit of stitch definition shrink slightly.

Uh, oh. Would somebody wave some smelling salts at the knitter over there in Albuquerque? Thanks.

Sorry about that.

My sweater is a wee bit smaller which, in theory, was the desired outcome, but some unforeseen changes also occurred.

• The forearms are a mite snugger than I prefer, especially as they progress on up towards the elbows.
• The collar is a tiny bit higher than is strictly comfortable.

The slight bit of felting of the fabric means that I cannot simply unravel and re-knit. I had to start thinking outside the box on this one. One very MacGyver solution presented itself and I think it has both merit and value.

As long as I don't screw it up.

I could steek it.

This is a time-honored tradition of Fair Isle knitters so I should be able to trust it, right?

What I am thinking is that I will lop off the sleeves above the elbows and slice up the middle of the front, creating a short-sleeved, semi-felted jacket. I thought a zipper for a closure and maybe a little v-neck work around the collar.

Is this doable or has the lost stitch definition caused me to complete my pilgrimage around the bend?

While we are all pondering the sanity of this plan, I think I shall go work on the cardigan's sleeve, which I shall never bring within line of sight of the hellish, fire-breathing dragon in the basement the dryer.

* arto - Latin for "to press together"

Fixy stuff

Hi, blog peeps! So good to see you here at the beginning of 2010. I have to wonder, do you say two-thousand-ten or do you say twenty-ten?

Whichever way you say it, I'd like to say "hi" to you here at the beginning of it.

Mommy and Daddy did some fixy stuff yesterday afternoon. I'm not a very big fan of fixy stuff but they sure were busy doing it.

First thing Mommy fixed was the liner of the pocket on the leather jacket she found at the thrift shop.

Lots of teeny, tiny stitches.

After the pocket was safe for use once more, Mommy took Neatnik's unicorns for some re-tail therapy.

Insane Mucilage to the rescue!

Too bad Christopher Robin didn't have this stuff.

That sort of glue didn't work on the cracked license plate frame, though: it started to dissolve the plastic!

Mommy used hot glue instead.

Mommy and Daddy have this big pantry cabinet in the kitchen. It has lots of shelves but a couple of them were kind of wobbly and they wanted to make them level again. Some of the shelves just needed pegs others needed the

broken off bits of pegs

to be drilled out first

and then

MacGyvered a bit

so that they became the right heights to level the shelves.

Some just needed

a little help

others required

a bit more assistance.

One shelf needed its trim piece reattached, but Daddy straightened out the staples, slathered the wood with some Cow Expoy, and clamped it tight.

Looks like new, Daddy!

Glad I didn't have to help with the fixy stuff: glue is murder on the fleece.

NYDBP

Happy New Year! Let's wrap up a few interesting things from 2009 to start off 2010 in style with some New Year's Day Bullet Points!

• I was really hoping to finish my Cable and Rib Cardigan (Ravelry link) before December waved good-bye. This did not happen. It was due to a series of unfortunate events - the Monkey Pox figured prominently as did the end of semester exams and grade posting. Another contributing factor is the rather nasty razor cut currrently inhabiting the pad of my left middle finger.
  
  It is hard to knit with a self-adhesive bandage stuck to the end of your finger but impossible to knit with an exposed quarter inch long incision: wool fibers getting into it is reminiscent of lemon juice flooding a paper cut.
  
  Since this sweater is still in progress as is a Grown Up Skweffle - Cornflower Edition, I am starting the new year with two WIPs, one of which is a SIP.



• With this cardigan still not complete, I tried hitting up the local thrift shops and mall stores for a wool sweater or two. Did I find anything? Nope. Well, that's not entirely true. I did find a lightweight black cardigan at the thrift store. It was marked Dry Clean Only. In retrospect, for four bucks, I probably should have gotten it and simply hand-washed it.
  
  There was also a Fair Isle pullover at the mall which interested me briefly - until I felt how long the floats were. Why do clothing companies think that three inch long floats are in any way wise?!



• While working on Christmas lights for the tree last month, I realized that I was holding one of the bulbs that make a twinkly set twinkle. I tried plugging it into the strand of lights I was testing. It didn't work either in the first position from the plug end nor the farthest position, therefore I concluded that this was not a twinkling strand.
  
