MondayLunchCrew

Officially Moved

2007-01-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

I've been rather quiet since the start of the new year because I've been rather busy trying to get a major move ready.

I've moved the blog to my own domain!

New blog address: http://blog.mayyan.net New RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/mayyan/VOHV. (or click on the RSS clicklet when you get on to the new site.

My reasons.

Year in Review - Knitting and Cross Stitch Finishes 2006

2006-12-31T10:03:00.000-05:00

Summary of crafty works in the past year.

January: Wooly Zipper by Bent Creek; Subversive cross stitch; Les copines by Rue du Port; Free DMC needlepoint Latte
<; Trilogy - Gathering of Hearts Kit; Flour's quick tube sweater
February: Knitting Olympics Socks
March: Unsatisfactory Patons sweater
April: G's sister's socks; G's Mom's socks; Other family socks throughout the year. Plus one more.
June: Bent Creek - Z25 Blarney sheep kit.; Bent Creek - Z25 Free Betsy Sheep Kit
July: Shepherd's Bush - Spooky Sheep kit
August: Baby Booties; Mirabilia - Savannah's Curtsy
September: Cabled Sleeve Pullover Sweater; Rowan Mag 31: Pattern Number 37 Petula Sweater; Needlefelt PDA holder
October: Bent Creek - Z25 Boo Sheep Kit
November: John Clayton - Paris; Fetching
December: Flour's Knit Xmas scarf; Chevron Baby Socks (Which we will see after the baby shower.); Clapotis (Still haven't completely finished it with washing and blocking... Will show off in the new year!); G's Socks

Cross-Stitched Items:: 11
Socks:: 7
Flour's:: 2
Sweaters:: 3
Booties:: 2
Scarf/wrap:: 1
Gloves:: 1

Knitting: I'm currently working on a blanket of Manos in squares, making my own version of the Four Seasons Throws by Design Source Collections.; Baby Blanket in Mission Falls for Jocelyn; Monkey Socks
Cross-Stitch: Lizzie*Kate Bless our home
Needlepoint: A travel needlepoint piece. Really not moving along since I haven't been traveling since Asia!

Here's wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year!

Monkey Update

2006-12-30T12:24:00.001-05:00

First sock is complete. I've really not been doing much knitting since Friday before Xmas when I finished this one. Been busy with work and family events and merry making. I do need to get back on the wagon...

As per usual, Flour had to come and pose with knitting.

Ever wonder what sex is your brain?

2006-12-30T10:36:00.000-05:00

Do you think more like a man or more like a woman?

Take the Brain Sex test on the Science & Nature section of the BBC and find out. [via: my sister (no blog)]

In the context of sharing, it would appear that while more analytical and systematic, I have a typical female brain. What's more interesting is that while I've always thought of myself as very logical, the test suggest that my brain is more artistic.

SocksMas 2006 G's Family's Socks

2006-12-29T10:08:00.001-05:00

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: Regia 4ply black
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: G's Dad

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: Regia Jubilee: 5466 53600
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: G's Mom

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: DGB Confetti superwash: 39105 4093
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: G's Sister

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: DGB Confetti superwash: 07.006 5113
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: G's Brother

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: Lana grossa - Meilenweit Multiringel: 5050 55077
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: G

100 things we didn't know last year

2006-12-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

100 things we didn't know last year from the BBC News Magazine Monitor. [via]

Interesting trivia list...

SocksMas 2006 My Family's Socks

2006-12-28T09:38:00.001-05:00

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: Trekking xxl: 110 3557
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: My Mom
Notes:: Love Trekking! Will using a lot more of this in the future

Pattern:: Lang Sock Pattern Leaflet with Cables
Yarn:: Regia Jubliee: 5470 54466
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: My Dad
Notes:: Second pair I've made with this pattern which turned out not to be of the currect size according to the pattern. I'll likely not use the pattern again.

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: DGB Confetti superwash: 2403 4033
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: My Sister

Christmas 2006 is SocksMas 2006

2006-12-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

I've spent most of this year making presents. And of course, they don't see the light of day until after they've been given to the intended recipients. So... now that they have been, I can do a reveal. It's really been a very happy Knitsmas. Here's hoping everyone enjoyed the work and effort.

Pattern:: Priscilla's Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts - Interweave Knits Fall 2000
Yarn:: Opal Flamingo
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: Jocelyn

My Family's Socks
G's Family's Socks

fetching present

2006-12-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

Pattern:: Fetching from Knitty; Discontinued color dark grey Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. (one of my favorite yarns on the planet!)
Needles:: Cheapy size 6 (4.0mm) Imra double point
Date Started:: November 7, 2006
Date Finished:: November 9, 2006
Changes and Notes:: The pattern calls for making two identical gloves and just switching how you wear it. However, I decided to really do a matching pair. On the second glove, instead of making the thumb on the first 7 stitches of the row, I made it on the last 7 stitches of the row. That is, on the other side of the stitch marker. (I leave a long tail at the cast on and use that as my marker.) This way, the rib stitch lines on the thumbs are mirror opposites.
I do love how quickly this pattern knits up and it does only take just under 1 ball of yarn. I probably would have finished it in 1 day except for the fact that I managed to screw up the counting of the second pair and had to rip and redo. I am now needle-felting to join two pieces of yarn. It makes for slightly fuzzy yarn, but not much noticeable and love how I leave less to weave in. I just couldn't consider too many ends in a piece so small.
Nothing I really didn't like about the pattern except for the fact that it's worked on 4 dpns instead of 5. That was annoying to work with since it felt strange. I might try to change this, but given the easy division of stitches by 3, I can see why it was done this way. A change of gauge or size and I'll redo them with 5 dpns.
All cables were worked without cable needles. I'm still struggling a little with this, but can handle doing it with cables smaller than 4 stitches wide.
I'm definitely making this again. I might feel more free to make more changes and I'm feeling very much better about tackling gloves in the future. The scary thumb bit wasn't too bad.
Occasion:: Christmas 2006
Recipient:: Jocelyn

Google gets it

2006-12-25T11:18:00.001-05:00

The joy of Knitted Christmas Gift giving by Google Holiday Doodles chronicaled over the past few days leading up to Christmas. I love the fact that they are shining some light on the effort those of us put towards the hand made gift. Something that says I've thought of you all year and I spent many hours making this with care just for you.

The photos of the knits gets to be shown off in a couple of days. Stayed Tuned.

Global Warming Effects

2006-12-24T14:09:00.001-05:00

Why the heck is there no snow for Xmas this year? I live in CANADA!!!

But at least today is a sunny day and forecast is rain in the afternoon. I'm hoping it'll be a Christmas miracle and become snow.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

When these photos were taken I thought they didn't look very wintery since there is no snow. But there's no snow for our Xmas, so they are now the perfect Christmas Photos of the family.

Technorati Tags: General

Monkey heel

2006-12-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

Interesting heel construction for this sock pattern. I've never made a heel like this and I wonder what type of heel it is. I do think it has an interesting look. I will have to compare with the short row one and see which is more comfortable to wear.

And for anyone interested in start up this pattern, I'd say go for it. I really moves very quickly and the pattern is so easily memorized that it's quite a joy to knit.

Technorati Tags: Knitting

Best Knit Pattern ever read

2006-12-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

Some people read knit patterns like others read cookbook recipes. I read knitting patterns. Then again, I read recipes too. But not that way that some others do. Cookbooks, I approach in a more utilitarian manner. "Will I ever make that?" "Do I have the ingredients to make dinner?" While some people read it to dream, to learn, to experiment, to get hungry, to look at all the pictures ... just like how I read a knit pattern. (This doesn't apply to cross stitch since the chart for a pattern does all the work for you.) I can spend a good evening going through old magazines and dreaming of what's next. I do that with the xs patterns too.

Some patterns you read because you plan on making it and you're trying to get the important info. What yarn? What Gauge? What needles/notions? Do I have them all? Do I need to shop? How big is the project? (personal estimation.) Will you ever wear it? Or will anyone? Does it go up on the to-do list? Or goes in the maybes? Is the pattern charted or written? Does it look like you'll have to rewrite it all just to work with it? so on and so forth.

And then there's this little gem(PDF) from Jenna. [via]

This one is just fun to read. It's got lots of humour and personality in a strict package. And a pattern you can knit to boot! But if you have trouble with legalese. I'd advise against reading it.

Catch the monkey

2006-12-21T20:22:00.000-05:00

I'm not easily discouraged.

Last night, I cast on again for Monkey on size 2 needles. Which is what the pattern called for, but I've been doing a lot of sock knitting on size 1 needles, which turns out was too small for this yarn and pattern. Yes, I probably should have known better.

A little more knitting tonight and this is the result. It's really nice to be working on something for myself and be able to show progress.

So far, it's been quite enjoyable. So far so good on the sizing. We'll see how it goes when we get to the heel.

Web Coolness

2006-12-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

In case you've ever wondered about your web coolness: Take the Test. [via]

Serious, I love most of the stuff Cameron comes up with... Check out his Experiments link. I can't get enough of CSS Love Child. [Previous Mention].

where I start two new knit projects...

2006-12-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

I've made two recent starts in the past two days.

I had a nice time shopping on Saturday and came home with some sock yarn. (Yes, I have a lot, but seriously... ask anyone, sock yarn isn't stash!) After the start and rip with my lace scarf, I went back to a more tried and true. I took out the sock yarn (a new ball of Regia Canadian Colors) and cast on and started knitting Monkey from the Winter 2006 Knitty. The lace pattern was really easy to memorize and it was going pretty great. That was until I realized that I've really just been swatching. The sock if I continued, was probably going to be too small for me to wear.

Then I got out some Zara and started to work on a fair-isle scarf. I'm trying out a pattern from a Japanese book and I had some trouble with trying to figure out what the pattern was telling me. I thought I had it right when I cast on and knitted through the season finale of Dexter which we watched last night. But this morning when I pick it up again and tried to knit it again following the pattern. I realized that I had read the chart wrong. I kept trying to figure out it and see if it can be salvaged, but in the end it could not.

This afternoon, I ripped into them all, and wound all the yarn back up onto their balls. I've put down the needles and will have to pick them up again. But first, I'm going to scan and photoshop that Japanese Pattern so that it's easier for me to read.

By this time tomorrow, I'd likely have gotten over this and at least cast back on for the sock. The yarn's too pretty not to knit.

While each failure of a project is a disappointment; I'm not discouraged. Each is a learning experience and you're wiser the next time around. (or at least there's the dream that you could be wiser....)

Tented

2006-12-18T11:39:00.000-05:00

Kazakhstan's Captial Astana is about to be covered by foster + Partners [via and via]

agh, I give up

2006-12-17T16:56:00.000-05:00

After finishing a knit project, I promptly dove into my knitting stash and got out needles and yarn to make a lacy scarf. I have been making a few projects which have more lacy patterns with these nice yarn overs, so I was keen to work on a lace pattern to do more yo's.

Sadly, after knitting two rows. I gave up. The first row was on metal addi's which were too slippery, I went to knit row two on wood. Next, row three: I do yo's twice, and that goes well, but then came the k3tog. AGH... a whole minute of trying I finally gave up. The needles are too blunt. I was really struggling and to have to struggle the whole scarf would make me go crazy.

I've read it many times recently about the need for sharper needles for working lace. And now, I've experienced it myself. I ripped up the two rows and put it all away. It's just not the day to do this. there's one more chance that the denise needles I've got on another project would be sharp enough for the task. I'll have to give that a go. Or... maybe I'll just break down and buy a set of knitpicks needles and see if I like them as much as most people.

