Soprano1's Journal

Thirdbase, thirdbase, she's our man!

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:25:00 GMT

Stupid steroids. I blame ARod.

X-post this to your journal if you support thirdbase getting better.

Stuff--including knitting

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:52:46 GMT

Okay, we officially live in a new house. It's awesome! We're even approaching "unpacked" if you don't count our stuff in storage. I will write more later, but suffice it to say, if you were wondering, we did indeed move.

Today I started a new crochet project. I found the cutest little Mary Jane shoes, with a pattern and everything, on Ravelry, and of course I had to try it, because, well, crocheted shoes. How cool is that? How could I resist? I couldn't, of course, and I didn't try, and it even fits a Muggle Studies assignment for the HPKCHC, so I'm happy as a clam. It forced me to learn the correct way to do crochet stitches--turns out part of the reason my crocheting doesn't come out right is, well, I wasn't doin' it right. Duh. So I looked up stuff and learned to do it right. And now I've got the sole of one shoe finished. The first piece (the sole is 2 pieces that you sew together, giving you a bit more support) took me an even 4 tries, but the second one I got right the first time. So I think I'm on my way. Three more days maybe?

Okay, I'm off to meet Tom at BJ's warehouse to peruse lawn furniture.

My first knitting pattern!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:47:01 GMT

Fade to Bronze Gauntlets

Materials:

Set of 4 Size 8 DPN

Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn in C1 and C2

Tapestry needle for binding in ends.

Instructions:

Cast on 30 sts in C1. Divide onto 3 DPN, join to work in the round.

Rows 1-5: K3, P2 around

Rows 6-7: K around

Row 8: K 10 on needle 1; Needle 2: K2, K2Tog, YO, K2, YO, SSK, K2; K 10 on needle 3 (LACE A)

Row 9: K around

Row 10: K 10 on needle 1; Needle 2: K1, YO, K2Tog, K4, SSK, YO, K1; K10 on needle 3 (LACE B)

Row 11: switch to C2, K around

Row 12: switch to C1, LACE A

Row 13: K around

Row 14: LACE B

Row 15: K around

Row 16: switch to C2, LACE A

Row 17: K around

Row 18: switch to C1, LACE B

Row 19: K around

Row 20: LACE A

Row 21: Switch to C2, K around

Row 22: Add thumb hole:

· Right glove: K 10 on needle 1; Needle 2: K1, YO, K2Tog, K4, SSK, YO, K1; Needle 3: K 3, bind off 4, K3

· Left glove: Needle 1: K 3, bind off 4, K3K; Needle 2: K1, YO, K2Tog, K4, SSK, YO, K1; 10 on needle 3

Row 23: Finish thumb hole:

· Right glove: K10 on needle 1; K10 on needle 2; Needle 3: K3, Cast on 4 sts, K3

· Left glove: Needle 1: K3, Cast on 4 sts, K3; K10 on needle 2; K10 on needle 3

Row 24: LACE A, being careful to keep yarn even when working over cast on sts.

Row 25: switch to C1, K around

Row 26: LACE B

Row 27: switch to C2, K around

Row 28: LACE A

Row 29: K around

Row 30: Lace B

Row 31: Switch to C1, K around

Row 32: Switch to C2, K around

Rows 33-35: K3, P2 around

Bind off. I bound off fairly tightly to help keep the shape of my hand, but I’m not sure if I would do so if I were working with an acrylic fiber. The Alpaca wool loosened considerably after only a little wear.

Note: I switched C1 and C2 on the second glove just for fun.

Knitting: The Mancala Board!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:53:04 GMT

This project has been, well, much more involved than I thought it would be. But I am delighted--it's almost done! All the little pieces--the "Party Hats for Cats" that I created--went through the washer tonight and came out beautifully fuzzy. The Berocco alpaca really does felt beautifully--the lady at Knit Purl said it did--and although part of me thinks maybe I should shave it, another part really loves the hairy soft look of the felted pieces.

Once I rescued the pieces from the washer and dried them (I wrung them out and then used a towel), I used cups to shape them into, well, cup shapes. Unfortunately four of our Ikea cups have gone missing, as sometimes happens in a house with a kid, so I did the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff cups on the Ikea ones, and the Slytherin ones on two of D's old sippy cups and two empty Mike's Hard Lemonade bottles. Those are a little skinnier than the Ikea ones, but I think it'll all work out in the end. The bigger Ravenclaw cups are on a couple of our big 16-ounce tumblers.

Okay, the rest of the pictures will be behind a cut to save your friends' page.

Here are the Party Hats for Cats, pre-felting, laid out in their pattern on my couch.

And here they are from another angle, with the swatch I made so I can size the base. It didn't shrink much, only 1/2 inch lengthwise and not at all in the width.

And here are closeups of the cups; you can see the fabulous furriness of the felting!!!

Tomorrow I'll get the base started. It'll probably take me a couple of days to get it finished and felted, but I have hopes of getting it in this week and bringing my O.W.L. tablecloth to 25%.