  Neatnik really wanted the lights to twinkle. She didn't seem to understand that you need a twinkly strand and a twinkly bulb to make the magic happen, so I tried to explain it to her.
  
  "Neatnik, a twinkly light bulb without a twinkly light strand doesn't work. It's like if you are running Windows, no number of Linux drivers will make your hardware run."
  
  I really said that to the seven-year old.
  
  Gosh, I am such a geek.



• Recently, I noticed that a new Mexican restaurant opened up across the road from one of the local thrift shops. It is a small eatery about half a block down the street from a well-respected, similar establishment. Number Guy and I decided to give the new place a try yesterday.


The dining room was empty when we arrived. We weren't worried, though: we deliberated planned an early arrival so that we wouldn't have Neatnik out late. We ordered dinner and fell upon greedily devoured daintily nibbled on tortilla chips and salsa. What delicious chips! They were piping hot and you could really taste the corn flavor - not too salty, either.


• Number Guy ordered a quesadilla and burrito combo. Neatnik selected the very traditional Mexican chicken fingers and French fries. I opted for a house specialty called molcajetes, named after the searingly hot vessel in which it was served.
  
  Most awesome Mexican meal I have ever had, including the homemade tamales and other ethnic goodies Celtic Beadie's mom's little old Mexican neighbor lady cooked when we visited for Thanksgiving back in 1991.
  
  We enjoyed this meal and the location so much that we called friends on the drive home to tell them about it.
  
  I have to admit that singing the praises of this restaurant isn't entirely altruistic. This is a small, new place and we want to encourage people to eat there so that there will be enough patrons to keep them in business in between our visits.



• I've mentioned in some past posts how happy it makes me when an author I've read comments on my blog. Late last night, I received a comment from Candace Calvert, author of Critical Care.
  
  Candace's next book, Disaster Status, hits the book shelves in April, with Code Triage scheduled for release in September.



• I went through my blogroll on Bloglines last night. There were quite a few blogs which have not been updated in months and I unsubscribed from them. I was kind of sad as I clicked the "unsubscribe" button but I was virtual house cleaning in order to make room for new feeds. I am very hopeful that I will find new (replacement) blogs to read. If you have a favorite blog which you think I might enjoy reading, leave me a link, okay? New blog friends are always a blessing.
  
  New physical friends are also a blessing but, as adults, making new friends is hard. There was even a thread on Ravelry about it recently.
  
  Where/how do you go about making new friends? Do you find it hard to make new friends or to re-establishing ties with old ones? I've never been big on new year's resolutions but if I were to think of having one, making new friends while maintaining existing relationships and reconnecting with old friends would be a very worthy goal.

While we are not particularly attached to resolutions around here, Neatnik did sort of make one: to read two hundred new books in 2010 - or at least more books than Mommy.

Farewell 2009

Welcome to the Annual Farewell here at the wool and the word, formerly known as trek casts on. The name change happened during 2009 and it was appropriate indeed, seeing as how there was a bit less of the knitting this year. I wouldn't attribute this to missing mojo so much as to the determination to reduce the cholesterol numbers. It is much easier to read and walk than it is to kwit in the highest heat of the summer.

Speaking of reading, Neatnik has read almost as many new books this year as Mommy. She just handed me her 184th finished book of the year 2009. To celebrate 50 new titles, we took her out for ice cream. In honor of 100 new ones, we told her we'd take her out for dinner but she opted for breakfast at a local diner. For 150 books, we visited a new ice cream shop and promised a weekend trip if she made it to 200 books year's end. Well, she didn't make it to the two century mark but we are planning to take her out to dinner tonight in celebration. Shh! Neatnik doesn't know yet: it's a surprise.

# # #

As is tradition, I am posting the titles of the new books I have read in the past year. This tradition is a very long standing one: I started recording my new titles in a spiral bound notebook during my senior year of high school. That original notebook is no more and I am truly sorry about that. In 1996, I changed from managing the list on paper to keeping it in an Excel spreadsheet. Several computers later, I continue to copy the old files to the new hard drive.

