THE READING KNITTER

SUMMERTIME.. AND THE KNITTING IS EASY

2010-07-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

I am back on track with knitting socks, socks, and more socks. And reading while I knit so I can reach my goal of 200 books read in 2010. I am at 94-so well on my way!

In keeping with reading the Millenium trilogy and other European authors, I am knitting socks by a wonderful German designer, Stephanie van der Linden. I even have a copy of her newest book in English: The Sock Knitter's Workshop. So far I have finished my first red Tulpen Socken (show above), and started another pattern. Lizzy, for one of my sisters.

'Psycho Squirrel Strikes Again

2010-07-11T08:52:00.001-07:00

squirrel2
Originally uploaded by readingknitter01

In honor of the "very friendly" squirrel at work who kept a co-worker trapped inside the office recently. Although he hasn't yet attacked anyone, and is probably just looking for a snack, she claimed he had wild eyes and his hair was standing on end! This baby is meant to last-constructed in spundola and sayelle yarns that must be at least 50 years old!

To go with the squirrel, I am reading all of Kay Hooper's psychic FBI unit books. Entertaining light summer reading. And the library has all of them as books and a few on CD. I am up to 93 books this year- well on my way to reaching my goal of 200 read in 2010.

More Knitting in 2010

2010-01-03T13:33:00.001-08:00

IMG_0454
Originally uploaded by readingknitter01

Got a lovely project bag hand-made by my sister; a camera from my daughter; and lots of yarn (mostly green, which is my favorite color) so I will be knitting a lot this year.

Last year I only missed 5 days so in 2010 my goal is to knit every single day. I will also do toe-up socks, color work, and finish as many UFOs as possible.

Jake's Dumber than Snakes Mitts

2010-01-01T12:41:00.001-08:00

jake with snakes
Originally uploaded by readingknitter01

My 10-year old nephew would not give me any rest this Christmas until I made him some fingerless mitts-especially since I knit things for several other family members this year. He watched me making the mitts, commenting on my speed and progress and allowing me only short breaks until I finished. He hasn't taken them off except to sleep! He chose the color scheme and will probably wear them to soccer games-the yarn is washable but i don't think they will stay white for long.

It's cool to have a 10-year old boy demand that you knit him something!

My garden is blooming

2009-05-21T11:22:00.001-07:00

HJ and Matilda in Sarah's Garden
Originally uploaded by Mamas 2 Hands

Here are some of my out of town Ravelry vistors- Hoppin' John is from Maryland and is currently touring the US. Matilda is from Australia and fell madly in love with John when she met him at the Knit and Crochet Show in Portland, OR last week. Now they are travelling together- they returned to Colorado with my other Rav friend who came to attend the show.

Got lots of ideas for knitting and crochet at the show and i picked back up my February lady sweater to work on. i am wanting to do more clothing and perhaps even some designing of my own.

Socks are done!

2009-05-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

Finished my first pair of adult socks! They fit me perfectly and are nice and warm for all the rainy days we get here.

I am up to 75 books also-still reading mostly mysteries and there are alot of new books by my favorite authors out this quarter.

New books, socks, sweaters and gardens

2009-04-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is turning out to be a good year for new books by some of my favorite authors! And I am also enjoying books by some authors that are new to me. That's the fun of browsing, and reading recommendations from others-- there is always something new to try!

On the knitting front I am almost finished with my first big girl sock, and about 20% through my first sweater. But it's spring and gardening is distracting me from knitting!

getting 3 new libraries soon!

2009-04-16T13:12:00.001-07:00

Central Library Parking Garage
Originally uploaded by The Kansas City Public Library

Maybe one will look like this!!

Knitting socks and reading books!

2009-04-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

Books in April:

61) **Enchanter's end game**- by David Eddings; read by Cameron Beierle- **4.75**-this is one of my standby series-fantasy-I re-read at least once a year.
60) **The 27 ingredient chili con carne murders** by Nancy Pickard--**3**- I like the heroine better in Arizona but still more a beach read for me.
59) **Bleeding Hearts** by Ian Rankin- audiobook- **3.5**--not Inspector Rebus-this one has a nice seeming assassin and a slimeball NY detective who's after him. It was fun.
58) **Coffin's ghost** by Gwendoline Butler--**3-** another English detective- Commander John Coffin-an okay read (April 2)
57) **The Salton Killings** by Sally Spencer--**4**--good solid English countryside murder investigation in Salton (salt pit)-I always enjoy Chief Inspector Woodend (April 1)

I made a pair of feeties, a pair of worsted weight socks and now I am making a pair of socks from sock yarn!

My first sock and up to book 54

2009-03-30T09:16:00.001-07:00

sock1
Originally uploaded by readingknitter01

So I have completed 54 books through March 28 (aiming to get to 60 this month) and made my first sock!!! It's a teeny one but it has all the parts and helped me understand sock construction.

New books:
52) The Blue Corn Murders– by Nancy Pickard–4–a nice comforting mystery with strong women and interesting scenery
53) Odd Thomas - By Dean Koontz–4- my first book by Dean Koontz and I liked it
54) Execution Dock– by Anne Perry–4.5–the latest Monk book and excellent as always–as I read in a review “exquisite period detail” brilliant, page-turning thriller-I read it in one day- could not put it down.

