Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Dear Typepad,

I just sent this to typepad about the new comment options on typepad.  Norma has said it better than I could, but I had to send my two cents in.

Comment Options on New Typepad

On Sep 9, 2009 3:41 PM, you (kmckiernan) said:

Hi - I'm running into a comment issue on the new version of typepad. The main one that I'm sure you're already aware of is that the new commenting platform will no longer allow me to respond directly by email to the person who has left the comment. Responding, by default will post my response to the blog.

Now, I know on certain blogs, people like this, they want to encourage a conversation. However, this is not true across all blogs. Craft blogs especially have a closer community of interaction that involves responding to each email individually with personal notes and comments.

Please strongly consider adding a option to format comments that are delivered to us via email. Those that want the general respond option can have it. The rest of us should have the ability to leave it the way it was. I'm a software developer and project manager by trade, the level of effort to implement such a function would be low and easy and yield great margins in customer satisfaction. I've run across too many blogs to count lately up in arms about your change.

I have to be honest, the reason I switched to typepad years ago was its comment functionality and ease of use. If as a company you are making the conscious decision to make such a radical change without consideration for your user base, this platform no longer provides value for me and I will have to strongly consider moving elsewhere.

The second issue I've noticed that is more of a bug than a feature issue is that your comment notification emails no longer include the person's URL. Now that they've been re-formatted that piece of information is missing. The only way I know if they have a URL to visit is to click through to the comment they left and click from there. Please let me know when this bug is resolved.

Thank you,

Kmckiernan

Feed Reader Poll

Apologies for my multiple posts that keep showing up in the feed readers, bloglines, google and the like.  I'm tweaking my format and feeds for new feature upgrades and for some reason feedburner keeps re-pinging the readers - annoying!

Anyhow, I have a question for you.  I've changed my feed to show only a preview in feed readers rather than the full thing like I used to.  That means you get to only show a snippet rather than the full text, images, etc.  A preview makes more people click over to read however I understand when you're at work it can be hard to click onto another site and a lot of people do all their reading like that.

I could go either way so tell me what you think and I'll take it into consideration....  There's a poll below:

And leave a comment too if you feel strongly one way or another.  Thanks in advance! =)

Cleaning out my project closet

Hi Everyone!  Merry --belated-- Christmas!  I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays???  I had a nice laid back time at home - hubby and I were snowed in so we took the opportunity to do some decluttering.

I finally cleaned out my FO project closet - basically after I finish each item and it's washed, blocked and photo'd, I'd place it in a rubbermaid bin in my closet.  I rarely actually use any of my finished items, they just sit nicely folded in my office closet.

I just figured out I'm a process knitter - does that seem weird to be knitting for so long and to not even know that about yourself? =)  I love finding the right yarn and pattern and knitting it up into the image that is in my head but I hardly ever wear or use them.  Strange huh?

At any rate - when we were snowed in I started up my decluttering and cleaning storm again.  I pulled out all my FO's that I finished but never used and listed them up on my site for trade.  I would love for them to find a happy new home where they will be enjoyed and to trade for yarn or needles or patterns or gift certificates so that I use them to create more of my little knitted visions. =)

Just had time to list 5 today but they're nice ones.  Let's see... does Rona, Mystery Stole, Tiramisu, Anemoi, Lacey Scarf and Fiddlehead Scarf sound familiar???  All the details are on my trade site, thanks so much for looking! =)  More will be added as I get to them so please check back! =)

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving!

Hi Everyone - I just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a Happy Early Thanksgiving!  We're taking off - headed down to CA to visit hubby's family and an 11 (!) hour drive =)  So I won't be around until next week.  Sure am excited to get out of town for a bit.

You know I have to have car knitting right???  My car knitting is a handspun version of my spiral cowl pattern - I couldn't resist.  It's just mindless enough that I can knit it in the car.

I started with this... 230 yards of 3-ply handspun (by me!) pencil roving from Rocket Yarns in plasma green at approx a sportweight.

Which has now become this -

yummy spirals and picots oh my!

