development corrupts

Have learned the hard way to not put lace near the heel of a handknit sock.

Nope nope nope. Nope nope :(

Nice things that have been happening lately:

• I've discovered liquid eyeliner.
  
  I've learned to put on just a thin line along my upper lashline (it just takes a few seconds whoa), and the definition makes my eyes stand pop, but in a very subtle way that doesn't make it obvious I have makeup on. I love the way it looks. And so, for the first time, I own eyeliner ;) I even own two: one basic black and one sort of dark iridescent gray.
  
  So awesoooooome.
  
  Still haven't figured out eyeshadow :)


• I recently realized that makeup is a way to hack my physical appearance, and that's turned it from an annoying thing that I couldn't understand to being a fun puzzle. Combination! colors! non-obvious but effective hacks!


• I lost my USB but my mom had a spare 32GB which was way more capacity than my old one (also 32gb usb? and 4gb USBs are now cheap? technology is weird and also awesome)


• I really love our users ;_; Damn, but I could just cry.


• I also really love our sysads <3 They make me do the opposite of cry :)


• I fell in love with the idea of a second monitor when I tried my brother's setup (had guests, long story short). Now that I've moved back into my room, I've been missing the ease of use -- code / logs on one screen, browser on the other, I'm just...
  
  incoherent. I'm incoherent. okay.
  
  So anyway, I made myself get over my stinginess and buy a secondary monitor because it'd be worth it and okay I just steeled myself for a massive wave of buyer's remorse, but you know what? the monitor is awesome, and the setup is fantastic and I can afford it and while it's a bit of a luxury, it's really helpful in my line of work. And so, it's worth what I spent, yay.
  


• internet is stable! and my ISP finally upgraded wiring in our area, so it's even fast now :)


• I've been knitting socks of my own design
  
  I feel a bit weird saying I designed it, when it's just a stitch pattern I chose out of a book, super-imposed upon a basic sock template, and surely design must be more than that? but it feels like mine, and I did choose which pattern would go with the self-striping socks, and I am making decisions for how the pattern will shift when I get to the leg, and I've had to undo it thrice already because I decided to do something differently from before, so I guess that it is turning out to be my design after all ♥


• And I had a hot stone massage the other day with a friend who I haven't talked to in ages and \o/


• my aunt visited from the US, and it was a nice visit (she's a fantastic person, really generous and warm. And she knits!). She's gone home now, and it's also nice to have some space and privacy back. So all good


• I finished knitting a sweater! My first thing with sleeves. I'm excited to try it on post-blocking, just haven't had the time, but oh it's there calling to me :)

(And then there's a bunch that's not so nice but the good is overwhelming the bad at this point in my life. That is good)

I meant to type "miss you, love you"; instead my fingers typed "miss you, love mine".

Which... works I guess! The keys are right next to each other and all that.




Have been having lots of summery-salad stuff: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots as a base, and then whatever is on hand. I'm all out of the sliced almonds, but I did manage to find some cheese that's actually cheddar, and not velveeta! That has been adding some nice salty-sharpness to my salads. So good :)

I also managed to snag some Red Leicester. I don't know what that is like, but I'll find out soon.

Today's special ingredient was golden kiwi. I though the sweet acidity would offset the cheese, but it was too mild and the salad was overall blah. Green kiwi might have been better. Probably best though, would be some nice pineapple or orange chunks. Maybe apples, to go into an entirely different direction, as well.



I have discovered the hard way that sliced tomatoes keep for only one or two days, so I must now make sure we only slice one at a time instead of a couple.



Have been doing so! much! knitting :D I got my in-progress projects on Ravelry down to five for a time, but now I'm back up to seven (ahahaha /o\), with two more that need weaving in of ends / attaching of handles, that kind of thing. Sometimes I wish I could pay someone to finish my projects for me /o\

My latest project is a summer vest made with a linen/cotton blend. I am super in love with this yarn: it's smooth and light; like cotton it's not flexible, but it's much easier on the hands than kitchen cotton. I bet that it'll feel nice and light on the skin as well. I hear that linen gets softer with washing. I don't know if this blend will act the same way, but I certainly hope so.