I guess it's time to look for a less aggravating project.

Oh.. and I've decided to fight my perfectionist nature, and let G's socks stand. One cuff being 1/2 inch shorter than the other. I told him I'll make him another pair. Like there was any doubt that I would. So, I guess I gave up on trying to fix that too.

Lizzie*Kate Update

2006-12-15T13:07:00.000-05:00

As mentioned previously, I had put down the Lizzie*Kate I was working on for the last month or so. I ended up making a decision and decided to rip all the wrong parts. I guess it was just about the whole thing. But hey, now I can work on it some what. Here's an updated photo. I'm already looking forward to finishing it.

Oh horrors, what have I done!?

2006-12-11T09:01:00.000-05:00

This is a photo of G's socks:

I mean, what the fuck? Was I high when I started the heel on that second sock a whole 1/2 inch too short!? This is what happens when you don't follow a set pattern and don't have the other sock around to 'read'.Edit:Sadly, it's not the foot that's short. Only the cuff is short.

I've got to fix it... suggestions? Do I rip down from the cuff and bind off loosely? Can I bind off loosely enough? Or will I just make it worst?

AAAHHH....

At least the rest of it looks okay.

Squeeze!

2006-12-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

We asked G's friend John to take some photos us. This way, we can get some shots where Flour is in the same photo as G and myself. To date, most of the photos are of G and Flour since I'm the photographer of the family. Here's one of Flour and I that I like, a candid shot of me giving Flour a hug. Yes, she just takes it.

Bookmooch

2006-12-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

What do you do with books that you're finished with? What if there's no one to give it to? Consider signing up for Bookmooch.

And yes, I've been really remiss with the craft content these days. It will be remedied in the next month or so, but certain projects just can't see the light of day until post New Years. Oh, you know the type I'm talking about.

New Flour Photos

2006-11-27T15:57:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't checked Flour's photo set of late, there's some recent photos of Flour.

KIP in passport office

2006-11-22T12:22:00.000-05:00

It's probably a bad time to have it done, but my passport is nearing expiration so I figure I'd better renewal it soon so that I can travel with peace of mind. So, I took my application form, ids, and knitting to the passport office yesterday.

The lines were ridiculously long. I was well armed. I went nearing the end of day so that it won't be as long lines as first thing in the morning (3 hours!) and went prepared with knitting. I spent in total 1h and 45 minutes waiting from start to finish. I managed to knit my way though most of it and nearly finished turning a heel on a sock; I only had two more rows left when I got home.

I looked around the waiting room many times during this wait and saw a few people reading, some books, some papers. I saw a few playing cell phone games. 4 or 5 moms needing to tend to children. Barely anyone doing business on the phone or computer. (I'm sure it's because of the office I was in, it's more residential and not in a business area.) I had to wait for nearly 100 numbers to go ahead of me and maybe 20-30 more after me all sharing the same waiting room. Of this sample, I was the only one knitting. Most people were staring off into space or whispering to some one. Most people were bored out of their brains. Some were more annoyed than others. But I swear except for a couple who were reading, no one had a more enjoyable and quicker waiting time than myself.

If you are in Canada and trying to get your passport, here's a tip I learned yesterday while in line. Wish I knew this before hand. Fill in your application online using Passport Online and then take the info to the passport office and you'll jump the line! So instead of a three hour wait, you might have to wait 15-45 minutes. And of course, when the wait lines were even shorter, you barely have to wait five minutes. It seems like a good idea.

That is, unless you need the waiting room time to catch up on your Christmas Knitting.

The Future of Web Apps Podcasts -> Funnies

2006-11-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to the Futures of Web Apps Summit pod-casts (RSS Feed). I applaud Carson Systems for putting out for all of us who couldn't attend! It's a great service and it's a great way to increase interest in future seminars. BTW, the next seminar speaker list looks awesome too!

Some of the talks are really technical. Most are really informative. Some are really surprisingly funny. Content wise, it's great exposure to web apps, web sites, technologies and what people have done and are doing on the web.

And then there's little gems like these: (via)

a novel idea

2006-11-14T08:55:00.000-05:00

I have always loved reading. However, I know that sometimes it's hard to read even when you want to. I find that these days, without a commute, I actually have to make more of an effort to read.

For some people, picking up a book isn't really an option, and the folks at DailyLit.com has thought of a way to squeeze in some reading into most people's day. [via] Read some classics by email. They'll break down the book you've selected into small segments to be delivered with your daily email as per the schedule you've set. Me, I've got it coming to me with my morning coffee. I'm reading my emails, news and RSS feeds, what's a novel segment. Before I know it, I'll have finished the book.

Cross-Stitch:: After finishing the Paris piece, I jumped into a small Lizzie*Kate. It was quick progress until I realized a huge mistake in counting. It's been on hold ever since. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Rip it, try to compensate. Not fun times!
Knitting:: Xmas Knitting continues. [no peeking.]; Knitting continues in the yet unseen, but previously mentioned baby blanket. I put in some bobbles on it last night. It's only on one place in the piece, but it was so much fun, I rather wish it was on some other pieces. I am rather inspired to make some thing with bobbles on it just for the heck of making them. But honestly, there's a place for bobbles and then there's stupid and childish looking. It's a fine line.
Listening to:: Roch Voisine - Je te serai fidèle; Keane - Under the Iron Sea; Audioslave - Revelations
Just read:: Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee; Wendy Knits by Wendy D. Johnson

Xmas Stamps for 2007

2006-11-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

How cool is this? [via]

Makes me wish I was still living in the states so I could send these out for the holidays 2007.

The Xmas Stamps from Canada Post this year isn't too bad either! I rather like the retro look.

As I heard on the radio today, 45 days until Xmas. I guess I'd better get going on the packaging. Luckily for me this year, most of the Xmas presents are done. I just have a few more to-do and work on the presentation.

Westie Walk 2006

2006-11-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

Back on September 17th, we went to join in the fun at the Westie Walk.

It's run by Westie Rescue of Canada and it's a fundraiser for the group. Flour had so much fun and we did too hanging around 40 some Westies and their owners. There were games and Flour won a prize for being the youngest Westie.

I took film photos for a change and just recently got them developed. Here's the photos on my flickr set. The Slideshow. Yes, some of the photos, it's a little "Where's Waldo" like with Flour, so I've made a note of where she is when it's not obvious.

The official photos. We got there late and didn't get our official photos done.

I can't wait until the 2007 walk.

New generation office

2006-11-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

Vitamin's Article: Our Office 2.0 Experiement was rather interesting reading.

I recently put in a new hard drive on an old PC laptop so that we could get another machine to use. It's ages old, 5-6 years and I didn't want to bog it down with much in terms of applications and honestly wanted to stay as far away from as much Microsoft stuff as I could. I've been trying to figure out what's needed on the machine so that we can be productive. I need to use the machine to do PC testing for work and G needs it for basic email/word processing and browsing.

From the featured article comments, I heard about openoffice.org. I just downloaded it for my PC laptop to try out. It looks very slick and easy to use at the moment. I've got to try to put it through the paces to see. But really, had I known about it, I would likely not have purchased the Mac office suite ages ago. I really only use Excel mostly. I find that I could word process just as well on vim. In case you're also looking for cheaper, non microsoft alternatives, check out the article and take a look at openoffice.org.

The Best of Mary Maxim's at the Yonge Eglinton Centre

2006-11-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to check out the Mary Maxim store's Grand Opening. It's in Lewiscraft's old spot and honestly, it's just like a Lewiscraft, but with less stuff. The nice part is that it does have a good amount of yarn and carry sock yarn. I had a coupon for 25% off one item and they had an sale of the day as 14% off yarns. So, I managed to pick up two balls of Regia Canadian Color 100g. The colors are great and I can't wait to knit them up. I think they will be my socks or gloves for sure.

I would say that it's a good start. It won't be any competition to the much nicer yarn stores downtown, and won't compete with the Michael's. They have a certain clientele and they were out shopping yesterday at the same time I was. Now that I've seen the store, I'm in no hurry to go back. However, I think if I'm in the neighbourhood, I'll go look for some sock yarn. If I'm in need of some dpns in sizes I don't use often and will want cheap ones, I'll go and buy it there. It's really easy for me to get to since it's right on the subway line and really close to me. On the other hand, I really do hope that they stock more items in the store soon since I think they had more 'stuff' at their booth in the creativFestival market floor.

Since they are having opening sales, I would recommend going to check it out before end of next week. I'm uncertain how long the grand opening sales are going to go for...

Finished! John Clayton's Paris

2006-11-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not ironing the piece before photography, I just got too excited to share the finish.

Start Date:: Can't remember. January 2006? Maybe sometime late 2005?
Finish Date:: November 1st, 2006
Design:: John Clayton International - Paris (Heritage Stitchcraft)
Comments:: This is a very dense piece. Every square is filled with at least one stitch. I love the fact that there is minimal back stitching. It is surprisingly complex and challenging to stitch at times, but it's also got nice bits of blocks of color up at the top. While you work on the more intricate parts, it's just a confetti of stitches and nothing looks quite right and it rather confusing. But when you step back to look at it, you see the details you don't see up close. How when you made the face of the cafe patrons, it looks odd and too dark, but when you look at it hanging from a far, it looks just right. I love how it turned out. I can't wait to tackle the next one on the list. I've got a plenty in this series to do! But the plan is to tackle all the places I've traveled to first, and maybe create a framed piece when they are all done.

Le Petit Nicolas!

2006-10-31T13:52:00.000-05:00

Wow... I didn't even this this website existed. I'm so pleased to see it! [via]. I'm a huge Petit Nicolas fan! I'm pretty excited to see Histoires inédites du Petit Nicolas, Tome 2 is also out! Nice!

Also: Le blog du Petit Nicolas

Firefox 2.0 and add-ons

2006-10-31T08:50:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard, Firefox 2.0 has been released. If you've never used Firefox, you don't know what you're missing. Download it now!

It's far superior to IE (don't even get me going on how...) but mostly you'll see prettier websites and better response times. The add-ons are just as fun and make life much easier. I also love the search bar/tool where you can customize where you search without having to go to those pages. It's all about doing things faster and more efficiently. Here's the extensions I've got on my firefox and recommend:

Utility:: del.icio.us bookmarks *** - syncs up your bookmarks on firefox with your del.icio.us bookmarks.; Yahoo! Mail notifier ***.; Map+Get a map of any address highlighted on a webpage. (unfortunately it's not the most comprehensive maps, since it uses yahoo maps as a base.
Programming:: FireBug; Greasemonkey - User script manager; Tails *** - Locate and work with objects embedded in webpages. I use it for microformats.; Web Developer *** I'd be lost without it.

Recently stopped using:: Wizz RSS News Reader. I've switched to using NetNewsWireLite.

Biomapping

2006-10-30T07:53:00.000-05:00

I love it when technology works with people to try to create and share the 'human experience'.

[via Fast Company issue 110 November 2006]

From biomapping.net:

Bio Mapping is a research project which explores new ways that we as individuals can make use of the information we can gather about our own bodies. Instead of security technologies that are designed to control our behaviour, this project envisages new tools that allows people to selectively share and interpret their own biometric data.

The Greenich Emotion Map:

Artist Christian Nold has been invited to collaborate with local residents from the Greenwich Peninsula to explore the area afresh and build an emotion map of the area that explores people's relationship with their local environment. The project is set up as a series of participatory workshops that invite people to borrow a Bio Mapping device and go for a walk. The device measures the wearer's Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), which is an indicator of emotional arousal in conjunction with their geographical location. The resulting maps encourage personal reflection on the complex relationship between us, our environment and our fellow citizens. By sharing this information we can construct maps that visualise where we as a community feel stressed and excited.