Knitting...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:12:11 GMT

Oh, I'm going to start posting some of my knitting stuff here. I'm on Ravelry (soprano1... what a surprise there)... but there is, as far as I can tell, no way for me to share my Ravelry page with people not on Ravelry... yeah, blah blah blah. So. Knitting stuff will be public and I'll either post pics under an lj-cut or I'll keep 'em wicked small.

Recently I've been involved in a group on Ravelry called the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC). Yeah, it's pretty much what it sounds like. There are a whole lot of us, and we're divided into houses (coincidentally named Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin). We take classes like Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology... we can even sit for an O.W.L. exam. Except that all the assignments concern fiber. You knit or crochet or weave or spin... Each term is 3 months, and each month you have different assignments. Last month I completed an assignment for every class, including my Mandrake Root... isn't she cute? She's crocheted and my own design.

This month I don't think I'll get as many assignments done. First off, we're moving after 12 years in the same house, so we're bound to be a little overwhelmed, right? Second, I'm working on my O.W.L. this month. I wasn't going to do one, and then I thought, eh, why not? And so I'm knitting a lace tablecloth. It's going to take forever, seriously, but I'm determined to get it done by July 31, when it's due. My "knitting" userpic is a sample of it.

Right now I'm also knitting a mancala board, which will get felted for my Transfiguration class and, well, Transfigured. And after that I have plans to knit a Pokemon-ish doll for D's 7th birthday in July--I want it to be done before the end of the month so I can get credit, though.

So I'll be posting some information about my knitting here. I hope it won't be too annoying.

Happy Birthday...

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:32:20 GMT

to you, dear thirdbase!!!

Blue Belt!

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:20:17 GMT

mvi_0307
Originally uploaded by LStrauss99

I'm a proud mama. Here's my boy strutting his stuff.

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:55:19 GMT

More good than bad.

Posted using ShareThis

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:38:42 GMT

Here's my sparkpeople blog entry for today... yeehaw!

WOW!

Posted using ShareThis

What's Your Personality Type?

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:08:00 GMT

I sometimes get this result and sometimes I get INFJ. Kinda depends on how I'm feeling that day I guess.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist

You are a creative person with a great imagination. You enjoy living in your own inner world.
Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.
It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close to you.
But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop.

In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards.
You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings.

At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values.
You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

Introducing...

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:52:21 GMT

DSC04681
Originally uploaded by LStrauss99

I believe I mentioned in passing that we have a new kitty...

And here he is: Chester, the kitty formerly known as Gabby.

He belonged to my mom & her partner, who rescued him from near starvation at the local elk-type lodge. They helped him get his body back in shape, and in return, he chased their cats so much that they refused to leave the kitchen.

So we brought him home to be subjugated by a beagle.

He is doing fine. He's a lap-cat, enjoys eating dry food and sleeping, and will probably figure out this whole beagle thing eventually.

Creative Meme

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:10:30 GMT

Okay, yes, it's the first time in ages I've posted, and my post is a meme. Sheesh. But I hope this one is worth it:

Creative Meme
(Altered from whimmydiddle.)

The first five people to respond to this will receive one Miyazaki-esque Soot Sprite, knitted especially for them.

Please note:

- They're TOO CUTE. Really. Specify "just a Soot Sprite" or rigged up to be a keychain.
- No deadline.
- I will ship if handoff cannot be accomplished in person.

The catch? You have to post something similar to your journal, tailored to fit your particular area of 'expertise'! No similar posting and I move on to the next applicant.

Okay, here's a pic. Because you gotta see:

Thanks to aunt_barb

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:32:09 GMT

Your result for The Ultima Test of Virtue...

The Bard (Compassion)

57% Honesty, 29% Valor, 100% Compassion, 29% Honor, 57% Sacrifice, 57% Justice, 29% Spirituality and 43% Humility!

Of the eight virtues, thou art most aligned with Compassion.

Compassion is the ability to be sympathetic to the feelings and sufferings of others. To share their pain, and, to do what thou can to ease their misery. Show compassion in all thy dealings, lest thy heart grow hard and cold.

Compassion is the virtue of Bards and of the town of Trinsic.

Take The Ultima Test of Virtue at HelloQuizzy

New Year's Wishes

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:14:49 GMT

Well, 2009 came in beautifully last night with Bill & Hillary pushing the button to release the big psychedelic blinky ball in Times Square. And gianthogweed and I enjoyed our annual lovely bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne and went to bed. Before all that, we went up to Methuen to hang with my friend P, her friend A, husbands, kids, cats, Wii, The Three Stooges marathon, a birthday party for the world's newest five-year-old... it ended up being worth the drive through snow at rush-hour although we weren't so sure during said drive.