I don't know if it's easier on the hands than cotton because I've only ever used kitchen cotton, or if it's because linen is somehow more forgiving than cotton and imparts some of that quality into the blend. It might even be because this is DK weight, and the kitchen cotton I've used is worsted? Noooot sure, but whatever the reason, I do love it, because with this it's much easier to knit garments that are suited to my climate.


I feel like my life right now revolves around IRC, knitting, my dogs, food (and cooking shows), and Dreamwidth. And well, I'm happy. So. Life.

There's certain questions I want to ask, but there's a huge thread going on in Ravelry right now that makes me feel a bit scared that if I do ask, people will look down on me for not being smart enough or else think I'm being too lazy to dig things up on my own /o\

The problem isn't that I can't figure out what to do, it's that I can see two different ways to do this thing, can think of a reason for having each be better than the other, and a third reason besides that basically means it doesn't matter which one I pick. And if I explain my thought process, maybe I'll come across as overthinking, or if I don't explain maybe I'll come across as under...thinking.

Guh social stuff /o\

So I'm promising myself that I'm going to stay away from the forums (except free pattern testers <3) and switch back to using Ravelry to keep track of my projects and stash. (<33 projects and stash pages)


--


I just finished a pair of fingerless gloves just in case I need them for the trip :D I am excited because it's cooooooold over there (though I get the impression that it's getting warm, or at least not chilly. But I'd prefer to overpack rather than underpack, assuming I don't break my suitcase trying to stuff everything in...)


I'm just, look okay , I'm completely ridiculous when it comes to cold weather. I LOVE IT and also I end up shivering uncontrollably because I overestimate my capacity to handle the cold. I feel that 25 degrees is nice: slightly chilly but nice, and anything below 23 degrees is for bundling up or hiding under a blanket. So, yeah scarves and vests and sweaters and... stuff. I will look ridiculous /o\ BUT AT LEAST I WILL BE WARM. (I hope)


--

I've been packed and ready to go for almost a week now. That's kinda amazing because I usually put off packing until the night before any trip :D

But then again I don't usually take trips that are over two weeks long on my own money and with everything planned by me....


--

SO NERVOUS IT ISN'T EVEN FUNNY. Except for how I'm spending a lot of time grinning in anticipation. Four days! Or three plus travel time plus change.


--

I have withdrawn dollars and have converted some to pounds and my credit card company rushed me a card in the nick of time (who was careless and accidentally lost her credit card the week before she was leaving the country? THAT'S RIGHT). I've done some research (not all, there's still time for that later), and have a tentative plan for what to do with whom where and when ...assuming I didn't forget to get back to some people O_O I wouldn't be surprised if I did. Didn't? Planning is not my strong suit /o\ Neither is not losing things /o\ /o\


--

I intend to relax and enjoy this trip, treat it like a low-key meet-friends kinda thing rather than a stressful must-see-all-the-sights whirlwind tour. So um. ummmm (if applicable): HI


--

GEEEEEH.

--

YAAAY

--

Geeeeeeh ;_;

--

YAYYAY

--

I'm promising myself to only buy a couple balls of yarn from each country I'm in rather than trying to single-handedly bring the entire yarn inventory of the UK back home. :-D Since I only have limited luggage space and I'm on a budget, this should be an easy promise to keep.


(until I actually walk into the store. Then all bets are off)


--

Geez, I'm all ready to go, why can't the weekend be over yet? But also I'm nervous, and I'm kinda glad that there's still three more days to get ready.