I find it inspiring that such a very geeky/techy project is created by an artist. Not that I don't appreciate that he is an artist, but that the medium is technology and that what can be called the traditional 'geek' work can be recognized as art. The passion, devotion and effort that often is attributed to and recognized to artists by "the people" exists in the scientist. A different medium but the results are often just as inspiring and rewarding to society. Of course, they all have their fans, I don't deny that there are technology groupies. But it makes me happy when the lines start to blur. After all, why is there such a divide between art and science? Is creativity not creativity no matters how it's applied and what ever the result?

How many lightbulbs does it take....

2006-10-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

We're a household that's is changing out most of our bulbs to CFLs. Please read this article and consider doing the same in your home.

Recently the city and hydro company put together a program to give one bulb to each household. It's a great idea for once you try out one of the newer bulbs you'll change your mind about using them. If you've tried them even just a couple of years ago, give them a try again. The technology has come a long way.

Of course, down the pipe is the LED... but hey, they might be what you'll get to replace the CFLs when you finally have to change them years down the road.

[Update:] You do have to change how you buy and compare lightbulbs. I used to compare how much light I can have from a bulb by wattage and then put a bulb in the socket that has a maximum wattage above or equal to what I've chosen. However, with CFLs you do have to compare on lumens instead of wattage to see if it's enough light for the area you want. I'm using some bulbs in the bathroom that used to be 40W regulars and I'm using 15W CFLs and it's actually brighter than what I had in there before. Go figure :) It is harder to compare on lumens though since most regular bulbs don't tell you how much they output. I don't have enough empirical experience to back it, and mostly have to guess. However, I've been moving the bulbs around the room. Since they are all mostly 15-20W, they will fit into all the sockets that will take anything higher and I move them around the apt until I have a bulb in the area that has the appropriate amount of light. Usually as older bulbs die out.

Sunrise

2006-10-27T16:42:00.000-04:00

It's been very dark in the morning when I wake up since the sun usually has not yet risen. This is going to brighter when we change the Daylight Savings time this weekend.

But before this change, I did get a photo of the sunrise this morning:

If you live in an area that observe this DST change, what are you going to do with the extra hour?

I'll likely sleep if Flour will let us, but it's nice to think about what the extra hour means: more reading, sleep, stitching, knitting, tv watching, ... just more time for what ever you need more of. Enjoy!

Progress on John Clayton International: Paris

2006-10-25T08:09:00.000-04:00

While I've no finishes to show off, I thought I'd show some work in progress. I've been working this piece on and off for quite a long time now. In fact, since I finished Savannah's Curtsy I have put off a new start for the sake of finishing this one. Here's where I am of the last few days:

October 23rd

October 24th

CreativFestival Fall 2006 Report

2006-10-23T16:02:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned before, this was the first year in many that I found classes I wanted to take and some interest in going to the CreativFestival. Weekend of October 20-22 was the event at the Metro Toronto Convention Center South Building.

I was signed on for two knitting classes, both on Cables, one with Lily Chin and one with Fiona Ellis.

Reversible Cables with Lily Chin

Lily is a great teacher who has a lot of energy. She pepper the informative class with her great laugh and fun stories. The time just flies by and I was so inspired to learn new techniques. She strongly encourages us to think freely with what can be done with revisable cables. She also brought along a lot of her own designs and patterns to help inspire us and show us what more advanced techniques can be achieved. I particularly enjoyed seeing some of her sketches and swatches to the final products. It just reminds us that we need to put in the work, swatch and there was a lot of work behind the finished product.I found seeing that so inspirational.

Inspired Cable Knits with Fiona Ellis

I was speaking with another person in the Lily Chin class who was saying that she did not enjoy the class with Fiona. However, I could not compared them and found the two to be enjoyable. I have to say that the style of the class was much more workshop than instructional. You learned by trying things and learning and asking questions. From Beginner to more advanced students will get out of the class what they were willing to do and interact with Fiona. Fiona was super friendly and easy to speak with. I had a good opportunity to try some different cables and practice and try to figure out how to cable without the cable needle.

Fiona also mentioned that she's got a new book coming out, I'm looking forward to seeing that.

I would recommend both classes if they come your way. I got so much inspiration and information out of the classes that I'm going to keep my eyes open for more classes in the future. I've been very much looking to learning new skills and sometimes, it's really much easier to be taught than to figure it out yourself.

Door Prizes

I headed into the market two days, Friday night with my sister (who does beading) and once again alone on Saturday. I ended up with two door prize ballots, which I put in the 'basket' on Saturday morning before heading off to do my shopping. I had spent Friday night looking at different parts of the show while my sister shopped the bead merchants. And would you know it I heard my name for the door prizes. I go and claim my prize (1 packet of red heart yarn) and the lady tells me that there's a "Mary Yan" who also won. I'm thinking that's really odd but didn't give it another thought. At the end of my time at the market, I had a few minutes and "Mary Yan" was bothering me. It's a common mistake made on my name. I thought I'd better to check the winners list and it turns out "Mary" also lived in the same town I did. I just had to ask the lady to check the other ticket for me to see if it was also me. IT WAS!!! So, I won two door prizes. She gave me more yarn and a great cross stitch book. I felt so lucky. What are the chances! It was so much fun!

Free Yarn:

That wasn't the only score of the weekend, In the Lily Chin class we got a ball Tribeca from her line of mohair and in the Fiona Ellis class we got this new yarn Perth. It was much raved in class by my class mates. I found it not to be as easy to use as they did since it did split on me, but it does a great job showing off cables.

I'm really looking forward to really exploring some cable work with all this new yarn!

Stash:

On the shopping front, here's my additions to my stash.

I had a great chat with Judy from JBW Designs and got some of her new designs which I love. I also got to see some of Maureen Appleton's work in person. They were so beautiful. To be honest, I've never been interested in her work before. The photography really doesn't do it justice, I did fall in love with some of her designs. I had to come home with her "Be Mine" silk kit.

As I expected, most of the show was scrapbooking, quilting and beading. There was just a little bit of yarn. (Frolic was so much better.) And with Cedar Hill, Crossed Wing Collection, JBW Designs, Maureen Appleton, Britstitch showing, there was at least some Cross-stitch showing. It really helped make the show more interesting for me. There was NO needlework at all!

On the quilting side, while there were quit a few merchants, I found the styles of the quilts to be more folksy than my liking. So, in the end, I was really just looking at tools and not fabric or patterns or designs. I found out about a show that's going to be in November at the Japanese Cultural Center put on by the York Heritage Quild, so, I might go to that. I got such great deals on the tools that I've been looking for, it was still a great time!

With this experience I did not find that it changed my impressions of the show much at all, but the conference classes is something I'll keep my eyes on since that part was great. I think for yarn, I'm better off going to a show like frolic or other specialty shows and for cross-stitch... I'm just about out of luck outside my 'in' with my friends at the official retail trade shows. I've still not been to the shows like CATS in the US, but it's quite pricey. It's hardly surprising that there seems to be such a small network of cross-stitchers in Canada. There seems to be few sources for us here outside of our LNS.

New York Weekend - The Long Version

2006-10-22T20:41:00.000-04:00

This past Canadian Thanksgiving I packed my suitcase and took myself to NYC to visit all my friends. It was the first trip in over a year, (I'm shocked myself!) and it was well overdued.

I stayed with two friends, Cynthia in Brooklyn at her new apartment and Theresa in her apt in Manhattan. As I expect, I was treated very well and effort was made for home cooked meals! I felt so special!

It was really a whirlwind.

I had taken the GO bus and TTC to the airport on Friday. It was very doable and not too challenging. The suitcases were relatively light. I was really pleased with the new connecting train between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at Pearson International Airport. It was relatively convenient and gave the airport a more 20th century feel to it. At least more on par with other airports I've been to with their inter-terminal trains.

The trip started off right since the customs person at the airport was so super nice. She smiled, repeated herself without attitude, was friendly, thanked me for information and even wished me a good trip. She was the best customers person ever! I was so pleased!

The plane was overbooked and delayed and the announcements went out for volunteers to give up their seats for $200 travel certificate and guarentee seat on the next flight. I half considered it, but it's a matter of poor information. I had no idea when the next flight is, and could not consider it with out the information.

An hour later and the offer became $250, but still no more information. I looked around, no takers either.

An hour later and it was nearly time to board and the offer became $500, dinner, hotel and the flight is first thing tomorrow. Ah.. now we have information. I knew for sure I cannot take up the offer, but people around were talking to see if they can do it. One couple bet that the offer becomes $700 in another 10 minutes if there are no takers. A couple more announcements and then came the threats that they will boot people off if they don't have volunteers. A poorly worded offer became in informative one for about 10 minutes before it became a threat. Nice.

It was a good thing that the customs lady was so nice that all this rolls off my back. Maybe it's also that I'm not as stressed as I used to be, so it's easier not to be annoyed.

I started off Saturday in the Flatiron district/Chelsea area. I got my haircut with my favorite hairdresser Vita at Artista Salon and she did a great job as always.

I shopped in the area and manage to hit the Union Square Market for a quick look and some photographs.

Afterwards, I headed into Hoboken by PATH to meet Jocelyn for lunch. Yes, Jocelyn and I had the same entree: lobster ravioli.

Then back to the SOHO area to check out the knitting stores. The Point was so crowded! It was a nice store with a good selection of yarns. I can see if I had that in my neighbourhood, I'd be in there often. But I don't think I would have travel for it.

My next stop was Purl and Purl Patchworks. Both spectacular eye candy and it was fun. The yarn shop was much too crowded, but the staff was pleasant and was happy to stash my huge shopping bag behind the counter while I shopped.

I walked away with a fabulous colourway of Manos and a black sheep tape measure of my very own. Oh yeah!

At the fabric store, it was quiet (relatively) but there was a steady traffic of people. The staff was once again super helpful and the prices were decent. I decided that I had to go home with some fabric and picked out three.

I managed to squeeze through the crowds in SOHO on a saturday, I'd forgotten how bad it was, to Balthazar's and picked up 2 bagettes for dinner. I took my huge bags of shopping and the bagettes and made my way back to Cynthia's listening to an animated conversation between some Mets and Yankee fans. It was a very New York moment for me.

Sunday was another fun day. It was my relaxed schedule day. I had a late start but managed to move into Manhattan. I wanted to go back to my old neighbourhood to check out what's changed and what hasn't and take some photos. I got to drop by at Candle 79 for lunch. It was super busy but I got in at my usual spot for lunch. The menu has not changed too much, so I had my order of my favorite plate there: BBQ seitan sandwich (sans onions) with polentta fries and a bit of salad. I have been craving seitan for a LONG time now. I'm happy to report that it was just as good as I remembered it. I definitely savored the experience since I don't know when I'll have good seitan again. However, I am tempted to try to make the pollenta fries at home.

I went to catch up with my favorite booksellers (Bonnie and Joe) and Mystery Bookstore: Black Orchid Bookstore. Yes, I got some books. It was great fun to sit and chat. I really miss the 'village' feeling and environment of New York. People are surprised when they hear it, but NY really operated like a collection of very small villages. You know your shops and neighbourhood haunts and it's so easy to always stay in your area for amenities and never make it cross the 'major' cross streets into another area.

I also managed to take photos of my old neighbourhood. Check them out on my flickr set, and the map of the set. There are also other photos of my trip that's not featured here.