55) Dexter in the dark by Jeffry P Lindsay- audiobook-4.5--just as good as the first one

I reached 50 books this year!!!! And March is not over

2009-03-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

And I have reached the second buttonhole on my February Lady Sweater-the first sweater I have kniot for myself as an adult.

48) **Appointed to Die** by Kate Charles- **4.5**- David and Lucy and the horrendous dean
49) **Heartstopper** by Joy Fielding-- audiobook--**3.0**-- it was too long and too many side plots-but a nice surprise ending
50) **Knit Two** by Kate Jacobs--**4.5**- I thought at first I wasn't going to like this one and then I realized that I really did!!! So much so that I've read it in less than a day.
51) One false note-- by Gordon Korman--3.5-- audiobook- 2nd book in the 39 clues juvenile series-I borrowed the first book from my 9 yr old nephew at Christmas-2 orphans are following clues all over the globe that focus on famous people who are supposedly related tot heir family- this one is about Mozart-in Germany and Venice. I am going to check to see if my nephew has learned anythign from following the clues.

Springtime Lace

2009-03-17T11:55:00.001-07:00

PIC-0036
Originally uploaded by readingknitter01
I am still knitting away-now making lacy knit fingerless mitts for my daughter to wear in a lovely spring green

New author/old friend

2009-03-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

I am up to 46 books by mid-March- so I will reach 52 this month. Stephen White is a new author to me and I like the 2 books I have read. And a comfort book this times as well from David Eddings fantasy series The Belgariad-I've read this one at least 10 times.

43) Dead Time by Stephen White- 3.75- new author-couple is psych and DA-and there is also the cop friend- a fairly common formula with some differences, including the setting in Boulder, CO
44) Secret Sins by Kate Charles- 4.5- more C of E murders-I especially liked the characters in this one.
45) Magician’s Gambit by David Eddings- audiobook-5– my comfort books- re-read for at least the 10th time
46) Dry Ice by Stephen White- 4.5- this one preceeds Dead Time and I wish I had read it first
47)Appointed to die by Kate Charles--4.5-- this time the C of E setting is even more self-contained-Malbury Cathedral- where a new dean radically upsets everything- new characters and old mix with David and Lucy

February Fingerless Gloves KnitAlong

2009-03-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Cast on February 2 and finished on February 28th!

My traveling scarf returned

2009-03-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

I sent this off in September 2009- and it traveled to 5 friends around the US- all of whom added sections in nicely matching colors- before it came back to me in late Feb 2009!

Above is a picture of the whole scarf

Reading and knitting in March 2009

2009-03-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I cast on the fingerless glove pattern for March- Swan Maiden- a lacy glove in tiny, tiny lace-weight yarn.

And I finshed my first book for March (Book #38 for the year)--

	The world according to Bertie- by Alexander McCall Smith- 4 -I love this series (44 Scotland Street) and especially Bertie, the 6 yr old genius tyranized by his mother. This book has some interesting developments that may bode well for Bertie--and Bruce gets his comeuppance! Funny, tender, lively social commentary on Edinburgh written by someone who clearly loves the city.

Finished my Feb Knit along ......

2009-03-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

and read 19 books in February!!! The last two were-

ho-hum--

	Run for your life : a novel-by James Patterson; Michael Ledwidge-- I like the characters (Mike Bennett and his brood of adopted kids) but these books are more and more like plot outlines and less like real books

and brilliant--

Darkly dreaming Dexter-by Jeffry P Lindsay; Nick Landrum; Recorded Books, Inc.; NetLibrary, Inc.- this is indeed very dark, but also well-written, absorbing, and surprising. Also disturbing, but I can see why it’s gotten such rave reviews.

The Knit Along was a very elaborate fingerless glove pattern. I also got my traveling scarf back--photos of bot to follow soon.

Reading more books-can I reach 40 in February??

2009-02-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

Feb 22-28, 2009

Inkdeath- by Cornelia Caroline Funke- audiobook- on a scale of 1-5 this is at least a 10!! Love the series, loved this book, It's one I will be re-reading again and again.

A drink of deadly wine-by Kate Charles--4--this author may move soon to my favorite writers list but I'll have to read a couple more to see if the quality is consistent. I like ecclesiastical mysteries because the well-defined background is a good medium for displaying interesting characters and situations. An excellent book.

Waltz with Bashir : a Lebanon war story- by Ari Folman- Graphic novel-4

Book #34---The museum of lost wonder-by Jeff Hoke- 5--this is a wonderful book- one to buy and play with over and over. It would be fun to explore with kids and other adults. Illustrations, handouts, quotations-overall a lovely book!

