Southern California has been through a lot in the past month. Wildfires spread throughout the region, destroying hundreds of homes. A transit strike and a grocery clerk strike started early last month (both of which are still continuing, as far as I can tell.) And Wednesday night the LA region was hit by a strong winter storm that dumped 5 inches of rain in 2 hours, with bonus lightning and hail!
All of this has happened since the recall election. Makes ya' think....
Gary brought home 2 official copies of his game last night! Legacy of Kain: Defiance is finally out for PS2 and Xbox!!
I finished one, which is probably all I'll do for now. It's really just my right hand that gets cold, because it rubs across my desk when I use the mouse. The pattern (it doesn't get much simpler than this!):
worsted weight yarn
#8 dpns
CO 28 stitches
Join round, being careful not to twist stitches
(K2 P2) x 7 (2x2 ribbing)
Continue ribbing for some length (mine is about 6-8 inches before the thumb)
Make a hole for your thumb by knitting about an inch flat
(Keep in 2x2 ribbing, but when you get to the start of the round, reverse directions.)
After about an inch of flat knitting, return to circular knitting for another couple of inches.
Bind off loosely.
I strongly recommend trying the wrist warmer on as you go. I had originally tried 36 stitches around in 3x3 ribbing, but it was too loose. If you do change the ribbing, make sure the number of stitches around is divisible by the number of stitches in the ribbing (e.g. 28 is divisible by 4 (2+2), 36 is divisible by 4 (2+2) and 6 (3+3).)
My wrist warmer weighed in at 20g, which I calculated to be about 36 yards of yarn. You should be able to make several from one ball of yarn.
I heard part of an interview with Simon Winchester, author of The Meaning of Everything, a history of the Oxford English Dictionary. This sounds like a great book, which I'll probably buy when it comes out in paperback.
The interview led me to check out the OED website, where I found the Word-of-the-Day. Nifty!
Gary gave me the one-volume version of the second edition a few years ago, which we use occasionally, but not as often as I thought I would. It's big, heavy, and has very very tiny print (it came with a magnifying glass!) I think I will make an effort to refer to it more often.
Mr. Winchester said on the radio that the next edition of the OED was originally scheduled for 2010, but that date has been pushed back to 2035!
I think it's knitting season! This week I decided I needed wrist warmers for work. Yesterday morning I hunted through my stash and found some purple yarn that I bought soon after I learned to knit (maybe 7 or 8 years ago.) I think there's enough....
I aleady had an idea for a pattern, something really really simple! Everytime I make socks, and get down to the heel, I think how nice and warm the ankle ribbing is around my wrists. Well, that's pretty much what I'm making: a tube of ribbing! I did do some search for patterns, to see what other knitters have come up with. Best idea was knitting part of it flat, then in the round again, to make a hole for the thumb. And I'm using a 3x3 ribbing, which I've never tried before (so I don't know how it will look.)