--

I'm slightly anxious about customs. A friend of mine was telling me about how she was pulled aside while entering another country ( not England ) for a very pointed interview, because she was travelling alone while single, female, and holding a Philippine passport. (oh hi there)

I mean I'm almost certain that I'll have no issues -- there are so many other people going through customs every day, there's very little chance they'll have time for me, you know? Plus totally different country altogether, and also going to a different country is a privilege not a right so if necessary they do have the authority to turn anyone away blah blah blah it's not like anyone is guaranteed to be able to enter any other country: I'm not unique in that. It's just. I'm anxious.

What if I look suspicious? or say the wrong thing? or give the wrong impression? and get kicked out before I so much as even set foot outside the airport? What if I'm shifty-eyed or too I dunno. SUSPICIOUS. Whatever. eh. It's not going to happen (most likely!). I'm still anxious.

And there are the other things, but I like to pretend that they don't exist as considerations because if I think about them my head will explode I'll be so nervous I'll start looking more worthy of suspicion.

--

INSTEAD I will think about the other side! and getting past paperwork and bureaucracy! and being somewhere cold! and meeting friends! people! other friends! and concentrate on not losing my passport or my visa or my money or my credit cards or my clothes!

Just, stuff.

--

Suitcase is really heavy now, but a lot of that is stuff that I'll be giving folks when I get to the other side. I should be able to free up space and weight for the trip home :D

--

I love flying. I mean literally just everything about it, even the long lines at the airport and the ridiculously tight seats in the economy section. (It helps that I have really short legs). Just something about the whole process that I love *_* I go really hyper the day before a flight, and just before the flight too. Though thankfully not so much on the actual plane (other than grinning like an idiot and peering out the window even though I've seen similar things many other times before *G*). If I were as hyper on the plane as I am in the airport, they'd have probably kicked me out an emergency exit a long time ago >_>

--

I have one knitting project in my carry-on (an unstarted Noro scarf), half of another in my luggage (half-finished Clapotis), an iPad, a phone, Jim Hines' Goblin series (which I haven't started yet or even read any reviews about, but going off of his fairy tale princess series I think I'll like it).

I'm considering whether to bring along C. Valente's Palimpsest novel. On the one hand I do have plenty of ebooks so I shouldn't need to bring so many physical books. On the other, I have that ten-hour layover in Bangkok, and I don't remember if they have wall sockets for passengers to plug in there.

One weekend + one day + one travel day left...

Went dancing again today!

Today was hiphop abs, zumba, and ballroom. As usual, I still suck at moving around. And as usual, that just makes the whole experience that much more awesome.

We were supposed to do street dance, but it got rescheduled so I missed it. Sad.

This is the sweatiest I've ever been :D Hopefully I haven't stiffened up by tomorrow, because I want to try the Saturday classes again.


At the end of the class, as I was changing clothes and preparing to head out, someone offered to buy my hat off my head, because she'd been looking for something like that for ages.

I am tempted to sell it to her! I feel like it would look gorgeous on her. I just don't know if it's okay/how much to offer *G*

(I am really charmed by the fact that she was so enthusiastic about it ahahahha. She's a teenager though so, man, I'm not going to ask for much or anything. But still, really charmed. And fighting the urge to go "no I can't sell it because I'm no good at this DON'T YOU SEE)

We have a temporary wall left over in our house from the time we were undergoing renovations. For reasons of SUCKITUDE on the contractor's part, we didn't renew their contract, but they didn't come back to take down the wall.

Now every time I pass by that area, I am stuck by this urge to side-kick the wall (not to be fancy or anything, just less likely to hurt my toes). It would make a satisfying sound, I just know it.



Anyway, to distract me from things I shouldn't be doing, let me post a couple of links to things I would like to check out, but know that realistically I don't have the time for:

• Making and decorating your own DPNs
  
  In particular I think it would be cool to be able to label them as #1, #2, etc, based on the stripe pattern


• Making your own circular needles
  
  I love my Addis, but I am tempted to make a pair of wooden ones with a really dull end for airplane use. If they were confiscated, would that be less painful because it wouldn't have cost much, or would it be more painful because I'd need to make another set from scratch?