Book #35--The snares of death--by Kate Charles--3.75--I do like ecclesiastical mysteries- there just seems to be more scope for portraying all kinds of characters against the prejudices of different sects

52 books in 52 weeks (continued)

2009-02-19T16:20:00.001-08:00

Or maybe 252 books in 52 weeks? It is possible

*Feb 15-21

27) Queen of sorcery- by David Eddings - audiobook--**4.5**-- *this is a multiple re-read for me-quintessential fantasy in the vein of Lord of the Rings*
28) Lee Child- The Hard Way-- **4** *my first Jack Reacher book and I liked it-he's ex CIA helping out people- nice plot twists*
29) Kate Morgenroth- They Did it with Love--**4.5**- *another new author for me-on the surface just another womens' book club mystery-- but there are some real depths to this one*
30) Michael Palmer- The Second Opinion-- **3.5**-- a medical mystery with interesting insights into Asperger's-easy and enjoyable read

52 books in 52 weeks- Feb 2009

2009-02-02T11:06:00.001-08:00

I read 18 books in January and I am aiming for at least 20 in Feb!
These are all reviewed at least briefly on my World Cat listings. Ratings below are from 1 (not recommended) to 5 (loved it)

*Feb 1-7

The lake of dead languages-by Carol Goodman--4

Mounting fears--by Stuart Woods-- 3.25

Fleece Navidad--by Maggie Sefton--2

The Listerdale mystery and eleven other stories- by Agatha Christie (audiobook)- 3

Show no fear--by Perri O'Shaughnessy -- 3

The seduction of water--by Carol Goodman-- 4.5
Queen of sorcery- by David Eddings - audiobook–4.5– this is a multiple re-read for me

*Feb 8-14

101 designer one-skein wonders-- by Judith Durant-- 3

No sheep for you : knit happy with cotton, silk, linen, hemp, bamboo, and other delights-by Amy R Singer-- 3.5

Castle of wizardry- by David Eddings (audiobook)-- 4.5

The price of butcher's meat-by Reginald Hill- 3

52 books in 52 weeks

2009-01-31T09:05:00.001-08:00

Yes- I am going to do it! Although starting late to document my reading for 2009, I have already read at least 10 books in January so I am well ahead of the curve. I really want to see how many more books than 100 I usually read in a year so this will be a good way to track that!
These are all reviewed at least briefly on my World Cat listings. Ratings below are from 1 (not recommended) to 5 (loved it)

Favorites were PD James- The Private Patient and Louise Penny- A Rule Against Murder

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY 2009 (18)

*Jan 4-10, 2009

	Plum lucky by Janet Evanovich- 4 The book thief- by Markus Zusak-- 4+

The book of lost things by John Connolly- 4+

*Jan 11-17, 2009

A face at the window by Sarah Graves- 3

What angels fear by C S Harris- 3.5

Where serpents sleep : a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery- by C S Harris- 4

Plum spooky-by Janet Evanovich-- 4 Pawn of prophecy- by David Eddings- REREAD for the 5th time--+++ comfort book Scarpetta-by Patricia Daniels Cornwell--3.5 Mrs. Malory and a time to die : a Sheila Malory mystery by Hazel Holt- 3 Fire and ice by Julie Garwood--1.5

*Jan 18-24, 2009

When gods die : a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C S Harris--3.5

The private patient by P D James--5

A matter of justice by Charles Todd-- 3.5

*Jan 25-31, 2009

A Christmas grace a novel by Anne Perry--4

A rule against murder by Louise Penny--5++

Under the radar by Fern Michaels- 3 (beach or airplane read)

Wolf to the slaughter- by Ruth Rendell-- 3

KNITTING BOOKS AT THE LIBRARY

2008-09-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

I am going to start keeping brief blurbs about knitting books I read at the library and own-to give me an idea of what they cover and how Imight use them in the future. These are totally personal views based on my current knitting and crochet needs.

READY SET KNIT CABLES-Cari Hammett-2007. 20 cable designs and ten projects. The book will stand up like a flip chart. Lots of good photos- text as well as charts so you can use either. Very useful for designing your own scarves, sweaters, bags, etc.

Ravelympics-halfway through the preemie caps

2008-08-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

here's a montage of some of them, modeled by my daughter's Pooh collection

Ravelympics- knit and crochet

2008-08-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have signed up for the Ravelympics-a contest to see how much knitting and crochet I can get done during the Olympics. Cast on at 5 am on Friday, August 8, 2008 and finish by 6:55 am on Sunday August 24-in time with the official ceremonies. My goals are 21 prremie baby hats (4 done so far); a sweater; two scarves; one pair of fingerless gloves and finishing 2 afghans and one pair of fingerless gloves. Here are some pictures of the preemie hats- it's very hard to find models!

Emily's underdress

2008-05-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

I used baby fingering and a Barbie ball gown pattern to make this under-dress. My theory is that it will give some body to the sewn dress without actually making a bustle, since we all agree that Emily Dickinson would not have worn either a bustle or a corset.

Transforming Barbie to Emily Dickinson

2008-05-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

This will be an interesting endeavor-I was at least able to get a brown-haired Barbie- but her eyes are violet (to be dealt with later). The look I am aiming for is something like this-Julie Andrews in the Belle of Amherst. Although Emily did overlap both corsets and bustles, we've decided she would have worn neither. However, I do want some substance to the skirt of the outfit, so I am starting by knitting a poofy ball gown in baby fingering from a Coats & Clarks Book No. 151- Doll wardrobe (c. 1964). I got the booklet at a library book sale for 10 cents (original price was only 29 cents). The only fingering yarn I have is baby yarn-white with flecks of green and pink. If it doesn't look okay under the dress I can give it away and get either white or oyster yarn to do it again. Right now I am not sure if it will be too bulky or bouffant anyway. Also- the pattern is knit straight and then seamed to the waist and then closed with snaps. If I re-do it for the final one, I'll probably do the skirt on 2 circulars so it doesn't need seaming. the skirt and neckline of the dress are lace and the rest is straight stockinette.