And of course it has to have a nice travel bag too - the bag is from a trade with Valerie.  I have  a weakness for bags, particularly boxy ones and she picked out the most perfect colors.  She sells them now too - head over if you want to get your own!

Take care everyone and see you next week! =)

Karma in a good way

I believe in the power of positive thinking.

A few hours after I was just saying think positive thoughts about our house renting or selling we were contacted by our rental management company letting us know that somebody was interested in renting! 

The only downside was that they had 3 dogs, 2 had been our set limit.  We actually go out of our way to be dog friendly on a rental because we've been there - we have two large dogs, are very responsible with a rental and all the things that people look for and we have a heck of a time finding people who will rent to us with the dogs.  It's a catch-22 actually- it's what has driven us to buy our last two homes.  I'm not saying they're not out there, they are just harder to find.

So anyhow, the prospective tenants had three dogs, 1"indoor" and 2"outdoor."  Although I don't really know if I believe this outdoor thing.  I mean how many people leave their dogs outside in the freezing cold all day and night?  OK - don't answer that, maybe I don't want to know =)

So anyhow, we have accepted and I just hope my carpet and hardwood floors don't get destroyed.  Maybe I'm not chalked up for this landlord thing =) 

My SIL just called this morning to let me know the "for rent" sign has been removed from the lawn and the lockbox is gone.  Hooray!  We have tenants!  (That sounds so official!)

And for more happy thoughts....

Cashmere cowl, mmmmmmmmm

May Day Mission Complete!

Well hello there - that was kind of a long break wasn't it?  Life has been busy, a lot of things came up in my personal life that I had to take care of.  Anyhow I'm still decluttering but I felt like talking about knitting today so you get a brief synopsis of what I've been working on.  Don't get your hopes up, it's rather brief, I'm still not in a chatty mood but I did want to share my little rays of knitting sunshine! =)

First up - I finished my may day socks, hurray!  It feels so good to be done early (they were due May 1st)!  Now I can find fun little treats to put in the bag and weave in those ends.  They've already been blocked but sadly you can't see the pattern well  because I can't use my sock blockers.  My pals foot is waaay smaller than mine.  But you get the idea.

The dream in color smooshy may have redeemed itself to me, the yardage on that skein is insane and it's very soft to knit with too!

Embossed Leaves Socks
All the rav details here

Here's my little WIP roundup and 1 FO too  - all of these projects are so enjoyable to me, I'm having a hard time choosing which one to focus on first! =)  Clicky for big.

1 - Butterfly jacket from the current wool gathering knit with 2 skeins of berrocco ultra alpaca.  I love this knit, the garter stitch and simple shaping have taken on a meditative quality while knitting and I love the cute retro shape!  Plus I always love when I manage to find something that few people are knitting, it adds to the fun! =)  Rav dets here.

2 -Tiramisu baby blanket - super easy crochet pattern, if I only could manage not to lose my hook every 5 seconds!  I'm off to buy another so I can finish it off.  Rav dets here.

3 - Glee has been resurrected!  The last time I talked about her I threw her in a corner due to concerns about fit, dye lot issues (well it really should be "year lot" issues.  The two skeins were from different years of shearings and are 100% natural colored prime alpaca.  One year is darker than the other.  If I had planned ahead I really should have alternated skeins but on second glance it's not as bad as I thought it was.  I'm planning on putting back in the needles I yanked out and give it one more try.  Rav dets here.

4 - Cabled Rangoli Hat - very cute and helps with hat hair syndrome, who doesn't like that?  I was SO inspired by Miss Nasseknits version - check out her photo here!  This may be a hat I will actually wear!  Ravelry dets here.

Anyhow have a great weekend all! =)

...Slow Down...

I've decided that the universe likes to send me messages sometimes, especially ones like slow down(!).  In a normal day I'm a whirlwind of activity - I dislike pausing or sitting still as much as I can and I love running from one thing to another.  It seems the universe has other plans however.

Remember I mentioned way back that I had started back up horseback riding again?  I know I really haven't talked about it much since then, I've been riding a lot, building up my muscles again and last month I started jumping again which was fun.