A quick stop to Agata and Valentina to pick up some "Super Chocolate" coffee. It's the most chocolate flavored coffee I've ever had. I haven't found anything like it anywhere.

Then to Jenny's for the Metrostitchers event and a nice relaxing time catching up with friends and being surrounded by stitching.

Monday was an attempt to finish the rest of my tasks for the trip. I wanted to try to find some things I needed. I had a lunch date with my old friends from work, so I headed into Jersey City and had a birthday lunch with Dave (his birthday), Jocelyn, Marc and John at Markers. It was super nice to hang out with them. I really miss the people at work. No, I however, really don't miss work. No surprise there. And really, do not miss the trek into Jersey City.

I managed to hit the following stores in my attempt at running errands after lunch:Bodum, Bloomingdale's, Kinokuniya, and Barnes and Nobles. Then dinner and a night in chatting with Theresa.

One of my favorite items I came home with was this knitting book from Kinokuniya: ISBN4529041409.

There are so many gems in it. You can see more images. Yes, it cost more than if I had purchased it in Japan, but it's cheaper than a trip to Japan. So, well worth it. I'm looking forward to tackling some of the projects from it. It's got some of the most informative illustrations even though I don't read Japanese.

Tuesday, I had to make for the airport at a very early hour for my flight back home. It wasn't delayed and I had a nice view of the sun rising on Manhattan as I took the taxi to the airport. Even the Taxi driver noticed and commented on my lingering look back at my former home.

I'm the honest kind so when it came time to declare at customs, I had to declare that I did do some shopping and put down a number that got me sent to the paying customs duty station. After walking the extra long path to there, I was surprised when the customs lady told me that, get this, I didn't have to pay taxes that day since it's their policy to forgive some of them for the sake of encouraging honesty. Who'd heard of such thing? I was so surprised, but really in a very happy way.

What a great way to end the weekend! I can't wait until the next trip!

New York Weekend - Commercial Version

2006-10-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

The Commerical Version:: 2 trips into New Jersey via PATH (Hoboken and Jersey City); 1 Metrostitcher Stitching Event.; 1 haircut; Checking out The Point, Purl, Purl Patchworks.; 2 lbs of Super Chocolate Coffee from Agatha and Valentina.; 1 Walk around the old neighbourhood (Upper East Side); 1 detour on the cross town M79 bus; Catch up with my favorite booksellers (Bonnie and Joe) and Mystery Bookstore: Black Orchid Bookstore.; 1 lunch with Dave on his birthday.; 4 shirts and 3 sweaters for G.; 1 meal at my favorite vegan place: Candle 79.; 1 super super nice customs agent at Pearson International Airport.; 1 leisurely lunch with Jocelyn.; 2 baguettes from Balthazar; 1 knitting book from Kinokuniya
1 exhausting and fun weekend for a really out of shape, New Yorker at heart... [yes, this is so cliché but wait for it]
Priceless

Museums and Libraries

2006-10-19T09:30:00.000-04:00

I've been on a personal mission of sorts to go to every major museum and now I might have to do libraries!

Check out this post of awesome looking libraries to go see in your travels. While I find the whole 'porn' reference strange, it can't deny the power of the photos. [via]

Just for fun, here are the ones I've made it to so far on the museum side:

New York:: Metropolitan Museum of Art; American Natural History Museum; Frick Collection; MOMA; Brooklyn Museum
Washington DC: National Gallery of Art
Toronto:: Royal Ontario Museum; Art Gallery of Ontario; Bata Shoe Museum
Los Angeles:: Huntington Library
Paris:: Louvre; Museé national du Moyen Age(Cluny); Museé d'Orsay
London:: British Museum; National Gallery; Victoria and Albert Museum
Taipei:: National Palace Museum
Tokyo:: Tokyo National Museum

Class and Design

2006-10-18T10:18:00.000-04:00

at graphpaper.com, there's a 6 part series on Class and Design that is fascinating. Part One. [via]

A recent issue of Fast Company and Part Six of this series also mentions Antenna Design. They are the ones who designed the MetroCard machines for the MTA (NYC). I was recently once again using the machines and looking at them with a lot more of a usability and user interaction design stand point, and I have to say, they really are a gem. Go to the Antenna site to take a look at their designs in more detail, and next time you use a MetroCard vending machine, take note at how fast it was to get your ticket/refill your pass.

Other interesting reads: New York Times: Class Matters - Social Class in the United States of America

Update

Even if you don't think the metroCard machin is all that fabulous compared to other machines, it will still kick the butt of this piece of crap design put out by the TTC:

Finished Halloween Stitching!

2006-10-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

In time for Halloween, the Bent Creek Boo Z25 kit is done!

Again, a fun and fast stitch. Yes, I managed to mess up something on it, but it's about enjoying the process and not needing to make it perfect, so I left it 'wrong'. I still like it.

I had a nice meeting of the Metrostitchers when I was in New York, and it was fantastic to be able to hang out with my friends and be part of the group again. I've really missed the stitching events now that I've moved away. And as usual, the group stitching really got me moving on my own stitching which has really been slow ever since all the Xmas knitting has taken up most of my time.

[Update: Here is a couple of photos from the stitching event. What fun!]

Here's the finished product. I'm not going to frame it or might not even iron it, but it's already hanging so I can enjoy it on display until after Halloween.

Flour poses for G

2006-10-13T08:09:00.000-04:00

I was away back in New York visiting my friends this past long weekend. While I was away, G took some photos of Flour. Here are the great photos:

Look how dirty she is with those brownish paws.

I'm the cutest dog ever!

Expect to see some NY photos in future blog entries.

First SNOW!!!

2006-10-12T18:46:00.000-04:00

I just went to walk Flour and hand to run back since it started to storm snow!

A lot of wind and snow blowing sideways like it was January instead of October. But it's so typical of Canada... there's always snow before Halloween. And if you're unlucky, you're in your costume and has to trick or treat in below zero weather and snow. Hopefully that won't be this year.

The weather website didn't quite know what to call this:

It lasted not even five minutes and it was gone. The sky is sunny again. I did get a couple of shots. Click on the photo to see a bigger view.

geotagging

2006-10-05T12:23:00.000-04:00

One of the tagging trends that I enjoy right now is geotagging. The ideal way to do this is to have GPS devices that will record the precise locations for the application in question. But most of us don't have that, and it's perhaps something we'll see more of in the days to come. So, for now, most people and applications require that you manually geotag. But while the trend of it is new, the geotag is really much like any other tag, just some metadata. When one looks at a product which has had a lot of client interaction, it's really a nice sign of folksonomy at work (ex, del.icio.us). But we're perhaps not quite there yet on the geotag side. It's only a matter of time.

We've got geobloggers and geotagged photos. Flickr has recently announced their map product. It is my first indepth exposure to geotag. (Previous one is the Team Canada on Frapper!. Geotagging people.) While yahoo! maps is lacking compared to google maps, it is nicely integrated with the flickr application. I got started on it just about when it went online and I've seen the product improve in the short time it's live. My map. I do echo a lot of the other critism of the 'features' or 'bugs' about the map feature. One can hope flickr is listening and is working on fixing the issues. I'm pretty convinced that they will, given how they have quickly fixed some of the most annoying early problems.

Since privacy is of course of issue, considered bigger or smaller depending on who one speaks with... I actually prefer the ability to be able to control how specific to geotag a location. I do plan on going back and adding more photos to my flickr pages and being more specific about locations. I'd specially like to see how a location is photographed by different people, but how we can record the changes to a location over time. Of course, that's really the next dimension to something like a flickr map feature, to be able to then view and filter the pages by date and get a layered time progression. Note: The maps will allow you to filter a map by date. But we do not yet have enough photos over time to take full advantage of the filter. I'm really looking forward to seeing more photos being geotagged over time.

Some geotag talk:

great feature to add to a future pair of socks

2006-10-04T09:22:00.000-04:00

I'm really liking how this looks. I might not try to use the different colours or maybe as many different colours in mine. The details are lovely and should be a nice frilly girly touch. SO MUCH YARN, SO LITTLE TIME!: Socktoberfest feature: The Latvian Twist Cuff

Pose with Flour

2006-09-30T18:26:00.000-04:00

Here's the photo of the sweater being worn. Very comfortable for the fall.

And while I'm at it, let's pose for a photo with Flour!

(geek) laughs

2006-09-29T17:17:00.000-04:00

Okay, it takes might take a while to get, and you have to be a geek, but damn funny if you are.

on xkcd.com. [via]

I'm tempted to get the teeshirt.

Okay, here's another good one...

I'll just leave you these and go look thought all the archives for laughs.

Sweater finished!

2006-09-27T10:46:00.000-04:00

Finally got this one done. It's all ready to be worn in this fall. Nice.

The Details

Pattern: Adrienne Vittadini Vol 15 Pattern #5: Cabled Sleeve Pullover.
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool Colour: 002
Needles: #8 Denise circular
Modifications: Not much, needed to extend the width of it by about 2 inches. Either it's a gauge issue or a pattern misread.
Completion Date: 3rd week of September, 2006.
Lessons:
- Make sure to check the yardage on substitute yarns just in case. As it turns out, I did over estimate enough in my purchasing, but I was left with so little that I worried about finishing the piece and had to order more yarn. It was not a good experience to have to wait and have to search for it. So, must do better next time.
- The sweater is more cropped on me than on the model... it may be a stockinette stitch knitted sideways issue or an issue with sweaters knitted sleeve to sleeve, will have to be more careful on the width (length) in the future. This looks cute, but as it may stretch over time, it may become an issue.
- To make my sewing up easier, I've got to try to remember to work in some selvages.
- The 'roll' on the sweater may start to drive me crazy, will have to put in some stabilizing stitches in the future.
- While the sweater would have been too small the width it was before I fixed it, it is rather big now since after blocking, it's not as crumpled. I have to add stitches on the shoulders to make sure it's not too big and will fall off the shoulder which may get annoying. After all, it's not the 80's.
Will I make it again? Not the pattern as is. I liked working a sweater side to side so that I can try it out as I knit, but I'd take into account some of the above and would like to make a modify version of the sweater.

And of course, any attempt to photograph anything on the carpet, will cause Flour to come and claim it as her own...

Flour! Off. Off. Get off my sweater. [Nudge] It's mine. Not everything is yours. Get off, that's mine. [Pick up dog off of sweater. Put sweater on a higher surface. Flour promptly loses all interest.]

Small Update and Heros

2006-09-26T09:33:00.000-04:00

I've updated Paris Recommendations Part 2: Pâtisserie and Tea with the photos that my mom took of the patisserie display.

And the first show I've liked so far in this tv season, Heros on NBC. It rocks. I haven't been so blown away by a tv show in ages. I am serious hooked. If you've missed it, NBC is showing it again tonight.

The end of one scarf the start of double knitting.

2006-09-25T15:46:00.000-04:00

I started a scarf back in January or maybe even earlier. I've been working on it on and off since then. It's been so long and I've gotten almost no where on it. I finally gave in last night and ripped it all up. This is what I have now. I must have ripped out over 13500 stitches and I don't regret it one bit. I have no idea what I'll do with the yarn now, but I feel free to be done with the scarf that wouldn't work out. It was a nagging mess.

I started a swatch a piece in double knitting. It's challenging. I've been fancinated with the idea ever since reading about the class that Subway Knitter had taken about it.