TWITTER, revisited

2008-04-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Jorah (seen in my last post wearing the gloves I made him) I now have a slightly better understanding of how Twitter might be helpful. He started to "follow" me and then I followed him, and now I can view his posts in among my own! I just could not understand how it would function, since I assumed you would have to go in and out from your Twitter account to those of the people you are following. Now I understand how one might use Twitter to correspond with friends who are out and about, or maybe at the same conference. It probably wouldn't work that well for me because I won't be texting and IM-ing to Twitter, as Jorah does. But now at least I understand why some people use it.

FINGERLESS GLOVES

2008-04-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

I just started my 10th pair of fingerless gloves in 2008! And so far they have all been straight knitting and seaming up-so much faster. But I'll do at least one pattern in the round-my peachy lace ones with the yarn from my secret swapper. The patterns calls for size 3 double pointed needles annd I actual;ly have that size. So--no more excuses!

Cool Tools: my favorite site

2008-04-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

You can check your vocabulary and the site donates free rice to the world's hungry for each correct answer you get. Warning- it's very addictive- especially if you pride yourself on your vocabulary!

The end of the road........

2008-03-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, I have completed Discover 2.0-at least the first time around. I've learned a tremendous amount about how to use many technologies that I had read about but never tried. Some I will never try again-like Meebo, which I still cannot make work and which seems like a total waste of time (to me anyway). But many I will use and re-use and I will also now go back and re-explore some of the ones that I tried and couldn't make sense of earlier-like mashups, for example. I also have an appreciation of the uses of blogging which I did not have when I started the program. In the midst of this experience, I attended the Online Northwest Conference, which affirmed the value of the Discover 2.0 program and also gave me new perspectives on several of the new tools I have begun to use.

FAVORITE #1: Use of social networks-I signed up for Eons first, since I wasn't really sure about My Space or Face Book and I know my daughter can set me up on those if I want to do them. Plus I looked at MS and FB and they both looked overwhelming. I stayed on Eons for about a week--it was pretty blah and not engaging for me. But then, as part of joining another librarian's blog for the Jane Austen Knit Along- I was introduced to Ravelry-an online knitting and crochet community. It's still in Beta testing so not yet open to the public-you need an invitation to join. But this is my online community, and I have been able to apply and extend most of the skills learned in Discover 2.0 by being part of this community. In addition, being part of the community has shown me how other people use these tools and given me someone to contact when I have questions about doing something. I think I would have found the learning process much more boring and tedious without Ravelry. Other people may have the same feelings about MS or FB, but if so they were probably already using them. Plus, I have an international community that shares my passions for knitting, crochet, crafts, reading and anything else you can think of. I already have friends and pen pals in several countries and states and we exchange ideas and packages. It's fun.

FAVORITE #2: RSS Feeds- I had attended training on these but never actually used the technique myself. Now I have my favorite feeds on Bloglines, and I've also tagged lots of blogs on del.icio.us in case I want to go back later and add them. I have some staff blogs on my RSS feed as well as other knitter's blogs. Plus the word of the day and the Jane Austen fan site from Bath, England.

FAVORITE #3: LIBRARYTHING: I had been thinking about trying to track my reading (confirming that I do indeed read more than 100 books a year), but wasn't sure how to do it. I know some people keep notebooks, and others have elaborate spreadsheets. I first tried to just list them down the side of my blog-but it was time consuming and not very functional. Then I tried Good Reads, and did not like it at all- it's very cumbersome to add books. And then I tried LibraryThing-I love it--especially since I can scan in the ISBNs to add books. It's fun and easy-and I'll learn the functionality as I go.

OTHER FAVORITES: I like wikis and del.icio.us, but I was already using both of those before I started Discover 2.0. Now, though, I can compare the functionality of wikis and blogs. I am also exploring the use of Google docs (just started that one).

LESSON #1: As we already know from adult learning principles, adults learn best when their interest is engaged. So, while I didn't see much value to Flickr at the beginning, and I certainly didn't understand mashups--once I realized that I needed to use Flickr to publish pictures of my work on Ravelry, I learned how to use it. AND, there was always someone available to answer questions when I couldn't figure out how to do it. I have still not explored all the capabilities of Flickr, but I have many examples of how others use it and they are there to help me when I want to learn more.

LESSON #2: Having practical examples that apply to my interests and life helps me understand how the tools can work for me. Once I figure out how something can help me, I am willing to take the time to learn how to do it. Just another take on lesson #1, really.

LESSON #3: I like to just plunge into something-without reading all the background and lessons. Then , when I am using it and see a value to me-I might go back and re-read the instructions. Usually, I am more likely to ask someone else who seems to be using the tool in a way I want to emulate.

IMPACT ON MY LIFELONG LEARNING: Tremendous and positive. The program gives enough info to get started, but still requires a lot of effort (and time spent messing around) on the learner's part. I expect to go back over the lessons several times as I get more proficient, to pick up other skills that I missed the first time. I have also been able to work with other staff who did not believe that they could do this program, and several of them will finish it. So I got to be mentor/trainer, which is a role I enjoy. (And how else could I get loyal followers on Twitter??) Having the technical assistance from friends on the Ravelry site was invaluable.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOME #1: The first is that I am blogging and that I have actually found some blogs that I enjoy reading on a regular basis: my friends' Joy's blog from India (she works with a lot of Tibetan refugees so it's not always an easy read) and Melanie's blog from New York. While I still find a lot of blogs to be an utter waste of time (for me), I can understand how they fill a need for other people.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOME #2: Finding in Ravelry an online community that is productive and engaging for me, and that I am willing (and eager) to spend time on.

CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF DISCOVER 2.0: The main issue that has come up, especially in working through the Discover 2.0 lessons with other staff, is that the proposed time allotment is not long enough for the majority of staff. In order to understand and apply the tools, people need to be able to play around with them. I also believe that people need to be willing and able to do some of that playing on their own time. I would also like to see some structured follow-up--some libraries were able to post comments on all staff blogs once or twice, whihc I think would be really encouraging. I'd also like to see 1-2 sessions where people can ask questions and get more technical help if they need it. The other thing I hope is that the lessons remain available--not only for new staff but also for staff like me who want to go back and review them.

ALL A 'TWITTER

2008-03-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

I used the map maship to link to twitterers in Vancouver. Haven't found anyone I recognize yet! Including myself, since I clearly didn't put in enough info to find myself on the map:
http://twittermap.com/maps

I set up my account https://twitter.com/home and I tried it for a day and a half- borring! I can't imagine anyone wanting to do it or to read it. I did talk one person into following me but I am pretty sure she is not reading my snippets! This might work if we were doing an into knitting class and had people twitter their ideas, problems, and questions between the classes. I've also read that it's a good tool to use to share learning when several people are at a conference. But since it's not interactive, I don't get the appeal.

A potential use for libraries from one of the articles: Another bright side is the incredible attention the library is receiving by developing the twitter feed. Really, it's not much different from many news organizations dumping their news stories into twitter. I think the discussion on how useless it was led to the attention since I found a simple practical use.

Videos

2008-03-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

You Tube- I have seen some good things on this media, but without a direct link to lead me to somethng of interest, I find it mostly a waste of time for me. Except for looking at my wonderful one minute book reviews on one minute critic: http://oneminutecritic.wordpress.com/2008/02/14/one-minute-dimity/

BlipTV is even worse as far as I can tell.

MetaCafe has ads on the clips-easier to just watch TV

In fact, it's just easier to watch TV period-since any really cool or popular You Tube or other video clips will be on TV anyway!

I personally like Jib Jab-you can put your face on dancing bodies or in a movie.

Podcasts

2008-03-25T18:13:00.001-07:00

I am most interested in podcasts of college lectures- there are a whole bunch of universities that are now offering podcasts of many of their courses

MIT has 1800 open courses available for free downlaod to the public http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm
Many of them have audio and video available for download or to listen to on your computer. 100 free foreign language courses are included in the university's program. Offerings range from undergraduate to graduate level and include everything from Japanese and Chinese to German and Spanish. This is so great; libraries should publicize this info even if we aren't actually producing the podcasts ourselves. Part of lifelong learning is the sharing of resources-we don't need to create them all ourselves--especially when we may have neither the equipment or the training to do a decent job on them

AUDIO VIDEO--MUSIC

2008-03-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

I already have Pandora account for Bob Marley music--it's okay but I don't get to choose my songs-they come up with a mix of songs that is "like" Bob Marley--and some are NOT really like Bob Marley at all. Then I have to tell them never to play that song again. And hope that the mix includes songs I like. (This one is free but you have to log in).

So I decided to try last.fm to see the differences. I like it much better-not only can I choose the songs I want to listen to, I also get to watch videos. I even recognize many of the scenes from Kingston and the Jamaican countryside, which is great. It's also amazing to see shots of a very young Bob Marley singing- even if the tape quality is not very good. Then there are some vidoes by wannabees that are horrible! After Bob Marley I moved on to Jimmy Cliff! (You can create an accoutn but you don't have to to hear full tracks). THE WINNER BY FAR

IMEEM- won't let me hear more than 2 bars unless I am logged in- I don't like the way it's set up.

GOOGLE DOCUMENTS

2008-03-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have written something in Google documents and tried to publish it to my blog; without any success so far. I think I have published it at least twice and it hasn't shown up yet--so either there is some problem or I'll have 2 new posts tomorrow. I am also doing a shared document for the shower which I published and sent the link to my team--that worked fine.

SIX WORD MEMOIR

2008-03-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by http://teabird17.blogspot.com/,(Melanie) who read about it on the blog of The Little Professor. (NPR has a slideshow of some good ones, and a book of these mini-memoirs, Not Quite What I Was Planning, has been published.) Here are the directions:

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.

Here's mine:

Read, write, knit. Smell the flowers.

Now I am off to find OTHER people to tag.
I am tagging: Gillian (http://funatthelibrary42.blogspot.com/); Jackie (http://pjsewing.blogspot.com/); Sarah (http://outofadog.blogspot.com/); Michele (stellaandtheboys@blogspot.com) ; Sue (http://wishthinkdream.blogspot.com

I love delicious!

2008-03-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

It's so much easier and so much more enviornmentally friendly to tag resources for a subject area (like knitting patterns or polishing up excel techniques) than it is to either print out the info or write it down somewhere where it gets lost immediately! This way I can review sites that I link and even re-tag the best ones so I can find them quickly when I need them. Plus there is always the fun of uncovering even better resources by seeing what's in the delicious accounts of other people who tagged the same things as me. Check out my account:
http://del.icio.us/sab1

Cool tools- I am a genius but we already knew that!