Yesterday I went on a trail ride with my instructor and some of the other girls.  I was riding Sunshine who is a thoroughbred mare (anyone who knows horses would think, whoa, fiesty!)  =)  Thoroughbreds are known for their, shall we say, high spiritedness and as we were riding she was getting more and more high-spirited, tossing her head and prancing.

Anyhow at some point she totally freaked out and tried to make a run for it.  I stopped her and then she reared, I held on.  She bucked and tried to kick the horse behind her, I held on.  At that point she tripped and fell on top of me!  It was then that I let go which I think was a good plan!

The only thing I could think of was I didn't want to get my foot caught in the stirrups and drug around (which has happened to me before) so I was happy to be clear!  I rolled away from her hooves as she tried to regain her balance.  Luckily nothing was broken, I was achy and bruised but not too bad.  I even got back on her after we walked to the road and rode her around a bit (you know that old saying "you've got to get back on the horse?"  it's true! =)

Anyhow so I went home, no big deal but when I woke up this morning I am SORE!  I feel like someone had run me over with a truck and I am suddenly 80 years old.  I'll be fine, I just need to take some time to slow down and pamper myself.

So in the meantime I slow.down. and sit a bit and crochet since I can't hold my needles with my wrist tweaked.  I started a easy-peasy tiramisu blanket (a free pattern by Miss Posie, it's in her side-bar).  The ravelry details are here.  I'm working up to her super-cute baby cardigan so I'm treating this as bit of a warm-up.  I have lots of the new cotton-ease that I'm planning on using.  The lake color is for the blanket with a tan border, and then matching cardi eventually.  It will be super cute!  I'll take pics next time when I've managed more than a few rows and have something  to show you.

Until then I'll be over here, slowing down, putting my feet up and relaxing! =)  Have a great week!

Lendrum Wheel For Sale

Something about spring, the dogwoods are blooming, the sun is shining and the temps are perfect, it brings on major decluttering.  This isn't some wimpy cleaning, this is a full out assault on all things clutter! =)

Along those lines I finally made the decision to sell my lendrum wheel. I thought I would post it over here and on ravelry and see if anyone was interested.

I bought it used from a friend oh, only about 9 months or so ago.  It was a wonderful wheel to learn on and it made me realize how much I enjoy spinning.  Now that I have my matchless the lendrum isn't getting any attention and I'd like it to find a new home where it will be happy.

Specs:

Lendrum Single Treadle Wheel

• I bought it used, and it's a slightly older lendrum
• There are a few cosmetic wear marks on the knobs and treadle which would buff out nicely if you were inclined to do so.
• It spins lovely, very smooth and even and is a wonderful wheel to learn on, or to travel with as it folds flat into a bag
• It comes with a custom bag from the well-known "Bag Lady" that fits it perfectly
• 4 bobbins
• Jumbo Plying head with bobbin
• Lazy Kate (lazy kate is missing one of the metal rods that holds a bobbin but can easily be replaced with a skewer or extra knitting needle)
• New all items retail about $550, asking $250 + shipping and I'll send along lots of free fiber to get you started! =)

Whoa - The interest has been overwhelming!  I'm digging myself out of my email box now but I believe the wheel has been spoken for.  Thanks everyone! =)

Here's a photo from when I bought it...It hasn't changed a bit. 
I'm happy to send more pics of closeup if you're interested.

Thanks so much for looking, Back after more decluttering! =)

Cheapy Decorating

I've been traveling again, as you can probably tell.  When I disappear off the face of the blog planet for a few weeks, best guess is I'm probably traveling for work.  I enjoy traveling actually, driving up there is some great "me-time."  Plenty of good tunes, a hands free for my cellphone if I feel like chatting (as Angelika knows since I always call her! =))... I do my best thinking in the car.

The one thing I don't enjoy is all the prep-time.  I managed to only bring 1 kitchen sink this time unlike the usual two.  I even resisted packing up my wheel and sewing machine (but probably only because the hotel I was staying at would have been suspicious watching me drag it through the courtyard) =)  Getting ready to go takes me a good week or two and unwinding after that takes another good week or two, that doesn't even count the traveling time in between.  Whew!  Color me exhausted!

