I just did something to my computer so my icons are back. I don’t know what I did, but there is hope. One commenter said to “defrag” my computer. I have no idea what that means! My husband mentioned it, too, and said we should do it once a week (I THINK he said defrag! ;)). If I figure out what that is, maybe I’ll do it!
I bought longer needles for Lyra, so I could actually see the pattern emerging as I transitioned from one needle to the other.Â
I think there are still about 50,000 sts left to knit on this baby — it is truly the most ambitious project of my knitting life. The “tulips” are almost done, so I see light at the end of the tunnel. The light is a very small dot way, way, WAY in the distance :).
The yarn ball left on my scarf is the size of a small lime — but it never gets smaller! I want this done NOW. Note to self: stop knitting on other projects…
I had to restart my Roseleaves Tunic.  I decided to follow the instructions for a change and ended up not liking the way the slipped edge stitches looked. I started it up again this morning, so nothing really to show yet. Note to self: STOP the madness! Finish the $%^&&%$ Merci Scarf and then work on Roseleaves!
Hi, Sally! Hope you, Nora, Joe and B-Man are having fun!
Reminder to Twin Cities Knitters: the Minnesota Knitters Guild meeting is tomorrow at 2 pm. It is a “tea” (which means food!). I love the MKG Teas — it’s like the world’s biggest knitting group! Hope to see you there.
PS — The Merci Scarf is the tres simple scarf I have been knitting as a thank you to a special person in our lives. Here is the final scarf!!
The “pattern” has already been posted on The Blog, but here it is again:
The yarn is drop dead soft: it is Cascade Autunno in Desert Shade (Color #34918, 98 yds/50 gms, 100% Fine Merino — I used 4 skeins). I had never heard of it, but it is very soft with gentle variegation and a ragwool effect. I had trouble finding a stitch that would work because of the ragwool coloring — too much going on for many stitch patterns.  I am using a seed rib as follows:
The Merci Scarf (multiple of 4x + 3 sts)
I am using US Size 8 needles and 35 sts
Row 1: *k3, p1* rep betw * * to last 3 sts, k3
Row 2: k1, p1, *k3, p1* rep betw * * to last st, k1
It is mindless and perfect for a scarf because it does not curl and is reversible.Â
PS2 — I cannot find Utilities OR disc defragment anywhere on my computer 🙁 I did find it and I did defrag!! Woo Hoo! Thanks for all of your advice!
…Susan…thanx for the feedback……inside your hard-drive there are a stack of disks that are kind of like cd’s stacked on top of one another….when your computer saves the information that you request it to save it randomly puts bits of information in storage places….so when it is asked to retrieve the information it has to search for the bits to put them together again so you can view what you have asked for….when a lot of things have been stored it has to search more places and that takes longer….the bits of information can become so separated into small random bits that the computer kind of goes: what?..you want what?….ummmmm?…..when you defragment your hard drive it puts more of the bits back together and it erases some of the deleted file bits that still have lingering fragments…..i don’t know what browser you use, but Mozilla Firefox has a Cleaner icon that cleans up your stuff…..
….as far as the knitting is concerned….i do do projects i love…..and knitting is fun……i totally, completely love it……i also want to understand myself better and when i find something that is so difficult i want to understand why…..realistically though, maybe i will not be a sock knitter….my daughter-in-law, for whom the socks are being knitted, has assured me she will wear them no matter how they turn out…..:)
Comment by sally — February 23, 2008 @ 1:56 pm
I’m totally intrigued… What is the Merci scarf???
Comment by Pat — February 23, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
Hey! I’m reading this just as I’m preparing to defrag. It’s good for your puter. Like vitamins! Good luck!
PS In Win XP, it’s Start–>All Programs–>Accessories–>System Tools–>Disk Defragmenter
Comment by Valerie — February 23, 2008 @ 2:33 pm
I just defragged my computer yesterday. Unfortunately I forgot it takes HOURS and I hadn’t done it in ages and I should have done it at night. Live & learn.
If I right click my computer icon Under “manage” is the Disk Defragmenter.
Lyra is really gorgeous looking.
Comment by Carrie K — February 23, 2008 @ 6:50 pm
Sally had a good technical explanation of the reason for defragmenting your hard drive. Your hard drive is sort of like a closet, you dig stuff out in a hurry and shut the door. After a few weeks of doing this, guess what the closet looks like? Then you have to clean it up and you will be able to find things in a hurry again! (But don’t ask me about my real closets.)
The lace looks amazing! And thanks for the scarf pattern.
Comment by Kay — February 23, 2008 @ 7:37 pm
How many balls of the Cascade Autunno did you use for the one scarf?
thanks
kelly
Comment by Kellyjossis — February 23, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
What a gorgeous scarf and a wonderful gift!
Comment by Karen B. — February 23, 2008 @ 9:45 pm
Susan- I’d love to have a scarf like that, but I don’t want to knit one- does
that make sense?
I have built-in “Tech Support” in the form of a teenage son. There has to be
compensations in life.
Comment by Lorraine — February 24, 2008 @ 7:19 am
Susan, you now have the instructions for defragging. It’s also a good idea to do a disk cleanup before/after you defrag. Follow the same instructions that Valerie suggested and you’ll see a disk cleanup just above the disk defragmenter. Frees up space and your pc will work more efficiently:-)
Comment by Vicki — March 4, 2008 @ 10:31 pm