2008-03-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

For the blog readability test (http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/reading_level.aspx), my blog is rated at Genius as shown by the new button on my site. So far everyone else who's done it has also gotten a genius rating which makes me a little doubtful about the validity of the tool.

On Wordshoot http://cognitivelabs.com/word_shoot.htm (supposed to improve my typing skills)- I can type really quickly with hunt and peck so I kept going until there were words coming from all 4 directions and then I stopped. Still I got a score of 13000 and 94% accuracy. Didn't improve my keying at all though.

Yahoo Answers ( http://answers.yahoo.com/ ) I am appalled at kinds of questions being asked--if your mobile phone is not working shouldn't you contact your phone provider instead of posting a question on an open site. And I am appalled at the fact that I got lots of points for typing answers that I made up to random questions. At least Wikipedia has some controls just because of the way it's structured. I can't imagine having the time to post a questions and then wait for random answers. I did think about trying to answer 50 or 100 questions with a link to FVRL or ask your local library! It would be more useful than what's on there now!

Technorati

2008-03-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well I have claimed my blog on Technorati and added a link to my blog for people to choose it as a fave. Beyond that I am not sure what other purpose Technorati serves. But I find that I am more comfortable with things as I go back to them, so that will probably be the case with this as well. The picture shows pollen bots (from TreeHugger- http://www.treehugger.com/) but it seems like a good picture to convey Technorati.

Library thing and Good reads

2008-03-18T17:53:00.001-07:00

I decided to track all of the books I am reading in 2008-and I don't think either one of these is going to do what I want. I set up a Good Reads account last week but I found the searching and adding one title at a time way too cumbersome for my purposes. Why can't I add all the Harry Potter books in a group?

So today I tried Library thing and it's MUCH better. I can scan in the ISBNs and get the book immediately-it's so much faster than Good reads. So I added 7 books off my reading shelf at work and I will rate them as I finish reading them. This is also quicker than typing them by hand on the side of my blog, AND I also have much more information about each book at hand. So I actually like this one:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/ReadingKnitter01

Worldcat.org also has a way to keep book lists and their database is probably the most comprehensive. Plus I use that database frequently. But I am good with Library Thing for now. first.

Wikis- I like pbwiki!

2008-03-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

I've been using a wiki for Technical Services procedures with my staff for the last 8 months. It runs on pbwiki and was so easy to set up and modify. I haven't used any bells or whistles, and the formatting can be problemmatic-especially when you cut and paste word documents. But it is a great place to store lists, problems, and current procedures, instead of trying to remember which version of the document includes the latest work flows updates. And staff who like to work from written documents can print out the information.

I just looked at very quick wiki but it looks like it might take some time to figure out. So I am going back to pbwiki to do a shower planning wiki for a group of friends from India to England to several US states. The wiki will allow us to plan the event (we are doing a virtual shower) and then track gifts so that there isn't too much duplication.

ANOTHER IMAGE GENERATOR

2008-03-18T15:29:00.001-07:00

This one wants me to put it on a hosted/linked site which seems like way too much trouble. So I just copied it to my hard drive and will see if it will copy here.

Play- Image generators review

2008-03-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

I started out to make a billboard but then saw the tools to make a mosaic and my friend had just sent me a lovely one. So I decided to try that on Big Huge Labs. I don't have a lot of photos on my flick account so I uploaded some into the new account I had to set up for Big Huge Labs and then made a simple mosaic. It clearly needs more time since it's nowhere as lovely as the one my friend sent me. Mine is on the right and hers is on the left.

Tracking my reading for 2008

2008-03-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have decided to use the list function on the side of my blog to track everything I read this year- and to sort it out so books will be easier to find. The rating scale is 1-5 with 5 being very very good. I'm also listing the books I start to read and stop--because at least at the time I decide they will probably be a 1 or 2 and not worth the time!

I am pretty sure I'll get more than 100 books- especially since i still have to remember all the titles I have already read this year!

You Tube

2008-02-21T16:45:00.001-08:00

I had my debut on You Tube last week taping 2 one minute critics for Sam's project. Personally I think I look like a dork, and the picture always freezes when it is the most unflattering. But it was fun to do. Now I just have to figure out how to get it into my You Tube account and what to do with it after that. http://oneminutecritic.wordpress.com/2008/02/14/one-minute-dimity/

flickr and knitting

2008-02-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

I managed to save these pictures to both my desktop and my Flickr account-but it's still easier to upload it from my desktop. Except when I have to use Flickr like I do for Ravelry. These are really comfy for typing at work, especially when it gets drafty.

RSS FEEDS, ETC.

2008-02-14T09:52:00.001-08:00

I have figured out how to add feeds and buttons to my blog and have also been able to subscribe to other peoples' blogs even if they don't have the handy button. And I love uploading pictures to my blog. I still don't see it as a viable means of commmunication for me-it's easier to respond to email than to go look for various threads to follow or to reply to blog post comments that I made 2 weeks ago. But it is nice to have the ability to use the tools that work for me. (All these lovely watercolors are from www.herondance.org ).

