Naughty, Naughty Sheet Music

My parents gave me a keyboard for Christmas this past year. I took 12 years of piano lessons although I really didn't enjoy them until about six or seven years into it. Still, it would probably be best if I didn't waste twelve years of my time, half an hour a week of my piano teacher's time over those years or the money my parents spent on lessons.



The keyboard resides in the living room and a couple of times a week I sit down and play a bit. I decided to raid the collection at my parents' house rather than go out and buy a bunch of new books and piles of sheet music. I mostly took old favorites, pieces I had memorized once upon a time. For several months, this served me well. I got bored with many of the pieces and frustrated at my rusty skills, though, so I decided it was time to grab more music when I went home this past weekend.

Beyond just my old standby pieces, my mom has a large collection of other music. She likes going to auctions. A lot. Many of the things she picks up are old stone crocks, enamel ware, tea pots and kettles, and wash boards. She's also picked up a few boxes of old piano and organ music, though, and that's where the fun comes in.

I went through part of it. I could have gone through the whole thing since I had gone home for Father's Day only for my dad to have to work 12 hour shifts on both Saturday and Sunday. Only saw him for about four or five hours total the whole weekend. It's better to spread the exploration out, though.

First, I went with things I might use.  A book on blues breaks and fills and a book on how to play popular music. These were owned by a family friend of ours we called Grandma Bertie and her sister Eleanor. Bertie had an auction before moving into an adult living apartment many years ago. While they're old (I couldn't find copyright or publishing dates), I'd like to compare them to some more modern books I have that are in a similar vein.

 

Then I decided that a bunch of Sousa marches might be interesting to try.



I don't know why I was drawn to this book. I'm not particularly patriotic. Playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" when I was a high school bassoonist kind of got on my nerves. Maybe it's the use of the word "pianoforte". Maybe it's because being able to stretch out my short stubby fingers for the massive chords would be a personal victory.



After these selections, I decided to take a couple out of sheer novelty. First, for obvious Buffy-related reasons, Mister Five by Five. He doesn't really look like Faith's type though.



This last one I consider to be my best find, though.



Copyright in 1920, "That Naughty Waltz" blesses us with such lyrics as "Hold my tightly, swing me lightly, To that naughty waltz". It makes me want to construct a side dialogue:

MAN: Darling, let me hold you close.
WOMAN: Oh, I really shouldn't. This dancing though, this music, with it's enthralling 3/4 rhythm, it compels me to let you wrap one arm around me and hold my hand while I grasp your shoulder.
MAN: I just relish being able to move with you like this, swinging about, gazing in your eyes, all the while counting "1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3."
WOMAN: We really are being quite wicked. Next we'll be saying that that new prohibition amendment was a horrible idea and start making bathtub gin.

There's more where that came from. A couple of drawers full of the stuff.

Cable-palooza

So, blogging. It's been over a month but I've been keeping myself busy. March was a particularly full month at work but now things have settled in a bit. Taxes are done. I've finally made significant project on the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan. I now have two of three panels done (excuse the poor lighting).



I cast on panel number three on Friday evening. Even with the gorgeous weather keeping me from getting much knitting done over the weekend, I'm now through nine of 24 repeats of this final panel.



Still looks like I'll be finishing this project at the absolute worst time to properly enjoy a heavy wool afghan but I'll be glad to have it done.

Also keeping me busy has been The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I realize that I have jumped on the bandwagon late but I feel like the joke is on everyone else. I probably won't even be done with the second book (The Girl Who Played with Fire) when the final book comes out on May 25. It's enjoyable reading no matter when you read it and I haven't been spoiled so it's OK.

Spoilers = bad, even if there are somethings I can't wait for.  Like the new series of Doctor Who. Series 5 starts on BBC America April 17 for those of you disciplined enough to wait. Or for those of you that haven't watched it. I am completely sincere when I say that this new season is a perfect time to jump in. There's a new cast, new team of producers, pretty much new everything. I've seen the first two episodes and they're absolutely thrilling. Whether you watch episode 1 or episode 3 this weekend, a good time should be had by all.

