RoboGames: Olympics for the circuit board crowd!

Wish I could have made it out to RoboGames 2009 in San Francisco June 12-14 this year. Looks like it was a lot of geeky fun! Now that's an Olympics I could compete in! (maybe...)

Take a peek at this documentary from the RoboGames site. Best quote "Anytime you get geeks thinking in mass, you get societal benefits from that."

Kerchief done, end-sewing commences

Finished the kerchief. Not sure I love how it looks on me, but it does keep the hair out of my face. I ended up knitting "between" sizes, and it came out a bit too big. So, I single crocheted through two layers of the band to tighten it up.

Want to try it again with a more springy yarn than the Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere I used. Overall, a fun, fast pattern.

Have the tab button jacket all sewn together, just need to tuck in all of the ends (how can there be so many!) and sew the pockets and button. Soooooo close!

Kerchief time? Nope. Back to the Tab Button Jacket

Do you like how you look in a baseball cap? Not me. And yet one needs some means of hair concealment for those feeling-less-than glamorous days. Enter the kerchief.

Mom made one recently from a pattern called Kitschy Kerchief in Stitch N' Bitch, and it got me to thinking about adding a kerchief to my wardrobe du hair.

Though I like the pattern Mom used, I r-e-a-l-l-y like the free Lacy Crochet Kerchief pattern from a recent Classic Elite email - one of the nicest knitting-related emails I receive. (Sorry Knitting Daily, but you send too many offers masking themselves as "content"...)

With all of the yarn I have stashed about the house, there MUST be something that would make a good head covering, right? Hagrid and I went digging through all the yarn we could find. We decided cotton would be the best choice for a summer head covering. Alas the stash options came down to navy blue (too dark to show the pattern), drab olive (maybe, but no love there) and red (saving that for a baby hat). Or... there is that lovely Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmerino... but in order to be sure I have enough to finish the sweater I'm making from that yarn, well, I have to finish the sweater.

And so, I'm back to where I should have been anyway -- counting down the last rows to finish a project before I cast on something new. Really should have it done by next weekend. Bets anyone?

Robot Pooch is in the houuuuuuuse!

I received an order from central command to add a robotic pooch to the robot line - and "poof" here he is, "Cyber Bow-wow".

Thanks for the idea CB.

Now should there be a Cyber Puss? Somehow, the idea of a cat behaving in a human-serving manner does not compute. Much as the cat-haters out there would love the idea, I'm thinking not.

Avatar is born

This weekend, Jeff and I were in the Vermont studio (aka my parent's house). Luckily, this usually means lots of knitting time with Mom. Time that was sorely needed for finishing the latest robotknitter invention. Here are some photos of my first attempt at "Avatar" - a knitted version of my online other-self as envisioned by Jason Pym.



Thanks again, Jace! And thanks Jeff for taking her out into the Vermont sunshine and capturing some great photos.

Now I need to work out the directions by knitting another robot - and then figure out how and where to post the .PDF instructions for sale. Stay tuned!

A Whirlwind tour of the Sheep Shearing Festival at Gore Place

Angora bunnies from Evergreen Farm

Yesterday, we went to the annual Sheep Shearing Festival at Gore Place. We could only stay for an hour-and-a-half before departing for our cider bottling adventures, so we had to run through instead of meandering around as usual.

Alpaca couple posing for the camera

You know that first really nice day of warm weather after a cold New England winter? The one where you forget all about hats and sun block? It was that kind of day. What a different atmosphere from the cold and drizzle of last year.

We spent a lot of time with our old favorites - Seacolors, Evergreen Farm, Bartlett Yarns, and with our new favorite, Ellie's Reclaimed Cashmere. I managed to limit myself to just one skein of cashmere - pretty good considering how tempting everything looked and felt.

Reclaimed cashmere. Must touch. Must have.

Will and Ellen of Ellie's Reclaimed Cashmere

If you are in the Boston area, make sure to check out the festival next April. Now back to treating that sun burn...

Chickens need sweaters too

I saw a small item in the new Vogue Knitting magazine on British chickens in need of some TLC. Who knew that there were chickens in the world in need of sweaters! What a great idea to help the little hens out. But I have a better idea. Stop the jerks who are doing this to the chickens in the first place.

One more reason to buy eggs from the chicken man (known to the rest of the world as the Country Hen). Plus the chicken man writes letters and sometimes sends them in the eggs. I think I'm in love.

My sister raises hens, and I think I'll knit her a chicken sweater in case one of them gets sick. (note: Hers are very well cared for chickens bearing no resemblance to the poor creatures in the picture above.) The pattern and more information about the effort to help the chickens can be found here: http://littlehenrescue.co.uk/jumpers.aspx