Knitting and TV

IMO, knitting and TV go really well together. Or, more accurately, knitting and DVDs and videos, since it's a rare day indeed that I actually watch TV.

Lately it's been Frasier, Alias, and Smallville. In the past lots and lots of Buffy. And speaking of Buffy - I'm really excited for the new Firefly movie:
Serenity: The Official Movie Website
I've watched all the episodes and I liked them a lot. They're on DVD too, so you should Netflix them.

In knitting news, I've started a baby blanket for my ex-boyfriend's sister's baby boy due in September. It's lime green and turquoise, because she likes lime green and I think it's a great color combo.

I've also started a Hufflepuff scarf (I've already done Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor) for my friend Brian so he, the ex, my little sister, and I can go to the new movie in style this November. Yay!

Finally, a Tivoli pic

Taken by grumperina herself!



This is from two Saturdays ago at ArtBeat in Davis Square. My lovely True Grounds knitting group had a booth and taught people to knit, crochet, and spin with drop spindles. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of interest and a few more members.

Dyeing!

I spent most of yesterday dyeing yarn for the first time. First we had to do the mordant - we used Alum.



While the yarn was in the Mordant we had to get the dye ready. One we used was cochineal.



While the yarn was straining Nicole and I cut up Mullen leaves while Amanda crushed the cochineal.





After the dye baths were prepared Amanda just couldn't wait to dye, so she threw in a little test skein - this is how it came out of the cochineal:



Finally we were ready to really dye!



And about an hour later the first skein was done.



We hung it to dry on a rack in the bathtub.



And a couple of hours later we had even more. The one on the right is from the mullen leaves.

Technical Adventures!

Last night when I put my Alias DVD into my DVD player and pushed play, I had a black and white picture and static instead of sound. Unlike the stereotype of females and things like this, I am fairly skilled at troubleshooting things connected with cables. So first I do the obvious - jiggle all the cables and check to see if it works - nope - same as before.

Now it's time for the scientist in me to step in.

The data:

The setup: DVD player is connected to VCR. Cable is also connected to VCR. VCR is connected to TV.

DVD - no color, static for sound

Hypothesis 1: There is something wrong with the DVD player.

Experiment: Try playing a video!

VCR - no color static for sound

So basically this rules out the cable connecting the DVD player to the VCR - which is good because it's new and I had an awful time finding it!

Hypothesis 2: There is something wrong with the TV itself.

Experiment: Attempt to watch TV without using the VCR or DVD. Note - this is a bit difficult since I have no antenna, but I tried it all the same.

TV with VCR off - bad reception, but color and sound

Aha!

Hypothesis 3: The problem is with the cable connecting the VCR to the TV.

Experiment: Try new cable!

Unfortunately I ran into problems here. The person who set up the cables connected to the wall, which I was going to borrow for this purpose, is apparently much stronger than I am, and I own no wrench. So the problem with this female and high tech equipment is not being strong enough to unscrew cables.

Luckily I was fairly confident in my assessment, so I bought a new cable today - and voila, I now have both color and sound! I also got rid of those nasty wavy lines that used to plague my DVD and video playing. ;)

So now you're all wondering what this has to do with knitting. Well, isn't it obvious? What goes together better than stockinette and Netflix? Nothing, that's what!

And now for adventures with a different kind of cable...

In the spirit of the Finish It! KAL I picked up the stitches for the hood on my Rouge this evening. I did the 1st row of the cable chart which included picking up all the hood stitches, and then I did the 2nd row which involved placing the markers for hood increases. Not a lot of change in progress, but quite a bit of work.

And another revelation:

I used to say I hate purling. That's not quite accurate - the purling is fine, it's the transition between knit and purl that I'm not crazy about. I dread the 2x2 ribbing on socks and sleeves...

So, because I detest knit-purl transitions so much, I started making an entire tank top in seed stitch. Oh, very smart! There are some things we knit for enjoyment, and other things we knit because the yarn was so beautiful and it was on sale and why not?

The "Finish It!" knitalong

So I started the Finish It! KAL on the knitty board so I can force myself to finally finish that Rogue! (OK, I know it's July, but My apartment is fairly cool...) Before I know it, it will be fall and I'll want to wear my Rogue.

So here is the first assignment - a picture of my Rogue in it's current state.



To do: hood and sleeves, massive seaming and end weaving. Now I'll get cracking - OK, not right now. Right now I'm heading out to a 4th of July BBQ.