Crossing the Finish Line

Before the Knitting Olympics began, I knew I wanted to knit the Hemlock Ring Blanket but I was pretty sure I could finish it in less than 16 days. I added on a small Ishbel out of Noro Silk Garden Sock.

Victory!

In other knitting related news, I submitted the Hemlock Ring to Knit'n From the Heart's Olympics contest and I got bronze in the intermediate/advanced category. The prize? A set of needles up to $20 value. New Addi Turbos for me!

Even more exciting was the visitor that arrived at my door today. He came with candy, a pretty blue, heathered skein of Cascade 220, a drop spindle and some really soft merino fiber. Looks like it's time for me to learn how to spin.

The Travelling!Doctor Swap has been going on since October 2008 and it's finally my turn to show him around the Twin Cities. Tonight we decided to lay back and watch last night's The Big Bang Theory, bringing together TBBT, Doctor Who and the precious (ring from The Lord of the Rings for the decidedly non-geeky out there).

Now I need to find other places to take him. I'm already planning to go to DreamHaven Books, Neil Gaiman's home base, on request of another Doctor Who fan and the sculpture garden. Any other suggestions?

Hemlock Ring Blocked

Yesterday was my birthday. I worked. I spoke on the phone with many family members and friends. I also blocked Hemlock Ring. Twenty six is looking a lot like 25.

In addition to Hemlock Ring, I also put down to knit a small Ishbel for the Knitting Olympics. I've finished the stockinette portion of it and I'm on to the lace part. I didn't get a picture before it got pretty dark out tonight so that will have to wait for another day.

I also haven't mentioned my new favorite podcast on here, yet. It's A History of the World in 100 Objects, put out by BBC Radio 4. Every weekday, the director of The British Museum discusses one object from the museum's collection. He describes the object, significant features of the object and how it fits into the history of the world. It's pretty much my daily fifteen minutes of history geekery. Podcasts and audiobooks certainly contributed to the speed

Knitting Olympics

I've decided to do the Knitting Olympics. I'm for sure knitting Hemlock Ring. I cast on Friday night during the opening ceremony (which I liked better than the overly-showy Beijing one). I had already finished the central flower by Saturday morning.

Tonight, I finished the first skein of Eco +.

I also put myself down to knit a small Ishbel and since I think I'll finish the Hemlock Ring by the end of this week I might even be able to finish it.

Before setting the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan aside for 16 days of knitting frenzy, I did finish the first panel.

I also got a few repeats into the second panel.

I should be done with the knitting in time to absolutely in no way want to be seaming a wool afghan on my lap.

Finishitis?

I've been on a bit of a finishing kick the last week or so. I think it's because I've been avoiding the repetitive cables of the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan.

First, I finished the linen stitch sock yarn scarf. This is a little more of an honest finish as I did start it before the afghan.


(Salon hair. If only I could make it look that way on my own.)

Then I made Zoe, a shawlette or kerchief by Emily Kausilik, for the second time. This time I did it in some Noro Silk Garden Sock which I fell down and got because it was soft and pretty and 20% off.



Finally, I got around to knitting myself some Veyla by Ysolda Teague.



Now to go back to the pair I had started for my sister in lavender. She decided she'd rather have the cuff from Veyla but then have the hand be a regular mitten to wear while walking around campus in the late fall and early spring. Good thing I love the girl.

Extra note - this is the first time I got to use the "finished project 2010" label. Awesome.

More Actual Knitting Content

I've continued to work on the linen stitch scarf and have gotten pretty far. Between last weekend's Doctor Who (watched it twice) and discovering the awesome that is Modern Family, I've found that it makes excellent TV knitting.


Hand included for scale.

I wanted something more complex, though, and something that didn't involve hauling around a few small balls of leftover sock yarn with me. I bought the yarn for the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan (Ravelry link) when Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool was on sale at Michael's a few months ago and was just waiting for the perfect time to cast on. The too-large Vine Yoke Cardigan is still on time out so away I went on an afghan for my futon.



