Jacquie Interviews Me!

Jacquie kindly offered to interview bloggers. How fun!

1. Have you always lived in Salt Lake City? If no, where did you come from originally and what brought you to SLC. If yes, then tell us what you like about SLC, or where else you would rather be.

I was raised in Oregon (Portland area) and Anchorage, Alaska. My husband, son, and I moved from Northern California almost two years ago. We were anxious to escape the sky-high cost of living and piercing California sunshine. Well, actually, we moved because an opportunity opened up for my man working for the same company in a different, and more interesting (to him!) technology area. I suppose if I could live anywhere, I would like to go back to Seattle, where we lived while my husband was in grad school, or Anchorage, where I went to high school. I’ve moved around a lot, though, and I don’t mind moving. I actually like it. A couple of years ago, it looked like we’d have the opportunity to move to Cambridge for a couple of years, and I was disappointed when that didn’t work out.

We love Salt Lake City! I love the mountains, the four season climate, and the knitters!

2. You are lucky to have a handy husband. Did you know that about him

before you married him or is it a more recent development? What else has he made?

He’s pretty handy, isn’t he? Although he’s always been mechanically inclined, he just started making furniture last summer, with a picnic table and five Adirondack chairs. He’s also made a router table, some sawhorses, and a fairly swank workbench. The table is his first piece of interior furniture.

Before that, he did quite a bit of DIY around our house in California. He replaced the nasty carpet in our old house with Pergo, replaced the toilets and a bathroom sink, and remodeled our entire kitchen. Every summer he tinkers with the sprinkler system. I think it’s his engineer brain, always wanting to understand the way things work. I love his brain; it’s one of the first things I fell for when we met. I look forward to a lot of custom-made furniture!

3. Miriam was asked this question and I thought it was a good one - What do

you make for dinner when you can’t think of anything to make for dinner?

Black bean soup, cornbread, and salad. Also, homemade pizza.

4. If you were offered the chance to boldly go where no man (or woman) has

gone before would you take it and why?

What, in space with the crew of the Starship Enterprise? In a heartbeat! Let it be the Next Generation crew, though, not the Shatner-led bunch.

5. Do you have a "kids say the darndest things" type story about your son,

or from your own childhood that you can share with us?

Well, I thought it was pretty cute when my son said we should get chickens in the backyard, and that the chickens should get their own TV so they can watch “the chicken movie” (Chicken Run).

Want to play? I'll interview you if you request in a comment!

My Man's Handy!

I'm so proud of my crafty man!

Here's a nightstand he made for our son. The pattern's from _The New Yankee Workshop_ by Norm Abram. It's made of clear pine (which is knot-free pine) and finished with three coats of Hydrocote Resisthane Plus water-based polyurethane, a great product.

Woodworking requires a LOT of tools and basic skills to make even simple pieces of furniture. The DH and I are really happy with the way this piece turned out, but it's an imperfect piece of furniture. However, some of the errors my husband made on this piece can also be seen in the sample shown in the book, made when Norm was already good enough to have his own TV show and books published. The people who say Norm's success is all in the tools are severely underestimating his craftsmanship, because the stuff he makes now is perfect.

I really like the tapered legs and perfectly centered drawer. Also, the kid has a piece of furniture in his room made for him especially by Dad.

The fishy drawer handle is cool, isn't it? It's from Silver Star Hardware on 3300 S, right near the former location of Soul Spun Yarn. They have hundreds of drawer pulls, more than I've ever seen anywhere else. It's a hardware store for chicks, grrlfriends. You should go!

I love the earth and everything but...

Have you read this New York Times article (requires registration) about the Manhattan family who are giving up, among other things,toilet paper, in a year-long ecological experiment? Of course there's a blog, No Impact Man.

There's no way I'd be willing to give up toilet paper. NO WAY!

Wheew!

So I had to get a mammogram today. I get a little freaked out by routine medical procedures, but the extreme professional, compassionate courtesy extended to me by the outpatient radiology clinic at our local hospital was so reassuring that I was able to get through it. The procedure itself is a little undignified and uncomfortable, but the worst part was hanging out in Schroedinger's Cat Box, waiting for the radiologist to look over the films.

And let me tell you, ladies, there is noting like the feeling of being told that you don't have cancer.

Something for the new baby

My cousin T had her baby last week! Another girl, Baby H.

I was just starting some socks when I got the news, so I repurposed the Sleeping Dragon Yarn from blogless Karen. Cute, no? The hat looks impossibly teeney until you stretch it, but the baby was under 6 lbs, so she should at least be able to wear it for ten or fifteen minutes. This yarn is so fun to knit! I love Karen's color combinations.

I also sent the Wee Elvish Baby Socks of last spring. I was going to either do some kind of toe embellishment or rework the toe, but really when you make newborn sized items, it's imperative to get them in the mail. I decided to stop obsessing and just send the things already. Yes, the toe is idiosyncratic, but the socks look cute and the yarn is adorable.

My feet are ON FIRE!

These are some warm socks, grrlfriends. Worsted weight socks are WARM!

FYI, my pants aren't actually highwater; I pulled them up for the photo shoot.

Am not really sure the heels match, but they're close enough. Check this out, I redid the heel three times, maybe four, it's kind of a blur really, trying to get them to match, and all this after I had actually written down what I did for the first one. I ended up following my own directions.
In other news, got my Kaffe Fassett lecture tickets! Thanks, Jacquie, for the heads up.

I showed a girlfriend how to knit

and got a Noro hat out of it!

This hat is my friend's work, originally made for her sister who--can you believe this?--said she wouldn't wear it! I love it, and offered to trade it for yarn. I dig it and have worn it several times already.

I really like teaching friends (or strangers) the basics of knitting. Maybe it's because for so long, I had no one to ask for knitting help?

Do you watch _Needle Arts Studio_ on PBS? I love watching the host, Shay Pendray. I don't always like the projects, and usually don't watch the needlepoint/embroidery segments, but I always fast forward to the show's closing when she says, in a cheery voice of firm conviction: "We enjoyed sharing these projects with you, and hope you will share the needle arts with a friend."
Yep, I will!

One down...

One's done!

I usually put the last stitches on a holder and kitchener both socks at the same time, but this time, I went ahead and did it as soon as I was done, and wove ends as well. I found it much more satisfying that way.

Also, I remembered to write down what I was doing, so the second sock should be the same as the first. Am on the second or third pattern repeat on sock #2 now. Fun socks!