The year 2009 was a banner year for new books, a personal best, if you will. Here are the 185 new titles I read this year. Maybe you will find a new favorite author in this list? Or at least an old favorite?

In an effort to organize my reading list, if you mouseover a title that is part of a series, you will see the name of the series pop up. I was thinking about some sort of color-coding for next year. Still thinking about it. Many of the books I read are mysteries but you will also find children's literature, fantasy, and even the occasional biography tossed in there. Might be nice to have that information readily available, too.

1. A Perfect Pony  Lois Szymanski
2. Night of the Loving Dead  Casey Daniels
3. Pane of Death  Sarah Atwell
4. Double Dog Dare  Linda O Johnston
5. Wolfsbane and Mistletoe  Charlaine Harris et al
6. Dewey  Vicki Myron
7. Kitty and the Midnight Hour  Carrie Vaughn
8. Murder by Numbers  Kay Morgan
9. Kitty Goes to Washington  Carrie Vaughn
10. Kitty Takes a Holiday  Carrie Vaughn
11. Kitty and the Silver Bullet  Carrie Vaughn
12. Batter Off Dead  Tamar Myers
13. A Kudzu Christmas  Jim Gilbert et al
14. Fed Up  Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant
15. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand  Carrie Vaughn
16. Dying for Dinner  Miranda Bliss
17. Pony on the Porch  Ben M Baglio
18. The Christmas Cookie Killer  Livia J Washburn
19. Spin a Wicked Web  Cricket McRae
20. Turn Coat  Jim Butcher
21. Cream Puff Murder  Joanne Fluke
22. Oolong Dead  Laura Childs
23. Death is Disposable  Evan Marshall
24. Blood Lite  Kevin Anderson et al
25. Mother's Day Murder  Leslie Meier
26. Bookmarked for Death  Lorna Barrett
27. Sinister Sudoku  Kay Morgan
28. Welcome to the Jungle  Jim Butcher
29. A Face at the Window  Sarah Graves
30. Double Minds  Terri Blackstock
31. The Lost Quilter  Jennifer Chiaverini
32. Fatally Flaky  Diane Mott Davidson
33. The Warrior  Jim Butcher
34. Fablehaven  Brandon Mull
35. Rise of the Evening Star  Brandon Mull
36. Miss Julia Delivers the Goods  Ann B Ross
37. Dead Man's Puzzle  Parnell Hall
38. Murder of a Royal Pain  Denise Swanson
39. Ocean Waves  Terri Thayer
40. The Candy Shop War  Brandon Mull
41. Kitty Raises Hell  Carrie Vaughn
42. Doggie Day Care Murder  Laurien Berenson
43. Dragons Wild  Robert Asprin
44. Love Mercy  Earlene Fowler
45. Let Me Eat Cake  Leslie F Miller
46. Summer on Blossom Street  Debbie Macomber
47. Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof  Blaize Clement
48. Killer Keepsakes  Jane K Cleland
49. Horse Heroes  Kate Petty
50. Hangman's Curse  Frank Peretti
51. Stroke of Enticement  Nalini Singh
52. Sweet Dreams  Linda Winstead Jones
53. While My Pretty One Knits  Anne Canadeo
54. Unravelled  Robyn Harding
55. The Voice  Bill Myers
56. Nightmare Academy  Frank Peretti
57. Broken Angel  Sigmund Brouwer
58. The Fairy-Tale Detectives  Michael Buckley
59. Graven Images  Nancy Mehl
60. Elska  Catherine Hapka
61. The Unusual Suspects  Michael Buckley
62. The Problem Child  Michael Buckley
63. Once Upon a Crime  Michael Buckley
64. Magic and Other Misdemeanors  Michael Buckley
65. Tales from the Hood  Michael Buckley
66. Dropped Dead Stitch  Maggie Sefton
67. The Everafter War  Michael Buckley
68. Hound on the Heath  Ben M Baglio
69. Poison Ivory  Tamar Myers
70. Patterns in the Sand  Sally Goldenbaum
71. A Murder of Taste  Sally Goldenbaum
72. Kitten Crowd  Ben M Baglio
73. Whittington  Alan Armstrong
74. Sucker Punch  Sammi Carter
75. Dragons Luck  Robert Asprin
76. Starfinder  John Marco
77. A Fatal Slip  Melissa Glazer
78. The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love  Beth Pattillo
79. Fatal Fixer-Upper  Jennie Bentley
80. The Alpine Uproar  Mary Daheim
81. Conquistador de la Noche  Carrie Vaughn
82. The Phantom Tollbooth  Norton Juster
83. Undead and Unwelcome  Mary Janice Davidson
84. Tuck  Stephen R Lawhead
85. The Secret  Beverly Lewis
86. Cub in the Cupboard  Ben M Baglio
87. Bunny Bonanza  Ben M Baglio
88. Ponies on the Point  Ben M Baglio
89. Grip of the Shadow Plague  Brandon Mull