It's really making me want to knit an aran sweater, now. Maybe a baby one, though. I don't seem to do so well with the adult-sized ones.

Happy New Year!

Here we are, two days into 2010. Resolutions generally go to crap but I'm making one anyways. Going forward, I want to have less clutter in my life. First step is to use up some leftover sock yarn bits and ends.

I cast on 500+ stitches (an odd number) on US 6 needles using a cable cast-on so that I would have an end on each end and not have to guess how long of tail to start with. Then I started with a new piece of yarn and began to knit in linen stitch.



Linen Stitch (2-row repeat):
Row 1: K1, (s1 purlwise with yarn in front, K1) repeat to end of row
Row 2: K1, (p1, s1 with yarn in back) repeat until two stitches before end of row, p1, k1

To create a fringe, I start each row with a different yarn, leaving a decent-length end and break off the yarn at the end of the row, once again leaving another decent-length end. When I'm done, I plan to either braid or twist the fringe together in groups of 3. Bonus - I have no ends to weave in.



I got a large amount of the knitting done while watching Doctor Who last night. It was fantastic! The end had me crying and laughing. I'll miss David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor dearly but I'm even more excited for Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor now. Then I saw this trailer for season 5. I'll be over here, squeeing in the corner.

Christmas Music for the Absurd

I often find the lyrics to "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to be a bit date rape-y but this video of Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews is something else. Bloody Welsh.

Happy Accident

I had my second Kai-Mei from Cookie A.'s Sock Innovations just a few rounds of toe decreases away from being finished for several weeks yet it just sat by my chair, tucked out of sight. This weekend, I finally pulled them out and finished them.

Yarn is Cascade Heritage in some non-descriptive color number.

Today I wore the socks and looked down to realize that the shoes I had picked quickly before running out the door this morning showed off the pattern quite nicely.

See?

I was so taken by this happy coincidence that I even put the socks and shoes back when I got home after going straight to the gym from work. I needed the picture that much.

Venting Frustration

There is no picture of a finished Vine Yoke Cardigan in this post. There is a finished Vine Yoke Cardigan in my apartment. It is not a Vine Yoke Cardigan that fits me. To distract me from the failure, I decided to make the antithesis of a woolen, knit cardigan. That object is a cotton, crocheted potholder.



Double sided, started after eating dinner and paying some bills, I still managed to finish it in one evening. It fits in my hand. It is making me much happier than the Vine Yoke Cardigan. I may be going insane.

Now that I've made it through NaBloPoMo, I'm going radio silent for at least tomorrow if not through the rest of the work week. I hope to reblock the cardigan this week before I inevitably give up the ghost and frog it. I'll blog about it once I can properly address it. On the upside, I'm not as big as I thought I was.

Another Pair Down

I finished the RPMs this afternoon after I finished packing up all of my stuff at my parents' house.



After checking on the Vine Yoke Cardigan when I got back, I'm starting to think that I should have gone down a size or two. I'm going to put the buttons on tomorrow and then see what I think. My gauge was on but I'm thinking I need a new bust measurement taken.

The Thanksgiving Letter

Last year, CaliforniaKara posted a Thanksgiving letter passed down to her from a coworker. In the letter, the coworker's sister gives very specific instructions for what she is expecting people to bring for the meal, down to the appropriate recipe to use and container to bring it in. One of my favorite selections was to the family tasked with bringing fifteen pounds of mashed potatoes "in a casserole with a serving spoon".

Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because
you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the
mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic
container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size
casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.

I shudder to think what this woman would do with my family's assorted collection of plastic dishes and the occasional aluminum foil or cling wrap cover.

I Braved Black Friday

I went shopping on Black Friday. OK, we didn't even leave Litchfield for the Albertville Outlet Mall until 9 this morning and all I bought was a long-sleeved red t-shirt from Old Navy but I did survive. My sister, mom and I went with two of my aunts and a cousin who had already hit a bunch of the usual suspects earlier this morning. Shopping-wise, it may have been a waste of time for us but we did have a good time together. Also, because the drive to the outlet mall isn't that short and we also went to St. Cloud after we were done there, I got a decent amount of knitting done today.