I've tried carrying one yarn in one hand and one in another so that I'm knitting Continental and English at the same time. But in the end, to produce the best looking piece in both front and back, it's working better that I carry both yarns on the left hand, if I'm trying to create stockinette on both sides of the piece. I'm playing with different stitches and trying to see if I can manage to do more than just knit double in stockinette or can I manage some reversible double patterns. I've seen some colour work that's also done with this technique, I'm not quite ready for that, but I may be playing some more on my swatch and see what I can manage.

So far, a lot of fun. Here's an attempt to take a photo (by myself) of me knitting the double knit. Sorry for the poor photo quality...

moleskine city notebooks

2006-09-23T22:28:00.000-04:00

Wow. The moleskine city notebooks are coming out soon. This is just what I need.

I've been doing this for the last few years now for my travels: I get a notebook and for each big trip I take, I use it to take notes of les bonnes adresses and keep notes for future reference. I copy things I see from magazines and travel books and essentially make my own travel book for future trips. I never did think to use a moleskine for it, but that's probably because the bigger books were harder to find. They are much easier to find these days and would have to consider using one of them for future trips. I'll be willing to transfer it all to a new city book if they have one for my cities. It's quite inspirational.

What a great idea! I can't wait until I get to see them in stores.

For moleskine fans:

Paris Recommendations Part 6: General Advice and Comments

2006-09-22T22:27:00.000-04:00

This is the part six of my Paris Recommendations Week.

General advice and Comments:

Walk as much as you can. It's the best way to explore the city and enjoy the vibe of quartier. Unless you are staying far from where you want to see in sights, no need to get a metro pass; get carnet(s) of tickets for metro to use the metro and the buses. The buses are really easy to use, just read the instructions on the bus stands. To buy tickets for buses outside of the metro, look for a map on the bus shelter that will tell you where the nearest tabac that will sell tickets. Some bus stops will also have electronic signs telling you when the next bus will be arriving. Love that Metro is easy to use, but stops are close together like London, so you can walk most of it if you are up to it.
Get a Plan de Paris at a newsstand. It's a small compact map book. Much like a London A-Z. It's well worth the money, it's the BEST map book and lists everything. It's my bible for Paris. Not a guide, but you will never be lost with it, it lists bus routes, metro maps, shopping places, markets, post offices, taxi stands, everything.
It may be difficult to do with Canadian bank cards, but with American bank cards, it's really easy to get out money from most bank machines you see. They will give you the best rates so you don't get hit with the extra exchange rates at money exchange and you don't have to pay the extra on credit cards either if you use cash. Check with your bank on if you can use your card. Many of the machines you'll find in Paris take bank cards and not credit cards.
While it's customary to tip on top of the service that's included in the Service. Make sure you check that the restaurant is Service included when you are ordering but looking at all the pages and small print of the menus. It's often NOT printed on the receipt and if you didn't check, you'll end up paying the tip twice.
When reading addresses in Paris, the last two digits will tell you which arrondissement it's located in. ex. 75006 = 6e arr.
There are many many perfume shops in Paris. Do yourself a favor, buy a scent in Paris. and you'll remember your trip every time you wear it.
Join all the chic, put-together French women, buy a scarf, start wearing it.
When entering a shop or exiting a shop, remember to be polite and say "Bonjour" and "Au revoir". Learn as much french as you can and use it.
Make note of all the cool places for your own list of recommendations so you have them for your friends for their trip to Paris.

Research:

I'll end with some cool maps of Paris at superfuture. I do hope this was helpful and bon voyage!

Paris Recommendations Part 5: Sights

2006-09-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is part five of my Paris Recommendations Week series.

Sights:

There are so many great architecture and historic sights in Paris, these are the ones I highly recommend. I've still got a big list of other places to check out as well. Just can't wait to go back and see a few more sights.

Eiffel Tower (of course, get there before 7pm and you can mail postcards from the post office, which will stamp it with a special stamp cancelling stamp) Jules Verne Restaurant is very nice (and you can get up on the tower for free on private elevator without the line) but the place books up fast, worth a try for a spot for lunch book this well in advance.

Check out the towers light up at every hour for about 5-10 minutes after sunset.
Arc de Triomphe - getting out at the CDG metro stop will give you the best view coming up to the sight from the escalator. Take the underground path way and walk to the place de l'Étoile.

From there, on a clear day you can see all the way to the Grande Arche at La Défense.
Afterwards, take a stroll down Avenue des Champs Élysées. Yes, it is very commercial, but I think it's a fun street to walk down.
Jardin du Luxembourg. 6e arr.
You should definitely take a night cruise on the seine. Great views. And if you are jet-lagged on your first day, it's a nice thing to do at night or if you are exhausted from a day of walking, this lets you continue the sightseeing but off your feet!
Notre Dame. Street behind it heading towards the river has some well priced souvenir shops.
Walk around Ile St-Louis, very old and quaint. All the great old mansions that many of us fantasize about living in. There's a famed ice cream place there: Berthillon, 31, rue St-Louis-en-L'ile - 75004
Place des Vosges

On the weekends, it's packed full of people enjoying the park.
Panthéon. 5e arr. Yes, were all the famous people are buried, but the architecture of the place is amazing.
Walk along the Seine and look at all the bridges. Check out the bouquinistes stalls between le Pont Neuf et le Pont Scully.
Palais Royale
Covered Passages. Passage Verdeau, Passage Jouffroy. These covered passages were likely the first shopping malls.
Le Viaduc des Arts. Avenue Daumesnil - 75012. Highline renovation/rejuvenation project in New York City is modeled after the work done here in paris.
Pont des Arts. Pedestrian bridge. Very romantic and it's the one you see in all the movies. I particularly like it because you can sit and enjoy it without traffic rushing by. Also a great view of Ile de la Cité.

My friends gets a mention on yarn harlot...

2006-09-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, they are now famous!

They get a cameo in yarn harlot's post about her brooklyn talk.

Alison gets a photo and a mention with her mets sock.

In this photo, I certainly see someone I know!

Photo is quite fuzzy, who else was there?!

Too cool!

Paris Recommendations Part 4: Museums

2006-09-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is part four of my Paris Recommendations Week series.

Museums:

If you're looking to go to a couple of museums, get the Musuem Pass for the appropriate number of days. It's worth the money. When I took my parents, I allocated 1 day for the Louvre and the next day as flexible. Just so that if my parents wanted to, we could go for the second day. We did. They loved the art as well as the architectural elements of the palace.
If you are not using the carte and have decided to visit the Louvre and find yourself facing a long queue of ticket buyers (and even if you are not), look to the left and right sides of the ticket counters for the machines. They will dispense tickets (you might need a debit card) and it would seem that most people don't use them for some reason. I found most machines that I would use for ticketing is also in English! Just look for the option on the screens.

Louvre You can fight the crowds and push and rush and see the masterpieces in half a day. But to do any justice, you will likely have to spend two days if you like this type(s) of art. Think Metropolitan Museum, but bigger, and where the building itself is art. There's also a shopping mall underground attached. And post office. But if you make many purchases at the Louvre Museum shop, arrange for it all to be shipped home to you. They have very reasonable shipping prices and you're free to buy all the art books and souvenirs you want. They package everything up and your package gets to you in tip top shape. If you are spending time at the Louvre, it may be more entertaining to rent an audio guide to get a better understanding of the masterpieces. The signs are all in French and unless you read it, or have good knowledge of art history, you won't get to enjoy it to the fullest. You'll need a piece of id for collateral when you rent the guide. Bring your driver's license so you don't have to part with your passport.
Musèe d'Orsay is worth a visit. Impressionist art. The restaurant on the second floor is a good spot for food and is a great setting.
Musée National D'Art Moderne: Pompidou Centre. Modern Art. The view from the top of escalators is great for a panoramic of Paris.

Make sure you check out the Stravinsky Fountain near by.

There are many many musuems in Paris, both small and big. I've many more on my list I have yet to visit. I'm hoping the next trip I take I'll get the chance to check a few more off my list.

Paris Recommendations Part 3: Shopping

2006-09-20T07:53:00.000-04:00

This is part three of my Paris Recommendations Week series.

Shopping:

I prefer Saint Germain area in the 6e arr because it's more chic and has many of the same designer stores as other places but more laid back. (St. Sulpice area).
Carry a copy of your passport on you, so you can have the numbers for when you want to file for the VAT refund. And if you do some shopping, do check if you can get the VAT back. The processing is easy and as long as you carry the products back with you, you get your refund back.
If you've shopped too much, hit a post office and mail the items home.
Oh, and be patient when shopping. At smaller places, they'll make effort to package up your products nicely. Most places will do gift wrap if you like. And in Department stores, you'll often have to pay at one counter and pick up your shopping at another because they are busy wrapping it all up for you.

Hervé Chapelier For lightweight waterproof stylish bags in a multitude of colours and sizes.
Longchamps, 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier. Stylish, classic, handbags, scarves and accessories. Great value and good prices.
Petit Bateau for good tees. Yes it's a children's store, but look past that and check out their adult selection for women. I love their tee shirts. Very comfortable and in great colours.
Printemps

Les Galeries Lafayette

Monoprix where the locals shop for their daily needs.
La Samaritaine Department store. Currently closed for security renovation. I'm not sure what that means but I'm hoping it will open again in the future.
Eva Baz'Art, 53, rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts
Marie Papier, 6e arr, great paper store.
L'ecritorie, 61, rue Saint-Martin - 75004 Metro: Chatelet - Hotel de Vile. Stationery store
Des Fils et une Aiguille, 1, rue Chabanais - 75002. Cross stitch store. Great selection and friendly staff. Near the Palais Royale.
Les Bonheur des Dames. Cross stitch store. Look for the massive selection of great in house designs. Their location at Viaduc is huge and overwhelming. Really super!
Entree des Fournisseurs, 8, rue des Francs Bourgeois, 3e. Buttons, Ribbons, fabrics.
Loisirs & Creation. Fun craft store. Look for DMC cross-stitch kits and pre-finished linen fabrics and books that's hard to find in North America. Carrousel du Louvre
Carrousel du Louvre. Shopping centre underground of the Louvre. Very 'mall' feeling, and it's even got a food court. (if you must...)
Le Ciel est a tout le monde. A gift shop/children store with lots of great gifts.
L'occitane
Anne Fontaine, beautiful good quality shirts in fabulous styles.
Variantes, 29, rue Saint-Andres-des-Arts - 75006. Great game store. Look for games you can't find in North America.
Colette, 213, rue Saint-Honore - 75001. Might be the first lifestyle store. Part gallery, part store, all fun.
Le Bon Marché department store, nice food market in the basement.
La Maison du Miel. 24, rue Vignon - 75008. Metro Madelaine. Honey, honey and more honey.
Pain Poilâne. 8, rue du Cherche-Midi - 75006. Metro: St. Sulpice. Fantastic bread, famed in the city and worldwide.
You'll see their bread featured in restaurants, bistros all over the city. Come here and get a loaf for yourself. Staff is super helpful and quick. G loved their apple tard.
Dehillerin, 18, rue Coquilliere - 75001 the kitchen store. Ask for help and buy some great tools at super value prices. The place where all the professionals shop and if you can't find it here, you can't find it anywhere.
Mariage Frères, Super selection of teas
Phidar. Yarn shop. When purchased in France, the prices are reasonable and the wool and acrylic blends are very easy to work with, and wash and wear. Their patterns are well written (even if it's in French.) and styles are fashionable and a la mode.
Diptyque, 34, bd Saint-Germain - 75005, scented candles, perfumes, soaps.
Shakespeare and Company. English bookstore in the Latin Quarter. Fun atmosphere, always packed of people and books. An expat hang out place. I like to go look for books in English that are hard to find or published by local publishers.
Markets: Place du Maubert and Place du Monge are two good ones. I think the mornings are Saturday and Sunday respectively. But should check it out first.

