Watched the movie Jason X last night: Jason kills people in space. Imagine my surprise! Not only was the actress who plays Beka in it, but Andromeda herself was there. In a twist, it was Lisa Ryder who portrayed the android, not Lexa Doig. Movie was entertaining, and believe it or not, featured some very cool knitwear.

Did not get as much done on the Beka Tank as I would have liked. My elbow was hurting me, so I worked slow and took lots of breaks. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it -- it didn’t feel like my usual flares of tendonitis. This morning, while I was getting ready for work, my shoulder POPPED loud enough to be heard in three counties (Crawford, Lawrence and Jasper) then my elbow felt fine. I’m glad -- I’d like to get this tank done before the Indian Floral Vest yarn gets here.

New Interweave Knits came today. Lots of pretty half-nekkid-summer-stuff in there. Speaking of which, I mentioned here a while back that I wanted the Spring Rebecca so I could make the Olive Tank pictured in the magazine's ad. It reminds me of my hero, Beka Valentine's, Space Gear. So I started it yesterday and got a good bit done while watching Andromeda, and other stuff, last night. It's an experiment on two levels: I'm getting gauge (13sts=4") with two strands of stash Lion Brand Microspun (black) and I'm trying to size it up since the pattern is written for size small only. Got about 4-5" done and I'm already feeling a little exposed by a tank top knit at a large gauge. I'm going to have to sew a lining in the cups or I'll be too chicken to wear it in public.

And speaking of Andromeda, very amusing episode last night. Boy, Captain Hunt is turning into quite the Boy Space Ho. Who does he think he is, Captain Kirk?

Finished the Jailbird Cardy. Wa-Hoo! (There are people here on the Prairie who say Yee-Haw like the Dukes of Hazard but I'm not one them.) I don't like how ratty the cut steeks look at the neck where it falls open. I'm going to wash and dry it, then, after it does its fuzzy Wool-Ease thing, I'll decide what to do. Tucking in the ends and whipstitching the steek facings down is one option. It would have been better if the pattern had instructed to cut first, then put on the neck after the buttonband was on, but it did not. Also the bottom of the sweater rolls up. I feel this is not going to be my most successful project.

Front of Corset Pullover is also complete. I'm afraid if I don't finish this before I start Core, I'll put it down and not pick it back up. I'm nervous about the sleeves. I know I'm going to have gauge problems and it puts me in Avoidance Mode.

Also on the Done Page is my Magazine Database. I learned something doing this: I now know the difference between projects that I Want and projects that I WANT WANT WANT. This understanding is going to help me with the So Many Projects Only One Lifetime problem that (I think) all knitters have. The very first Interweave Knits I ever bought (Winter 99/00) had two in it that I desired with all my heart then and now: the Indian Floral Vest and the Sashiko Jacket. I’m going to make both of these before the end of this year. In fact, I’m going to make the Indian Floral Vest next alongside Core.

In Stephen King’s book The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, the girl (I think she’s eleven) admits to her father that she thinks Tom Gordon is handsome. Her father tells her that it is part of the genetic makeup of baseball players to be handsome. I can think of several glaring exceptions to this “rule” but, actually, looking at any nine guys on the field at any time, there may be an argument in favor of it. Either way, Hee Seop Choi is a big cutie pie.

Ah, Spring. There is just nothing like a good allergy-sinus-headcold to make you feel crappy all over. The good news is I still have several pills left in my Clariton prescription so I have not yet had to shell the $5 a piece or whatever godawful amount they cost over the counter.

My Denim swatch came out 30sts=4" -- not really all that much more of a row gauge discrepancy than what I always seem to have. I’m going to go ahead and start Core after I finish the Jailbird Cardy and get a good bit farther along on the Corset Pullover. Didn’t do much yesterday. Slept a lot of today (stayed home from work), but I have high hopes for tonight.

My Aunt Dinah is blogging! Check out Life and Times of the Gypsywoman.

An entertaining time was had by all in Houston -- except perhaps for the first day when Brandy, my great pal and Texas traveling buddy, ended up with three-year-old son vomit all over her. TWICE -- morning AND evening. Of course, our husbands took us to Texas because THEY had to go for work training. It’s possible they didn’t have as much fun as us. But we all got to go to the Kemah Boardwalk, the Johnson Space Center, and we toured the Battleship Texas.

