Friday, May 29, 2009

Finished Objects, and a lesson learned.

Meet Toto IV
Toto IV the Extremely Useful and Cute Potholder

I like this one. I used Grape and White Sugar & Cream by Lily held together as the Main Color and Black as the Contrasting Color. It turned out really nice.

Now, meet Toto V
Toto V the Extremely Useful and Cute Potholder

I used Over the Rainbow as the Main Color. For the Contrasting Color I used Hot Green, Sunshine, Hot Orange, and Hot Pink. I'm not as thrilled with this one. The stripes just don't show up against the variegated yarn. Maybe if I'd used just one color and did straight stripes instead of trying a checkerboard. Look here:
Toto V the Extremely Useful and Cute Potholder
If you click on the photo to go to flickr, you'll see that I've added notes to the photo showing the location of the checkerboard blocks. Maybe if I'd used a solid as the MC and a variegated as the CC, it would have turned out better. I did the i-cord bind-off using the MC since I was already unhappy with it. It'll still work as a potholder, though.

Keep this in mind as you pick out colors for your knitting.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Trip to South Carolina

Last Saturday I went to South Carolina for the long holiday weekend. I drove through Atlanta:
#142 of 365
I stopped at the South Carolina Welcome Center to use the restroom and get a map. this sign was outside:
SC State Park Sign at the Welcome Center
and there was a lovely view of Lake Hartwell from there:
Lake Hartwell from the South Carolina Welcome Center
I also took a zoomed photo:
Lake Hartwell from the South Carolina Welcome Center
After church on Sunday, Daddy and I went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. We both had cobbler for dessert. His was peach; mine was blackberry:
Blackberry Cobbler (#143 of 365)
Daddy said it was the best meal he ever had at Cracker Barrel. I said, "Because of the peach cobbler?" He said, "That was a big part of it, Hun."
We drove through downtown and I took some photos of beautiful downtown Anderson.
This is the old courthouse:
The Old Courthouse
This is the new courthouse:
The New Courthouse
This is the Chiquola which houses condos now. A hundred years ago it was a hotel. All through my childhood, it stood in disrepair. A few years ago a developer bought it and restored it. As you can see, it's beautiful again:
The Chiquola
This statue of William Whitner can be seen in the Old Courthouse and the Chiquola photos. Click on the photo to go to flickr and read about who he was and what he did:
Whitner Statue
There are tons of these fish in Anderson. They are some sort of tribute to Lake Hartwell.
“Fish Out of Water; Hooked on the Arts 2”
On Monday I went to Greenville to visit my friend Dawn. The A.C. Moore in Columbus closed almost a year ago. It was a great source of yarn. Greenville still has an A.C. Moore:
#144 of 365
It was so nice to go to A.C. Moore again.
Dawn's mom had these pretty pink flowers growing in her garden:
Pretty Pink Flowers
Here's a photo I took of the old mill in Piedmont on the way home:
Old Mill in Piedmont, SC
You know how you always hear about the nation's fuel reserves? I think they're being stored in tanker cars in Anderson County:
tanker cars
tanker cars
On Tuesday we went downtown to a jewelry store to get a battery for my watch. We found this quote in the sidewalk outside the store:
on the sidewalk in Anderson, SC
Later in the afternoon I left to drive home. Driving through Atlanta the traffic was moving slow enough for me to snap this photo of the Olympic Memorial:
Olympic Souvenir
There was a very serious accident on I-85 that caused the police to close the Interstate. All four southbound lanes! They made everyone get off the Interstate at the Union City exit. I went in at McDonald's and used the restroom then sat in the car with my Georgia map and found an alternate route. I took US Highway 29 through some lovely little towns:
Fairburn:
Downtown Fairburn, Georgia
Palmetto:
Mural in Palmetto, Georgia
and Hogansville:
Downtown Hogansville, Georgia
It was some slow going:
#145 of 365
My normal four hour trip turned into a five and a half hour trip, but at least it was scenic and I didn't have to drive through the horrible construction zone on I-85 from Hogansville to Newnan. I call it "The Tunnel". K-rails on both sides. No shoulders. It makes me crazy. I would seriously consider doing this again just to avoid "The Tunnel".

Click on any of the photos to see them larger. It'll open my flickr account and you can browse my photos in there. (And hey, it raises the view count on my photostream.) Or if you'd like to watch the photos full screen as a slideshow, click here.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Modern Conveniences

I was off from work today. I had a physical therapy appointment this morning and then had lunch with Seth. This afternoon I was going to do some cooking. In the process of mixing my ingredients, the power went out.
No lights. No Lights
No TV. No TV
No Internet! No Internet (#146 of 365)

The power finally came back on shortly before it was time to go to church. I wouldn't make it in a third world country.

Wordless Wednesday - Click the Picture for a Description

#140 of 365
#141 of 365
#142 of 365
Blackberry Cobbler (#143 of 365)
#144 of 365
#145 of 365
No Internet (#146 of 365)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Knitters Saying Goodbye

The US Army is sending two of our knitters away over the next couple of months. Michelle and her children will join her husband in Rhode Island next weekend after her oldest son finishes kindergarten. Laura is leaving for Maryland in July. This afternoon we had a get-together in their honor. Here are some photos (as always click on the photo for more details, or to see it larger):
hors d'œuvre
Laura and Pat
Gardenia on the table
Pat, Michelle, Laura, and Margaret (and the back of Katy's head)
Lesh, Debbie, Pat, and Michelle
Aslan and Katy
Lesh, Aslan, Debbie, Julie, and Michelle.
Laura, Margaret, and Katy
Pretty Purple Flower
Pretty Red Flower
Pat's Barn
Tree with a Face
View from Pat's Driveway (#135 of 365)

Laura and Michelle are two of the best knitters I know and we will miss them terribly.