Anyhow - so I guess the timing was good - what else can I even remotely blog about that could possibly surpass the awesomeness of the ripple blanket?  I think I've been outshined! ;)   I did sneak a pic of my finished living room in there - and a few eagle eyes noticed, thank you for all your compliments on it! ;) 

I probably shouldn't say this, don't want to burst anyones decorating bubble of me, but I am a C-H-E-A-P decorator.  Everything in that room is from Target, bought on clearance, or with a 40% off coupon from Jo-ann's or AC Moore (the accessories) or preferably all of the above- aside from the few big items.  I absolutely detest spending lots of monies on decorating so I grab a few things here and there as I see them in the clearance aisles so it takes me a lot of time to find things, and a room is never really finished.

The next room I just "finished" which I wanted to share with you is our front-room which is an odd sort of space.  It's like a big dining room area right when you enter the house, but it's cut off from the rest of it so I spend very little time there.  Even when people come over they never really paused in that room, they alway continued right in to the bulk of the living space.  Anyhow, so I love books and reading nooks so I decided to make it into a reading room/library area.  What do you think???....

Now that I've shown you a picture I'll let you in on my cheapy decorating tips.  The bookshelves are from ikea (billy of course) with a few tweaks to make it look more built-in and custom and upgraded with doors and new fixtures.  The leather ottoman is from costco, but it looks like the one from pottery barn (see I told you I'm cheap!) =)  Candles and accessories are from Joann's and AC Moore (40% off coupons always).  The chairs are from Cost Plus with an end of season clearance sale (<50 bucks each, retails for @200 regular).  The rug is something which needs to go shortly, I bought it from walmart for Elle for her surgery so she didn't slip for 20 bucks but I have my eye on a replacement.  And that ugly planter has got to go too! =)

The accessories are hand-knit (Entrelac Shawl) by me and the pillows were another end of season sale at Costplus (5 bucks).  So - all in all a great deal for that room.  So what do you think?  Too much decorating information?? ;)

And if you're only here for the knitting and spinning, here's a few of my latest items. ;)

More hand-spun sock yarn that I just love....

From top left: Lisa Souza Hand-dyed BFL in Emerald City, Spun 2-ply into a sock yarn, approx 450yds/4oz; My Hand-carded Lichen Battlets in Scrumptious Merino/Alpaca, TussahSilk and Camel spun into a sock yarn, 432yds/4oz; Funky Carolina Fiber Club Offering, "Chill" in a superwash Merino/Tencel.  Sock yarn, 360 yds in 4oz and gorgeous colors!

I also finished my Kaffee socks!  You might remember them from a while back, I had the brilliant (said sarcastically) idea to do an afterthought heel?  Well short-row heels just make me nervous, I had never really figured out the process like my regular old-stand-by top-down?  Well - I DID IT! =)  I figured it out!  I'm so excited, now I just want to short-row everything!

Wendy's generic toe-up pattern really helped me, I was able to convert her short-row heel (which can be done toe-up or top-down) into my 72 stitch sock on 2.25mm and I was good to go.  I just love the fit of these socks, these are my new favorites! =)  The stripes lined up and they're perfect for spinning!

Happy Tuesday after a long weekend!  Hope everyone had a great one! =)

Unexpected News

I was going to blog about the ripple today until I just received some unexpected news.  A coworker and good friend of mine passed away suddenly, they were only 29.

It's funny how you can just go on be-boppin' through life, expecting that those in your life are always going to be there.  We have these silly/cute little awards that we send to people virtually letting them know that "they make our day."  I caught myself thinking how often do we do that to people in real life?  Do we send them little cards or emails letting them know that we're thinking of them?  That who they are and what they do are special and matters?

I know I personally all too often take people for granted, that those in my life will always be there.  That's not always the case, things can change, life happens and people are taken away from us in an instant.

I just wanted to have a moment of silence, to reflect on those who make a difference in our life, but we just don't tell them often enough.

Amen.