While the guys were in school, Brandy and I SHOPPED. Mostly for books, because We Love Used Bookstores. (When we went to Austin last year, we bought so many books and shoes that Brandy's bag was overweight when we tried to fly home.) I got two knitting books: Knitting the New Classics ($5) and Rowan's Season's Tale (regular price at Borders.) I had printed a list of Houston yarn stores before I left, but when we were there with the map, it turned out they were all a million miles away.

I didn’t knit a STITCH the whole time I was gone. I seldom do when I’m on an out-of-town vacation. I’ve made good progress on the Corset Pullover this weekend, though. This is a Very Interesting pattern. There is a lot going on: waist shaping and short rows and bust darts. I also finished the button side of the Jailbird Cardy buttonband right before I left.

While I was away, the Best Cousin Ever found out for me that the Rowan Denim ballband claims it knits up at 28rows=4" and then shrinks to 32rows=4". That is NOT the oft-mentioned 20% -- more like 12% by my calculations. The denim I bought to substitute is supposed to have a Shrink Factor of 10-15%. My internet knitting right now is a nice, big swatch that I will shrink ASAP. I'm glad I bought extra of this yarn. I think I'm going to need it.

I'm on VACATION! Back Saturday.

I DID IT! I cut my first steek last night, straight up the front of the Retro-Prep Jailbird Cardy. I pretty much knew what to do, but, to brace myself, I re-read Wendy's article. (I did not have any Margaritas, so I congratulated myself with a celebratory ice cream sandwich.) It just needs a buttonband and some buttons. I think I’d like something in a tortoiseshell, but, on the other hand, I do love THESE. Also THESE.

Decided to drop a decrease sequence at the waist of the Corset Pullover. It seemed like it was getting Very Small, so I double-checked the schematic. I was right -- for the 37 1/4” bust size that I’m making, the waist is going to be 30 1/2.” That’s only going to work if I have an ACTUAL corset to cinch me in. However, I checked the backs of some of my sewing patterns, and that seems to be standard size. I never thought I was thick in the waist, but maybe that’s just ’cause I was comparing to my HIPS.

These people are really into Richard Dean Anderson. I'm not making fun -- their Stargate pages are AWESOME.

No steek cutting yet. Last of prep work done tonight -- may cut tomorrow. Got a few inches of the front of the Corset Pullover done once I figured out why I was going wrong with the twisted rib pattern. I had made myself a photocopy of the charts with my scanner in Grayscale. I didn't realized that the Pattern Repeat section was boxed in RED, so it didn't show up on my copy, and I wasn't seeing it. On the right track now. I have some concerns about the substitute yarn I'm using, but I'm waiting it out.

Wendy noted recently that, when steeking color work for a cardigan, the color changes are placed along the point where the front steek will be cut. That way, you don't have to worry about your ends, which is very sensible and logical. The Interweave Knits Retro-Prep Cardigan places the beginning of the rounds behind the left shoulder and, thus, the ends. Not only is this a pain in the ass as far as ends go, but it also makes the neck shaping way more awkward than it has to be. When I read the pattern before I started, I could see how this was going to end up. I thought about trying to change it before I put the sleeves on, but I knew I was then going to have to recalculate all the yoke decrease points and everything. I was too timid to try it since this was my first yoked sweater. Now that I have experience, I will definitely change this if I run across it in the future.

I have the Retro-Prep Jailbird Cardy all done but the steekin'. My ends are woven and my underarms are grafted (they look GOOD -- I surprised myself.) I am not, however, going to steek tonight. Too much to do around the house -- I don't want to try it while I'm tired. Instead, tonight I'm going to swatch for the Corset Pullover and maybe start a sleeve if all goes well.

Here's my Household Hint for the day: if you own the Super Fabulous Humongous Knitter's Knitting Bag DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT dry it in the dryer, particularly if you value it for its humongousness.