MEEBO-TAKE 202!

2008-02-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

Although I am now correctly signed in, I still cannot send an IM to my 'buddy' even though I can walk to her desk and see that she is also signed in. We both show as offline to each other. I have the widget on my blog, but it serves no useful purpose as far as I can tell. However, I am still going to try until I can actually exchange a real IM on Meebo!

My Space/social networking

2008-02-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

I liked the David Lee King article about having libraries register as "bands" so we could podcast storytimes, book talks, YAAB meetings, etc. i think it has some merit.
Interestingly enough, although my 20-something daughter has both My Space and facebook accounts, she doesn't understand very much about the whole process or about all the tools that are available. There is a huge audience of patrons out there who could benefit from this kind of training.

Putting it all together-it actually works!

2008-02-07T17:18:00.001-08:00

Through one of my social networking explorations, I found Ravelry ( http://www.ravelry.com ) a Knit and Crochet community. It's by invitation only, and once I got my invitation I needed to use my Flickr account to post pictures of my knitting in progress and then subscribe to the RSS feed through Bloglines for updates. And I knew how to do all of it!!!! This is a wonderful organizing site-I can add knitting books to my library and keep track of patterns I want to use by tagging them- right now I am tagging them to my delicious account. Funny how it all works together! And I found out about Oprah's newest book club pick and got it out to the branches quickly because of another blogline feed I subscribe to.

And more knitting....

2008-01-31T09:30:00.001-08:00

Well, actually it's crochet! But she looks so cute in it. This is one of the baby hat patterns for Save the Children that we made a couple of years ago. http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/capstothecapital-kit11.pdf

more social networking

2008-01-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

I continue to use Delicious and my RSS feeds (which have led me to other interesting sites). But I still have not been able to send an IM using Meebo! Once I actually send a message, I will delete that account and NEVER use it again- it is such a pain! So, some things are fun and useful and others seem to take way too much time for the payback (which in the case of Meebo I have yet to see!)

DEL.ICIO.US

2008-01-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

I love delicious for many reasons. (http://del.icio.us/sab1 ) The tagging is a great way to save links to hundreds of sites and to find them again pretty quickly. When I am working on magazine renewals I can tag all the sites I look at for research, etc., and then go back to them easily when I want to. And I like to see what's being tagged by people who tag the same sites I do. I found the absolute best link to all things Russian-grammar, vocabulary, language, customs, even videos from the Kremlin by looking at someone else's delicious account (http://sras.org/news.phtml?m=491 ) And I like to look at knitting and craft sites that have been tagged by other knitters. Plus, how else would I have found the Vintage dance Society and Polite Society website (http://www.vintagedancing.com/dancesociety.htm) ?

SOCIAL NETWORKING-INTRO

2008-01-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

I know a little about social networking-I love del.icio.us and use my account all the time. But I have not yet ventured onto either My Space or Face Book-probably afraid that I'll run into my daughter and her friends! I looked at the Denver Public Library's "My Space page" http://www.myspace.com/denver_evolver
but I am not always keen on pages that start playing music when I click onto them. The same thing happened when I clicked onto the FVRL YAAB My Space page- http://www.myspace.com/yaab
I can see how it's especially useful for the YAAB programs. And I will construct a page when I get to that assignment. But I think it's probably beyond my personal interest, at least at present.

RSS FEEDS, ETC.

2008-01-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

One of my RSS feeds is tree hugger http://www.treehugger.com/
and today they have a link to a great book swapping site- Book Mooch ( http://bookmooch.com/). It's part of an article on 5 ways for Bookworms to Save Trees. You can swap books by title. Another great way to get more books to read (besides checking them out of the library) is to go to one of the periodic Friends of the Library book sales. The Three Creeks Community Library (Vancouver, WA) has incredible books at their sales and the next one is Saturday, January 26 from 10 am-5 pm. (Map and directions at http://www.fvrl.org/aboutus/branch_files/tc_map.htm )

MEEBO

2008-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

Is way too complicated and troublesome to use. Even if I put the widget on my blog I am not on here often enough that I'd be likely to engage in chats-especially since the steps involved in setting up buddies, etc seem like too much bother...I think I have a limit for this stuff- having never wanted to do texting or be totally accessible to everything 24 hours a day anyway. Although I do like being able to take and email photos with my phone...

Jane Austen Knit Along

2008-01-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

Scarves and afghans-I finished 2 scarves and now I am committed to finishing this very fancy white flower afghan for my sister while I am watching Jane Austen. Persuasion was disappointing-too short and no character development to speak of. It took me nearly 30 minutes to remember that Elizabeth was Anne's sister and not her father's trophy wife!

MORE SNAPFISH

2008-01-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

My sister just got back from the Galapagos Islands

MORE RSS AND BLOGS

2008-01-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

I tried Syndic8.com but didn't want to have to set up another account since I already have 3 sets of log-in cards on my desk now. Google blog search might be helpful if I were looking for something-but I prefer the pre-packaged groupings. I have some feeds set up with Bloglines but it seems to be more trouble than it's worth usually to go look for stuff there. I do like my word of the day, however-- so far I have known them all! http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/

MY NEW BUMPERSTICKER

2008-01-11T10:01:00.001-08:00

I
Knit
Therefore
I ROCK

KNIT WIKI NEEDS KNITTERS TO CONTRIBUTE

2008-01-10T17:20:00.001-08:00

BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK

2008-01-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.herondance.org/Join-A-Pause-For-Beauty-W45C53.aspx
This is a weekly email newsletter- with gorgeous watercolors and inspirational text. Take a look and sign up too!

