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November 29, 2005
Freckles & Purls
So that's it! Name changed!
It took me forever to decide on a cute font for the new banner and button but I'm really happy with the results.
One thing though, I've let my friends convince me to change the URL. So today I bought frecklesandpurls.com but the process of switching everything over right now is pretty daunting. For now it will remain at allisonknits.com but I will continue to investigate my options for the switch over.
Any advice for doing that? My skillz are more in web design and page creation. The server-side stuff is not my forte... YET. I really want to learn all of that stuff and I guess this will be the best way.
Eventually I would like to do away with allisonknits.com and just stick with frecklesandpurls.com and I told my hosting guys that I wanted to switch over to frecklesandpurls.com and have an automatic redirect from allisonknits.com. This is what they emailed me back as my options:
1) You can park "frecklesandpurls.com" on top of "allisonknits.com", but if you open "http://allisonknits.com", you will see "allisonknits.com" in the address bar, if you open http://frecklesandpurls.com, you will see "frecklesandpurls.com". it is not a redirect, we call it "parked domain". Example - http://h2hosting.us (parked on top of h2hosting.com)2) You can add frecklesandpurls.com as an add-on domain and install your scripts/content under this new add-on account and setup a redirect from allisonknits.com to frecklesandpurls.com
3) You can request to create a NEW account for frecklesandpurls.com, so this domain will be main one, but you will need to install your scripts and move databases/content from old account. Then allisonknits.com will be canceled and you can park allisonknits.com on top of frecklesandpurls.com
What to do? The "install your scripts/content" and "move databases/content" scare me a bit. Maybe I just need someone to sit down and explain it to me step-by-step. That's how I learn.
Anyone know what I need to do?
Oy vey... what have I gotten myself into...
Posted by allison at 01:57 PM | Comments (2)
November 28, 2005
Name Change
After much thought I have decided to change the name of my blog. Why you ask? Well I've always wished I picked a more "original" name and then I discovered another Alison who has a blog named alisonknits. And sure, she spells her name differently but it's still the same name and well, in all fairness, she had it first.
So what's the new blog name? Well, you'll have to wait. Once I make the change to the top banner and my blog button, I'll make it official! The URL will continue to be allisonknits.com and I anticipate the new name debuting tomorrow. So if you are one of those very kind people that link to my blog, please make note of the name change and update your links accordingly. Thanks!
In other news, there is no other news. There has been little no knitting in the last couple of days. Why? Well, you see that book over there in my sidebar? The Good Earth? Have you noticed how long it's been there? About a month. I've been reading it for book club and book club is Wednesday night! Well, my reading time really suffers when there is knitting calling my name. So I've put down the needles and picked up the book. It really is a great book and I wanted to have it finished for Wednesday's get-together. Of course, our book club is called "It's Not About the Book" and sure it's more about eating good food and drinking good wine but occasionally we do discuss the book! I only have four chapters left so no problemo. Geez, I remember the days when I would read four or more books in a month. Not just ONE!
And I am waiting impatiently for my circs to arrive for sock knitting! Maybe they'll come tomorrow! I guess it's good that they didn't come today or else I would have a lot more than four chapters left to read of The Good Earth...
Oh, and my digital camera arrived safely in NY last week but I haven't heard of her fate yet. I hope to have her home soon!
Posted by allison at 10:02 PM | Comments (1)
November 25, 2005
I'm full!
I can't help but think about that Taco Bell commercial today... I'M FULL! Thanksgiving was great! Geoff and I did our usual lunch with his family and dinner with mine and by the end of the day we were both properly stuffed.
Geoff and I stay out at my parents' house on Thanksgiving and Christmas because after two HUGE meals (and plenty of alcohol courtesy of my dad) we are in no condition to drive the 45 minutes back downtown. Of course, this year I made a contribution to the alcohol with my spiked mulled cider! Oh it was sooooo good and a big hit with everyone! I'll definitely do it again for Christmas. Here's the recipe:
Yummy Spiked Mulled Cider
1 gallon apple cider
2 oranges, thinly sliced
4-6 whole cloves
4-6 whole allspice berries
4-6 cinnamon sticks
Put all of the ingredients in a crockpot (or a big pot on the stove I guess) and heat it up! Serve with a shot of Apple Brandy (I use Applejack brand) or a shot of spiced rum. Enjoy!