• Circular needle holder
  
  Besides the advantage of having the needles cataloged this way, I wonder if this would help relax the cables of some of my circs! I'm currently storing them curled up in their original packaging which means the circulars never have a chance to relax from their original curve...



• Knitting Aid
  
  Uhhh okay random product and not something oriented towards making on your own but it falls under clever and crafty I think!
  

- Wondering what it would take to make a simple iPhone client to catch up to my reading list with ReadItLater integration (exor674 has the Android client well in hand so I'm not going there!)

It took me a week and a half to download 4.33 GB... and then the download failed and now it says it'll take me another 15 days to start from scratch D:

+ update page, chugga chugga chugga

+ a surprise, but I don't want to say anything about it until it's ready (more chugga chugga chugga)

+ getting the dog groomed, so he no longer looks like a rat with a mop on its head :-)

- dog's vet called reminding us that their vaccinations need to be renewed, but I don't feel comfortable with this guy because he doesn't seem to know how to handle the dogs properly...

+ dropped by Zentea again, tried out their almond milk tea (mmm). The naicha is still better, but this is good 'nuff

+ lots of mangoes and singkamas. SUMMER IS HERE

- perhaps too many mangoes; mom bought two kaing (big baskets) worth, at 60-80 pieces in each... :D

+ but this means that we can have mango float / refrigerator cake (layers of mango slices + cream + graham crackers, leave in the refrigerator for a couple hours so that the cream soaks into the graham, serve cold)

+ getting to sit down and talk with someone local who loves knitting, who is close to my age!

- only because she's moving to another country for a couple years and needs to sell off her current yarn stash

+ (from the perspective of my stash) buying said yarn stash off her hands
- (from the perspective of my wallet) buying said yarn stash off her hands

+ she's lending me all her knitting books while she's away! (needs someone to keep them who'll take care of them since they're too heavy for her to lug everything across an ocean)

+ she also recced the Fully Booked in Fort which has a full shelf worth of knitting / crochet / sewing books *_*

- having to leave behind some of said books because of budget

- having to drive at night on EDSA

+ overcoming my fear of driving at night

+ overcoming my fear of driving on EDSA (main thoroughfare)

+ remembering to gas up the car yesterday so I don't have to deal with it today

+ making plans to meet up with friends for merienda or lunch (some time in the future)

+ family stuff

- other family stuff


I believe that all leaves me ahead by a couple thousand ;-)

My mom has commissioned me to make a vest for my grandpa, so I am searching through ravelry for suitable patterns (male or unisex, forgiving fit, separate down the middle so you can shrug it on rather than pulling it over your head)

In the process, I have fallen in love with a lot of the for-female patterns and I think I would like to make vests -- lots and lots of vests.



I applied for a new credit card a couple weeks ago, one which supports double currency billing, which means that when I buy stuff in dollars, I'll get charged in dollars, rather than in pesos. :D Process was surprisingly painless! Not as painful as my first card was, and applying for one meant I didn't feel skeeved about about it the way I do preapproved cards (what's the catch? I still haven't figured out what they'll get if I accept, so I just reject them.)

So I haven't been buying anything online, because I know that I'll get a better conversion rate pretty soon -- but looking at all these patterns I am so very tempted *_*



A couple of weeks ago, I went to the LYS to learn crochet. It was awesome! I managed to catch the owner, and she helped tweak my handling of the hook so that I'm no longer fighting the stitches as much. Turns out that I was crocheting too tight, and that I was insisting on turning the hook around with every stitch so of course my wrist got sore quickly.

She also helped me figure out how to count my stitches -- I tended to alternate between skipping a stitch, and adding an extra stitch because I wasn't sure how to count. I'm getting much better at it. Ummmm. I need to pick a more interesting pattern soon, though. I'm getting bored with the sc-only pattern I picked out as a beginner, so I keep putting it off in favor of knitting.