There's Mouffetard as well:

Paris Recommendations Part 2: Pâtisserie and Tea

2006-09-19T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is part two of my Paris Recommendations Week series.

Pâtisserie & Tea: (ranked)

Definitely one of our favorite things to do while in Paris is to hit as many pâtisseries as we can. It's difficult to find dessert art at this level in other places in the world. I've got a few places I go in New York and Tokyo that would be comparible. But that's a whole different recommendations guide. This list is of the most famous ones that are mentioned in guides.

Pierre Hermé - 72, rue Bonaparte - 75006 Heavenly and a must! There is often a queue right out the door. But they gave us chocolates while we waited. Even if there's nothing here you'd like to try, (not that I know that feeling) You should check out the displays. They really are beautiful. ~~(I have to get a photo from my mom's photo collection to show you...)~~
My mom's photos:

And because there are more lovely photos, here's the flicker set.
Ladurée (Metro: Madelaine) Have tea there if you can! There is always a crowd at the door ordering for take out. Push your way in and see if they can seat you for tea (and yes, there may be line for that as well). The upstairs usually has more room but the downstairs tea room is gorgeous. Check out the painted ceilings!
Fauchon (Metro: Madelaine). Great place for gifts of food to bring back home. And make sure to see if there's something you can bring back for yourself to remind you of Paris. My mom enjoys their spices. G likes the preserves. I've shared their boxed cookies and madelaines with rave reviews. I find their teas and coffees to be excellent as well. Really something for everyone.
Gérard Mulot, 76, rue de Seine - 75006. Metro: Mabillion. Pâtisserie. Great desserts to go. Make sure to try out macarons (G ranks their macarons above everyone else). My favorite is the Pistache.
Dalloyau Closer to the Champs Élysées. A more modern and elegant tea room. Spacious seating, calm and quiet.

Paris Recommendations Part 1: Restaurant and Food

2006-09-18T07:57:00.000-04:00

This is the part one of my Paris Recommendations Week.

Restaurants and Food: (in no order)

In general, I've only had 1 or 2 poor meals (still edible but really not outstanding) in the last 3 trips to Paris. We were careful in picking where we should eat. We consult the menus posted outside; see if locals eat there, or just tourists. The French people care about food and it shows! We ate better at the small mom and pop shops than most restaurants back home. These listed are ones I really enjoyed and have gone and will go back time and time again.
Meals (other than fast food) are taken at a slower pace. There's little chance of putting a rush on it. You may have rush service at lunch when it's really busy and you're squeezed in with the locals or at a tourist place, but in general, count on longer service than you might be used to. Enjoy it. Rest your feet, have conversation, plan your next stop, or the next day. Enjoy a slower pace! If you have to rush it, you might be better off going to take out places and getting your meal to go. And if you are going to be heading into a busy place at a busy time, expect to be squeezed into a table. You'll be elbow to elbow with the ones next to you. If you need a lot of personal space, keep it in mind.
Crêperies in certain areas are just as fast as a drive through at home. Go line up at the window and order something to go. Galettes are savory. Crêpes are sweet. My favorite late night snack is a crêpe nutella.
When in France, don't drink Coke! And if you do, don't complain about the price of it. Have what the locals have, coffee, tea, wine, beer! And if you are pinching pennies, take a seat inside. Places will charge you a premium for the people watching seats.
Always check out set menus for the day. They are usually the best bargains.
Unless you want a bottle of water (sparkling or flat, your choice) ask for 'une carafe d'eau'. They'll bring you the tap water which is safe and free to drink.
If you want the weak north american style coffee one might be used to, make sure you ask for american coffee. Otherwise, dive into some of what coffee should taste like, ask for "une crème' and enjoy!
And if you like chocolate, enjoy "un chocolat chaud" at a café. It's not like the watery runny swill that is served in restaurants and coffee shops in North America.
Be adventurous, go into the Cheese shops and buy something you don't see at home. Do the same thing at the bakery.
And whatever you do, don't be on a diet in Paris! Do that before or after! And eat whatever you fancy on your holiday and just resolve to walk to the next metro stop!

Restaurant at Theatre du Rond-Point, 2 bis av Franklin Roosevelt metro. 75008
Latin St. Jacques - for the Marmite casseroles. (St. Severin & St. Jacques) 6e arr.
Le Grenier de Notre-Dame , 18 rue de la Bûcherie, 75005. (vegetarian)
Les Cinq Saveurs d'Anada , 72 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine, 5e arr. (vegetarian)
Les Deux Magots 6 place Saint Germain des Prés -75006 Famous and of course you should go.
Café de Flore, famed cafe.
La Procope The oldest restaurant in Paris. Behind the restaurant is a passage way that's got nice shops, cafes.
Alcazar 62 rue Mazarine, Paris, France. 6arr
Crêperie Saint Andre des Arts, rue Saint Andres-des-Arts - 75006 Great place for crepes!
Ladurée (Madelaine) The salad and sandwiches for lunch are delicious!
Chez Clément Family restaurant chain. Open late, consistant, lots of locations.
Cafe Mouffetard, rue Mouffetard.
Le Jardin d'Artemis - rue Mouffetard (cheap eats street in 5th, lots of fixe-prix)
In general rue Mouffetard is a great street for a great variety of food and at super prices. It also functions as a market.
Gérard Mulot, 76, rue de Seine - 75006.Metro: Mabillion. Pâtisserie. Great take out food. Make sure to try out macarons. My favorite is the Pistache.
Da Rosa - 75006. Speciality food store. Check it out just for the experience.

Yarn has arrived!

2006-09-17T17:47:00.000-04:00

With the post yesterday was my package of yarn from Camilla Valley Farm. I had ordered the Mission Falls colour and dye lot that I was missing to finish my sweater. Since I was ordering, I put in for some other colours so that I'll have the supplies to make something for my friend's baby on the way. As you can see, I went for non traditional baby colours. In fact, I decided that the baby will have lots of things in baby colours and I'd go for something that will wash well, can take getting a little dirty and if it becomes 'blankey' it won't be too childish looking.

Seriously, I wanted to roll in it after I piled them on the floor. But I was good, I pulled out what I needed for the sweater and packaged the rest back up.

It'll have to go into the closet until my Christmas knitting is completed.

Paris Recommendations Week

2006-09-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

Paris is one of my favorite cities on the planet. It's got many of things that I enjoy in city holiday. History, Architecture, Romance, Lights, Great food, museums, great metro, walk-able, fashion, shopping just to name a few.

My previous paris recommendations list is on my old blog, I've decided to revise it to include my most recent trip of New Years 2006. People I know are going to Paris, and I want to put in my two cents. I keep a list of les bonnes adresses for myself and I'll share some of them with you in the next week.

I got so involved into it that it got quite long. I figured a series was in order. On top of the list, I'll also include some travel photos from my previous trips. Any place I've listed are strictly what I've manage to have been to and enjoyed. There's still a big list of places I'm planning to seeing in the future. Most importantly, keep your eyes and options open and make some great discoveries in your travels. (Send me some comments so I can add them to my list!)

Here's the schedule:

Part 1: Restaurants and Food
Part 2: Pâtisserie and Tea
Part 3: Shopping
Part 4: Museums
Part 5: Sights
Part 6: General Advice and Comments

Bon Voyage!

For the linux geek bakers out there

2006-09-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

Tutorial on how to make one of your very own. In this house, only one is a geek and one is the baker, and they are not the same one. So, no cool linux penguin cake for us. I'll just admire it from a far. If you loved the tutorial, the cutting and eating of the cake is even better![Via]

readalong or back to school for web designers

2006-09-12T09:26:00.000-04:00

Three ~~Two~~ great summaries of reading for (beginner) web designers. Dig in!

Cameron writes a beginner's guide: Beginner's Guide from a Seasoned CSS Designer
A List Apart Primer
A List Apart Primer Part Two: Resources for Beginners

I remember

2006-09-11T11:54:00.000-04:00

The New York Times remembers.

Many of us still have our own personal stories and mental footage of our experiences. I also wrote down my experiences that night and I reread it on occasion. It's still something I cannot share, but here are some remembrances that I can.

I remember I was reading an article in the morning before the events about religious intolerance.
I remember it was one of the most beautiful weather days of the year. Tragedy is not in rainy gloomy days as depicted on tv.
I remember I was stepping off the bus when the second plane hit and the explosion was so loud and big that I felt it rock under my feet all the way on the east side where I was.
I remember I didn't actually know the date until much later, maybe 6 pm or so, after I got home. Now I'll never forget it.
I remember being crushed against the coast guard building by the hundreds of people running in panic as we heard the first building collapse.
I remember holding my friend's hand as we ran away from the billowing debris cloud from the collapsing building as it engulfed the downtown area.
I remember the dust went into your nose and eyes and down your throat. I can still taste it now.
I remember the poor of the city came out to help rescue the fat bankers leaving the downtown area. We were offered drinks of water by the people from the projects as we walked up the FDR. I don't know who they were, but I'm ever so grateful for their kindness. Thank you.
I remember looking back as I was walking away up the FDR, the contrast of the smoke against the clear blue sky.

Harbour Front on a beautiful day

2006-09-10T17:10:00.000-04:00

My mom is vegetarian, and I enjoy eating a vegetarian meal now and then myself. Today is the last day of the Vegetarian Food Fair down at York Quay Centre near the harbour front. Mom, Dad, G and I decided to go check out the show. I took along the camera so I could get some photos. I've actually never been to the harbour front area myself!

It was very windy and not warm, but the sky was very clear and the lighting beautiful. Here are some photos of the area by the York Quay Centre.

We caught two RC boats in the fountain pool. My parents were admiring how the two gentlemen playing with the boats were enjoying their retirement.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Finally! A Sweater!

2006-09-09T10:44:00.000-04:00

It's the one I was working on in May...

Heres' the finished product, washed, blocked and pressed and worn to dinner on Friday night. It wasn't so evident before the blocking, but I really did make it too big for me. It's really very comfortable! Sadly, it's not attractive as the pooling of the colours isn't great and the sizing makes me look rather shapeless. However, it's comfortable for those warmer Fall or Spring days.

Jackpot

2006-09-08T09:36:00.000-04:00

I've been in a funk of sorts not getting much done in any of my pursuits. Having trouble getting my act together I guess.

This morning I feel as if I've hit the jackpot. I check out all my RSS feeds in the morning using NetNewsWire and have my cup of coffee. Nicole's post mentions Curio and it sounded like just what I needed. I went over to check it out and they are running a promotion and I had to put down the credit card.

I'm using it for everything now and it's a great way to get everything together and to gather ideas etc. I've been collecting 'ideas' for knit and cross stitch projects for years now, not to mention all the other travel and interest articles etc. They are taking up a lot of space in my file cabinet and I never look at them. I've been looking for a way to scan them all into my computer and still be able to search though them and still look at them graphically. While Adobe Bridge works well to inspect files and works decently for adobe files, it doesn't handle other files as well. Also, I couldn't do my searches as I like. Being able to tag files (or assets as they are called here.) and search by assets, it's well worth the price of the product.

wood block reproduction

2006-09-07T10:54:00.000-04:00

IMG_2401.JPG
Originally uploaded by myan147.

Where I didn't expect to see a reproduction of a woodblock print?
In the 'bath' side wall of the New Otani Hotel guest room bathroom!