WARNING: Consumption of too much spiked cider can lead to goofy smiling...
I'm surprised I didn't screw up Geoff's scarf! Even under the influence of alcohol, I did get a good bit of knitting done. Oh! And on Wednesday I ordered four pairs of Addi Turbos (sizes 1 and 2) so that I can FINALLY try and master this socks on two circs thing! I can't wait until they come!!
And when Geoff and I finally woke up this morning, my parents were starting to decorate the house for Christmas. That's always how it was growing up. The day after Thanksgiving was when we'd put up the tree and get out all of the decorations. Seeing them begin that ritual put me in the holiday spirit and I couldn't WAIT to get home and start decorating our house for our first Christmas as husband and wife.
I was fortunate to have had my best friend from elementary school and her mother throw me a Christmas-themed bridal shower last December and I got such GREAT things for our house! I had registered for Christmas decorations and ornaments from Pier 1 (LOVE that store) and registered for some reindeer Christmas china at Pottery Barn. If you are looking for a great (and useful!) theme for a bridal shower I definitely recommend the Christmas theme. Newlyweds never seem to have enough ornaments and decorations to make their first Christmas together special!
So anyway, I shifted around some furniture in our living room to make room for a tree (which I'm not sure when we'll get). I put out Christmas stuff and changed out our everyday china for our Christmas china! I'm definitely in the holiday spirit now!
Tonight Geoff and I met up with "Kevelyn" to celebrate their recent engagement and our friend Kelly (my friend who's pregnant!). It's always TONS of fun when we all get together. Kelly put in her request for some knitted goodies for the little butterbean. She wants a little hat and some mittens. Does anyone know of a good mitten pattern for a baby? She doesn't want those little "hand sock" things that keep babies from scratching their faces. She wants actual mittens with thumbs. The baby should be about 7-8 months old by the time it gets cold enought to warrant them. I'm sure I could just make up a pattern but if there is one already out there then all the better!
And one of my friends from high school waited on us tonight when we went out for dessert. And she said she just learned how to knit! Yay! I told her I was really wanting to get a "Stitch n' Bitch" together here in Columbia, SC. Hopefully she'll stop by here (Hi Evelyn!) and drop me an email. I know of a good handful of cool knitters here in Columbia and I think it would be great if I could get everyone together. If you're reading this and live in or near Columbia, SC then drop me a line and maybe we can get something planned! Of course everything is crazy during the holidays but maybe I can get something together after the new year.
Ok, enough babbling for me tonight. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and you're recovering from all the food and family!
Posted by allison at 11:08 PM | Comments (2)
November 21, 2005
Rainy days and Mondays...
would usually get me down (especially the Monday part) but how can I be down when it's a TWO DAY work week for me! It's a very rainy Monday here in the southeast. But I have my sights set on a five day weekend! Wahooo!! Or as Becky would say... "Woooooooot!"
I have a lot more to Wooooooooot about, too! My Frappr map is making me feel the love! Hello everyone! And a "bonjour" and "'ello" to those across the pond!
AND if you look at the map and zoom in to the carolinas, you will see a certain someone in Charlotte, NC who just got engaged Friday night to one of my very best friends! Congrats Evelyn and Kevin (or as I like to call them "Kevelyn")! Woooooooot!
And another Wooooooooooot for me because I was GOOD this past weekend and did NOT pick up the brioche scarf in order to finish the right front section of Trellis. Here she is posing for another "at work" pic...
I finished her while watching the Carolina-Clemson game. The game did not end up the way I wanted it to but I wasn't too sad because by the end I had a finished section of Trellis! Now just two sleeves, a collar and what "seams" like endless seaming. Now about all this seaming... I'm a little frightened of the grafting of the shoulders and the back of the collar. I know I could just do a three needle bind-off for the shoulders but I may give the grafting a shot. Now as for the grafting of the SEED STITCH collar. No clue. I have a book on hold at the library that I HOPE will shed some light on the subject. But for now I'm just going to ingore it and crank out the sleeves. Ignorance is bliss, I say.
A trip to the gym is on the schedule for tonight and a little light housekeeping.
