Knitting 40 shades of green

There are two things in life for which we are never truely prepared...

Not too much to speak of happening here at 40 shades.  I am plugging away on the Log Cabin Blanket and am back  on my random self imposed schedule of 1 square per week which would have me finished with 51 blocks by today (I am currently half way through 52).  But there is knitting that I should be doing and have been putting off.  My sister called with big news...

Yes, she is having twins. That is twice the baby sweater knitting. That changes everything. I started looking at patterns, cute coordinating intarsia sweaters , complicated cabled arans, sweet little frilly things. Who was I kidding? We all know that I am deadline challenged when it comes to baby knitting and these girls are due in May (does that make them geminis?) So I decided that I would make cute stripey sweaters of my own design. And because I am anti baby colors, I have chosen greens and oranges. Now to get knitting...

Look what arrived in the mail

Finally, after a little SNAFU with paypal with getting this order placed (which has something to do with my computer not working but I never did figure out why the order was pending when I finally e-mailed to check up on it), I received the last of my log cabin STR yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  This will allow me to finish up the log cabin blanket. 

While waiting for these last four, I worried that I was falling behind on my self imposed square a week for the new year.  So I furiously knitted the remaining center squares from the colors that I had.  I have now completed square 47 and hope with a little concerted effort and focus on this project I can get on track with 50 by this weekend.  This will leave me with a mere 14 squares remaining.  Of the 47 now completed 36 have all of the ends woven in.  I need to get back on that as well.

Feeling like Sisyphus

I have been trying to post all week but remember how my computer was fixed -- with a new logic board and a new hard drive? Well, apparently there is something else in there that isn't functioning properly. I am having windows shut down due to system instability, the computer is freezing at inopertune moments without any way to turn it off and sometimes the only way to turn it on is to open and close the lap top a few times until it decides to turn on. I talked to the repair guys and they will be happy to run diagnostics on it but I need to bring in the system restore disks. Hmm, I don't seem to have those...so I call the makers of my lovely computer and they can only send these disks out free in the first 6 months otherwise I will have to pay for them. What????

So, I ask the "helpful" employee of the computer support line where this information is in the printed literature I was provided when buying my computer. She responds with a curt "This was the information we were given". So, I repeat my question since she chose not to answer it that first time and she continues to give me the same response and then I ask to speak with her manager and she gives me the same response. [hey lady, I changed the question] Finally she gives me a case number and transfers me to this really annoying music loop that is a little too loud and has this one scratchy place where you think someone is going to pick up but then it just keeps on playing. After 48 minutes of this, I use my cell phone to call said help center back and ask if this is standard wait time or was I put on hold rather than transfered? The gentleman who fielded this question was able to help me in less than 15 minutes and get the needed disks ordered to be sent out, no charge.

Now, once they arrive, I will be able to have the diagnostics run on the computer (which may or may not necessitate the use of said disks that sucked more than an hour of my time yesterday). It is enough to drive a person to drink excessively. In the mean time I will have to practice posting on my work laptop (which means hanging out at Panera and figuring out how typepad works in Mac -- yuck, html, anyone know how to spell check?)

Ronnie stands in

With all the talk of winter storm warnings and icy sleet, I hoped for a two hour delayed opening on Friday but instead woke up to a 33 degree rainy day.  I didn't much feel like going to work so I tried to talk my knitting into going in my stead.  Problem was that Ronnie doesn't know how to drive so I had to drive her in. Without any legs she needed a little help from the magnetic men.

She was easily distracted while grading papers... She enjoyed reading about knitting (that is Jan Brett's The Mitten that she is reading there).

But ultimately she ended up surfing knitting blogs.

Pattern: Ronnie from Jaeger Handknits JB34

Yarn:  Jaeger Aqua in shade 325,326 and 329 as specified by the pattern

Size:  I made the next to largest size with no alterations and it fits pretty well

Started:  January 7, 2006

Finished:  January 31, 2007

Notes:  This was a very simple knit and the pattern was easy to follow.  The seaming went well and looks very nice but there are about a bazillion cotton ends that had to be woven in.  This was a huge task and it just seemed to take forever, although Stephanie, who was stuck sitting next to me at late night, might tell you it wouldn't have taken so long if I wasn't so melodramatic, sighing every 5 minutes.

Silent Poetry Reading in honor of the Feast of Saint Brigid

Brigid's feast day was likely instituted in Ireland and Scotland to surplant the Celtic festival Imbolc falling at a cross quarter (half way between solstice and equinox) which was celebrating Brighid, a pagan goddess. She reigns over art, beauty, and fire -- fertility and the coming spring. Bride, as she is known in Scotland, is said to be 'the flame in the heart of all women'. I was going to go with something a little racier but on reading liked the tie in to spring and life. I present you with a poem by my favorite poet, e.e. cummings.

since feeling is first

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a far better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
--the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

Go and make St. Brigid's Crosses (and burn yours from last year)

directions here

And since she comes when the ewe's begin to lactate, she is associated with the dairy and butter is an important offering so I share this seasonal recipe from Ireland with plenty of butter --

Colcannon (serves 6)

1 1/4 lbs. Kale or green Cabbage
2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds peeled and quartered potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup cleaned and chopped leeks white part only
1 cup milk
Pinch of ground mace
Salt and ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup melted butter

Simmer kale or cabbage in 2 cups water and oil for 10 minutes, then drain, and chop fine. Boil potatoes and water, and simmer 'til tender. Simmer the leeks in milk for ten minutes 'til tender. Drain and puree the potatoes. Add leeks and their milk and the cooked kale, and mix in. Add mace, salt and pepper. Mound on a plate and pour on the melted butter.Garnish with parsley.