Right now, I'm finding that with crochet, I love the finished product more than I love the process, so I really need to venture out and pick something cute but fast that I'll love at the end rather than something to teach me stitches, which will only seem like a chore.

Note to self: find time


Knitting projects are chugging along well:

I finally finished the magic mirror mittens, eeeh \o/

( pictures behind cut )

One good thing I got out of having to do and redo (and redo) the mitten was that I got to practice the technique of cabling without a cable needle. It's gotten so that I'm reluctant to pick up the extra needle, except when the stitches are really tight, or the yarn is really slippery.

(Hmm I can't find the tutorial I actually used though, which led me to leave alone the crossed / temporarily dropped stitches while I knit the next stitches, and then putting them on the cable after, instead of putting them immediately back on the cable the way that was done in the tutorial from knitty).

Besides the convenience and the reduced number of needles to juggle about, doing cables without the needle made it much clearer how the stitches are oriented when cabling, and why holding it in the back leads to a right-leaning cable while holding it to the front leads to a left-leaning cable. It's kinda like -- instead of focusing on the cable needle, I was forced to look at the stitch without anything else in the way. That alone is worth the cost of an extra mitten's work.



I... after finishing the mirror mittens, I may have cast on two more projects to make up for it. Oops?

Having fun with Summit, a very hole-y shawl, which I'm knitting in a glittery slinky black yarn.

So far I've learned patience backwards purling. My backwards purling is a lot tighter than my forwards one, but it doesn't matter as much for this pattern.


I also just signed up for my first test knit *glee* It's a mitten with a flap, it's really nifty, and it's really challenging me to figure out ptbl / ktbl when I'm doing combination knitting which twists the orientation of the stitches for me already half the time. I found a couple of minor typos, so I don't feel useless (or like I'm freeloading) already :)

Last step in this pair of mitts, though I'm very far from it, is to add buttons. Why did I never know that buttons could be so pretty? :O Today I went to Carolina's (beads, buttons, sequins, ribbons, feathers, etc) and bought buttons. Lots and lots of buttons :D Lots and lots of different colored, different sized, buttons. Nothing that's perfect for what I need, but a bunch of them that are really interesting and that I think might work (if not for this project, for the next one).



Oh! Also my LYS is being helpful and is asking one of their other regulars (sort-of-employee?) to see if she has any of the yarn I need for. I may finally be able to finish the english driving cap, and knock that project off of my list *g*



Something not knitting related: I'm watching the concrete examples of accessibility problems that deborah linked to. Fantastic idea, really useful resource, awesome videos.

Just finished the body of the right-hand mitten, and the thumbhole is on the right side \o/

(Technically, the thumbhole is on the left side, which is finally right).


I will probably stay well away from any cables for the next $x projects. Well well away -- I had to redo rows several times, more often than I've ever had to redo them before. Doing cables is hard enough: undoing (and then redoing them) is so much more pain. Was trying to finish the mitten by March 18, which is probably why I ended up having to undo and redo several rows' worth of cables over and over again (oh row 48 *fistshake*)

See, this is the mitten for my friend who asked me for one, and I wanted to finish it by March 18 because that is the day she discovers whether she's going to make doctor (she did).

I just need to knit the thumb, which is barely anything, and block it and then arrange a time to meet up and celebrate. I am going to be a day late, but \o/ anyway.

About a third of the way through my first mitten :D It's a bit scary; I'm just about approaching the point where I'd stop if it were a fingerless glove. So far it's been pretty similar though.

I need to see if I can find some soft wire to use as a stitch holder. That way, I wouldn't need to dig out a tapestry needle in order to thread scrap yarn through the stitches to be held. And I think (though I haven't tried) that it might be easier to transfer the stitches from wire back to a knitting needle, rather than from a soft yarn -- plus you can scrunch it out of the way while knitting the rest of the mitten.

The wire ties that you can find for bread or to organize cables almost work but I'm a bit nervous that the flat edges will rub against the yarn, weakening it. So, next thing to do is to find some spare wire somewhere *handwave*