And do any of you watch Desperate Housewives? Geoff and I are addicted to it (although he may not appreciate my telling you that). It's getting really good!
Posted by allison at 05:09 PM | Comments (4)
November 18, 2005
I love me some Fridays
Man this week seemed sooooooo long. I'm not sure why but it seemed to last about 14 days. I'm so glad my weekend is here!
I sent my dear camera off to Nikon today via UPS (I don't trust those postal workers with my goods). I like that I can watch her (yes, my camera is a female) as she makes her way up to NY. She was wrapped lovingly in bubblewrap by a nice UPS worker and packaged ever so gently. I'm sure she will have a wonderful journey and will be back home with us very soon.
In the meantime, I'm having to snap shots of my knitting at work with the office cam. Here's a pic of the teal side of the Brioche Scarf hanging out on my cork board in my office (next to the pic of where I'd rather be)...
And here's a pic of the oak side hanging out on my desk, trying (successfully) to keep me from working...
Notice the pretty i-cord edges? I'm finally doing something right! I tell ya, I'm addicted to this scarf. I haven't touched Trellis in a week! Yikes! I need to get back to it. If I could just. put. down. brioche. scarf. We'll see.
This weekend will be filled with big rivalry football games! Auburn vs. Alabama and Carolina vs. Clemson! Go Carolina! Go Auburn!
And THANKS to everyone for stickin' your pin in my map! It's so cool to see where everyone is! If you haven't marked your spot yet, go now and do so! Thanks!
Yikes! Better run. Geoff and I are actually leaving the house on a Friday night to have dinner at some friends' house. Amazing...
Posted by allison at 06:43 PM | Comments (1)
November 14, 2005
RRRRRRRRRRIP...
The title of this entry has two meanings (and neither one of them is good). Let's start with the first meaning...
As predicted, I did cast on for Geoff's Brioche Scarf Thursday night. I didn't like the way the i-cord for the bottom turned out (it seemed really tight and small) so I put it aside to think on it. Friday night I ripped it out and started over again (with size 11 needles instead of 10.5). This time I continued on for a few rows and ended up with this:
(click to make it big)
As you can see, the pretty i-cord edging was not behaving itself (and the bottom i-cord was STILL a bit small for my taste). So, Saturday morning I rrrrrrripped again and this time made the bottom i-cord using size 13 needles and started knitting the body with size 9 needles. I've also been giving extra attention to the i-cord edges by giving them a little tug after knitting them so as to make them behave. And so far so good! But the scarf is only about 6-6.5 inches wide. Not the 7 inches it says in the pattern (how was it 7 inches wide with the needles they were using?). Anyway, I guess I may just knit a bit tighter than others (and probably more-so when I'm learning something new and the nerves are high).
So I'd LOVE to show you how pretty it is looking now but that leads me to the second meaning of this entry's title: R.I.P.
My digital camera died! We bought it in March so it should still be under warranty. It's a Nikon Coolpix 5400 and has been a real great camera up until last night. I had taken perfectly fine pictures yesterday afternoon and put it down for a while. Then I picked it up again last night to take pics of the above-mentioned scarf and it was taking pics that I can only describe as "ghostly." They are very out of focus and it looks as though the camera was moving or something (when it was on a tripod). I reset all of the settings, downloaded the latest firmware, put in a new battery and nothing. No change at all. It looks as though one of the lenses has maybe gotten a bit out of whack. I don't know how though since it wasn't dropped or anything. ARGH!!!! I am sooooo frustrated! Now I will have to send it back to Nikon to have them fix it or whatever and I don't know how long that will take. There's a digital camera at work so maybe I can take some progress pics during lunch or something. So. Frustrating.
Anyway, on a happier note, while perusing blogs I came across the Frappr! map on Bookish Wendy's site. It reminds me of this map at a coffee shop about 1/2 block from the USC campus that has a tray of pushpins under it and you are supposed to place a pushpin on the place you are from. I always liked looking at it while waiting on my order. It was cool to see that people from Australia and Pakistan have passed through the same little coffee house that I do! So anyway, this Frappr! map thing is just like it! So tell me where you are! Go and add yourself by clicking on the link below or the link in my sidebar! And add your URL if you have one! It will make me happy and help me to overcome the death of my camera... sniff sniff...