90. Kitten in the Candy Corn  Ben M Baglio
91. Through the Fire  Shawn Grady
92. The Castle in the Attic  Elizabeth Winthrop
93. Swan for the Money  Donna Andrews
94. Guinea Pig Gang  Ben M Baglio
95. Evil Justice  Evan Marshall
96. Where the Heart Is  Billie Letts
97. One Bad Apple  Sheila Connolly
98. The Princess Diaries  Meg Cabot
99. The Secret of Platform 13  Eva Ibbotson
100. Princess in the Spotlight  Meg Cabot
101. Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary  Brandon Mull
102. Miracle's Boys  Jacqueline Woodson
103. Holly's Inbox  Holly Denham
104. Princess in Love  Meg Cabot
105. Princess in Waiting  Meg Cabot
106. The World According to Humphrey  Betty G Birney
107. Dead and Lovin' It  Mary Janice Davidson
108. Critical Care  Candace Calvert
109. The Promise of Lumby  Gail Fraser
110. Laced with Magic  Barbara Bretton
111. Julia Child  Laura Shapiro
112. Trouble According to Humphrey  Betty G Birney
113. Strange Brew  PN Elrod et al
114. Princess in Training  Meg Cabot
115. Surprises According to Humphrey  Betty G Birney
116. Party Princess  Meg Cabot
117. Spackled and Spooked  Jennie Bentley
118. Sew Deadly  Elizabeth Lynn Casey
119. Inked Up  Terri Thayer
120. Princess in Pink  Meg Cabot
121. The Boggart  Susan Cooper
122. The Starlight Barking  Dodie Smith
123. Princess on the Brink  Meg Cabot
124. Trust Me  Jeff Abbott
125. Horse Crazy  Bonnie Bryant
126. Snake in the Glass  Sarah Atwell
127. A Slice of Murder  Chris Cavender
128. Knit the Season  Kate Jacobs
129. A Pony to the Rescue  Lois Szymanski
130. Olive Kitteridge  Elizabeth Strout
131. The Dragon in the Sock Drawer  Kate Klimo
132. The Mysterious Benedict Society  Trenton Lee Stewart
133. The Dragon's Eye  Kaza Kingsley
134. Rotten to the Core  Sheila Connolly
135. The Monsters of Otherness  Kaza Kingsley
136. The Search for Truth  Kaza Kingsley
137. Mustang in the Mist  Ben M Baglio
138. Spaniel in a Stocking  Ben M Baglio
139. Dolphin in the Deep  Ben M Baglio
140. TMBS and the Perilous Journey  Trenton Lee Stewart
141. The Fire Within  Chris D'Lacey
142. TMBS and the Prisoner's Dilemma  Trenton Lee Stewart
143. Fudge-Laced Felonies  Cynthia Hickey
144. Recipe for Murder  Lisa Harris
145. Icefire  Chris D'Lacey
146. Plum Pudding Murder  Joanne Fluke
147. Forever Princess  Meg Cabot
148. A Drunkard's Path  Clare O'Donohue
149. Tragic Magic  Laura Childs
150. Blackwork  Monica Ferris
151. Killer Crab Cakes  Livia J Washburn
152. Dead Man Talking  Casey Daniels
153. Mourning in Miniature  Margaret Grace
154. Fire Star  Chris D'Lacey
155. Bundle of Trouble  Diana Orgain
156. The Chocolate Cupid Killings  JoAnna Carl
157. The Field Guide  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
158. Demon Ex Machina  Julie Kenner
159. The Seeing Stone  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
160. Lucinda's Secret  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
161. The Ironwood Tree  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
162. Curse of the Kissing Cousins  Toni LP Kelner
163. Civil War on Sunday  Mary Pope Osborne
164. The Wrath of Mulgarath  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
165. Bookplate Special  Lorna Barrett
166. Best Friends Forever  Jennifer Weiner
167. The Nixie's Song  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
168. Holiday Grind  Cleo Coyle
169. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood  David Benedictus
170. When She Flew  Jennie Shortridge
171. Ace of Cakes  Duff and Willie Goldman
172. A Giant Problem  Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
173. Huckleberry Finished  Livia J Washburn
174. Ice  Linda Howard
175. Sink Trap  Christy Evans
176. The Missing  Beverly Lewis
177. Christmas Miracles  Cecil Murphey & Marley Gibson
178. Rachel's Journal  Marissa Moss
179. Rose's Journal  Marissa Moss
180. Murder Has a Sweeth Tooth  Miranda Bliss
181. Pick of the Litter  Bill Wallace
182. Hannah's Journal  Marissa Moss
183. Emma's Journal  Marissa Moss
184. Stuck on Murder  Lucy Lawrence
185. The Traitor King  Todd Mitchell