Basil

2006-09-06T09:10:00.000-04:00

I found them at Whole Foods and couldn't resist. Planted it about 2 weeks ago and have had one harvest already. It's planted late, let's see how long it'll last.

Gathering of Supplies

2006-09-05T09:42:00.000-04:00

Looks like I'm ready to start the Mirabilia, "Scent of Old Roses" after a trip to Michael's for the missing floss.

To be fair however, just because I'm ready to start doesn't mean I will soon. I have been working the Eiffel Tower piece and it's been going so well that I feel a little on a roll with it. I'm going to try to ride it out a while.

French Elementary School Menu

2006-09-04T07:52:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is like in France or Paris as a whole, but during my last holiday in Paris, this is one school menu posted on the outside of the school in the (6eme). G and I were both wholly impressed. If only we ate this good at school. Click on the picture to view an image you can read better.

Interruptus

2006-09-03T10:36:00.000-04:00

My sweater in the works has been on hold for a while. It's officially September and I've no new fall sweater. I do have a cotton one which does need to be worn that I had knitted a while back, but the pooling of colours is not great, but I will spend some time this long weekend and finish blocking it to be worn.

Why is the sweater on hold you ask? Simply put, I'm out of yarn! I had brought extra when I was buying the yarn, but I guess the extra width I put into the sweater to make sure I could wear it, has put me in the position of needing to wait until more of the same dye lot can be found. I contacted the shop I brought the sweater from, and was told that while they had the dye lot in question (horray) the rest of my order (well, I might as well!) had some pieces that needed waiting. So, I'm going to have to wait until they all come in. Another two weeks or something I think, before I can get going again. Here's hoping I have the sweater done by October. I am taking this time to spend more time with the xmas presents that needs to be knitted. I'm 75% of the way there, and it's about 75% of the year... Got to get cranking!

I wanted to start the Mirabilia Scent of Old Roses as possibly the next big cross stitch that I work on. However, as I tried to get all the floss together for the project, I find out that I'm missing quite a bit of the DMC that it's calling for. So, no new start there either.

Look down when you travel

2006-09-01T16:56:00.001-04:00

You never know what you'll see that'll be interesting.

From Taipei, Taiwan:

Tourism ad

From Hualien, Taiwan:

On the beach 'boardwalk'. Walk on this path.

Bike on this path

From Tokyo, Japan:

Decorated man hole cover

Watch out for the dangers of walking and smoking!

Tanaka area, denotes where people and bikes should go on the street.

Walkway around Imperial Palace

Chuo City. Don't smoke and don't litter!

To be honest, no idea what this is. Looks nice.

On a pedestrian bridge on the way to the fish market.

Even from little ole TO:

Bloor Street in front of a bar.

So? Inspired? Show me what's around your town!

hand and needle felting 1st try

2006-09-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

I had brought some roving when I was in Tokyo when I got swayed by the idea of needle felting. However, I also wanted to hand felt and the roving I had was too little to make some of the things I wanted to.

The benefit of hand felting is that you can make a lot of no texture materials unlike when you felt a knitted or crochet material. I was at lettuce knit over the weekend and saw that they had a nice selection of roving for spinning. I had to buy some. I was so happy to see that they've also got the Fleece Artist Roving. They had it in the purple and blue colorways and I wasn't so interested in the colours. The prices were good, not perfect, but I can't wait until they have new stock and I'll get to see if I find more colours I like. So I went home with some neutral tones of nearly white and brown.

I had a chunk of time and decided to jump right into the process. Again, I'm attempting to learn this using Japanese books and so it's challenging to try to decipher from the photos what exactly you are supposed to be doing. I think I did well enough and managed to make up my very first piece.

It was fun in a very experimental kind of way. As I had read on craftster.org, you will manage to stab yourself with the needle at some point. I did and it hurt, but wasn't the end of the world. At least I didn't bleed on my work. I think you can get too into the stabbing motions.

What is it? You asked? It's a pda/blackberry holder, and it's on it's way to a special someone now :)

kaleidoscope

2006-08-31T07:53:00.000-04:00

I've been looking for a kaleidoscope for a long time now. I used to have one when I was young and recently was reading Just Enough where it used a kaleidoscope in a analogy. I finally picked up a kaleidoscope at the Japanese Cultural Center. It was from a table of crafts to benefit the center and it was very retro. My sister and mom came for coffee recently and saw it and remarked how it looked exactly like one we had as children. So, that's why it gave me the nostalgic feelings.

It's a nice reminder of change and it's also fun. The lovely images are all to quickly gone, but as it turns out, you can kind of take photos of them.

Just Enough by Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson: a thought provoking book about balance and careers and examines if you really can have it both ways. Makes one really think about what you really want and what to do about trying to get it.

sink design

2006-08-30T10:53:00.000-04:00

Found this one at the National Museum in Ueno Park Tokyo.

Notice the soap dispenser and faucet are on the further surface and the closer side is the hand dryer. The product is designed so that there is economy of space. No extra dripping of water from sink to dryer so there is less cleaning in terms of maintenance around the sink. In terms of usability, efficiency and aesthetics, it's A+ in my book. Made me wish I was designing sinks in Japan.

a stroll in downtown Toronto

2006-08-29T08:28:00.000-04:00

Downtown is getting a bit of a make over for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The lamp posts are getting painted and the front doors of the Intercontinental are getting fixed up. I saw on the news that Four Seasons is renovating their suites for the Hollywood VIPs coming up North of the 44.

I don't know if this is typical since I don't head downtown often during the weekend, but this past Saturday it was bustling and full of activity and there was the 'tourist' vibe in the air with people holding maps and taking photos and enjoying the overcast but not too hot day. I was joining them for the day. I met Patty for lunch and went on to run some errands and hang out. I even brought along the camera to make sure I get shots of some of my favorite stores.

French Magazines and books. Yorkville St.
In the basement level on Cumberland St. Nice place to get photo albums and frames. They seem to always have some great deals.
In the basement level on Cumberland St. Paper and Stationery.
Good breads and sandwiches. Quite pricey but a nice 'treat'.
Pen and Stationery store. On Bellair St.
On Bloor St near Avenue Rd on the North side.
On Bloor St near Avenue Rd on the South side.
St. George Subway station exit. St. George and Bloor Sts. A Museum of Shoes!

On the knitting note:

I don't use the transit as much as I used to in NY, but at least when I do use it here, I knit and get totally absorbed. Saturday, I took the sock on the transit ride and it wasn't until it was at my transfer point did I look up and RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, was another knitter. She looked in her teens, working fast on something red. I couldn't tell what it was since she put it away quickly when the train came to a stop and I was so in shock, I didn't get out the camera for a photo. And when we were all walking out and I had my socks in dpns in my hand, she looked at me and I think she was in shock as well.

1st baby booties

2006-08-27T22:40:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Better than baby booties Ruffle Rib pattern by Ann Budd Yarn: Fortissima Socka I've used about 1/3rd of the yarn. More baby socks are to come. I'm planning on trying all the patterns in the pdf above. Needles: 5 DPN 2.50mm

I've managed to have matched the self-stripping yarns so that the two are as matching as possible, but there are still some colour differences. I can't say I care right now.The second sock has a little flaw, but oh well. I'm happy enough for a first try. These socks are going to a baby of a Uni friend. Hannah, your socks are on your way to you soon!

Another use of Parsons Chairs

2006-08-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

For knitters that is. I've always wind up my skeins of yarn into balls by ways of wrapping them around my knees as I sit in a lotus position. Sometimes that works, sometimes it's a tangled mess. This time around, I had three skeins of manos to prepare and decided to try something new. Worked like a dream.

Sofa Cushion Diving

2006-08-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

I thought I had lost a big yarn needle in the sofa cushions so I went digging for them. Didn't find the needle, but did find a needle threader that I thought I had lost and this:

No idea where it's from or how it got in the sofa. Love how it's just like a fortune cookie and of course, love the message. In fact, I've met some dear friends through my stitching indeed.

And the needle I thought I had lost? I turned the house upside down looking for it, and when G came home, I had to ask him to keep an eye out and help me look for it. Of course, he doesn't know what it looks like, so I took out my needle case to show him one like it, and lo and behold, the needle was in the needle case.

Of course.

Creativ Festival

2006-08-23T07:30:00.000-04:00

For the first time in ages, I found classes at the Creativ Festival (formerly creative sewing and needlework festival) that I want to attend. Fall Show this year is October 19 - 22 and I just signed up for some knitting classes on cables. Since I do enjoy cables quite a lot, I decided to go all out on it. I'm taking two different cable classes, one from Lily Chin and one from Fiona Ellis. Would be interesting to compare the styles of the two classes.

There is a large trade show floor full of shops. In the past years I've been more and more disappointed in the quality/types of shops at the show. I usually go to the show for the needlework (It used to be that I could only shop for cross stitch at one of these shows, but at least now, I can get to a store now and then.), but in the past years that's been down. So much so that they've changed the name of the show! I expect this time to be no different. However, being the knitting town Toronto is, I am hoping to get a nice range of yarn showcases. I do hope at least one or two needlework shops show up and I'll be entertained enough by the knitting and not be too distracted by the endless scrapbook tables. To be honest, I found it so disappointing that I've sworn off going to the show at all. However, some interesting classes will change my mind. I'm all hopeful again.

I'll report back in a couple of months!

Crochet = numb thumb

2006-08-22T07:51:00.000-04:00

I was staring down at a small ball of left over yarn. I couldn't do a swatch with it. There was very little left and I decided at that moment to pick up my crochet hook, and to teach myself to crochet with Japanese Books. I can't read Japanese, but the pictures should be enough. [Mind you, I do HAVE crochet instructions in ENGLISH.]

An hour later and I've got the basic chain stitch down. I could do a regular stitch, increase and decrease. It was going well. My right wrist and thumb however have become numb and tingled. It's NOT good. I had to put my play swatches down and rest. I figure I couldn't get much progress if I have nothing to work on, so I get out a ball of left over yarn and a pattern. The pattern is in a round and before I knew it, in my second session, I've totally lost track of where I am going around and around. My thumb was numb and tingled again.

Me: I can't crochet!! G: You're such a baby. What makes you think you can sit down and crochet in one day? You have to do it a little at a time and build up some crochet muscles.

He then rubs my thumb until the feeling comes back. I rip it all out and will try it again. Maybe I'll find another pattern not in a round to work on. But despite the numbness, technically I did learn the basic stitches of crochet in one day. I'm very intrigued with the fact that it can create 3D shapes so easily.

Some progress at grocery store; or is it adaptation?

2006-08-21T08:11:00.000-04:00

[Summer 2005]

Crying over the lack of:

Unsweetened silk soy milk (green box)
Spiral cut ham
ready to eat chicken breast
Any decent meat at the local grocery
Can't find seitan anywhere
No skim that tastes like 2%.

[Summer 2006]

Happy about:

Light silk soy (even if it only comes here in one flavor in Canada).
Spiral cut ham was spotted on occassion.
Ready to eat chicken breast has shown up. Not as tasty, but I'm happy with it.
Boxes of ready to eat organic salad
Horray for Whole Foods, White House Meats and Pusateris for having decent meat and fish. We have to drive far, but at least we can get some.

Crying over:

Unsweetened silk soy milk, not to mention all the other 'drinks and products'.
No Cinnamon N' Brown Sugar whipped cream cheese spread
Still no seitan anywhere!

The market is catching up and I'm adapting.