Thanks! :)
Posted by allison at 09:06 PM | Comments (1)
November 09, 2005
To: Me, From: Me
My friend Roz and I had to go down to Charleston today for a meeting at MUSC. Guess what was just two blocks from where we ate lunch? A yarn store! We had to stop in and look around! The store was called Knit and it was in a great old Charleston-style home. They had TONS of yarn and TONS of books. I was really impressed with their selection.
I got myself some early Christmas gifts...
I caved and bought Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles
And I didn't just buy things for myself! I got these cute leather buttons for Trellis.
And I bought some yarn to make Geoff a scarf.
It's Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Tahiti Teal and Wild Oak. I'm going to make him the Brioche Scarf from Weekend Knitting
Geoff liked the colors in the picture (Tahiti Teal and Old Sage) but they didn't have any Old Sage. So I got the last skein of Wild Oak and I think it looks great with the dark teal color. Geoff thinks so, too. I can't wait to cast on! I've never done the Brioche stitch before and have already searched others' blogs to see where people had problems with the pattern. Hopefully I will learn from their mishaps and will sail through it. I told Geoff that it will either be part of his Christmas gift or his birthday gift (Jan 31), depending on when I get it finished. Trellis is my #1 priority right now (but that scarf will be on the needles by this weekend I promise).
Oh, and I still need to learn the socks on two circs thing. I clearly need to quit my job. It's getting in the way of my knitting.
Posted by allison at 10:50 PM | Comments (5)
November 07, 2005
ahhhhh...
As I write this my legs are luxuriating in the pleasures of Icy Hot. I went for a run yesterday and may have overdone it a weeeeee bit. Oh well, being able to walk is overrated.
Well, the secret knitting is no longer secret! I gave my sister-in-law her Ene's Scarf on Sunday and she loved it. Here is a pic of me modeling the final product.
Of course, my dear husband was helping take the picture and wasn't happy being behind the camera...
(Edit) Forgot the specs on this one!
Pattern: Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style
Started: September 29, 2005
Finished: October 26, 2005
Yarn: Blackberry Ridge Lace Weight Silk Blend in Willow
Needles: Size 6 circs
Size: one size fits all
Trellis is coming along slowly but surely. I'll have a progress pic in the next few days.
I'm getting my wish list together for Christmas and it has a TON of knitting books on it. One I really want is Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles
I'm still listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and have discovered yet another use for the book on tape/cd. I download a disc or two onto the iPod and I can listen while I work out! It really helps the time go by. And I've never been good at getting a book to stay put on those elliptical machines...
Posted by allison at 09:46 PM | Comments (3)
November 03, 2005
Getting there
I experienced quite a few setbacks with the left front section of Trellis and they all happened TODAY. Argh. Maybe I was getting too anxious to be done with that side and just wasn't thinking. Either way, what I could have finished on my lunch hour today ended up taking me until about 9:30 tonight. But, the most important thing is it's finished and I will cast on for the right front section tomorrow.
I've discovered the relaxation of knitting and listening to a book on tape (or CD if you will). Why haven't I tried this before? I never got to finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (yes I am hopelessly behind in that series) so I checked out the SEVENTEEN disc book from my library and am listening to it while I knit. I've never really listened to books on tape because I've always thought of them as something for the car and I don't spend very much time in my car (even my commute to work is only a little over 5 minutes). But I find it hard when I'm working on a complicated knitting pattern to watch TV and knit without knitting hopelessly slow or not looking at it and screwing it up. Enter the book on tape! Brilliant! (said with a British accent in honor of Charles and Camilla's visit)
And during this time of discovery for me I did find time to block my sister-in-law's birthday present. I think I'll give it to her on Sunday. Click on my extended entry to see pics.
So I've blocked it to within an inch of it's life. I'm very happy with how it looks. I've had damp towels over it for a few days and those were dry tonight so I removed them. The piece itself is still damp so I'm going to give it another day to fully dry. Please excuse the blocking aparatus. Like I said before, it was bigger than my blocking board so I had to pull out our "guest bed" and block it on that (any guest that sleeps on that thing is probably guaranteed not to return... it's hard as a rock).
Click the pics to make 'em big!
Time for bed! Goodnight!
Posted by allison at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)
