Firefox

For those of you who use Internet Explorer, I hope you consider switching to Mozilla Firefox.

http://getfirefox.com

I'm not getting any sort of benefit from blatantly advertising my favorite web browser, but if you switch over, you will. You'll get faster navigation speeds, way fewer popups, and far fewer security breaches. Not to mention a tabbing system which declutters your Start Bar in Windows, extensions that let you customise your web browser experience, and a built-in Google search bar that doesn't have loads of spyware attached to it. Best of all, it's 100% free!

For you Firefox users, and those who've made the switch, here are some wallpapers to spread the love:

All taken from DeviantArt.com

And for you who are up to spreading the word: SpreadFirefox and Explorer Destoryer. The latter is for people who actually want to make a little money by helping people make the switch to Firefox. I'm not affiliated with it, I do it just because in my opinion, people deserve great browsing, and I don't care if I benefit.

So spread the safe, fast, free, wonderful web-browsing love!

I should be doing homework

Quiz on 80's music...

I took that quiz instead of reading Isaac Newton's biograpy. I also finished my Ravenclaw scarf (finally). The knitting was complete whilst watching Goblet of Fire last night. All I can say about the movie is WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it so much!

Now, on to knitting my saxon braid scarf and reading the Aeneid. Damn you Roman Mythology!!!!!

Sorry guys....

Sorry for that previous post. See, I had intended to click the "save as draft" button and then go back and edit... but apparently not. I do tend to write mean and angry notes to myself just so don't forget to change the date/time and then freak out when the post doesn't show up (cuz it's dated from a week ago). I apologize.


I'm not going to finish my scarf on time. I have two stripes still to go, and it's 3:30. Oh well. I tried.

Braiding Away

I've made quite a bit of progress on my Saxon Braid scarf. I did end up ripping back to the beginning, since those errors in the pattern glared at me very fiercely. Now it looks much better. Each repeat takes me about 45 minutes to do, and the picture below represents a total of 6 repeats finished. Whee!

See, I can keep my promises!

As promised, here are some pictures of the progress of my Saxon Braid Scarf:


That's the cable. I think I messed up on about row 14, but I'm going to continue knitting one more repeat, to see if it's an error in the pattern. Otherwise, look how beautiful those cables are. My tension probably could improve a little bit, but in and of themselves, those cables just sing!

I'm really enjoying this pattern. I know I need to be dutiful and finish at least one HP item for myself for the premiere (6 days!!!!!), and since I don't think I'll be able to finish Weasley, I'd better get cracking on the Ravenclaw scarf. That's the reason I haven't been blogging... the past month has been so... bleh with the miles upon miles of stockinette. Ah, the self-actualization that a knitter receives upon embarking on a new and interesting project.

Edit: I looked at the Vogue Knitting website and found their errata. No wonder the cable looked wonky in that part! I've fixed it now, and though I probably won't rip back to the beginning, it's good I discovered the errata early on.

Cables, How I love thee!

Tonight I finished the third of four Harry Potter scarves that I needed to finish before the premiere (except the fringe on this one, but that's coming). That means everyone has an HP scarf, except me. And let me tell you, the miles upon miles of stockinette, and each stripe (which takes an hour) is incredibly, incredibly boring. So boring in fact that knitting has not given me almost any real satisfaction in weeks. So boring that I wondered if I would someday toss aside the needles out of sheer boredom (God forbid!) Looking for a cure, I went to Barnes & Noble with my friend Irvine, after a delicious Thai dinner, and I checked out the Saxon Braid scarf from Knitting on the Edge. Wow! That'll be the cure for the stockinette blues, as well as a way to practice gorgeous new techniques.

(Scarf by the Crazy Coffee Knitters, I just wanted to show the pattern. Isn't it GORGEOUS?)

I pulled some splendid mohair cotton yarn in a vibrant turquoise from my stash, grabbed me some size 8 needles, and cast on.

So It has begun. I'm only 9 rows into the third repeat as I type this, but I hope I can finish at least one repeat by tonight. The cables every other row make the pattern really interesting, and it's so gratifying to see the twists of the cables appear right after I knit a row. I may not have an HP scarf by this coming Friday, but by Jove, I'll have a Saxon Braid Scarf on the needles to keep my love of knitting strong!

I promise good pictures in daylight tomorrow!

Smiles for Miles

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people
you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street
and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.
--Maya Angelou, American Poet and Writer

Things that made me smile today:

1. I saw a boy knitting on the West Mall.
2. They took the scaffolding down on WCH hall, one of my favourite lecture halls.
3. I saw this on the internet yesterday (and the sequel). Found via Supereggplant.
4. I am three stripes short of finishing the 3rd of 4 HP scarves.
   
5. I looked through pictures I took at the Harry and the Potters concert.

Edited to add: Sorry about the lack of posts recently. Lots of stuff converging and not much of interest going on worth mentioning. Except the Harry and the Potters concert. That was just plain fun!