Like whimmydiddle, I'm not much of a "New Year's Resolution" type of person. I'm constantly trying to resolve to be better, take better care of myself, do more, do less, you name it--but it's not something I necessarily do on New Year's Day. But I think a whole new calendar stretched out bare before me is an excellent reason to take stock and submit prayers to whatever authority you will (particularly if Stephen Colbert is right and I'm gonna get put on hold until after Easter).

So here are some wishes I have for 2009--not the big "Barack saves Universe" kind of wish, but just wishes for me and my family.

1) I wish D's tooth wouldn't wait until 2010 to come out. We have one friend whose first tooth wiggled for a full year before the tooth fairy got to visit. We don't want that here.

2) I wish myself more yoga and less leg and foot pain. And yes, I believe they are related.

3) I wish for healthy pets this year. Seriously, I'd like to get through this year with no emergency visits to the vet. I'm not sure the vet will even look at our hermit crabs, BTW.

4) I wish gianthogweed a couple good days to go play golf and make beer. So he can finally use the dam' gift certificates already.

5) I wish someone would remind me when it's Talk Like A Pirate Day this year, because I always forget.

6) I wish myself time for more reading. Books books books books books... It just don't get better than that.

7) I wish myself less Facebook. Well, no, not really. I just wish Facebook didn't suck up my time like that. I kinda like it except for the whole "eating my life" thing.

8) I wish someone would invent Extendable Fingers because mine are stubby. There's a couple of guitar chords I'd really benefit from conquering.

9) I wish myself luck trying to eat less sugar.

10) I wish everyone a peaceful, happy 2009. I'm so thankful for all my friends.

Oh, Holy Night.... Whaaaat???

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:55:08 GMT

Please press play. But if you're somewhere you could annoy people and don't want to, keep your volume low.

This may be the funniest thing I have seen all year.

Wolcum Yol!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:19:06 GMT

This morning as we are preparing to leave for Pennsylvania, D came down dressed in his Luke Skywalker costume, hugging a pink "Googles" webkinz, and announced, "I'm going to go as Jesus!"

After we picked ourselves up off the floor after our seizures of laughter, we hugged him and sent him back upstairs to change.

Whatever you celebrate, wherever you are, we wish you joy!

Thanks to tacnukesoul

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:00:30 GMT

http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/124481.shtml

A UU Christmas Carol. The true meaning of Christmas (depending, of course, on your personal preferences and point of view)...

Meme from aunt_barb

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:16:23 GMT

Rules: IT'S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! (well, I didn't think so, but that's what I copied and pasted). TRY TO USE
DIFFERENT ANSWERS IF THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU HAD THE SAME 1ST INITIAL.
YOU CAN'T USE YOUR NAME FOR THE BOY/GIRL NAME QUESTION.

1. What is your name: Lauren
2. A 4-Letter Word: Love
3. A Boy's Name: Leo
4. A Girl's Name: Lisa
5. An Occupation: Lyricist
6. Color: Lavender
7. Something you wear: Lace
8. A Beverage: Lemonade
9. A Food: Lox
10. Something found in the bathroom: Loofa
11. A place: Lincoln, MA
12. A Reason for being late: Lost
13. Something you shout : LOSER!

Well, I'm still up, so...

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:14:27 GMT

Might as well post early birthday greetings to tacnukesoul and my mom. :) Many happy returns to both of them!

Thanks, tacnukesoul

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:11:35 GMT

A Unitarian Universalist Christmas Carol. Yeah.

http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/124481.shtml

Happy Birthday!!!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:59:47 GMT

to lonebear, his first as a daddy...

many happy returns.

And one more meme because I can.

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:03:13 GMT

It picked the 2 colors I said were my favorites. Go figure.

Your rainbow is shaded indigo and green.

What is says about you: You are an intelligent person. You appreciate cities, technology, and other great things people have created. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality. Friends count on you for being honest and insightful.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

So then I took it without the "tiebreaker" colors and this is what it said:

Your rainbow is strongly shaded white, blue, and brown.

What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate quiet moments. People depend on you to make them feel secure. You feel closer to people when you understand their imperfections.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Hee hee hee... I mean, ho ho ho...

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:57:59 GMT

Thanks, aunt_barb , I will keep you in my thoughts as I am enjoying my coal. :)

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last Wednesday I gave gianthogweed a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). In May I invaded Iraq, broke it, and couldn't glue it back together before Mom got home (-1012 points). Last Saturday I helped slightlymadmom hide a body (-173 points). In April I turned speaker2animals in for farting in church (3 points). In August I caught a purse-snatcher who stole ginevra007's purse (30 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-1157 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal!

Sincerely,
soprano1

Happy Birthday!!!

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:48:22 GMT

Many happy returns to ginevra007!!!!

Wishes

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:17:43 GMT

We're on the road, Pennsylvania bound, with cranberry sauce and cookies in the hatch and a very eager beagle looking forward to some turkey. the boy and his legos are watching Star Wars (the real one) and we mostly got out of the house on time with no casualties.

have a great Thanksgiving everyone; may your day be filled with love.

and large quantities of food, of course.