I'm continuing to knit from stash with KnitPicks Sock Memories, a yarn that was discontinued a few years back. The pattern is RPM by Aija Goto from Knitty Summer 2006. I cast it on Tuesday night after finishing the knitting on the Vine Yoke Cardigan. I'm already past the ribbing on the second sock. They're on US Size 1.5 needles so they're a relatively fast knit as far as socks go.

Tomorrow, I think I agreed to do more shopping, this time with my mom and grandma to Jo-Ann's for pillow forms. I end up being so much more of a "girl" when I'm home. I even end up wearing make-up on a semi-regular basis. It's like I become a curious study in traditional gender roles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm not even going to try to find time to blog during the rest of the day. I'm off to help get the last few things ready and then spend some time with my family.

Almost Done

Before leaving for work this morning, I blocked the Vine Yoke Cardigan.



I had debated taking it with me and blocking it at my mom and dad's house so I could be finished that much sooner but I decided to be a little patient. Sunday night, the buttons are going on, though. I cast this on sometime on Halloween weekend, so I'll still have a fully-done sweater in less than a month.

I've been finishing cleaning my parents' basement tonight. I feel like vacuuming at 10:30 at night is completely unnatural. My sister and I are rewarding ourselves with tonight's episode of Glee before bed. If we don't watch now, one of our cousins is sure to spoil us tomorrow.

Buttons

As the end of the Vine Yoke Cardigan has been getting close, I started to look for buttons. I was almost positive that I was going to have to order them from somewhere as even when I'd find ones that would kind of work, I wasn't thrilled with them and there were never at least nine of them which is what I need. Then I stopped at Lila and Claudine's in Mahtomedi for the first time.

In addition to being a cute shop with a decent selection of yarn, especially considering that it's not huge and is also a gift shop, they had buttons that look like they're going to work perfectly.



Now I'm off to finish the knitting while watching V. Can't believe it's going on hiatus already.

Palette Cleanser

I think The Pipettes have scrubbed the endless loop of "Bad Romance" from my head.



Speaking of the alphabet, John Oliver admitted in this week's episode of The Bugle that after filming the segment of The Daily Show where he was reading Sarah Palin's book to a bunch of six-year olds, he did have to read them a bit from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, a book about the letters of the alphabet climbing up a coconut tree together. Unfortunately, he did this reading while the camera and sound crew packed up their equipment so there is no recording of it. Also not shown on camera but discussed on The Bugle was the fact that while John Oliver was torturing children with Going Rogue, Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard were in the same bookstore and were witness to it all. Never thought I'd want to be a fly on the wall in a bookstore where the words of Sarah Palin('s ghostwriter) were read aloud.

So Close Yet So Far Away

I've finished the left sleeve of the Vine Yoke Cardigan and am on to the left front.



I've begun to search for buttons with little luck. I need nine of them and it seems that every time I find some I might like, even if they're a bit more than I'd like to spend, there are never nine of them. I'll have to keep the search going and hope that I don't end up with a completely finished cardigan that I can't fasten.

I'll just keep knitting away and watching Spooks. It was titled less creatively as MI-5 in the US. I say less creatively because it's about a bunch of spies that work for MI-5, the UK domestic intelligence agency. I'm on the second season, which has Matthew MacFadyen and Keeley Hawes. It's extremely well-written and they aren't ones to resort to torture a la Jack Bauer.

Mind Leap

Earlier today I had this in my head.

I could blame Chris from knitting on Thursday night but Lady Gaga is pretty ubiquitous these days. Not so common recently are The Everly Brothers yet they are responsible for my current earworm.

Today was another beautiful day and I was out and about for a bit enjoying it before coming home and watching a lot of the TV I didn't watch this week. Glee was a little more awkward and cringe-making than normal but once again featured Artie singing so I was happy and I really enjoyed this week's Fringe. It was also a fantastic week for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I do wish the little kids could have convinced John Oliver to actually read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, though.