Holy Crap! It is faster! (and other discoveries)

2006-08-19T11:17:00.000-04:00

Way back in the fall of 2005, when I was trying to teach myself how to knit continental from a book, I spent some time knitting at a Timothy's downtown without the book I was learning from. This was just when I had mastered the knit stitch and was going to tackle the purl. So, I decided that I was going to make up the purl stitch on my own. It was going to take some time, but I was sure I could figure it out. And so I did. Or thought I did, until I noticed that all my knit stitches were twisted. Then I realized that I was looping the yarn in the back the wrong way. Must be the wrong way, I told myself, or my stitches wouldn't be twisted. 30 minutes later, I figured out what was wrong and trained my fingers to do an awkward twist to loop the yarn the right way. I went home and checked the book and lo and behold, it was right. Hooray for me.

Fast forward to nearly 10 months or so later, when in a moment of having not much to do and nothing on tv to watch, I decided to learn combined knitting. I've been wondering about it ever since hearing an interview with Annie Modesitt on KnitCast. [She said that her first sweater was made in one weekend. G was so impressed that he asked me why I don't learn to do it that way and knit faster.]

I cast on for a swatch and after working two rows, one knit and one purl; and one more knit. I could be heard to exclaim: "Holy crap! It is faster!!" G chuckles from the bedroom since he also remembers me talking about how much faster continental is compared to English. But really! this is even faster since it saves even more movement! Purl row: The awkward scoop that I'm doing on the purl stitch is very familiar. In fact, it's the same one I made up or discovered back in the day at the coffee shop with my cup of coffee! Only this time, it was 'right'. The 'twisted' stitches get untwisted in the next row! Eureka! Then it hits me, had I not been so stuck on the fact that the 'knit' was correct, and so this way to purl was wrong, I might have been encouraged to fix my 'knit' instead of fixing my 'purl'. Might I have discovered combined knitting a whole 6 months earlier? In any event, my fingers have got to learn this new awkward purl scoop now. Practice makes perfect, and I might just knit the next project with Combined Knitting.

Another note: I'm knitting a swatch using cotton. Very unforgiving for learning. While there's been some gauge inconsistencies with continental knitting, [Yarn Boy], even in this cotton swatch, this gauge is looking good. Smooth and even. Impressive start I say!

Resources:

As I said, the next skills were to be color work: Intersia and Fair Isle. Here are those impressions:

Intersia is not as much fun as I had hoped, but the nice blocks of colors are nice.
All the balls of yarn twisting and twisting on bobbins with Intersia drives me nuts. Part of the reason why I don't find it as much fun as I had hoped.
Fair Isle is a lot of fun, but I think that's partly due to the knitting with one yarn in each hand that I now can do since I know how to knit both English and Continental. Now I look at Fair Isle patterns with new interest!

Flour Poses for photoshoot

2006-08-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

She was good enough to sit for me for a few minutes while I photographed her last week. Here are the photos.

Here's a preview:

Intimidated

2006-08-16T20:29:00.000-04:00

I decided that I'll start a new cross-stitch project after my big finish. With no piece in mind, I start going through the stash. At one point, G says to me: Just how much stash do you have? Me: Well, not too much, but enough that now I'm finish one project, I'm looking in my stash instead of heading out to a store. G: Are you saying that you've got as much as a store? Me: uh... no. Not even close to as much stash as a store. But there was that moment of panic, in case he'd say something about too much stash... In any case, I have managed to pull out every pattern stash wise. I've been tempted by many designs, but many, are too intimating to start since they are big. I try to remind myself that I'll need another big project to work on. But it's not working since the voices in my head is reminding me that I've got another 'big project' to work on. (The Sampler Gameboard).

So, as of right now, no new start. ... I keep eyeing the sampler gameboard:

Savannah's Curtsy

2006-08-15T09:31:00.000-04:00

Jenny was right, it was a giant Mirabilia.

It took I think about 5-6 years to finish. Granted, I put it down for most of those years. Since I put it down last week, it probably only had an hour's worth of work on it. Mostly in trying to find the stitch here and there that I've missed out on. Yesterday, when I was this close to putting it away again in fustration, I told myself to stick it out. I was done in no time, but I had to wait until this morning to check if I've missed any more stitches in better light. It was good. So, it was time to photograph it.

Pattern: Mirabilia Savannah's Curtsy.

Lessons learned

Back stitching as I went along was great. Saves from having to do too much of it at the end.
Leaving sections of unfinished stitches or a missed stitch here and there to 'come back to' was not great. Most stop doing that!

Quick Interesting Reads

2006-08-14T14:40:00.000-04:00

Been doing a bit of reading of late and really enjoyed these two small books by Seth Godin.

Unleashing the Ideavirus. You can download your own copy to read. A great thesis on how to distinguish yourself in your marketing given how traditional marketing is so easily overlooked these days. I know these ideas really have been going around for a while and I've been slowly playing catch up.
Purple Cow. To distinguish yourself from the market by being remarkable.

I'm looking forward to reading an older book, Permission Marketing, and can't wait for Small is the New Big.

flour thursday

2006-08-03T12:07:00.000-04:00

distracted

2006-08-02T21:54:00.000-04:00

I was so swayed by Chelly's comment that I started to look for a new project to start. I went digging in my oversized pile of stash to look for frames. This is when I saw an UFO. All it needed was beading, some back-stitching and filling in some missing stitches! It won't be long before we have a finish. The beading is going by very quickly.

unsatisfactory project completion

2006-07-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

I took a few days off from knitting given the most recent setback. I decided that I needed a cross stitch break and best yet, a simple quick project. So I went into my stash and found the Shepherd's Bush Spooky Sheep. It was started on Thursday night and put down after a few stitches. On Friday, I picked it up and it was done before I knew it. (Even managed to play video games and stitch... that's now easy it was.)

Here's the completed project:

I followed the directions of 1 thread of silk over two threads of fabric and it was a mistake. I should have listen to my instincts and went with two over two. In any case, it's done, but as you can see, it's a little too little coverage for my liking. At one point, I went and did two over two on the sheep since I couldn't take it anymore. Sheep now looks strangely uneven. But when G asked why I don't go back to fix it. (since usually I would.) "I don't love the pattern enough for the extra work. It's done. Whatever."

I haven't started a new xs even though I was left unsatisfied. I did however go put some stitches on the Eiffel Tower piece I was working on.

Denial is a terrible thing

2006-07-27T17:56:00.000-04:00

I've been knitting a lot on my sweater, the end was in sight. I was abandoning all other projects for the sake of finishing my sweater. I think I knew what I had to do sometime last week. The body of the sweater looks small. I tired it on. I measured. I measure again. But I kept on knitting. Getting closer and closer to finishing. This is called denial.

Sign. Today, I could no longer do it. The sweater is 2 inches too short in width. So, I spent my lunch hour(s) ripping it all out. The pattern says to shape the neck hole to be 12 inches wide with 4 inches on either side and you'll have a 20 inch wide body. All in all, logical. But somehow, when neck hole is 12 inches, and shoulders are 4 inches, the body is not 20 inches! I believe I'm measuring it not in the way the pattern intended. Here's the before:

So, I rip it all up and wind up all the yarn. I carefully pick up all the stitches, match up the rows on the two sides, front and back and I end up with this:

Now, I've got to re-knit the half of the sweater again. It's a worthwhile pain I'm sure. Yes, it's like the pain that comes from going to the gym (not that I've been doing that.) Good pain.
I think.

PS - Yes, I did just notice that in my 'carefully' picking up of stitches photo, I'm splitting a stitch. I assure you that was quickly rectified but I was too lazy to take another photo. You must forgive my [understandable] lack of logic in the moment. It almost made me wish I was a drinking person.

Tidbits

2006-07-27T08:36:00.000-04:00

StreetWars is going well and branching all over the world. Not my kind of game, but it does have it's intriguing qualities. Now, we've got a different take, SockWars. Knitting, socks mixed in with assassinations. It's definitely not for me. But all types of people are knitters and might enjoy a different knitting game.

Now, if I'm never in Germany, I've got to go yarn factory outlet shopping too.

And on the funnier when geeky side: iconfactory appears to be under construction and are entertaining us with quicktime videos of the progress.

The next skill

2006-07-26T09:18:00.000-04:00

In the past year I've been working on learning new knitting skills. Ever since the Knitting Olympics, I've made many pairs of socks and have learned a few different techniques:

short row toe and heel
making a sock
kitchener stitch
zig zag bind off
old Norwegian cast on
pick up heel

Lately I've been looking for the next technique to learn and I've decided that it's going to be Color Knitting. It's time to mix it up with some colours. I've got some articles on that and some knitting books. Here's hoping I can get it figured out. Intersia, Fair-Isle, no idea what style I'll work on. But it's time to have more than one colour in a row!

This recent transition to new skills in knitting reminds me of the time in my life not long ago when I was stitching only in cross stitch and decided to tackle speciality stitches. Somehow though, speciality stitches seems easier to learn, but then again, it's probably because I had fellow stitching friends to encourage me. That reminds me, I've not been working on any pieces with specialty stitches for a while. Maybe it's time to have a new start there too! Must resist...

Sanrio cross-stitch

2006-07-25T07:33:00.000-04:00

When I'm watching tv, I tend to knit since I can watch and knit at the same time. To make progress on my cross stitch, I've got to listen to something. The ideal is to get sucked into an audiobook and I'll spend the hours happily on my couch crouched over my stitching and deep in a story. Most recently that book was was The Camel Club by David Baldacci, not one of his best but it did the trick. I made quite a bit of progress on my John Clayton Eiffel Tower piece. Here's how it looks now:

Most recent trip to Japan and Taiwan yield little for my cross stitch hobby. Granted I've still got stuff from my last trip to tie me over. In the meantime, here are some sanrio characters in cross stitch patterns that may be of interest.

Blender pen transfers rock!

2006-07-24T08:57:00.000-04:00

I was reading the article on blender pen transfers last week on Photojojo and was really intrigued. I had images I could use and a bone folder, so all I needed was the blender pen. Since we were in the neighbourhood, G and I went to Loomis and picked up a blender pen. It's been said that photocopies worked best, but I was more interested in trying out magazine type glossy pages and inkjet printed ones. I had good success with the magazine pages and will be trying something with inkjet this afternoon after work. Now my mind is spinning on all the things I could do with this.

Argyle dreams

2006-07-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

I've been contemplating some argyle. I've always loved it as a sweater pattern but find it hard to get colours that works for me. But ever since checking out Moth Heaven I've been thinking about socks but not just socks. And colours that I want to make and nothing too traditional. It's something to contemplate and mull over in the back of my mind. Here's the tutorial for my future reference.

Where I tried to take a photo of the sweater...

2006-07-21T14:58:00.000-04:00

I made the effort of laying out the on going sweater for the blog. It's nearly done. It's getting to the stage where I'm about to decrease and start on the 2nd sleeve. But nothing in this house can be laid out on the carpet without a visitor coming by to check it out.

We see here, the left sweater sleeve and body. The sweater is knit from side to side in one piece. I love making a sweater this way. The worst part has always been sewing up and this time, I won't have to do much of that.

Very quickly, visiting the sweater became lying on sweater. I guess this means when one day I make her, her own blanket she'll like it.

Vacation Photos Finally

2006-07-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

Here are photos from our trip just past. It look a while to sort it out to a small number. The yahoo photo page has captioned subset of the photos. (a little under 140) These included some shots taken by our friends. (Thanks, Lenore and Aaron) We wouldn't be in many photos together otherwise. So, the rest of the photos on snapfish. There are hundreds, but you're welcome to look at them as you wish.