# # #

Even though there was less of the fibery persuit, knitting (and hooking) still happened. I am still working on the Cable and Rib Cardigan (Ravelry link) - just the right forearm, collar, and zipper installation remains. I was sort of hoping to finish this sweater before the end of the year but a nasty razor cut to the pad of my left middle finger partially sidelined the progress. Hard to knit while adorned with a self-adhsive bandage there. Impossible to knit without one.

Finished Objects in reverse order of completion...

Madagascar Socks - Night Sky Edition
Waff-ooz! Dishcloth
Granny's Favorite - Metro Collection (8)
Granny's Favorite - Poolside Edition (2)
A Litter of Dishcloths (5)
Interminable Pink Panda String Bag (Ravelry link)
SJ Crew Socks - Raspberry Edition (grown up sized)
Froot Loops String Bag (Ravelry link)
911 Socks
Rockyview Socks
Sunset Stripes Socks
SJ Gym Crew Socks - Now with Blue Toes
Dublin Bay Socks - Herbal Edition (Ravelry link)
Madagascar Socks - Fire on the Mountain Edition
Classic (Red) Mittens
I Am Not A Paper Cup Cozy
SJ Gym Crew Socks - Hot Pink Edition
Kiddie Kables
JIT Hat - Scrap Yarn Edition
Just in Time for Dawn Hat

# # #

Travel in aught-nine included some weekends (family visit in New England, a band trip to New York State, and a visit to the ranch) and a a week in our nation's capital. Anybody have ideas for cool places to bring the Neatnik in 2010? I am open to suggestions.

# # #

So there you have it, 2009 in a nutshell. I hope that your 2009 was a wonderful one and that your 2010 is even better.

May you and yours experience health and happiness unbounded in the upcoming months.

May we each of us reach out and make some new friends while still maintaining (or renewing) established relationships.

Come back to visit often and bring some friends along.

I wish you peace in your hearts and homes and a very Happy New Year.

Cheers.

-trek

An unexpected find

A couple of days before Christmas, Neatnik and I needed to stop at the Dollar $tore for a few last-minute odds and ends. You know the type of stuff I mean: tape, envelopes, stocking stuffers.

As we made our way towards the register, we passed a clothing rack. I usually stop for these because I have made a few good finds for Neatnik-sized play t-shirts and sweats in the past. This time, I saw a long-sleeved, ribbed t-shirt with pretty eyelets around the crew neck collar - in a ladies' size small.

Impossible. Couldn't be. There was obviously something wrong with it.

I held it up to the light, looking for rips, stains, or other blatant irregularities.

There were none.