I didn't tell yesterday about my used bookstore finds. I bought Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Designs ($9.50). This is the hardcover 1972 addition and I think it may be from a school or library because the dust jacket is covered in plastic. This book has a bunch of mosaic blocks and interesting "picture" lace patterns (like filet crochet, the open spaces form pictures like flowers and bats.) And then there are CABLES and cool 3-D stuff like a turtle and a candlestick and a SPIDER. The other knitting book I bought is one I hadn't ever heard of: Knitting from the Netherlands -- Traditional Dutch Fishermen's Sweaters ($6). There's a lot of history in this book. Apparently, for a time in the Netherlands, fishermen sported sweaters that are similar in form to Ganseys. There are LOADS of old photos and what is essentially the same basic square sweater pattern again and again with different knit-and-purl texture patterns forming the design.

I wonder if there is ANYWHERE online where I can find the gauge of Rowan Denim both Before and After shrinking. I bought some denim yarn to make Core from the Rowan Treasury but I think the shrink factor is different for the Rowan versus my denim. It may be worthwhile to buy a ball of Rowan and make two swatches to compare. I also wondered about pre-shrinking my denim and then using the Rowan Cotton instructions. I guess I’ll know when I swatch. (I should have that on a T-shirt: I’ll Know When I Swatch.)

Here’s how you know you live Way Out In The Country: since the onset of Wet Spring, I’ve been having a terrible time getting and staying online. When I pick up my phone I hear a crackle so loud I almost can’t hear the dial tone and, to the computer, this interference is enough to break the connection. It happens because IT’S DAMP. How Green Acres is that?

Further evidence (if it was needed) that I shouldn't be allowed to have coffee except in a Sippy Cup: Thursday night I knocked my FULL cup of decaf off the nightstand and right into my OPEN knitting bag. An assessment of the damage? The worst casualty was the Little Vogue Poncho and it's dry-clean-only ribbon yarn (naturally). I assume it's ruined. The actual Jailbird Cardy doesn't seem to have been splattered, but of the three extra balls of yarn I'd brought for it, two were dunked. No discernible damage to the Dresser Scarf Socks or their yarn and none of the pattern pages got wet. Plus, of course, my green and white humongous Knitter's tote bag needs a good run through the washing machine. All told, it's not near as bad as it could have been. I think I have enough ribbon yarn to start over on the Little Vogue Poncho, although, since this is my third try at this thing, I wonder if it just wasn't meant to be. I have plenty of the yarn for the Jailbird Cardy. I'll de-skein what got stained and wash it. Maybe it will come out.

I went shopping at two stores in Springfield: a used bookstore and a used music store. At the used bookstore, they have a big table outside the front door with stacks of books on it and a sign, “Books $1. Pay Inside If Shop Is Open. If Shop Is Closed Put Money In Envelope And Put Through Mail Slot.” At the used music shop EVERYTHING, even the cheapest stuff, is in locked glass cases and you have to get the clerk to take things out to look at. All this says something about our society but I haven’t decided what yet.

The hotel where I stayed is the tallest building in Springfield. It is located in the center of the city, a round tower rising high above all the other buildings. Its jutting cylindrical-ness has left it with a hilariously unfortunate nickname that starts with “P” and ends with “of the Prairie.” The elevator is backed with windows and, as I was looking down at the Capital Building four blocks away, I realized that I had been in that hotel before! When I was a kid, probably junior high or early high school, I went to a youth function there and was very silly and obnoxious. I kept reminding myself of this on my second day when the whole place was overrun be the FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America -- Illinois Chapter), aka 20,000 teenage girls and 5,000 teenage boys.

Today, I got up early and beat it to the post office because I just KNEW my Elann package arrived when I was gone. It had! My new yarn is FABULOUS. I am SOOOOOOO ready to start the Corset Pullover.

Sammy Sosa hit his 500th homerun last night!

Goin' out of town tomorrow on a Business Trip. A class, to be precise: Sales Ratio Analysis. Whooo Hooo!
Did that sound sarcastic? It's not -- I LOVE statistics. I won't be back till Friday night, so definitely no blog updates before then. I’m washing clothes to pack and trying to decide what knitting to take. I may just take it ALL.