What I am knitting now-For Christmas I knit a prayer shawl using gorgeous alpaca yarn from Knitpicks (www.knitpicks.com ). Also several cabled scarves, hats and fingerless gloves and I also crocheted some scarves. Now I am making suede scarves and then onto more prayer shawls.

THE COMPLETE JANE AUSTEN

2008-01-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

Calling all Jane Austen fans to watch the complete Jane Austen on PBS from January-April 2008. Check out this blog for all the information and for friends to watch it with:

http://www.janeaustenkal.blogspot.com/

Here is a site for free downloads of the books and movies: http://www.squidoo.com/Jane-Austen-Novels-Online

RSS FEEDS AND BLOGLINES

2008-01-08T17:51:00.001-08:00

I discovered that at least 10 of the 200 most popular blogs are about knitting, so I added them to my feed. But I have to say that most of the posts and the comments are pretty boring- I like patterns and pictures but I don't really care about peoples' messy desks and unfinished projects (an oxymoron for knitters anyway).

MASHERS/MASHUPS- IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME

2008-01-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

This is where I realize I have no idea of what I am doing here. I am happy to look at mashups but don't yet have an idea of how I could make them or why I would want to-although I do see it would be fun to tie my travel photos to a world map-as long as it didn't take too long to actually do it.

This is a cute mashup- http://www.fun2ask.com/#
although I would probably like to ask more book-related questions...so I'll work on that one. And I have no idea what they are mashing.

I made a trading card with a Flick photo of my relatives but the image is horrible-it has really poor resolution and you can't see the faces at all-probably better as it turns out since they may not appreciate what I've done to them. And I can't figure out how to get it to my blog either!
http://flickr.com/photos/22593551@N07/2178029059/

NEXT THING TO KNIT

2008-01-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

Is a set of skull wrist warmers for my niece (who is 35)- http://www.magknits.com/Apr06/patterns/zombie.htm

MORE FLICKR

2008-01-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Matrix geometry has gorgeous designs in their pictures---- http://stamen.com/projects/matrixgeometry

I even figured out how to edit the post after I published it in order to say that Surface 1 and surface 2 are really beautiful!

FLICKR

2008-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

I actually had to set up a Snapfish account also to get the copies of pictures from the family reunion-but they don't seem to transfer very well! I like having personal pictures to look at, although I also found some gorgeous nature scenes to add to my Flickr account.

Since I am the reading knitter, I need to add some knitting to this post- so off to another site for the Domiknitrix logo; and maybe soon I will figure out how to add a picture of me knitting taken by my cell phone!

SUCCESSFUL LIFELONG LEARNING

2008-01-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

easiest for me: taking personal responsibility and having confidence in myself as a competent learner
most difficult: knowing all the available technologies that I can use

THE READING KNITTER

SUMMERTIME.. AND THE KNITTING IS EASY

'Psycho Squirrel Strikes Again

More Knitting in 2010

Jake's Dumber than Snakes Mitts

My garden is blooming

Socks are done!

New books, socks, sweaters and gardens

getting 3 new libraries soon!

Knitting socks and reading books!

My first sock and up to book 54

I reached 50 books this year!!!! And March is not over

Springtime Lace

New author/old friend

More March Reading-5 books in March so far

February Fingerless Gloves KnitAlong

My traveling scarf returned

Reading and knitting in March 2009

Finished my Feb Knit along ......

Reading more books-can I reach 40 in February??

52 books in 52 weeks (continued)

52 books in 52 weeks- Feb 2009

52 books in 52 weeks

KNITTING BOOKS AT THE LIBRARY

Ravelympics-halfway through the preemie caps

Ravelympics- knit and crochet

Emily's underdress

Transforming Barbie to Emily Dickinson

TWITTER, revisited

FINGERLESS GLOVES

Cool Tools: my favorite site

The end of the road........

ALL A 'TWITTER

Videos

Podcasts

AUDIO VIDEO--MUSIC

GOOGLE DOCUMENTS

SIX WORD MEMOIR

I love delicious!

Cool tools- I am a genius but we already knew that!

Technorati

Library thing and Good reads

Wikis- I like pbwiki!

ANOTHER IMAGE GENERATOR

Play- Image generators review

Tracking my reading for 2008

You Tube

flickr and knitting

RSS FEEDS, ETC.

MEEBO-TAKE 202!

My Space/social networking

Putting it all together-it actually works!

And more knitting....

more social networking

DEL.ICIO.US

SOCIAL NETWORKING-INTRO

RSS FEEDS, ETC.

MEEBO

Jane Austen Knit Along

MORE SNAPFISH

MORE RSS AND BLOGS

MY NEW BUMPERSTICKER

KNIT WIKI NEEDS KNITTERS TO CONTRIBUTE

BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK

THE COMPLETE JANE AUSTEN

RSS FEEDS AND BLOGLINES

MASHERS/MASHUPS- IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME

NEXT THING TO KNIT

MORE FLICKR

FLICKR

SUCCESSFUL LIFELONG LEARNING